Why people are slow to get it

[Sparky]

I was channel surfing a couple of nights ago and a segment on Nightline caught my attention, because they were talking about inflation and availability shortages (fuel, food, etc.), so I watched the remainder of the segment. It was pretty well done, capturing what we talk about here about how things are a-changin', and it could have some serious consequences. Pretty good for mainstream TV.

But then I got a quick reminder of why mainstream people don't know how to process this type of "warning". As soon as the segment was over, the news anchor seamlessly transitioned to some trite celebrity story. Sort of like, "Well, that's it for our story on the end of the world, so now let's get an update on what's going on with Justin Timberlake", or something to that effect.

I can see why people would have trouble understanding the gravity of the issues we talk about here. Heck, we're aware of what's going on, and even here we have a spectrum of opinions on the depth of impact we all expect and how it will all go down. How's a mainstreamer supposed to take it seriously when it's interwoven with fluff? Just wondering.

[k-os]

They can't get it because they don't want to get it. Not only that, but if they're watching television, they get maybe 10 minutes of reality and 4 hours and 50 minutes of buy buy buy, daily.

Simply put, it's denial, because denial is far more comfortable than reality (at least in the short term). Acceptance would mean horrors the likes of which has not been seen for generations, such as . . . less consumerism. Gasp! How can the idea of being fiscally responsible compete with all of those commercials?

[FunnyMoney]

I think balance is fine. But what your are mistaking for what seems to be a trivial presentation of important topics is actually something completely different.

There are ultimately only 3 techniques to keep the status quo lies and corrupt systems in place and un-checked. They are deceptions, distractions and divisions.

For news shows the choice is always a "deception" technique. Sometimes you will see a lot of commercials and breaks put in a special moments which themselves are a form of the "distration" technique. But deception is the key.

What you are missing is that you did not notice that in the original news broadcast they stopped short of getting to a root correct cause. I did not see the broadcast you are mentioning, but I can 100% assure you that it falls into line with what I'm saying.

Did they tell you the current energy problems of today have been known issues for over 30 years? Did they tell you that the inflation they talked about was something that took place by a secret conspiracy which has its roots going back to 1913 and the days of A. Jackson and even further? Did they tell you that there are solutions, some of them actually being implemented right now in Asian societies, which if adopted could go a long way here - but instead those industries are leaving as we speak? Did they mention that the govt has already spent enough money over the last 2 decades on wasteful and counter-productive agendas to have significantly fixed a lot of the problems?

They tell you an incomplete story. It's enough to scare you and create drama, but short of what's required to get the average person to think logically about solutions and root causes. It simply leaves the viewer in a state where they think, "there's nothing I can do, it's all too complicated and difficult for me to figure out, leave it up to others or to God to fix."

[dys]

One disinformation tactic that isn't discussed nearly enough is the tactic of insinuating or ascribing inordinate values to events or issues. This is done in a couple of ways:

1. Taking something relatively important and making it seem less important than it really is (you did a good job describing an example).
2. Taking something relatively unimportant and inflating its importance. This can be done by promoting it as a top story, using sensationalist tones or language, or repeatedly mentioning it. Number 2 is much more common than number 1 based on my experience.

I am seeing this tactic more and more...it is more difficult to expose and/or refute than your typical media lies of commision or omission. Plausible deniability is much easier to pull off from their perspective when they are actually reporting the truth (or at least closer to the truth)

dys

[woodman]

The plastic reality of the propaganda tube. I haven't watched television at home for years. I watch it once in a while when at a freinds house or in a motel. Looking at it now as an outsider, it is surreal. The glaring propaganda and stupidity amaze me. It contains a witches brew of mind poison.

[woodman]

Even if one knows what they are watching is poisonous, I do not believe it is possible to come through unscathed after exposing oneself for any length of time. The stupidity and lack of dignity inherent in the program is bound to infect in some way. It is like passing through a cloud of poisonous gas; You'd better have a respirator handy to limit the toxic effect.

[SLV^GLD]

The plastic reality of the propaganda tube. I haven't watched television at home for years. I watch it once in a while when at a freinds house or in a motel. Looking at it now as an outsider, it is surreal. The glaring propaganda and stupidity amaze me. It contains a witches brew of mind poison.
Same here. My mind reels at the concept that the majority of our population spends HOURS of their lives every week just sitting in front of this thing. AND THEY PAY DAMNED GOOD MONEY FOR IT!!!!

[Ash_Williams]

What is there to get? Hyperinflation, food riots, govt work camps, the war with Iran, etc. have all been "just around the corner" going on a decade now. The fuel shortages happened in the 70's and not much since.

We switched from being worried about global cooling to global warming. No one is worried anymore about the entire planet getting nuked 'cause of leaders with their "finger on the button." None of the superflus have been as deadly as promised and AIDS didn't spread across america on unclean toilet seats.

I don't watch TV but I see it when visiting relatives. Incredibly boring for the most part and such a ripoff since so many of the shows are "reality based" and I'm sure could be put together on a small budget. The thing with TV is that it is rather hypnotizing. You can sit there and stare at the screen for a while and half an hour is gone, or an hour, or two hours. Most of it is BS but even if it was all truth I don't know how much good it would do because TV is a tool of inaction. If the TV makes someone mad the most they do is yell at the TV. It can't make people get up and do things (except to go somewhere else to sit, like a movie theater...)

[BrewTech]

I read a book many years ago that examined the point (and the example) in the OP, and it made a lot of sense to me. I'm sure many folks here have read it:

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1985) is a book by educator Neil Postman.

From Wikipedia (states the concept nicely IMHO)

The essential premise of the book, which Postman extends to the rest of his argument(s), is that "form excludes the content," that is, a particular medium can only sustain a particular level of ideas. Thus Rational argument, integral to print typography, is militated against by the medium of television for the aforesaid reason. Owing to this shortcoming, politics and religion are diluted, and "news of the day" becomes a packaged commodity. Television de-emphasises the quality of information in favour of satisfying the far-reaching needs of entertainment, by which information is encumbered and to which it is subordinate.

[Sparky]

...
Most of it is BS but even if it was all truth I don't know how much good it would do because TV is a tool of inaction. If the TV makes someone mad the most they do is yell at the TV. It can't make people get up and do things (except to go somewhere else to sit, like a movie theater...)


That's a good observation.

In spite of the amount of trash on TV, I think there's some informative stuff on PBS and History, etc. But you're right, it fosters inactivity.

[chad]

it's not in television's best interest to tell us the truth. if it told us the truth, we would quit watching it.

[Neuro]

I don't watch TV but I see it when visiting relatives. Incredibly boring for the most part and such a ripoff since so many of the shows are "reality based" and I'm sure could be put together on a small budget. The thing with TV is that it is rather hypnotizing. You can sit there and stare at the screen for a while and half an hour is gone, or an hour, or two hours. Most of it is BS but even if it was all truth I don't know how much good it would do because TV is a tool of inaction. If the TV makes someone mad the most they do is yell at the TV. It can't make people get up and do things (except to go somewhere else to sit, like a movie theater...)
There you have it! Absolutely right! It induces alpha waves of the brain, the brain waves starts oscillating at around 8 Hz. This is a hypnotic state, and if you are looking to influence someone without him or her reflecting, this is where you want your opponent.

[woodman]

...
Most of it is BS but even if it was all truth I don't know how much good it would do because TV is a tool of inaction. If the TV makes someone mad the most they do is yell at the TV. It can't make people get up and do things (except to go somewhere else to sit, like a movie theater...)


That's a good observation.

In spite of the amount of trash on TV, I think there's some informative stuff on PBS and History, etc. But you're right, it fosters inactivity.



I too, used to enjoy science, nature and especially history. I now see that much of what I was watching was severely slanted. It is still the best stuff on the tube though.

[Hatha Sunahara]

The news is presented to us as entertainment. The last thing the six major media corporations want is to educate us.

Occasionally I watch the Today show on NBC in the mornings. That program is produced by NBC News. Most of the staff are entertainers, not journalists. They trot out some of the entertainers on the Nightly News to fill in in the evening when Brian Williams is on vacation. The people who deliver the 'news' only need the ability to read a script. They are NEWS READERS--not journalists. Whoever writes that script includes all the biases, the evasions, the spin that will get you to see it the way they want you to see it. All the stories they tell you go through a filter and come out friendly to their agenda. If they can't achieve that result, they don't tell the story.

The one thing about all this that amazes me to no end is that the people who deliver the news actually believe that what they are telling us is the truth. This is how badly they are duped. And consequently how bad we are all duped. Their extreme high salaries insure they continue to be duped.

Hatha

[RJB]

Don't forget the world was supposed to end when the cold war heated... Oil embargo of the 70s... Y2K... Crazy Ronald Reagan... Stagflation in the late 70s/early eighties... The sins of Clinton... Recession of the early 90s... $4+ in 2009... Crash of 2008...

All these events are, are 1 degree temperature increases that the frog gets used to on his way to boiling.

[SLV^GLD]

The world has been "ending" for centuries. The important part about it is that the appropriate people were kept FEARFUL about this fact. The Teevee dispenses this fear in this era.

[Twisted Titan]

The one thing about all this that amazes me to no end is that the people who deliver the news actually believe that what they are telling us is the truth. This is how badly they are duped. And consequently how bad we are all duped. Their extreme high salaries insure they continue to be duped.

QFT.........


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t67Goh__MI

[woodman]

Thanks for posting that T. That was one of the stupidest string of statements I believe I have ever heard.

[Twisted Titan]

I want to laugh but honestly I get the chills

These are the people that are doling out financial advice upon which millions are banking their retirment on.

And people call us crazy for own Physical gold and silver and sticking it in a small hidey hole.

Its surreal when you really grasp the magnitude of it.

T