when you watch the news...
$Zero
do you suppose that everyone else watching is as smart as you?
i don't.
they just can't be.
it's impossible.
(judging by what people derive by their exposure to all the bullshit).
people watching the news just cannot be as smart as moi.
you probably feel differently.
like most, you're probably swayed by most of the bullshit you see on
the news.
no doubt, you're even more persuaded by the bullshit you read from
journalists, etc..
i'm not.
not in the least bit.
and when i think about all of this, it kinda makes me laugh.
because i think about who they are targeting with all of their
bullshit.
saps like you.
...
i think about all of those focus groups they use.
and how easy they are to deceive.
(a cross section of America and whonot).
yep.
they gather up all of these regular working folks (and sophisticated
folks, and educated folks, etc.) and bring them into a big comfy room
with audience chairs to watch a big screen, and they give them each a
joystick to play with during the speechs, debates, news reports, talk
show banter, and whatnot.
movie cuts, pilot tv shows, etc.
for instance, while the political candidates make speeches, the focus
group peeps pump the buttons on their joysticks when they approve of
what's being said.
the more they approve, the harder they press the buttons.
or somesuch.
thus generating "data".
later, one of the gregarious talking heads grabs their friendly hand
mic and interviews these peeps on the fly, asking important questions,
showing the response graphs, etc..
(often, before and after, some even regroup for each new event).
(to show how they've changed their "minds").
it's all very impromptu.
...
yep, i think about those focus groups.
and how easy they are to deceive.
but then i think, well, why are they actually showing all of us
viewers just how stupid the people in focus groups are?
that's when i remember that most people aren't nearly as smart as moi.
most people are actually _persuaded_ by the focus groups, FFS.
they actually relate to their "counterparts" in the focus groups.
(and/or respond accordingly to those people whom they greatly dislike
in the focus groups).
it's all very amusing.
yet sad.
...
the more sophisticated mankind gets,
the less sophisticated mankind gets.
it's a hoot.
...
smart people are often far more gullible than the idiots.
(hence the nature of our education system).
that's part of why i dropped out early on.
well, that and because i prefered a six-pack of beer to a stack of
textbooks.
the universe is a marvelous place to behold, and learn about.
all of us people and our daily goings on and whatnot.
holding hands, and kissing, and making love on the beach.
telling eachother our stories by a campfire...
and falling asleep under the stars.
(laughing about the focus groups).
waking up in the morning and having breakfast.
and a shower or a swim.
walking around helping eachother get by somehow.
then lunch.
and then some more walking around.
...
-$Zero...
your last writing for 2007
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/a04696cf213c9a42