I stalked you from Rory's blog. Wanted to see more from the person who came up with the piece about Troy Davis. You did not disappoint. I'm one of an endangered species ... a liberal old lady living in the state of (gasp!) Georgia.
What's stopping us? Maybe the fact that we've got our noses buried in electronic devices (including me on this computer, but that's because it's a slow Saturday night on the psych ward, amazingly enough, and everybody is locked in their non-padded cells.)
My co-worker tonight is a guy whose paranoia makes mine look tame by comparison (Alex Jones is too mild for him; he's more of a Jeff Rense "aliens walk among us" sorta guy). But even he makes sense sometimes. Tonight he was saying that America is an electronic concentration camp. (Funny how Canadians talk about American affairs as much as they talk about stuff in their own country.) His point was that Americans are in thrall to their devices; they're mesmerized, and it's an effective way to control them. Then he went off on a tangent about how the electromagnetic pulse in 2012 will set off mass panic and rioting and he no longer made any sense... The guy's pleasant, albeit chronically late to work, but Jeezis K. Riced, sometimes I think he should be a patient, not a psych worker.
Anyway, my point is that many people, especially the younger generation, are so wrapped up with texting and trivial pursuits on their phones that they no longer connect with the world around them. TV sedates and propagandizes people, but devices control their fingers and their eyes. My daughter, who was raised by two hyper-political parents, is that way. People are not going to march in the streets, or start burning shit down, as long as the glowing electrotit functions.
My hope is that social meeja somehow gets to represent enough of a threat to TPTB that they decide to shut it down, like BART did in San Francisco. Maybe then the mesmerized majority will awake from its dissipation. But the authorities are crafty. If they begin a clampdown, I'm sure they'll leave operative some diverting pabulum like Fakebook to mollify them.
Liked what Bukko C wrote.... In fact I was thinking a good halloween costume might be "cell phone zombie" someone walking not even looking where they are going staring into the little screen.....
But seriously I was going to answer "Fox News". WE need a new media outlet called "Outfoxed" maybe, that takes the live feed & calls bullshit on the stuff they are serving up to the masses. Lots of people assume if its on Tee Vee is must be true. A whole counter broadcast telling of facts rather than the fiction they spew.
The other thing is fear. I've often thought about what a revolution in this country might look like. My preference would be a non violent revolution, and what is the biggest target & of utmost importance??? According to much of the country, the answer would be: MONEY. So if the majority of Americans decided enough with the damned wars already, we just agreed we would not pay taxes until the troops are home. But in order for that to work, the vast majority would have to participate-- that is refuse to pay taxes, because ultimately, our taxes pay for the wars. I'd really rather have taxes pay for anything but war- including infrastructure, health care, education, even socialist programs like police, fire/ambulance & *libraries*. Just about anything but war.
But would I be willing to potentially lose the roof over my head? It's hard to think, if people are not even willing to take to the streets in a simple protest, how would they be so proactive as to join in on a civil (dis) obedience action?
In my mind's eye, the war & $ & effort put into it are all the elephant in the room/crux of the problem. W troops in Afgh, & Iraq, & all the $$$$ that takes, we could easily fund FEMA, and use those troops for domestic needs post disaster. I think Michael Moore's speech- AMERICA IS NOT BROKE sums it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgNuSEZ8CDw
I stalked you from Rory's blog. Wanted to see more from the person who came up with the piece about Troy Davis. You did not disappoint. I'm one of an endangered species ... a liberal old lady living in the state of (gasp!) Georgia.
ReplyDeleteWhat's stopping us? Maybe the fact that we've got our noses buried in electronic devices (including me on this computer, but that's because it's a slow Saturday night on the psych ward, amazingly enough, and everybody is locked in their non-padded cells.)
ReplyDeleteMy co-worker tonight is a guy whose paranoia makes mine look tame by comparison (Alex Jones is too mild for him; he's more of a Jeff Rense "aliens walk among us" sorta guy). But even he makes sense sometimes. Tonight he was saying that America is an electronic concentration camp. (Funny how Canadians talk about American affairs as much as they talk about stuff in their own country.) His point was that Americans are in thrall to their devices; they're mesmerized, and it's an effective way to control them. Then he went off on a tangent about how the electromagnetic pulse in 2012 will set off mass panic and rioting and he no longer made any sense... The guy's pleasant, albeit chronically late to work, but Jeezis K. Riced, sometimes I think he should be a patient, not a psych worker.
Anyway, my point is that many people, especially the younger generation, are so wrapped up with texting and trivial pursuits on their phones that they no longer connect with the world around them. TV sedates and propagandizes people, but devices control their fingers and their eyes. My daughter, who was raised by two hyper-political parents, is that way. People are not going to march in the streets, or start burning shit down, as long as the glowing electrotit functions.
My hope is that social meeja somehow gets to represent enough of a threat to TPTB that they decide to shut it down, like BART did in San Francisco. Maybe then the mesmerized majority will awake from its dissipation. But the authorities are crafty. If they begin a clampdown, I'm sure they'll leave operative some diverting pabulum like Fakebook to mollify them.
Nice one, BG.
ReplyDeleteDead on.
S
Liked what Bukko C wrote.... In fact I was thinking a good halloween costume might be "cell phone zombie" someone walking not even looking where they are going staring into the little screen.....
ReplyDeleteBut seriously I was going to answer "Fox News".
WE need a new media outlet called "Outfoxed" maybe, that takes the live feed & calls bullshit on the stuff they are serving up to the masses. Lots of people assume if its on Tee Vee is must be true. A whole counter broadcast telling of facts rather than the fiction they spew.
The other thing is fear.
I've often thought about what a revolution in this country might look like. My preference would be a non violent revolution, and what is the biggest target & of utmost importance???
According to much of the country, the answer would be: MONEY.
So if the majority of Americans decided enough with the damned wars already, we just agreed we would not pay taxes until the troops are home.
But in order for that to work, the vast majority would have to participate-- that is refuse to pay taxes, because ultimately, our taxes pay for the wars. I'd really rather have taxes pay for anything but war- including infrastructure, health care, education, even socialist programs like police, fire/ambulance & *libraries*. Just about anything but war.
But would I be willing to potentially lose the roof over my head? It's hard to think, if people are not even willing to take to the streets in a simple protest, how would they be so proactive as to join in on a civil (dis) obedience action?
In my mind's eye, the war & $ & effort put into it are all the elephant in the room/crux of the problem. W troops in Afgh, & Iraq, & all the $$$$ that takes, we could easily fund FEMA, and use those troops for domestic needs post disaster. I think Michael Moore's speech- AMERICA IS NOT BROKE sums it up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgNuSEZ8CDw
WE have money, it is just grossly mismanaged.
I recently heard the point made that there are two great superpowers left in the world - the American government, and We The People.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that we've been so lobotomized that we don't seem to have the wits to save ourselves.
Thank you for keeping up the fight; it would be so awfully lonely doing this alone.