Thursday, March 20, 2008
How about a serious boycott?
As of this writing, tomorrow there will be a 24-hour boycott of Live Journal to protest recent changes made by the new owners of the site. While I personally don't have a problem with LJ I am supporting the boycott by not posting from 5pm this evening to 5pm tomorrow evening. I won't be reading the site or commenting on anyone's post.
But how about joining me (and thousands of others as it turns out,) in a serious boycott – that of American TV and American mass media. I have boycotted American TV, (especially the "news,") for about two years now, and it feels good. I don't care who wins "American Idol" or wish to hear the latest lie Fox News is making up about Obama. The one or two decent programs that are on will be released on DVD eventually. All I have to do is be patient.
"American mass media is all about fear and consumption. We give you a little fear, then 'buy the Acura,' then more fear, then 'use Colgate toothpaste or that girl won't fuck you,' then more fear.."
(Marylyn Manson as interviewed by Michael Moore in the documentary; "Bowling For Columbine.")
Mr. Manson, (the singer quoted above, not the nut-job with the swastika carved in his forehead,) is an incredibly astute and erudite gentleman. He became the target of the grieving Columbine families when they were looking for anyone other than themselves to blame for what happened.
But he was so right about American media – Fear and Consumption. That's what it's all about, and it's become much worse since 9/11. Fox News (Faux News) are the kings and queens of this tactic. Their hate and anger is thinly disguised fear of anyone who has different ideas than they do. Long before I stopped watching TV I had already stopped watching Faux News.
It's been about two years now and I can tell you that I don't miss TV at all. The few shows that I may want to watch get released on DVD eventually, but I find even those are becoming less and less important to me.
I have plenty of books and writing projects to keep me busy. I love listening to music and playing my drum set. I enjoy spending time with my friends. TV has become something I look upon as a "time-waster," and a bad one at that. The last time I was in the Emergency Room I wanted to be admitted just to escape the fucking TV in the waiting room.
Back when I stopped watching TV my friends kept mentioning the few shows that had a little merit, to which I replied with the DVD release argument.
Now, two short years later, at least 4 or 5 of those friends have announced to me they have stopped watching TV and stopped reading American news outlets, (the printed toxicity that augments the broadcasted toxicity.) It gratifies me that they have become as sick and tired of the negativity as I have.
When I was a kid I was a TV "junkie." (This was long before there was a computer in every home.) TV was crap back then and I've been amazed at how much worse it had become when I stopped watching.
I believe our mass media is not only toxic to it's viewers/readers, but is so hopelessly poisoned that only complete destruction will solve the problem. Once those poisonous media outlets, (Faux News, NY Times,) have been destroyed we can build new media sources that are not run by men so distasteful you would not invite into your home.
Because that is what we need. American mass media is so hopelessly poisoned that we must let the "patient" die so it can be replaced by a new media outlet that is not just another corporate stooge. It's been proven that any news outlet controlled by a large corporation is an enemy to democracy and to the American people at large.
Those who run these toxic media outlets see their viewing/reading numbers dwindling. They want more viewers, but they fail to realize they have alienated many Americans with their lies and negativity. In other words, they just don't get it.
Personally, I don't care. I have no desire to educate Rupert Murdoch. I want to see his Faux Networks lose viewers and money until it's worth less than my sweat socks. I have no desire to try and help these agencies "change their ways," mostly because they won't. I don't think they could emulate responsible journalism even if they tried.
So join me. Use your monitor only to play a DVD. Ignore large news web sites. Sometimes something happens that is so big that we need to tune in just to find out what's happened, (like 9/11.) But those news days are few and far between, (thank the universe.)
Believe me, you won't be missing anything.
As of this writing, tomorrow there will be a 24-hour boycott of Live Journal to protest recent changes made by the new owners of the site. While I personally don't have a problem with LJ I am supporting the boycott by not posting from 5pm this evening to 5pm tomorrow evening. I won't be reading the site or commenting on anyone's post.
But how about joining me (and thousands of others as it turns out,) in a serious boycott – that of American TV and American mass media. I have boycotted American TV, (especially the "news,") for about two years now, and it feels good. I don't care who wins "American Idol" or wish to hear the latest lie Fox News is making up about Obama. The one or two decent programs that are on will be released on DVD eventually. All I have to do is be patient.
"American mass media is all about fear and consumption. We give you a little fear, then 'buy the Acura,' then more fear, then 'use Colgate toothpaste or that girl won't fuck you,' then more fear.."
(Marylyn Manson as interviewed by Michael Moore in the documentary; "Bowling For Columbine.")
Mr. Manson, (the singer quoted above, not the nut-job with the swastika carved in his forehead,) is an incredibly astute and erudite gentleman. He became the target of the grieving Columbine families when they were looking for anyone other than themselves to blame for what happened.
But he was so right about American media – Fear and Consumption. That's what it's all about, and it's become much worse since 9/11. Fox News (Faux News) are the kings and queens of this tactic. Their hate and anger is thinly disguised fear of anyone who has different ideas than they do. Long before I stopped watching TV I had already stopped watching Faux News.
It's been about two years now and I can tell you that I don't miss TV at all. The few shows that I may want to watch get released on DVD eventually, but I find even those are becoming less and less important to me.
I have plenty of books and writing projects to keep me busy. I love listening to music and playing my drum set. I enjoy spending time with my friends. TV has become something I look upon as a "time-waster," and a bad one at that. The last time I was in the Emergency Room I wanted to be admitted just to escape the fucking TV in the waiting room.
Back when I stopped watching TV my friends kept mentioning the few shows that had a little merit, to which I replied with the DVD release argument.
Now, two short years later, at least 4 or 5 of those friends have announced to me they have stopped watching TV and stopped reading American news outlets, (the printed toxicity that augments the broadcasted toxicity.) It gratifies me that they have become as sick and tired of the negativity as I have.
When I was a kid I was a TV "junkie." (This was long before there was a computer in every home.) TV was crap back then and I've been amazed at how much worse it had become when I stopped watching.
I believe our mass media is not only toxic to it's viewers/readers, but is so hopelessly poisoned that only complete destruction will solve the problem. Once those poisonous media outlets, (Faux News, NY Times,) have been destroyed we can build new media sources that are not run by men so distasteful you would not invite into your home.
Because that is what we need. American mass media is so hopelessly poisoned that we must let the "patient" die so it can be replaced by a new media outlet that is not just another corporate stooge. It's been proven that any news outlet controlled by a large corporation is an enemy to democracy and to the American people at large.
Those who run these toxic media outlets see their viewing/reading numbers dwindling. They want more viewers, but they fail to realize they have alienated many Americans with their lies and negativity. In other words, they just don't get it.
Personally, I don't care. I have no desire to educate Rupert Murdoch. I want to see his Faux Networks lose viewers and money until it's worth less than my sweat socks. I have no desire to try and help these agencies "change their ways," mostly because they won't. I don't think they could emulate responsible journalism even if they tried.
So join me. Use your monitor only to play a DVD. Ignore large news web sites. Sometimes something happens that is so big that we need to tune in just to find out what's happened, (like 9/11.) But those news days are few and far between, (thank the universe.)
Believe me, you won't be missing anything.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
This is the kind of "journalism" that bugs the shit out of me:
Homeless By The Bay
This is the typical yuppie-piece-of-shit-attitude that makes San Francisco a poorer place to live. 'I have my nice job and house and I hate being inconvenienced by people who aren't as fortunate as I am. Can't the police just drag them away somewhere and beat the shit out of them so they don't come back?'
Now I don't like aggressive pan-handlers anymore than I like the selfish yuppies, but when I see someone less fortunate than I, I'm reminded of something my mother used to say:
"There but for the grace of god go I."
The kind of people like the author of the above-referenced article don't think about combat vets who come home with terrible emotional problems faced with a government and a populace that doesn't care about them. They also fail to recognize that drug and alcohol addiction is a disease, (according to the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association.) Nor that drug addiction is often the symptom of emotional illness that's going untreated, (known as self-medicating.)
Maybe a little more compassion and caring instead of a bad attitude might encourage these fortunate souls to try and do something to improve the situation overall, but like those poor souls forced to live on our mean streets, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
Homeless By The Bay
This is the typical yuppie-piece-of-shit-attitude that makes San Francisco a poorer place to live. 'I have my nice job and house and I hate being inconvenienced by people who aren't as fortunate as I am. Can't the police just drag them away somewhere and beat the shit out of them so they don't come back?'
Now I don't like aggressive pan-handlers anymore than I like the selfish yuppies, but when I see someone less fortunate than I, I'm reminded of something my mother used to say:
"There but for the grace of god go I."
The kind of people like the author of the above-referenced article don't think about combat vets who come home with terrible emotional problems faced with a government and a populace that doesn't care about them. They also fail to recognize that drug and alcohol addiction is a disease, (according to the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association.) Nor that drug addiction is often the symptom of emotional illness that's going untreated, (known as self-medicating.)
Maybe a little more compassion and caring instead of a bad attitude might encourage these fortunate souls to try and do something to improve the situation overall, but like those poor souls forced to live on our mean streets, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
