Hailing Frequencies are open Captain!
I'm back! I haven't really been away physically, but I didn't have broadband access for almost two weeks. I don't like to think I'm addicted to broadband but...
I switched from my long time provider to a new one and the dreaded SBC messed up the order. I tried to post with a 28.8 modem, but it was painful to upload. I even went to the public library once to read my email. What a nightmare! (Not really, it's not like I'm living in a house with no water or electricity like the people in the newly free Iraq!)
I've been thinking a lot while I haven't been posting. Came up with lots of great opening sentences. Felt a lot of anger and a lot of frustration. I've wanted to argue with people, scream at right wing hate radio people, but kept wondering "What's the point?"
Why not argue? One, I usually prefer to teach and persuade. Two, I don't enjoy arguing, and even if you "win" it's hard to know if the exercise will lead to changed positions or to more intractable positions and alienation.
I want to enlighten, not embitter people. But that doesn't mean I don't crave the chance to give the big smack down to people who are spewing their horrific smears in the media or on blogs.
And I'll admit that sometimes the smack-down is satisfying even if you know that it won't lead to changing anyone's mind. Lame radio hosts like Brian Sussman or Lars Larson WANT to elicit a reaction. They WANT to engage with others to give themselves a chance to "win" the discussion. To them it is a form of entertainment that should lead to ratings points. File this behaviour under the category of, "Let's give the people a good cat fight!".
For years it seemed okay to ignore these people as simply sideshow freaks out to stir the pot for the sake of pot stirring, but along the way it turned out that people actually used these slippy hosts for information! It came as a shock to many rational people that, yes there really ARE people who BELIEVE this craziness! Busy people who were not critical thinkers used the phrases and arguments of these people as placeholders in their brain for where the real viewpoints should live. There has been a mass brain imprinting happening across the country. It has taken hold with the non-critical thinkers first. Along the way intelligent people have been paid to buoy up the ideas.
It is one thing if people are not very bright or very moral, but it is another thing to see people using their intellect and power of communication to support so many horrible viewpoints.
(Do you remember the story about when Mike Judge created Bevis and Butthead he said he was shocked how many people identified with them and didn't realize he was mocking them! I sometimes wonder if in a quiet moment some of these hosts don't wonder about the sanity of their fans or the monstrous ideas they have given people permission to unleash. But here I am giving these people credit for enlightened behavior. Maybe they are simply small-minded, hateful, twisted jerks.)
The issue is always how to disarm the spewers effectively. Envision the spewers as karate students at the dojo. They have attacked and are waiting for an attack back. They might have a black belt in flipping stories and twisting the truth. I would prefer to simple point out that the dojo floor they are standing on is a watery dung heap and if I run to attack him, I too will be a covered with filth. What I want to be able to do is find a way to point out to the rest of the people in the dojo is this: Do we really need to fight here? Doesn't he look ridiculous standing on his dung heap screaming challenges? Why would you want to listen to a dung covered screamer anyway? Are there other ways to defeat him that are unexpected, or clever?
See, Kirk has the right idea here, Karate guy uses his feet, Kirk uses a phaser, game over.
So here I am again adding my voice. Still frustrated, still angry still trying to articulate my thoughts to bring meaning to the chaos which hopefully will lead to skillful action on my part as well as others. But I really long for a Jon Stewart moment like the one he had with Tucker Carlson. I want to see these jerks get their comeuppance, I want truth to told, and ACTED on. I'll mediate on what form the comeuppance might hold. As always your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
Thanks for stopping by.
Spocko
I switched from my long time provider to a new one and the dreaded SBC messed up the order. I tried to post with a 28.8 modem, but it was painful to upload. I even went to the public library once to read my email. What a nightmare! (Not really, it's not like I'm living in a house with no water or electricity like the people in the newly free Iraq!)
I've been thinking a lot while I haven't been posting. Came up with lots of great opening sentences. Felt a lot of anger and a lot of frustration. I've wanted to argue with people, scream at right wing hate radio people, but kept wondering "What's the point?"
Why not argue? One, I usually prefer to teach and persuade. Two, I don't enjoy arguing, and even if you "win" it's hard to know if the exercise will lead to changed positions or to more intractable positions and alienation.
I want to enlighten, not embitter people. But that doesn't mean I don't crave the chance to give the big smack down to people who are spewing their horrific smears in the media or on blogs.
And I'll admit that sometimes the smack-down is satisfying even if you know that it won't lead to changing anyone's mind. Lame radio hosts like Brian Sussman or Lars Larson WANT to elicit a reaction. They WANT to engage with others to give themselves a chance to "win" the discussion. To them it is a form of entertainment that should lead to ratings points. File this behaviour under the category of, "Let's give the people a good cat fight!".
For years it seemed okay to ignore these people as simply sideshow freaks out to stir the pot for the sake of pot stirring, but along the way it turned out that people actually used these slippy hosts for information! It came as a shock to many rational people that, yes there really ARE people who BELIEVE this craziness! Busy people who were not critical thinkers used the phrases and arguments of these people as placeholders in their brain for where the real viewpoints should live. There has been a mass brain imprinting happening across the country. It has taken hold with the non-critical thinkers first. Along the way intelligent people have been paid to buoy up the ideas.
It is one thing if people are not very bright or very moral, but it is another thing to see people using their intellect and power of communication to support so many horrible viewpoints.
(Do you remember the story about when Mike Judge created Bevis and Butthead he said he was shocked how many people identified with them and didn't realize he was mocking them! I sometimes wonder if in a quiet moment some of these hosts don't wonder about the sanity of their fans or the monstrous ideas they have given people permission to unleash. But here I am giving these people credit for enlightened behavior. Maybe they are simply small-minded, hateful, twisted jerks.)
The issue is always how to disarm the spewers effectively. Envision the spewers as karate students at the dojo. They have attacked and are waiting for an attack back. They might have a black belt in flipping stories and twisting the truth. I would prefer to simple point out that the dojo floor they are standing on is a watery dung heap and if I run to attack him, I too will be a covered with filth. What I want to be able to do is find a way to point out to the rest of the people in the dojo is this: Do we really need to fight here? Doesn't he look ridiculous standing on his dung heap screaming challenges? Why would you want to listen to a dung covered screamer anyway? Are there other ways to defeat him that are unexpected, or clever?
See, Kirk has the right idea here, Karate guy uses his feet, Kirk uses a phaser, game over.
So here I am again adding my voice. Still frustrated, still angry still trying to articulate my thoughts to bring meaning to the chaos which hopefully will lead to skillful action on my part as well as others. But I really long for a Jon Stewart moment like the one he had with Tucker Carlson. I want to see these jerks get their comeuppance, I want truth to told, and ACTED on. I'll mediate on what form the comeuppance might hold. As always your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
Thanks for stopping by.
Spocko
4 Comments:
Welcome back, Spocko! Your pearls of wisdom were missed. Just this evening, at the dinner table, I said to my family, "I wonder what Spocko would say about this?!" Now we can read and find out the latest news.
Grade School Teach
Hurray! Glad you are back and still searching for the truth. I'll say something zenlike and profound now like: The Quest IS the Journey, and when you get there ...uh... you will know what you know. Or something. So there. You must continue to blog because it is ...ah... your destiny.
Truly glad you are all right and still sane after two weeks without a broadband fix.
Good to have you back Spocko! I would also say that without argument, we would never find truth. An unchallenged thought is no more useful than a lie.
Good to see you're okay, spocko!
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