Around ten years ago, I walked into a 24-hour watch center with a dozen people there....glued to one particular TV screen in the middle of the room. The display was a live car chase in the mid-day hours.....somewhere in central California....and the cops after some idiot. No one was doing anything but paying attention to the chase, and I stood there with them.....watching the 'doomed' chase continue. Eventually, the cops caught up with the idiot and set some dog on him to tackle him to the ground after the car simply stopped. This consumed around ten minutes of our time....watching this unfold.
One of the watch-people and I conversed about this after the event. He noted that this happens around an average of five times a week as far as he knows, and each time it comes on live.....they all stop and watch the event. I asked....is there anything that you really get out of this, or is it like an episode of 'Demolition-Derby'? He mostly grinned and agreed, that was exactly what drew him to the event.
Around a year ago, I tried to watch CNN. It was a mid-day hour, and their focus was another full hour of 'Trump-porn'. Five experts....going in a circle....all focused on the great downfall of Trump.
There are two groups within this CNN 'circle'. One group consists of the news journalists themselves....who show up daily and take what they have....to build a full hour of 'doom'.
The second group are the 'consumers' at home (the viewers) who are locked in and have to watch each gripping hour of 'Trump-porn' to fulfill their desires.
Maybe in 2017, they were mildly into the act, but we are in the midst of the 4th year, and frankly....some of these people are on the verge of a 'melt-down'.
I noticed last night (via Twitter) that CNN's Brian Stelter was describing his mental condition, and laying out what was a lite version of a emotional breakdown. Between the Corona-doom, the death-doom, and the Trump-porn....he was now at some low-point.
What was shocking, via Twitter.....after he admitted this.....various people came up to admit the same feeling.....hopelessness and despair. The evil-Trump, the deaths on all sides, and just plain utter fear in dealing with all of this.
In the middle of these Twitter-feelings....some guy finally stood up and said....'why don't you guys just turn the TV off and do some actual work'?
The problem here is that people across the nation....maybe numbering into the five to ten million....are in great despair, and via CNN and the other 'services'....they are binge-watching all of this and reaching some mental stage where they can't handle things. Tomorrow will come, and they will turn the TV on to watch Trump-porn, death-doom, Corona-doom, and conversations between experts on all this stuff.
Even if they were able to convince people to all vote for Biden....relieving everyone of the Trump-porn....then you'd wake up to realize that Biden doesn't have much of an answer, and we'd get introduced to Biden-porn.
There's something wrong here, but we haven't grasped that angle of the problem yet.
1 comment:
Over here in our rather large American expat community in Berlin I have noticed much the same. I credit NPR (KCRW from CA) with playing the role of CNN. No matter what time of day or night you turn on the radio it is TDS and doom and gloom non-stop.
There are a few of us who remain "normal" in that our lives have not become obsessed with getting rid of Orange Man Bad and the evil conservatives. For the record, I considered Obama to be a very terrible leader but managed to not let him live in my head but rather worked toward the next election which brought us "The Donald" instead of America's ex-wife!
I tend to let the majority live in their echo chamber and just grin and am waiting for the day after the election in November. I suspect I will spend hours looking at the "election porn videos" on YouTube and wonder when everyone is going to leave planet Earth as promised if the Donald is reelected.
Really enjoy your blogs. First thing reads most mornings.
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