this weekend was a rorschach test

[pucho812]

Interesting phenomena happened this weekend.  While some  if not most of you may be aware, there was a march/marches that happened in Washington D.C. as part of the events after said march/marches a one minute video was up on the net and spreading like wildfire.  People were quick to have a  knee jerk reaction to it having one of the two parties at fault. . Soon after a longer video emerged showing a different side to the story.  which was then followed by an even longer video of the event.
While  most were quick to paint one side as guilty and evil because they stood their like a goof and wore a red hat,  I waited  for more info.  the 1 min clip was ambiguous at best to paint any real clear picture of fault.  Could a kid  with a smirk in front of a man beating a drum in his face really be as threatening and evil as the masses  made him out to be?  I had my doubts. 
Sure enough we now see the masses doing a back pedal and apology because it was not as nearly as cut and dried as they wanted it to be. Some are still doubling down on red hat must mean the kid is evil, and even others are reporting things that none of the videos of the event have produced such as they chanted build a wall. 
What is most interesting to me about this is how it basically is a rorschach test.  People see what they want to see from a video and or photos, from there you can tell a lot about a person. 
While I am not trying to open this to yet another political discussion I am finding humanity very fascination  these days and not for good reasons. 

 

[JohnRoberts]

Interesting phenomena happened this weekend.  While some  if not most of you may be aware, there was a march/marches that happened in Washington D.C. as part of the events after said march/marches a one minute video was up on the net and spreading like wildfire.  People were quick to have a  knee jerk reaction to it having one of the two parties at fault. . Soon after a longer video emerged showing a different side to the story.  which was then followed by an even longer video of the event.
While  most were quick to paint one side as guilty and evil because they stood their like a goof and wore a red hat,  I waited  for more info.  the 1 min clip was ambiguous at best to paint any real clear picture of fault.  Could a kid  with a smirk in front of a man beating a drum in his face really be as threatening and evil as the masses  made him out to be?  I had my doubts. 
Sure enough we now see the masses doing a back pedal and apology because it was not as nearly as cut and dried as they wanted it to be. Some are still doubling down on red hat must mean the kid is evil, and even others are reporting things that none of the videos of the event have produced such as they chanted build a wall. 
What is most interesting to me about this is how it basically is a rorschach test.  People see what they want to see from a video and or photos, from there you can tell a lot about a person. 
While I am not trying to open this to yet another political discussion I am finding humanity very fascination  these days and not for good reasons.

A popular recent explanation for this phenomenon from Dilbert cartoon creator Scott Adams is that different people see different movies in their head because of different preconceived notions and expectations from their unique life experience.  This is made worse when media talking heads from both extremes of the political spectrum push their personal movies exclusively.

I figured out back in the 60's from attending anti-war demonstrations (in Boston), then later reading the newspaper accounts or watching TV news about those same events I participated in. I was watching a different movie than they were. 

This is just life...  I have no shortage of my own opinions so don't need to search out opinions from others.  8)

JR

PS: Some of the stuff being promoted as "important" these days, just isn't IMO.

 

[pucho812]

Understood. It was just interesting to watch people go x happened when x didn't happen, y happened or whatever.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Understood. It was just interesting to watch people go x happened when x didn't happen, y happened or whatever.

The scary part is that happens all the time and only occasionally do we see the artifice of editing/perspective.  This is why politicians invest so much effort into getting positive photo ops and sound bites.  As soon as you put a camera in front of a politician it becomes an unbearable stream of talking points.

JR

 

[boji]

I waited  for more info. 

Right there with you, Pucho.  This one was a wild ride.

 

[boji]

It really should have been made into a comedy.

I mean, just look at it this way-  a large group of cul-de-sac catholic kids, raised on hail-marry's and guilt, have the tectonic plate sized bad luck of walking into earshot of a group of fiery-tonged zealots who have made it their mission to create the most linguistically unsafe space imaginable, and to top it off,  are charged by their religion to impress upon these kids the knowledge that they are the living embodiment of evil; the most cursed, vile bloodline on earth, and have been marked by god for destruction.

 

[living sounds]

I have read Scott Adams' book, and while containing some usefull information, it was also full of self-congratulation, motivated reasoning and pretty reckless whitewashing.

As for that incident in DC - another distraction from the dangerous, treasonous, cleptroctratic administration and the larger picture of +40 years of policies furthering inequality.  And the epic climate change catastrophe.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I have read Scott Adams' book, and while containing some usefull information, it was also full of self-congratulation, motivated reasoning and pretty reckless whitewashing.

I just gave him credit for the "two movies" concept that I thought was a smart observation about modern culture.

He brought that wit and those powers of observation to his comic strip which is why it was so good, but even it had high and low ebbs. I hope his book had a lot of cartoons in it.  8)

As for that incident in DC - another distraction from the dangerous, treasonous, cleptroctratic administration and the larger picture of +40 years of policies furthering inequality.  And the epic climate change catastrophe.

Sorry I'm pretty sure Pucho didn't intend to trigger you.  ;D

JR

 

[pucho812]

He brought that wit and those powers of observation to his comic strip which is why it was so good, but even it had high and low ebbs. I hope his book had a lot of cartoons in it.  8)Sorry I'm pretty sure Pucho intend to trigger you.  ;D

JR

Yeah lets trigger everybody then we can burn the place to the ground.  ;D
I don't think triggering people is thew answer to solving problems but now and then people do need to be pushed in order to get moving.  My main point, people will see what they wanted despite what the video actually shows and it shows a lot about folks. I still have people trying to convince me that  the kids said a specific phrase about a wall when in every video of the event I have seen,  there is not one clear instance that the phrase was said.  Maybe they did say it, who knows. I looked at the ink blots  and saw a bat.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Yeah lets trigger everybody then we can burn the place to the ground.  ;D
I don't think triggering people is thew answer to solving problems but now and then people do need to be pushed in order to get moving.  My main point people will see what they wanted despite what the video actually shows and it shows a lot about folks. I still have people trying to convince me that  the kids said a specific phrase about a wall when in every video of the event I have seen on the event  there is not one clear instance that the phrase was said.  Maybe they did say it, who knows. I looked at the ink blots  and saw a bat.

Oops, I meant Pucho "didn't" intend to trigger.... (a mental slip perhaps on my part?)

JR

 

[pucho812]

Oops, I meant Pucho "didn't" intend to trigger.... (a mental slip perhaps on my part?)

JR

what did you see in the ink blots?

 

[JohnRoberts]

what did you see in the ink blots?

I try to ignore the political media drama... identity politics on the steroids of a social media megaphone leads to all kinds of excess,  just like real steroids do inside our body.

Sadly this is quickly becoming the new normal and kids growing up today do not know anything different.

No wonder there is so much suicide, but I think all those starving dog charity commercials cause a few too... :

We need to remember that this is more like a family squabble between fellow citizens, than warfare with some evil external enemy (we already had our civil war, and hopefully learned to not repeat that).  The political class has been so hyperbolic for so long that they believe their own BS, and some partisan followers believe them too.

JR

PS: Speaking of civil war, Venezuela is heating up with the opposition leader in the assembly declaring himself the interim president, until a proper election can be held. The US government has already recognized him. BUT.... Maduro will not release the reins of power quietly and go gently into the night. Maduro forces put down one military uprising just a few days ago, so this isn't over until it is over. The people deserve some stability and a better future but this may not be it (yet), Millions down there hope it is, but Maduro has the guns. As often happens the military will probably decide how it goes and the Cuban security forces assisting Maduro have been watching the rest of the military for years.  I can't predict the outcome other than that more people could die than normal from starving and sub standard health care.  Good luck to the people, they are past due for some good news.

 

[dmp]

The media is not a public utility - it is a profit driven enterprise that has become entertainment driven. The more entertaining the news the better - not the most valid or important.

 

[Matador]

This appeared to me to be a large group of privileged white kids, from a school with a storied past in racially motivated behavior, acting like  the privileged white kids that they are.  The significance of the MAGA hats were certainly well-understood by the kids wearing them:  a bunch of blowhards sporting the official symbol of the blowhard-in-chief. 

Was their behavior the end of the world? No.  But it was neither unexpected nor surprising.

It's amusing that the real outrage here is the media reporting, not what the media was reporting on.  The kids are making the rounds on Fox News, and maybe even have a trip to the White House in the works.  Another case of 'failing upwards' I guess, given the same coverge of the Parkland shooting teenagers described them as, "Unorganized...out of control....too young to understand politics".

 

[JohnRoberts]

The media is not a public utility - it is a profit driven enterprise that has become entertainment driven. The more entertaining the news the better - not the most valid or important.

+1 follow the money, I have been saying this for years, but now we have an unholy alliance where not only media profits from controversy, but politicians also raise extra campaign money from the extra controversy....

Why would anyone in their right mind give politicians more money to create and run additional divisive ads with ???

JR

@ Matador,  are you critically looking at the same ink blot? 

 

[benb]

...
What is most interesting to me about this is how it basically is a rorschach test.  People see what they want to see from a video and or photos, from there you can tell a lot about a person. 
While I am not trying to open this to yet another political discussion I am finding humanity very fascination  these days and not for good reasons.

I remember this song on the radio when I was a child, it caught my ear then and it has rung true every time I've heard the song or thought about it. No doubt the idea was noticed well before the rorsharch test.

"Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

 

[Phrazemaster]

An important point oft missed is that media reporting is done solely for ratings - “truth” be damned. If media can edit clips and whip ppl into a frenzy they’re thrilled.

What’s sad is we still don’t seem to realize how badly they play us - even us around here.

The truth is often boring so why not make a scene?

 

[JohnRoberts]

An important point oft missed is that media reporting is done solely for ratings - “truth” be damned.

In truth they are a business so rewarded for higher ratings. This is not new, or news. Over the years there have been multiple events where fact checking was not diligent enough and blatant false news was reported. In the past this has resulted in several high profile reporters losing reputation and lucrative jobs (Dan Rather formerly at 60 minutes?). 

If media can edit clips and whip ppl into a frenzy they’re thrilled.

If events can be explained by ignorance, low IQ (not the same thing), and editorial sloppiness, that is preferable to me before ASSuming some massive conspiracy.  News is always trying to attract attention by harping on personal fears like tainted public food supply, random violence, natural disasters (including man made disasters), etc. TV news is all about the visuals, and invasive interviews of people suffering personal loss, when they should be given sympathy and space. 

What’s sad is we still don’t seem to realize how badly they play us - even us around here.

Even worse the talking head opinion leaders (spinners), say everybody but them are lying... which usually means they are lying.  It used to be relatively easy to fact check questionable stories, but now there are so many self-described fact checkers we need to fact check the fact checkers.  : 

One way to apply market intelligence to fact checking would be to have a gambling site where you can bet on the veracity of news stories. These are not infallible but would more accurately gauge public sentiment when they vote opinion with their own money.

The truth is often boring so why not make a scene?

I am disappointed that we have so many different news outlets all reporting the same one or two stories, sometimes even copying reporting mistakes made by each other.  There is a lot of real (important) news going on around the world that routinely gets ignored. 

Even worse IMO is how news media appears to be taking sides in political disputes. There has always been some subjectivity in reportage but not like today in my experience.

Trust but verify everything (including me).  8)

JR 

 

[boji]

with a storied past in racially motivated behavior

I'm intrested to read about the evidence that supports this.

It's amusing that the real outrage here is the media reporting, not what the media was reporting on.

I'm not outraged, just a little terrified that left-leaning news outlets are in lockstep with regard to softening or completely avoiding reporting on the hateful speech and racist goading of the Hebrew Israelites.  Just imagine if the words stayed the same, but the ethnicities of the groups involved had been reversed.

I took the time to watch the whole video (it is a slog and heartbreaking) and it chills me to the bone to see the majority of social media whistling past the graveyard on 95% of its content.

 

[Matador]

@ Matador,  are you critically looking at the same ink blot?

I watched a good deal of the videos online and stand by my assessment.

I'm intrested to read about the evidence that supports this.

Just Google 'Covington Catholic black face'.