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eavesdropper
Participant[quote=faterikcartman]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2024690/UK-riots-2011-Britains-liberal-intelligentsia-smashed-virtually-social-value.html
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2011-08-10.html%5B/quote%5D
faterik, I hadn’t read these when I penned my response to Allan last night, in which I took exception to Mr. Hastings’ dogged insistence on aiming his spotlight of blame on the U.K’s “welfare class”. I stated that, while I realized that Mr. Hastings was discussing the youth of England, with whom I am not on first-name basis, I am familiar with the qualities of American youth, and while they are scarily similar to those mentioned by Mr. Hastings, they are not limited to the youth of our “welfare class”, but fairly evenly distributed across all socioeconomic classes and cultural situations.
I’m not sure of your reason for including these additional articles, but I sincerely hope that it was not to support the points made by Max Hastings. Despite his propensity to focus solely on youthful members of a single socioeconomic segment of society, he did attempt to delve a bit deeper into the subject matter, while refraining from seriously over-the-top stereotyping, than the title of the piece would have us believe.
The same cannot be said for the articles by Melanie Phillips and Ann Coulter. I fail to see how anyone of reasonable intellect can take the missives of these two “writers” seriously. Ms. Coulter’s pieces are so badly written and poorly supported that, every time I manage to read one, it seems that the author has inserted a subliminal message that is screaming, “This is a fake, just like all the ones that came before, and I’m just waiting for one of you idiots to call me on it so that I’ll be forced out of journalism, thereby permitting my fulltime indulgence in bulimia and my black leather fetish.”
Likewise, Ms. Phillips performs an admirable job of tying up the reasons and blame for the rioting in one neat little package of anger and irrationality. Indeed, I confess to being intrigued by the titles of many of her other columns, the links to which conveniently placed close by. Reading one after the other was like consuming a box of cheap chocolates: the outside appearance of the first lures you into its consumption, but the lack of quality ingredients leaves you feeling unsatisfied and a little queasy, and by the time you’ve eaten several, you come to the realization that they all taste the same, and that you’re sick because you’ve consumed way too much crap.
Like Ms. Coulter’s, Ms. Phillips’ “message” is composed of the same incredibly simplistic stereotypes and catch-phrases, and unfettered by anything resembling academic research or empirical evidence. Like Ms. Coulter, she delivers that same message in a violent and hurtful fashion that leaves permanent damage. Like Ms. Coulter, she is noncontrite and unapologetic, unyielding in her insistence that she is right, and defiant in her belief that she is relevant. Unfortunately, Ms. Phillips’ and Ms. Coulter’s editors, and those of other media outlets appear only too willing to reinforce those beliefs. In the process of giving these bitter, deluded women, who are completely devoid of writing talent and incapable of critical thought, an enormous platform from which they are able to continue the dissemination of their vitriolic prose.
ParticipantHere on the other side of the world (D.C.), we’re seeing the same thing: malls packed, high-end stores not only staying in business, but opening more branches, Whole Foods selling out of $3.00 Mexican mangos and $7.00 boxed cereals. The bridal/prom business hasn’t taken a hit yet; in fact, their profits have increased at an impressive rate. What really floors me , however, is the number of new – AND very expensive – cars on the Washington beltway (and all other area roads). When we bought our Prius a couple years back, credit was still extremely tight following the screwups and bailouts. Yet, the dealer confirmed that $40,000 & $50,000 models were flying out the door. The streets of local middle- and working-class suburbs are filled with almost new fully-loaded oversized pickups that are utilized as personal/family vehicles: the average new F-350 Super-Duty is much more likely to have a payload of a gallon of milk and a couple bags of chips than it is to be carrying 30 bags of Sakrete, a pallet of pavers, and a ton of rip-rap.
The latest fast-growing trend in these parts is the two-truck family, in which the responsible parents have determined that the need for both mom and dad to each have a full-size shiny pickup to commute to their office jobs outweighs the concern for the safety and comfort of their 3 or 4 small children who are crowded into the rear truck cab seat where, although they may be forced to share seatbelts, they get to watch videos on the aftermarket DVD players that are just like the ones that dad and mom use in the front. Between the monthly installments on two truck loans, high-interest payments on the credit card used to pay the aftermarket installer, and the twice-weekly gas fill-ups, some area families are paying far more for transportation than they are for shelter.
I know that the job situation here is a little more stable than other areas of the country because of the availability of jobs with the federal government and government contractors. But there’s been plenty of layoffs, and no shortage of peoples who have been laid off for two years and over. I honestly don’t know where the money’s coming from. Housing sales are not terribly brisk, and some neighborhoods are showing significant deterioration due to homeowner property neglect. But from the looks of things, you’d never know that we’re experiencing a severe recession. The crowded shopping malls can be explained by behavior prior to the financial crisis: for many, many people here, shopping was their religion, and they came to the malls to worship. Many had inadequate incomes back then, also, but were able to acquire an endless supply of large-limit credit cards with which they could convince themselves and others of their affluence. Our malls were packed to their limits all the time back then, and articles in local publications featured residents who proudly confessed to spending 20 to 30 hours, or more, per week shopping. Since these people had no other activities in their lives, I didn’t expect an overnight change. But shopping addicts aren’t the same as “window shoppers”: shopping addiction is based on self-gratification, which requires the satisfying of several conditions – most notably, a purchase. I confess to being puzzled by the continuing crowded conditions at the mall, unless it is a case of power shoppers who come in on Saturday and buy stuff, and then come back a few days later to return it. That would certainly explain the low profits for retail.
But the whole new car/truck thing – and not just new, but new *expensive* – has me utterly perplexed. You can’t just stuff one of those in a shopping bag with the receipt, and bring it back to the retailer for a refund. Dealers are selling, and customers are buying, in a big way. The demand is so great that a huge automall is currently being built along the Beltway.
Just curious: Is this the case in SoCal?
ParticipantHere on the other side of the world (D.C.), we’re seeing the same thing: malls packed, high-end stores not only staying in business, but opening more branches, Whole Foods selling out of $3.00 Mexican mangos and $7.00 boxed cereals. The bridal/prom business hasn’t taken a hit yet; in fact, their profits have increased at an impressive rate. What really floors me , however, is the number of new – AND very expensive – cars on the Washington beltway (and all other area roads). When we bought our Prius a couple years back, credit was still extremely tight following the screwups and bailouts. Yet, the dealer confirmed that $40,000 & $50,000 models were flying out the door. The streets of local middle- and working-class suburbs are filled with almost new fully-loaded oversized pickups that are utilized as personal/family vehicles: the average new F-350 Super-Duty is much more likely to have a payload of a gallon of milk and a couple bags of chips than it is to be carrying 30 bags of Sakrete, a pallet of pavers, and a ton of rip-rap.
The latest fast-growing trend in these parts is the two-truck family, in which the responsible parents have determined that the need for both mom and dad to each have a full-size shiny pickup to commute to their office jobs outweighs the concern for the safety and comfort of their 3 or 4 small children who are crowded into the rear truck cab seat where, although they may be forced to share seatbelts, they get to watch videos on the aftermarket DVD players that are just like the ones that dad and mom use in the front. Between the monthly installments on two truck loans, high-interest payments on the credit card used to pay the aftermarket installer, and the twice-weekly gas fill-ups, some area families are paying far more for transportation than they are for shelter.
I know that the job situation here is a little more stable than other areas of the country because of the availability of jobs with the federal government and government contractors. But there’s been plenty of layoffs, and no shortage of peoples who have been laid off for two years and over. I honestly don’t know where the money’s coming from. Housing sales are not terribly brisk, and some neighborhoods are showing significant deterioration due to homeowner property neglect. But from the looks of things, you’d never know that we’re experiencing a severe recession. The crowded shopping malls can be explained by behavior prior to the financial crisis: for many, many people here, shopping was their religion, and they came to the malls to worship. Many had inadequate incomes back then, also, but were able to acquire an endless supply of large-limit credit cards with which they could convince themselves and others of their affluence. Our malls were packed to their limits all the time back then, and articles in local publications featured residents who proudly confessed to spending 20 to 30 hours, or more, per week shopping. Since these people had no other activities in their lives, I didn’t expect an overnight change. But shopping addicts aren’t the same as “window shoppers”: shopping addiction is based on self-gratification, which requires the satisfying of several conditions – most notably, a purchase. I confess to being puzzled by the continuing crowded conditions at the mall, unless it is a case of power shoppers who come in on Saturday and buy stuff, and then come back a few days later to return it. That would certainly explain the low profits for retail.
But the whole new car/truck thing – and not just new, but new *expensive* – has me utterly perplexed. You can’t just stuff one of those in a shopping bag with the receipt, and bring it back to the retailer for a refund. Dealers are selling, and customers are buying, in a big way. The demand is so great that a huge automall is currently being built along the Beltway.
Just curious: Is this the case in SoCal?
ParticipantHere on the other side of the world (D.C.), we’re seeing the same thing: malls packed, high-end stores not only staying in business, but opening more branches, Whole Foods selling out of $3.00 Mexican mangos and $7.00 boxed cereals. The bridal/prom business hasn’t taken a hit yet; in fact, their profits have increased at an impressive rate. What really floors me , however, is the number of new – AND very expensive – cars on the Washington beltway (and all other area roads). When we bought our Prius a couple years back, credit was still extremely tight following the screwups and bailouts. Yet, the dealer confirmed that $40,000 & $50,000 models were flying out the door. The streets of local middle- and working-class suburbs are filled with almost new fully-loaded oversized pickups that are utilized as personal/family vehicles: the average new F-350 Super-Duty is much more likely to have a payload of a gallon of milk and a couple bags of chips than it is to be carrying 30 bags of Sakrete, a pallet of pavers, and a ton of rip-rap.
The latest fast-growing trend in these parts is the two-truck family, in which the responsible parents have determined that the need for both mom and dad to each have a full-size shiny pickup to commute to their office jobs outweighs the concern for the safety and comfort of their 3 or 4 small children who are crowded into the rear truck cab seat where, although they may be forced to share seatbelts, they get to watch videos on the aftermarket DVD players that are just like the ones that dad and mom use in the front. Between the monthly installments on two truck loans, high-interest payments on the credit card used to pay the aftermarket installer, and the twice-weekly gas fill-ups, some area families are paying far more for transportation than they are for shelter.
I know that the job situation here is a little more stable than other areas of the country because of the availability of jobs with the federal government and government contractors. But there’s been plenty of layoffs, and no shortage of peoples who have been laid off for two years and over. I honestly don’t know where the money’s coming from. Housing sales are not terribly brisk, and some neighborhoods are showing significant deterioration due to homeowner property neglect. But from the looks of things, you’d never know that we’re experiencing a severe recession. The crowded shopping malls can be explained by behavior prior to the financial crisis: for many, many people here, shopping was their religion, and they came to the malls to worship. Many had inadequate incomes back then, also, but were able to acquire an endless supply of large-limit credit cards with which they could convince themselves and others of their affluence. Our malls were packed to their limits all the time back then, and articles in local publications featured residents who proudly confessed to spending 20 to 30 hours, or more, per week shopping. Since these people had no other activities in their lives, I didn’t expect an overnight change. But shopping addicts aren’t the same as “window shoppers”: shopping addiction is based on self-gratification, which requires the satisfying of several conditions – most notably, a purchase. I confess to being puzzled by the continuing crowded conditions at the mall, unless it is a case of power shoppers who come in on Saturday and buy stuff, and then come back a few days later to return it. That would certainly explain the low profits for retail.
But the whole new car/truck thing – and not just new, but new *expensive* – has me utterly perplexed. You can’t just stuff one of those in a shopping bag with the receipt, and bring it back to the retailer for a refund. Dealers are selling, and customers are buying, in a big way. The demand is so great that a huge automall is currently being built along the Beltway.
Just curious: Is this the case in SoCal?
ParticipantHere on the other side of the world (D.C.), we’re seeing the same thing: malls packed, high-end stores not only staying in business, but opening more branches, Whole Foods selling out of $3.00 Mexican mangos and $7.00 boxed cereals. The bridal/prom business hasn’t taken a hit yet; in fact, their profits have increased at an impressive rate. What really floors me , however, is the number of new – AND very expensive – cars on the Washington beltway (and all other area roads). When we bought our Prius a couple years back, credit was still extremely tight following the screwups and bailouts. Yet, the dealer confirmed that $40,000 & $50,000 models were flying out the door. The streets of local middle- and working-class suburbs are filled with almost new fully-loaded oversized pickups that are utilized as personal/family vehicles: the average new F-350 Super-Duty is much more likely to have a payload of a gallon of milk and a couple bags of chips than it is to be carrying 30 bags of Sakrete, a pallet of pavers, and a ton of rip-rap.
The latest fast-growing trend in these parts is the two-truck family, in which the responsible parents have determined that the need for both mom and dad to each have a full-size shiny pickup to commute to their office jobs outweighs the concern for the safety and comfort of their 3 or 4 small children who are crowded into the rear truck cab seat where, although they may be forced to share seatbelts, they get to watch videos on the aftermarket DVD players that are just like the ones that dad and mom use in the front. Between the monthly installments on two truck loans, high-interest payments on the credit card used to pay the aftermarket installer, and the twice-weekly gas fill-ups, some area families are paying far more for transportation than they are for shelter.
I know that the job situation here is a little more stable than other areas of the country because of the availability of jobs with the federal government and government contractors. But there’s been plenty of layoffs, and no shortage of peoples who have been laid off for two years and over. I honestly don’t know where the money’s coming from. Housing sales are not terribly brisk, and some neighborhoods are showing significant deterioration due to homeowner property neglect. But from the looks of things, you’d never know that we’re experiencing a severe recession. The crowded shopping malls can be explained by behavior prior to the financial crisis: for many, many people here, shopping was their religion, and they came to the malls to worship. Many had inadequate incomes back then, also, but were able to acquire an endless supply of large-limit credit cards with which they could convince themselves and others of their affluence. Our malls were packed to their limits all the time back then, and articles in local publications featured residents who proudly confessed to spending 20 to 30 hours, or more, per week shopping. Since these people had no other activities in their lives, I didn’t expect an overnight change. But shopping addicts aren’t the same as “window shoppers”: shopping addiction is based on self-gratification, which requires the satisfying of several conditions – most notably, a purchase. I confess to being puzzled by the continuing crowded conditions at the mall, unless it is a case of power shoppers who come in on Saturday and buy stuff, and then come back a few days later to return it. That would certainly explain the low profits for retail.
But the whole new car/truck thing – and not just new, but new *expensive* – has me utterly perplexed. You can’t just stuff one of those in a shopping bag with the receipt, and bring it back to the retailer for a refund. Dealers are selling, and customers are buying, in a big way. The demand is so great that a huge automall is currently being built along the Beltway.
Just curious: Is this the case in SoCal?
ParticipantHere on the other side of the world (D.C.), we’re seeing the same thing: malls packed, high-end stores not only staying in business, but opening more branches, Whole Foods selling out of $3.00 Mexican mangos and $7.00 boxed cereals. The bridal/prom business hasn’t taken a hit yet; in fact, their profits have increased at an impressive rate. What really floors me , however, is the number of new – AND very expensive – cars on the Washington beltway (and all other area roads). When we bought our Prius a couple years back, credit was still extremely tight following the screwups and bailouts. Yet, the dealer confirmed that $40,000 & $50,000 models were flying out the door. The streets of local middle- and working-class suburbs are filled with almost new fully-loaded oversized pickups that are utilized as personal/family vehicles: the average new F-350 Super-Duty is much more likely to have a payload of a gallon of milk and a couple bags of chips than it is to be carrying 30 bags of Sakrete, a pallet of pavers, and a ton of rip-rap.
The latest fast-growing trend in these parts is the two-truck family, in which the responsible parents have determined that the need for both mom and dad to each have a full-size shiny pickup to commute to their office jobs outweighs the concern for the safety and comfort of their 3 or 4 small children who are crowded into the rear truck cab seat where, although they may be forced to share seatbelts, they get to watch videos on the aftermarket DVD players that are just like the ones that dad and mom use in the front. Between the monthly installments on two truck loans, high-interest payments on the credit card used to pay the aftermarket installer, and the twice-weekly gas fill-ups, some area families are paying far more for transportation than they are for shelter.
I know that the job situation here is a little more stable than other areas of the country because of the availability of jobs with the federal government and government contractors. But there’s been plenty of layoffs, and no shortage of peoples who have been laid off for two years and over. I honestly don’t know where the money’s coming from. Housing sales are not terribly brisk, and some neighborhoods are showing significant deterioration due to homeowner property neglect. But from the looks of things, you’d never know that we’re experiencing a severe recession. The crowded shopping malls can be explained by behavior prior to the financial crisis: for many, many people here, shopping was their religion, and they came to the malls to worship. Many had inadequate incomes back then, also, but were able to acquire an endless supply of large-limit credit cards with which they could convince themselves and others of their affluence. Our malls were packed to their limits all the time back then, and articles in local publications featured residents who proudly confessed to spending 20 to 30 hours, or more, per week shopping. Since these people had no other activities in their lives, I didn’t expect an overnight change. But shopping addicts aren’t the same as “window shoppers”: shopping addiction is based on self-gratification, which requires the satisfying of several conditions – most notably, a purchase. I confess to being puzzled by the continuing crowded conditions at the mall, unless it is a case of power shoppers who come in on Saturday and buy stuff, and then come back a few days later to return it. That would certainly explain the low profits for retail.
But the whole new car/truck thing – and not just new, but new *expensive* – has me utterly perplexed. You can’t just stuff one of those in a shopping bag with the receipt, and bring it back to the retailer for a refund. Dealers are selling, and customers are buying, in a big way. The demand is so great that a huge automall is currently being built along the Beltway.
Just curious: Is this the case in SoCal?
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=walterwhite]I was talking about a local riot w my kids and the prospect of looting at the mall. We all agreed there was basically nothing we wanted there, even for free.[/quote]
You raised your kids well, scaredy :)[/quote]
I second that, BG. Scaredy, awesome and awesomer!! You need to make a video on values to focus on when raising children.
Reminds me of my oldest (now almost 30). When he was 7, we were guests at a small brunch given by friends who were of a somewhat shallow nature, but made up somewhat for their lack of depth by entertaining us with elaborate tales of the “must haves” that they were in the process of purchasing. In fact, attending these gatherings was akin to being a spectator at a tennis match, your head moving back and forth to the one-upmanship going on between the guests, while you keep asking yourself, “What am I doing wrong that I can’t even begin to think about spending this kind of money?” I should add that I was very young at the time….
At any rate, my 7 yr-old son had been in another part of the house for a while, when suddenly I saw him coming back down the stairs, looking a bit down in the mouth. I asked him if anything was wrong, and why he wasn’t playing with the other kids. He said that he had been. “But then Chip started talking about the new car they were getting, and that it was imported, and Heather began bragging that they were getting a new car that cost more, and Chip said that they were getting a boat, too…..It just got too boring, so I came down here to see if there was anything going on.” He then looked around at all the adults, rolled his eyes, and got up to leave. Then he turned around and said, “I don’t understand why they’re even talking about this stuff. They’re acting like THEY’RE buying it, when it’s their parents, buying a whole bunch of they can’t afford so they can pretend they’re better than each other, Boring!”
When I recovered my composure, I was so proud. Kid was clearly ahead of his time.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=walterwhite]I was talking about a local riot w my kids and the prospect of looting at the mall. We all agreed there was basically nothing we wanted there, even for free.[/quote]
You raised your kids well, scaredy :)[/quote]
I second that, BG. Scaredy, awesome and awesomer!! You need to make a video on values to focus on when raising children.
Reminds me of my oldest (now almost 30). When he was 7, we were guests at a small brunch given by friends who were of a somewhat shallow nature, but made up somewhat for their lack of depth by entertaining us with elaborate tales of the “must haves” that they were in the process of purchasing. In fact, attending these gatherings was akin to being a spectator at a tennis match, your head moving back and forth to the one-upmanship going on between the guests, while you keep asking yourself, “What am I doing wrong that I can’t even begin to think about spending this kind of money?” I should add that I was very young at the time….
At any rate, my 7 yr-old son had been in another part of the house for a while, when suddenly I saw him coming back down the stairs, looking a bit down in the mouth. I asked him if anything was wrong, and why he wasn’t playing with the other kids. He said that he had been. “But then Chip started talking about the new car they were getting, and that it was imported, and Heather began bragging that they were getting a new car that cost more, and Chip said that they were getting a boat, too…..It just got too boring, so I came down here to see if there was anything going on.” He then looked around at all the adults, rolled his eyes, and got up to leave. Then he turned around and said, “I don’t understand why they’re even talking about this stuff. They’re acting like THEY’RE buying it, when it’s their parents, buying a whole bunch of they can’t afford so they can pretend they’re better than each other, Boring!”
When I recovered my composure, I was so proud. Kid was clearly ahead of his time.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=walterwhite]I was talking about a local riot w my kids and the prospect of looting at the mall. We all agreed there was basically nothing we wanted there, even for free.[/quote]
You raised your kids well, scaredy :)[/quote]
I second that, BG. Scaredy, awesome and awesomer!! You need to make a video on values to focus on when raising children.
Reminds me of my oldest (now almost 30). When he was 7, we were guests at a small brunch given by friends who were of a somewhat shallow nature, but made up somewhat for their lack of depth by entertaining us with elaborate tales of the “must haves” that they were in the process of purchasing. In fact, attending these gatherings was akin to being a spectator at a tennis match, your head moving back and forth to the one-upmanship going on between the guests, while you keep asking yourself, “What am I doing wrong that I can’t even begin to think about spending this kind of money?” I should add that I was very young at the time….
At any rate, my 7 yr-old son had been in another part of the house for a while, when suddenly I saw him coming back down the stairs, looking a bit down in the mouth. I asked him if anything was wrong, and why he wasn’t playing with the other kids. He said that he had been. “But then Chip started talking about the new car they were getting, and that it was imported, and Heather began bragging that they were getting a new car that cost more, and Chip said that they were getting a boat, too…..It just got too boring, so I came down here to see if there was anything going on.” He then looked around at all the adults, rolled his eyes, and got up to leave. Then he turned around and said, “I don’t understand why they’re even talking about this stuff. They’re acting like THEY’RE buying it, when it’s their parents, buying a whole bunch of they can’t afford so they can pretend they’re better than each other, Boring!”
When I recovered my composure, I was so proud. Kid was clearly ahead of his time.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=walterwhite]I was talking about a local riot w my kids and the prospect of looting at the mall. We all agreed there was basically nothing we wanted there, even for free.[/quote]
You raised your kids well, scaredy :)[/quote]
I second that, BG. Scaredy, awesome and awesomer!! You need to make a video on values to focus on when raising children.
Reminds me of my oldest (now almost 30). When he was 7, we were guests at a small brunch given by friends who were of a somewhat shallow nature, but made up somewhat for their lack of depth by entertaining us with elaborate tales of the “must haves” that they were in the process of purchasing. In fact, attending these gatherings was akin to being a spectator at a tennis match, your head moving back and forth to the one-upmanship going on between the guests, while you keep asking yourself, “What am I doing wrong that I can’t even begin to think about spending this kind of money?” I should add that I was very young at the time….
At any rate, my 7 yr-old son had been in another part of the house for a while, when suddenly I saw him coming back down the stairs, looking a bit down in the mouth. I asked him if anything was wrong, and why he wasn’t playing with the other kids. He said that he had been. “But then Chip started talking about the new car they were getting, and that it was imported, and Heather began bragging that they were getting a new car that cost more, and Chip said that they were getting a boat, too…..It just got too boring, so I came down here to see if there was anything going on.” He then looked around at all the adults, rolled his eyes, and got up to leave. Then he turned around and said, “I don’t understand why they’re even talking about this stuff. They’re acting like THEY’RE buying it, when it’s their parents, buying a whole bunch of they can’t afford so they can pretend they’re better than each other, Boring!”
When I recovered my composure, I was so proud. Kid was clearly ahead of his time.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=walterwhite]I was talking about a local riot w my kids and the prospect of looting at the mall. We all agreed there was basically nothing we wanted there, even for free.[/quote]
You raised your kids well, scaredy :)[/quote]
I second that, BG. Scaredy, awesome and awesomer!! You need to make a video on values to focus on when raising children.
Reminds me of my oldest (now almost 30). When he was 7, we were guests at a small brunch given by friends who were of a somewhat shallow nature, but made up somewhat for their lack of depth by entertaining us with elaborate tales of the “must haves” that they were in the process of purchasing. In fact, attending these gatherings was akin to being a spectator at a tennis match, your head moving back and forth to the one-upmanship going on between the guests, while you keep asking yourself, “What am I doing wrong that I can’t even begin to think about spending this kind of money?” I should add that I was very young at the time….
At any rate, my 7 yr-old son had been in another part of the house for a while, when suddenly I saw him coming back down the stairs, looking a bit down in the mouth. I asked him if anything was wrong, and why he wasn’t playing with the other kids. He said that he had been. “But then Chip started talking about the new car they were getting, and that it was imported, and Heather began bragging that they were getting a new car that cost more, and Chip said that they were getting a boat, too…..It just got too boring, so I came down here to see if there was anything going on.” He then looked around at all the adults, rolled his eyes, and got up to leave. Then he turned around and said, “I don’t understand why they’re even talking about this stuff. They’re acting like THEY’RE buying it, when it’s their parents, buying a whole bunch of they can’t afford so they can pretend they’re better than each other, Boring!”
When I recovered my composure, I was so proud. Kid was clearly ahead of his time.
Participant[quote=Allan from Fallbrook] I’d opine that the news business of the present is probably far different from that of the past, especially given the rapid encroachment of social media and the internet. The Drudge Report was certainly something of a game-changer during the CLinton Administration and I believe we’re seeing a return of the more sharp-elbowed and less objective days of the distant past……
There was an interesting series of articles following the Breivik attacks in Norway, many of which asked if the present attitudes towards Islam contributed to, or even facilitated the attack…..
I believe the days of truly objective and, more importantly, non-partisan journalship are behind us, and all of us, intentionally or not, now feed our confirmation bias by finding those sources that support and advance our “beliefs”.[/quote]This is definitely true, although I believe that the Internet “news sources” (such as Drudge), for the most part, were largely created to counter the mainstream media’s reporting of events, whether or not that reporting was accurate. I wasn’t following Drudge back in the 90s, but I’ll ask you: Was Matt Drudge responsible for keeping the Monica story going for as long as it did, or was it simply a case of the MSM attempting to keep ahead (aka, keep up with) of what was being reported on Drudge?
While I realize there are serious economic considerations, I’m disgusted by the MSM’s abdication of its responsibility to report the news in an objective way. While some of the general news stories are written in an objective manner, they are so concerned with being called “liberal” that they go to ridiculous lengths to prevent that from happening (and it doesn’t work!). Also, the news is surrounded by so many opinion pieces, and the comments of readers, that it’s difficult to discern objectivity. In addition, I find the starring roles being assumed by reporters and columnists on TV news and pundits shows, that I can’t trust anything that they write.
The whole Norway thing, with the endless speculation….no, declarations……of an Islamic perpetrator, was pretty disturbing. This was an across-the-board action on the part of all forms of media. Although I have to admit to some amusement when reading a thread on FreeRepublic.com: 150 posts of ever-escalating hate directed at the Muslim perpetrators, interspersed with declarations of the brave among them of what they would do/ what the US should do to ALL Muslims, including US citizens…..UP TO THE POINT when someone wrote in that it was a blond-haired blue-eyed native of Norway who represented a Christian militant group who had been responsible. The board immediately fell silent. It was like those old SNL Roseanne Roseannadanna skits: “Oh!….Never mind.”
As for the feeding of our confirmation bias, I think simply recognizing that we do that is a significant accomplishment. Once I realized a couple years back that I was doing it, I made an effort to stay off websites that had opinions most closely aligned with mine, and went out of my way to research those that didn’t. It can be very difficult to read some of this stuff sometimes. But I find that I’m getting a much better overall picture of what’s going on. And I also have a more accurate picture of what’s happening at the grass-roots level.
Participant[quote=Allan from Fallbrook] I’d opine that the news business of the present is probably far different from that of the past, especially given the rapid encroachment of social media and the internet. The Drudge Report was certainly something of a game-changer during the CLinton Administration and I believe we’re seeing a return of the more sharp-elbowed and less objective days of the distant past……
There was an interesting series of articles following the Breivik attacks in Norway, many of which asked if the present attitudes towards Islam contributed to, or even facilitated the attack…..
I believe the days of truly objective and, more importantly, non-partisan journalship are behind us, and all of us, intentionally or not, now feed our confirmation bias by finding those sources that support and advance our “beliefs”.[/quote]This is definitely true, although I believe that the Internet “news sources” (such as Drudge), for the most part, were largely created to counter the mainstream media’s reporting of events, whether or not that reporting was accurate. I wasn’t following Drudge back in the 90s, but I’ll ask you: Was Matt Drudge responsible for keeping the Monica story going for as long as it did, or was it simply a case of the MSM attempting to keep ahead (aka, keep up with) of what was being reported on Drudge?
While I realize there are serious economic considerations, I’m disgusted by the MSM’s abdication of its responsibility to report the news in an objective way. While some of the general news stories are written in an objective manner, they are so concerned with being called “liberal” that they go to ridiculous lengths to prevent that from happening (and it doesn’t work!). Also, the news is surrounded by so many opinion pieces, and the comments of readers, that it’s difficult to discern objectivity. In addition, I find the starring roles being assumed by reporters and columnists on TV news and pundits shows, that I can’t trust anything that they write.
The whole Norway thing, with the endless speculation….no, declarations……of an Islamic perpetrator, was pretty disturbing. This was an across-the-board action on the part of all forms of media. Although I have to admit to some amusement when reading a thread on FreeRepublic.com: 150 posts of ever-escalating hate directed at the Muslim perpetrators, interspersed with declarations of the brave among them of what they would do/ what the US should do to ALL Muslims, including US citizens…..UP TO THE POINT when someone wrote in that it was a blond-haired blue-eyed native of Norway who represented a Christian militant group who had been responsible. The board immediately fell silent. It was like those old SNL Roseanne Roseannadanna skits: “Oh!….Never mind.”
As for the feeding of our confirmation bias, I think simply recognizing that we do that is a significant accomplishment. Once I realized a couple years back that I was doing it, I made an effort to stay off websites that had opinions most closely aligned with mine, and went out of my way to research those that didn’t. It can be very difficult to read some of this stuff sometimes. But I find that I’m getting a much better overall picture of what’s going on. And I also have a more accurate picture of what’s happening at the grass-roots level.
Participant[quote=Allan from Fallbrook] I’d opine that the news business of the present is probably far different from that of the past, especially given the rapid encroachment of social media and the internet. The Drudge Report was certainly something of a game-changer during the CLinton Administration and I believe we’re seeing a return of the more sharp-elbowed and less objective days of the distant past……
There was an interesting series of articles following the Breivik attacks in Norway, many of which asked if the present attitudes towards Islam contributed to, or even facilitated the attack…..
I believe the days of truly objective and, more importantly, non-partisan journalship are behind us, and all of us, intentionally or not, now feed our confirmation bias by finding those sources that support and advance our “beliefs”.[/quote]This is definitely true, although I believe that the Internet “news sources” (such as Drudge), for the most part, were largely created to counter the mainstream media’s reporting of events, whether or not that reporting was accurate. I wasn’t following Drudge back in the 90s, but I’ll ask you: Was Matt Drudge responsible for keeping the Monica story going for as long as it did, or was it simply a case of the MSM attempting to keep ahead (aka, keep up with) of what was being reported on Drudge?
While I realize there are serious economic considerations, I’m disgusted by the MSM’s abdication of its responsibility to report the news in an objective way. While some of the general news stories are written in an objective manner, they are so concerned with being called “liberal” that they go to ridiculous lengths to prevent that from happening (and it doesn’t work!). Also, the news is surrounded by so many opinion pieces, and the comments of readers, that it’s difficult to discern objectivity. In addition, I find the starring roles being assumed by reporters and columnists on TV news and pundits shows, that I can’t trust anything that they write.
The whole Norway thing, with the endless speculation….no, declarations……of an Islamic perpetrator, was pretty disturbing. This was an across-the-board action on the part of all forms of media. Although I have to admit to some amusement when reading a thread on FreeRepublic.com: 150 posts of ever-escalating hate directed at the Muslim perpetrators, interspersed with declarations of the brave among them of what they would do/ what the US should do to ALL Muslims, including US citizens…..UP TO THE POINT when someone wrote in that it was a blond-haired blue-eyed native of Norway who represented a Christian militant group who had been responsible. The board immediately fell silent. It was like those old SNL Roseanne Roseannadanna skits: “Oh!….Never mind.”
As for the feeding of our confirmation bias, I think simply recognizing that we do that is a significant accomplishment. Once I realized a couple years back that I was doing it, I made an effort to stay off websites that had opinions most closely aligned with mine, and went out of my way to research those that didn’t. It can be very difficult to read some of this stuff sometimes. But I find that I’m getting a much better overall picture of what’s going on. And I also have a more accurate picture of what’s happening at the grass-roots level.
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