Curse the Media

Everything is so negative in the media these days it’s a wonder anyone can maintain any sort of relationship, let alone have any semblance of intellectual discourse. In fact, some people have made their agendas and ideals their whole personality, that you can’t remember the last time they posted something on social media not related to their personal beliefs. So many are too focused on attacking the other side, that we have lost sight of what is important and even more so, can not distinguish the true enemy; the media. Those people behind the scenes can cultivate whichever narrative it is that they choose to focus on, ignoring and omitting other contradictory facts in order to skew the audience. Powerful media in news and writing can help push certain people and political figures to the forefront and help to establish various social movements. All it takes is for one spark to begin to set everything ablaze into a fiery inferno that can take decades to burn out. Not only that, but these days it is so easy to surround yourself in an echo chamber, helping to corroborate your thoughts and opinions (algorithms are tailored to only show you what they want you to see), and helps to make everything seem right or wrong, black or white, red and blue, and so on.

It’s almost too easy for bias to occur without it being plainly obvious. For example, The Times recently published an article about a Tik Tok famous account that created quite the polarizing effect. The article focused on the idea of “Trad Wives”, (women in a more traditional role), with Hannah Neeleman, also known on social media as BallerinaFarms, and her life. Her husband is the billionaire heir to Jet Blue, and the article paints him as almost abusive and Hannah as subservient, only meant to pop out children and forego her dreams as a ballerina as they rear life on the farm while he rules the roost. I admit, I was initially outraged as well reading about this poor woman, only to do a bit more digging and realize that things aren’t always what they seem, and certain things were cherry-picked as a focus in the article. It is clear the author had quite the agenda in mind when she wrote that piece, and it was not to highlight the woman featured, but instead, to incentivize the readers to correlate this wealthy family to those in ‘The Hand Maid’s Tale,’ and have you sympathize with a browbeaten woman of a controlling husband. One extremely biased and opinionated article; that’s all it took to rally the online troops and call for immediate admonishment and cancellation of a person with most not even questioning what they read as excluding certain fact in order to paint a very specific picture. We can not be sure of the 100% truth when the aforementioned author is so far from impartial, that it is hard to see the whole picture. It is why people will say believe half of what you read, and none of what you hear, and for 100% certainty, you need to see it firsthand before blindly believing.

Even more recently, there is the complete chaos in the media surrounding the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Games. Journalists posting story after story that has the consumers digging their heels in the sand on the side of “Depicting the Greek Gods and Dionysus” or “Making a mockery of Christianity and the Last Supper.” Rather than people stepping back to look at the whole picture and deciding for themselves, they relish in being told how to think, almost to the point of attempting to gaslight the other side. Honestly, it is of my opinion that no matter what side you view this from, it was inappropriate. The audience was made up from people of all ages, including children, and glorified nudity should not have been so prevalent in an event meant to help unify the nations. I believe that those in charge knew what they were doing, and creating all this chatter about the topic keeps them in the news. It has once again caused derisive takes, and this is exactly what the higher-ups want. We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. If we are kept so busy constantly attacking and ridiculing anyone and everyone on the opposing side, and always squabbling amongst ourselves, evil will continue to prevail and true issues will never get resolved.

I think if we, as humans, take a step back to address the broader issues at hand, we can accomplish a lot as the human race. I hate to see so many friends and acquaintances constantly at each other’s throats, hurling insult after insult. When we decide to only view one side of everything, and always collude with only like-minded people, we cease to grow. There is always something to learn and things are always changing, and what once is so devoutly toted as truth may all be proven to be a downright lie or facade. For example, take the Radium Girls, who were factory workers in the early 1900s that were told by those in charge to lick the paint brushes that were dipped in self-luminous (glow in the dark) paint that they painted radium dials with to create a pointed tip. They suffered the most horrific radiation poisoning and illness and injuries but were told that the paint was not only harmless, but beneficial to health and beauty. Or how about how doctors in the mid 1900’s actually endorsed and advocated for cigarettes and made it seem good for you and not a risk to your health. Kind of makes you wonder what those in charge (i.e. with the government or leading physicians) that claim what is good for you today will one day be considered poison. I think blind trust, especially simply for the position someone holds, can be incredibly dangerous. Humans make mistakes all the time, and it is our responsibility to acknowledge when we are wrong so that we may learn from past grievances.

Obviously, this blog is extremely biased in my opinion as it is my personal outlet for my writing. I do not claim to be impartial as I am writing from my brain and my view point, and not outlining a specific topic or subject. I’d like to think that I am in the free-thinking majority of people who listen and see all the sides before deciding for themselves, but that, unfortunately, the louder minorities of thought dominate the media and social spaces. I will never choose to act or think a certain way just because someone is telling me to, or because I fall on a certain side of a specific spectrum. It may be folly to think that more and more people will open their eyes to the terrible things the media has done and is capable of continuing to do, but I hope that it happens. It is scary to think how much precedence and space the media takes up, and how they can heavily skew the thoughts, feelings, emotions, opinions, and actions of their audience. I like to sit back and observe, and take note of everything going on around me and the way others are choosing to say and do certain things. However, just because I am a fan of stepping back to watch it all unfold and trying to see all sides of the matter, doesn’t mean I fear doing or saying something when I feel strongly that it is necessary. Truth is, the majority of the time, silence is the wiser choice, and people really should just shut the fuck up and stop getting played by the media to carry so much hate in their hearts. Better to keep quiet have someone think you are a fool, than to open your mouth (or keyboard), and remove all doubt.