CDZ More re: Behaviors - What percentage of people on USMB...

[Olde Europe]

Most people don't realize Emerson himself and several wealthy friends FUNDED, like Soros does, the terrorist raid on Harper's Ferry by John Brown!

So, Soros FUNDS terrorist raids, or some equivalent thereof?

You know, typing "Soros", you could have perked up and realized that he - and scores of other prominent liberals - were at the receiving end of pipe bombs sent to them. But then, that would sort of destroy your fundamental contention that those on the losing side are the ones generating the current strife.

But, of course, registering protest against government action deemed nefarious, indecent, inhumane or worse, is as American as apple pie, and your grotesquely exaggerated verbiage describing some instances of confronted lawmakers is worthy of a study of its own. The "winning" side appears to be like fresh snow, a neo-Nazi march all but endorsed by the president, Bannonist White supremacist hate-speech, or pipe bombs notwithstanding.

BTW, research into hooliganism, probably the most dangerous collective behavior short of terrorism, informs us it's the winning side that generates by far and away most of the violence. So it would appear, your rule of life (the losing side lashes out) needs an eliminatory war on facts to survive.

 

[Circe]

Hillary didn't pay enough attention to white people, the PC Police are taking over, Muslims are going to kill us all!

All true, but don't forget the Mexicans and such --- they're the real problem right now. We seem to have suppressed a lot of the Muslim terrorist killings lately, though they may well pop up again after they get tired of doing it in Europe.

 

[flacaltenn]

And hey, maybe acting out like that helps some people. Holy crap, if that's the case, that's a great service for free.

It's great for the planet also -- not so many busted up TVs... Twitter is the ultimate in "rage generators" because Twitter has no topical framework. USMB is the virtual cathartic punching bag of social media.. At least we make them EXPLAIN their delusions and faux outrages..

I would love to know what motivates people to go through life like that, what they feel they have accomplished after such an altercation.

It's been a long social conditioning IMO.. That's why there was the rise and fall of "reality TV".. It's manufactured drama with yee olde freak show characters right out of Barnum/Bailey.. But what's happened is -- no one NEEDS Honey Boo Boo or the Kardarshian to kick around anymore because they've got wall to wall faux drama and conflict and emotion on Cable News and a media that's determined to capitalize on the "Barnum suckers"... Thanks to the Prez, the 535 members of Congress, outrage media superstars, and most rocks for brains Hollywood elite.

It's just a way to be part of show.. Look at the "intellectual engagement" on USMB. It's not anything from Real Life. Folks living vicariously believing they are part of the action and plot line. Like rushing to get their names on the OP for every breaking rumor or fake news outrage. THIS IS -- what media has always wanted.

Gonna go back and read the Marshall McLuhan that impressed me 30 years ago and see if he was actually a prophet. Remember "The Media IS the Message"? Found a way to make every US voter a cast member..

 

[Mindful]

Hillary didn't pay enough attention to white people, the PC Police are taking over, Muslims are going to kill us all!

All true, but don't forget the Mexicans and such --- they're the real problem right now. We seem to have suppressed a lot of the Muslim terrorist killings lately, though they may well pop up again after they get tired of doing it in Europe.

Still going strong.

The German secret service foils ongoing plottings, by the day.

Concrete road blocks at pedestrianised areas, and heavily armed police walking around are the norm these days.

 

[Mindful]

And hey, maybe acting out like that helps some people. Holy crap, if that's the case, that's a great service for free.

It's great for the planet also -- not so many busted up TVs... Twitter is the ultimate in "rage generators" because Twitter has no topical framework. USMB is the virtual cathartic punching bag of social media.. At least we make them EXPLAIN their delusions and faux outrages..

I would love to know what motivates people to go through life like that, what they feel they have accomplished after such an altercation.

It's been a long social conditioning IMO.. That's why there was the rise and fall of "reality TV".. It's manufactured drama with yee olde freak show characters right out of Barnum/Bailey.. But what's happened is -- no one NEEDS Honey Boo Boo or the Kardarshian to kick around anymore because they've got wall to wall faux drama and conflict and emotion on Cable News and a media that's determined to capitalize on the "Barnum suckers"... Thanks to the Prez, the 535 members of Congress, outrage media superstars, and most rocks for brains Hollywood elite.

It's just a way to be part of show.. Look at the "intellectual engagement" on USMB. It's not anything from Real Life. Folks living vicariously believing they are part of the action and plot line. Like rushing to get their names on the OP for every breaking rumor or fake news outrage. THIS IS -- what media has always wanted.

Gonna go back and read the Marshall McLuhan that impressed me 30 years ago and see if he was actually a prophet. Remember "The Media IS the Message"? Found a way to make every US voter a cast member..

What are you saying, Flacaltenn? That we don't need Boo Boo or Kardashian to kick around? So kicking each other around is a much more primal need? Create our own reality TV?

Even chemistry can travel through the inner tubes.

 

[Leo123]

I think anonymity is a good thing. Too many times (on Facebook) I see people posting nasty shit and ruining their friendships. This Forum is a place where arguments, ideas and even insults can be received and given and it really isn't personal. I'm sure that a lot of people I have argued with here are fine folks that I would normally get along with. I am conservative but have many liberal friends. Politics is (IMO) nothing but a soap opera that has way too much power. That's all I have to say.

 

[flacaltenn]

And hey, maybe acting out like that helps some people. Holy crap, if that's the case, that's a great service for free.

It's great for the planet also -- not so many busted up TVs... Twitter is the ultimate in "rage generators" because Twitter has no topical framework. USMB is the virtual cathartic punching bag of social media.. At least we make them EXPLAIN their delusions and faux outrages..

I would love to know what motivates people to go through life like that, what they feel they have accomplished after such an altercation.

It's been a long social conditioning IMO.. That's why there was the rise and fall of "reality TV".. It's manufactured drama with yee olde freak show characters right out of Barnum/Bailey.. But what's happened is -- no one NEEDS Honey Boo Boo or the Kardarshian to kick around anymore because they've got wall to wall faux drama and conflict and emotion on Cable News and a media that's determined to capitalize on the "Barnum suckers"... Thanks to the Prez, the 535 members of Congress, outrage media superstars, and most rocks for brains Hollywood elite.

It's just a way to be part of show.. Look at the "intellectual engagement" on USMB. It's not anything from Real Life. Folks living vicariously believing they are part of the action and plot line. Like rushing to get their names on the OP for every breaking rumor or fake news outrage. THIS IS -- what media has always wanted.

Gonna go back and read the Marshall McLuhan that impressed me 30 years ago and see if he was actually a prophet. Remember "The Media IS the Message"? Found a way to make every US voter a cast member..

What are you saying, Flacaltenn? That we don't need Boo Boo or Kardashian to kick around? So kicking each other around is a much more primal need? Create our own reality TV?

Even chemistry can travel through the inner tubes.

All that pop culture Reality TV show fad was a Grande Spectacle of freakdom. But the problem was, you couldn't RECRUIT the masses into feeling that they were a part of it. The latest mini-series of misery between 2 old codgers that should have taken place in an Old Age Home --- was ACTUALLY 3 of the most powerful people in America acting like children over politics. The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump episode that is.

It's PARTICIPATION reality TV with paper and web presence as well. It is NOT REAL. Because it's farcical drama for winning power. Not running a country. YOU can be a cast member just by picking up your mobile device and having a REDUX match with some other jerk 1200 miles away.. And if you're Hollywood B list, failed comic for example -- YOU can be the star of any episode just by posing with a bloody head on Twitter.


You can tell by the tone and content on social media that hardly ANY of the addicted zealots treat these episodes with any Real Life respect for consequences. It becomes "all personal". And becomes a contest between the SAME 2 sides that do the actual fighting in Washington and elsewhere. Govt leadership devolves into juvenile cartoonish trolling and so goes the nation. With the MEDIA never having to check a story for any factual content. It's now infotainment with the Blue Team and Red Team providing all the content.

The MEDIA has BECOME the Message. Just like McCluhan wrote about 30 years ago.

And Mac has got it right. The interactions we SEE here on USMB are not human individuals sorting information and doing critical thinking. It's folks ACTING as cast extras in a whole fabricated infotainment engagement that has EATEN America politics and leadership RAW...

 

[Mac1958]

And hey, maybe acting out like that helps some people. Holy crap, if that's the case, that's a great service for free.

It's great for the planet also -- not so many busted up TVs... Twitter is the ultimate in "rage generators" because Twitter has no topical framework. USMB is the virtual cathartic punching bag of social media.. At least we make them EXPLAIN their delusions and faux outrages..

I would love to know what motivates people to go through life like that, what they feel they have accomplished after such an altercation.

It's been a long social conditioning IMO.. That's why there was the rise and fall of "reality TV".. It's manufactured drama with yee olde freak show characters right out of Barnum/Bailey.. But what's happened is -- no one NEEDS Honey Boo Boo or the Kardarshian to kick around anymore because they've got wall to wall faux drama and conflict and emotion on Cable News and a media that's determined to capitalize on the "Barnum suckers"... Thanks to the Prez, the 535 members of Congress, outrage media superstars, and most rocks for brains Hollywood elite.

It's just a way to be part of show.. Look at the "intellectual engagement" on USMB. It's not anything from Real Life. Folks living vicariously believing they are part of the action and plot line. Like rushing to get their names on the OP for every breaking rumor or fake news outrage. THIS IS -- what media has always wanted.

Gonna go back and read the Marshall McLuhan that impressed me 30 years ago and see if he was actually a prophet. Remember "The Media IS the Message"? Found a way to make every US voter a cast member..

Wow, imagine what McLuhan would have thought and said about "the media" and social media TODAY. I always thought he was right on the money in context, but this environment is light years beyond the three-networks-on-TV days.

And Mac has got it right. The interactions we SEE here on USMB are not human individuals sorting information and doing critical thinking. It's folks ACTING as cast extras in a whole fabricated infotainment engagement that has EATEN America politics and leadership RAW...

This is the Selfie Generation. Everyone is a celebrity, everyone is a star, everyone has to scream their opinion at the top of their lungs, no one has to listen. There is no celebrity to be achieved in listening, being curious or asking questions or collaborating or innovating.

So yeah, the internet is essentially a caricature of that caricature.
.

 

[Olde Europe]

All that pop culture Reality TV show fad was a Grande Spectacle of freakdom. But the problem was, you couldn't RECRUIT the masses into feeling that they were a part of it. The latest mini-series of misery between 2 old codgers that should have taken place in an Old Age Home --- was ACTUALLY 3 of the most powerful people in America acting like children over politics. The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump episode that is.

That was actually the Trump-McConnell episode, as directed by Coulter / Limbaugh, with tens of millions of xenophobic rubes as target audience to make them believe the above-mentioned worthies actually care for them.

And Mac has got it right. The interactions we SEE here on USMB are not human individuals sorting information and doing critical thinking. It's folks ACTING as cast extras in a whole fabricated infotainment engagement that has EATEN America politics and leadership RAW...

Yeah, Mac has a point, even while his point is thoroughly lacking in nuance. The downside is, he's taken the intellectually lazy path of discussing posters, as opposed to actual politics or policies. And that is why, for as long as I have watched him doing his shtick, he contributed exactly nothing to "human individuals sorting information and doing critical thinking". All we got was the unspeakable drama Mac's needy self-elevation above the fray of partisan warfare, with an added 20/20 in the form of, "Either agree with me and confirm my point, or disagree with me and reinforce my point". That's all well thought out, and pursued with enormous stamina over at least two years, but it adds exactly nothing by way of shedding light on actual politics.

 

[Mac1958]

All that pop culture Reality TV show fad was a Grande Spectacle of freakdom. But the problem was, you couldn't RECRUIT the masses into feeling that they were a part of it. The latest mini-series of misery between 2 old codgers that should have taken place in an Old Age Home --- was ACTUALLY 3 of the most powerful people in America acting like children over politics. The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump episode that is.

That was actually the Trump-McConnell episode, as directed by Coulter / Limbaugh, with tens of millions of xenophobic rubes as target audience to make them believe the above-mentioned worthies actually care for them.

And Mac has got it right. The interactions we SEE here on USMB are not human individuals sorting information and doing critical thinking. It's folks ACTING as cast extras in a whole fabricated infotainment engagement that has EATEN America politics and leadership RAW...

Yeah, Mac has a point, even while his point is thoroughly lacking in nuance. The downside is, he's taken the intellectually lazy path of discussing posters, as opposed to actual politics or policies. And that is why, for as long as I have watched him doing his shtick, he contributed exactly nothing to "human individuals sorting information and doing critical thinking". All we got was the unspeakable drama Mac's needy self-elevation above the fray of partisan warfare, with an added 20/20 in the form of, "Either agree with me and confirm my point, or disagree with me and reinforce my point". That's all well thought out, and pursued with enormous stamina over at least two years, but it adds exactly nothing by way of shedding light on actual politics.

I'll say it, yet again.

Yes, my interest here is in behaviors and motivations, and not in the silly, individual, day-to-day, farcical "news bombshells" that seem so important to people here, so that they can leverage them into some weird, perceived temporary political advantage via shallow online slap fights. A vast majority of my posts reflect that interest, so it should be pretty obvious by now.

I hope that is now clear, because that's as clear as I can make it.

I realize you don't like my posts, and that's certainly your prerogative. It's not my concern. Sorry.

So I'll follow my interests, and you can follow yours. And you'll notice that I won't be constantly complaining about them to you.
.

 

[Mac1958]

I don't think that. What I think is that it's a simple case of who is losing. The more people are losing, the angrier they are: a life rule. The more openly aggressive they become.

Do you think this particular reaction to loss has become more prevalent?

We're not REQUIRED to get angry and attack. This is a CHOICE we make.
.

 

[Olde Europe]

I realize you don't like my posts, and that's certainly your prerogative. It's not my concern. Sorry.

Aw, Mac, but I actually do like your postings, even while I mostly disagree. I even think something like your shtick could be valuable sorting wheat from chaff. But, you can't get beyond the silly emotionalim, that is, rendering any and all criticism of your shtick into the realm of "feelings", thus insulating yourself against said criticism. That's intellectually lazy, bordering on dishonest, and yet another way of your self-elevation by dismissing and denigrating your opponents, and I think you could do better than that.

 

[Mac1958]

I realize you don't like my posts, and that's certainly your prerogative. It's not my concern. Sorry.

Aw, Mac, but I actually do like your postings, even while I mostly disagree. I even think something like your shtick could be valuable sorting wheat from chaff. But, you can't get beyond the silly emotionalim, that is, rendering any and all criticism of your shtick into the realm of "feelings", thus insulating yourself against said criticism. That's intellectually lazy, bordering on dishonest, and yet another way of your self-elevation by dismissing and denigrating your opponents, and I think you could do better than that.

Thanks so much.
.

 

[sparky]

Because we largely attract the zealots and partisan hack cable news crowd with one toe in the Hannity forum or Dem Underground. Or worse..

Ironically enough, i was given the boot from the DU, on post #2.....

I would love to know what motivates people to go through life like that, what they feel they have accomplished after such an altercation. Does it make them feel better in some way, for some period of time? Maybe they convince themselves they've "won" something? I dunno.

Uh well.....we get these little winner stars here..... reminds me of the whole equestrian curse i endured when the kids were small......lotta time and effort for a little blue ribbon....

The constructive part is challenging these misrepresentations...

It can be. And that can work both ways ....

It seems to me that the correlation between the behaviors we see here and those in real life are more closely tied than they have been, and it seems pretty clear to me that these behaviors are infecting a larger share of the culture, from politics to sports to public life to entertainment to business.

Well here's a real world test for that, if you've found yourself in some political discussion, benignly ask if the nation is headed towards civil war

I should have recoorded the reponses i've recieved , some outlandish, some better thought

In a nutshell, you'll find a lot of angst ,anger, speculation......most of which either places blame on the usual lables , sound bytes & bumper sticker mentalites

None of which is willing to pick up a gun ,and hunt any of their neighbors down over it.

Social engineering ,at it's finest

It's PARTICIPATION reality TV with paper and web presence as well. It is NOT REAL. Because it's farcical drama for winning power. Not running a country. YOU can be a cast member just by picking up your mobile device and having a REDUX match with some other jerk 1200 miles away..

ok......am i hired......?


These old posters
makes it on time
Leaves ascii Station
at a quarter to nine
Hits USMB Junction
at seventeen to
at a quarter to ten
you know it's trav'lin again

Readin'' that thread
High on caffeine
Casey Jones you better
watch your screed
Trouble ahead
Trouble behind
and you know that notion
just crossed my mind

Trouble ahead
The posters see Red
Take my advice
you be better off dead
Modman sleepin
Thread hundred and two
is on the wrong track and
headed for you


Readin'' that thread
High on caffeine
Casey Jones you better
watch your screed
Trouble ahead
Trouble behind
and you know that notion
just crossed my mind


Trouble with you is
The trouble with me
We write good good lines
but we still disagree
Come round the thread
You know it's the end
The posters all scream
The ascii just gleams

and you know that notion
just crossed my miiiIIIIIiiiiind



w/apologies to the grateful dead ~S~

 

[Marion Morrison]

I encounter real people, not Communist propagandists masquerading as Americans in my real life.

I may end up doing work for an occasional queer or lesbian at times, they don't push no Communist crap like people here do.

Mostly I encounter real Americans. It really hurt my heart during the years after Bush ran the economy into the ground. So many people lost jobs and homes, it's not even funny.

About the "Home losing", that was because the municipalities doubled the taxes, talk about crazy.

Then the fucking banks that made the bad loans get bailed out by the government and buy all these houses up. I hate that, it pisses me off.

PS: I just scrolled up and read "Hannity Underground".

I can't stand that smug sumbitch more than 25 seconds.

 

[Mac1958]

Well here's a real world test for that, if you've found yourself in some political discussion, benignly ask if the nation is headed towards civil war
I should have recoorded the reponses i've recieved...

Wow, I'm sure. That's a great question to start the fireworks.

And I'd guess that the floodgates would open pretty quickly, with comments they have made many times in the past. A lot of this stuff seems canned.

And no doubt the answers would be far different today than twenty years ago.
.

 

[sparky]

Well here's a real world test for that, if you've found yourself in some political discussion, benignly ask if the nation is headed towards civil war
I should have recoorded the reponses i've recieved...

Wow, I'm sure. That's a great question to start the fireworks.

And I'd guess that the floodgates would open pretty quickly, with comments they have made many times in the past. A lot of this stuff seems canned.

And no doubt the answers would be far different today than twenty years ago.
.

Yeah Mac, i'm admittedly an instigator when i can get away w/it.......of course i'm talking bluecollar rednecks on construction sites.....not exactly the cream of societies crop......lotta stereotypical dumber than toast sorts wearing tough guy personas

The interesting thing is , they'll go full circle with some civil war fantasy , many with wild accusations and opposing views .......only to end up looking at each other in a group epiphay that if one of us gets cut, we all bleed....

Twenty , Fourty, Sixty years ago......same deal>>>

~S~

 

[Mac1958]

Well here's a real world test for that, if you've found yourself in some political discussion, benignly ask if the nation is headed towards civil war
I should have recoorded the reponses i've recieved...

Wow, I'm sure. That's a great question to start the fireworks.

And I'd guess that the floodgates would open pretty quickly, with comments they have made many times in the past. A lot of this stuff seems canned.

And no doubt the answers would be far different today than twenty years ago.
.

Yeah Mac, i'm admittedly an instigator when i can get away w/it.......of course i'm talking bluecollar rednecks on construction sites.....not exactly the cream of societies crop......lotta stereotypical dumber than toast sorts wearing tough guy personas

The interesting thing is , they'll go full circle with some civil war fantasy , many with wild accusations and opposing views .......only to end up looking at each other in a group epiphay that if one of us gets cut, we all bleed....

Twenty , Fourty, Sixty years ago......same deal>>>

~S~

That hasn't been my experience personally, but I hope you're right. What I usually see is this wild-eyed, canned, binary diatribe that is very similar to the stuff we see here, with no interest in either resolution or calm dialogue.

But your scenario, some kind of ultimate epiphany of reason, would be nice to see more often.
.

 

[Mindful]

Well here's a real world test for that, if you've found yourself in some political discussion, benignly ask if the nation is headed towards civil war
I should have recoorded the reponses i've recieved...

Wow, I'm sure. That's a great question to start the fireworks.

And I'd guess that the floodgates would open pretty quickly, with comments they have made many times in the past. A lot of this stuff seems canned.

And no doubt the answers would be far different today than twenty years ago.
.

Yeah Mac, i'm admittedly an instigator when i can get away w/it.......of course i'm talking bluecollar rednecks on construction sites.....not exactly the cream of societies crop......lotta stereotypical dumber than toast sorts wearing tough guy personas

The interesting thing is , they'll go full circle with some civil war fantasy , many with wild accusations and opposing views .......only to end up looking at each other in a group epiphay that if one of us gets cut, we all bleed....

Twenty , Fourty, Sixty years ago......same deal>>>

~S~

That hasn't been my experience personally, but I hope you're right. What I usually see is this wild-eyed, canned, binary diatribe that is very similar to the stuff we see here, with no interest in either resolution or calm dialogue.

But your scenario, some kind of ultimate epiphany of reason, would be nice to see more often.
.

Many folks want to vent spleen.

 

[Marion Morrison]

Well here's a real world test for that, if you've found yourself in some political discussion, benignly ask if the nation is headed towards civil war
I should have recoorded the reponses i've recieved...

Wow, I'm sure. That's a great question to start the fireworks.

And I'd guess that the floodgates would open pretty quickly, with comments they have made many times in the past. A lot of this stuff seems canned.

And no doubt the answers would be far different today than twenty years ago.
.

Yeah Mac, i'm admittedly an instigator when i can get away w/it.......of course i'm talking bluecollar rednecks on construction sites.....not exactly the cream of societies crop......lotta stereotypical dumber than toast sorts wearing tough guy personas

The interesting thing is , they'll go full circle with some civil war fantasy , many with wild accusations and opposing views .......only to end up looking at each other in a group epiphay that if one of us gets cut, we all bleed....

Twenty , Fourty, Sixty years ago......same deal>>>

~S~

That hasn't been my experience personally, but I hope you're right. What I usually see is this wild-eyed, canned, binary diatribe that is very similar to the stuff we see here, with no interest in either resolution or calm dialogue.

But your scenario, some kind of ultimate epiphany of reason, would be nice to see more often.
.

Many folks want to vent spleen.

I wanna guard my spleen.