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I've been reading a very interesting article by David Sirota -Political journalist, best-selling author and syndicated newspaper columnist
"It's outrageous that President Obama gets driven around in a limo! It's outrageous that John McCain wore expensive shoes! It's outrageous that Michael Phelps smoked some weed! Welcome, as I say in my newest newspaper column, to a nation now addicted to fake outrage -- a nation that feeds on made-up controversies about total non-issues. And if we don't break our dependency, we're really not going to solve the huge challenges we desperately need to solve."
The media always loves to create drama for the sake of creating drama. That's why I don't even watch the news anymore. Anything they can blow way out of proportion they always do especially weather related topics. I live in Southern California and whenever there is any type of rain headed our way the local media goes on "Storm watch" and they make it seem as though a hurricane was headed our way when the reality is some light showers. I'll never forget the huge deal they made when they had to close the 405 freeway for a night and they were making such a huge deal about it, going so far as to call it "Carmageddon" and they made it seem like the world was going to end because of a freeway closure.
.....Do you agree with the author, do you believe we are addicted to fake outrage?
Absolutely!!!
And, no, I do not blame the media...that's just BS people invoke to shrug off responsibility for anything and everything. If the media is supposedly serving up sensationalized incidents to incite totally bogus outrage, it is because this is what a huge chunk of the public wants.
Outrage allows people to ride an emotional high of self-righteousness. And there is nothing so characteristic of the changes in American society in the past thirty years than the constant puking stream of self-righteousness that has destroyed all intelligent discourse.
I do, and that high of self-righteousness kevzu mentions becomes SO addictive that not only can't we keep our responses to big issues in proportion, but more and more of us seek venues of controversy like Internet forums, news site comment sections, and arguably even Facebook to supply us with constant streams of conflict once we've seen all the news there is to see. It seems to become a lifestyle, as evidenced by the number of middle fingers you get on our roads for minor infractions these days, among other things. I can only imagine the toll it is taking on relationships, marriages, and parenting.
I have seen changes in my own behavior, luckily only online, to the stimuli I get on CDF, for example. I try to limit my knee-jerk offense to issues about which I feel genuine anger, and try to test my impulses here against a "reasonable person standard" and what genuinely insults my sense of justice, but the temptation is great to extend it to other topics after only a couple of weeks. I have to keep telling myself I'm a better person than that, and I can see how that self-talk can slip into "I'm a better person than THEM". If this can happen to me and I'm actively trying to be self-aware, I can only imagine how it affects people who are less insightful and self-regulating.
So In summary, I think the news and entertainment media may have started this ugliness, but it has grown to the proportions we're seeing now because of the Internet and our ability to respond publicly and more or less anonymously to any topic that triggers a contrary thought. It's the same dynamic that turns protesters into rioters: stimulus>interaction>escalation.
A follow-up question: What do you think is the answer, especially for people who genuinely want to be informed?
I should add that I'm not blaming the Internet itself for its role in the outrage problem. It gives us a voice and a venue, but it's our own fault if we abuse it.
I do, and that high of self-righteousness kevzu mentions becomes SO addictive that not only can't we keep our responses to big issues in proportion, but more and more of us seek venues of controversy like Internet forums, news site comment sections, and arguably even Facebook to supply us with constant streams of conflict once we've seen all the news there is to see. It seems to become a lifestyle, as evidenced by the number of middle fingers you get on our roads for minor infractions these days, among other things. I can only imagine the toll it is taking on relationships, marriages, and parenting.
I have seen changes in my own behavior, luckily only online, to the stimuli I get on CDF, for example. I try to limit my knee-jerk offense to issues about which I feel genuine anger, and try to test my impulses here against a "reasonable person standard" and what genuinely insults my sense of justice, but the temptation is great to extend it to other topics after only a couple of weeks. I have to keep telling myself I'm a better person than that, and I can see how that self-talk can slip into "I'm a better person than THEM". If this can happen to me and I'm actively trying to be self-aware, I can only imagine how it affects people who are less insightful and self-regulating.
So In summary, I think the news and entertainment media may have started this ugliness, but it has grown to the proportions we're seeing now because of the Internet and our ability to respond publicly and more or less anonymously to any topic that triggers a contrary thought. It's the same dynamic that turns protesters into rioters: stimulus>interaction>escalation.
A follow-up question: What do you think is the answer, especially for people who genuinely want to be informed?
Perhaps we have to stop the 24 hour news stations, who are trying to fill in every minute with some story that catches our interests. I am always amazed at how many reports are based on "while we don't know the whole story, this is what possibly could be going on. I'd rather get "just the facts", and not "well, in this scenario, this is possible...etc... News is supposed to inform, not confuse. I think that's why I enjoy BBC news, Free Speech TV news shows, and Al Jazerra news. I even learn more from "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Show" than regular news feeds!
I've been reading a very interesting article by David Sirota -Political journalist, best-selling author and syndicated newspaper columnist
"It's outrageous that President Obama gets driven around in a limo! It's outrageous that John McCain wore expensive shoes! It's outrageous that Michael Phelps smoked some weed! Welcome, as I say in my newest newspaper column, to a nation now addicted to fake outrage -- a nation that feeds on made-up controversies about total non-issues. And if we don't break our dependency, we're really not going to solve the huge challenges we desperately need to solve."
I don't think it's faked. I think people sincerely get pissed off at things. Journalists go into that field because they are more prone to this outrage. It is genuine.
I agree that media has a lot to do with pushing all the right buttons to stir up our outrage, especially on the internet. There's a reason headlines on stories are provocative. They are designed to provoke our feelings of outrage for whatever actions someone else has done or is doing.
Just because some self-righteous jerk is "offended" doesn't make them right. Here in New Jersey you can't turn a corner without bumping into some twit anxious to be "offended".
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