June 8, 2007 Why People Hate America: Pt. 1

I think I could go on for hours about this topic, however I’ll keep it to a minimum due to the fact most cube-dwellers out there actually need to work. So one thing I’ve always had a problem with is the media and what they spoon feed the public as important. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve got instant breaking news on Paris Hilton’s prison debacle programmed to be text messaged to me every 30 minutes. “OMG!” Thank god for the media and their coverage of it, otherwise I’d be reading stories about boring relevant things, like the G8 summit or diplomatic talks with Iran. LOL, OMG, I’d be all like, no way am I like reading that stuff, it’s like, WICKED boring. SMMFD!

So as I read through the news on CNN.com, this was the big headline: “Bono Takes Off His Glasses.” There is zero exaggeration in that line; that is word for word what appeared on their website. Well chalk that one up in the category of things I don’t give a shit about. He became so worked up during an interview about the G8 summit that he took his glasses off in exasperation. Well you know what media? I got so upset WATCHING it that I took off MY glasses, and since it’s Friday and I’m feeling scrappy, I’m going to raise Bono a shoe. Now the glasses AND the shoe are off, that’s how upset I am of your choice to cover that piece of “news” and not about something else, like Russian President Putin and his increasingly erratic statements threatening European cities. If you read foreign newspapers, you’d notice that they include much coverage of foreign affairs and world news. In America? That space is taken up by Paris Hilton updates and the newest mouthing-offs of Rosie O’Donnell. Though you can’t blame the media 100% in their escapades to increasingly dumb down America, they tailor to their audience. What does that mean? People actually read that shit. What I say? BAD America, BAD! You go sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done while the rest of the world gets to go play.

On a somewhat serious note, if you want to view real news coverage check out http://www.mondotimes.com/ and click “Local Media” to view headlines from every country in the world or http://www.wn.com/ for a condensed overview. Both have great listings, and if you’re really ambitious, compare headlines from Iranian news agencies covering the US to what we say about them. Or look at the newspaper from Israel and compare it to that of any Lebanese or Palestinian agency. You’ll quickly see that not only do people hate us because of our own self-involved media coverage, but also because of their own.


Song of the Week: “Don’t Cry Out” by Shiny Toy Guns.

Quote of the Week: “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

Random Fact of the Week: The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

Picture of the Week: Incidentally, the crime rate in this town is among the lowest in the country.

Until next week, Yahtzee!


Fred