Today, John Scalzi (terrific author and Twitterer extraordinaire) posted this:
It got me to thinking, which led to pondering, which led to a rather impromptu and not-very-well-thought-ought experiment after a jaunt to the grocery store, so I logged on to The Tome of Visage and posted this photo I shot while shopping, with the question "What happened here?":
Within about hours, I had 9 replies. None of them were correct in this instance, but they rather proved a point brought to mind by Mr. Scalzi: perception and presentation can shape opinion without basis in fact, and an image/story taken out of context might be spun any which way. If I missed his point, my apologies to Mr. Scalzi, but I'm slogging on with this blog, anyway. Go big or go home.
Wait. I am home. Onward!
As time passes, btw, there may be more replies to my original ToV post, but I wanted to write this now, so here we are. Also, those first folks? Are people I know and love, not strangers, mostly not nutjobs, not trolls. They represent a rather satisfying array of personalities, ages, social strata, political and spiritual beliefs, educational levels, modes of employ, and car ownership. Some are dog people, some cat people, some are horse people, some like reptiles, some have many critters, and some eschew pets entirely. They're readers, writers, thinkers, yarn harlots, artists, mechanics, gardeners, painters, ex-lawyers, white collar, blue collar, male, female, and many other varied and wonderful things. They were polite, informative, and some even linked to informative articles in support of their thoughts.
The responses ranged from Putin ordering Russian troops to invade Ukrain to supply chain issues to corporate shenanigans to controlling the populace through food to end stage capitalism to the impending Mardi Gras, and each response was likely rooted in what is foremost on the responders mind. Boy, do I grok! Lately, my response to stimuli has been rather more cross than not because I? Am rather more cross than usual. Because my brain is feeling somewhat mean-ish, it interprets every little thing as an affront, and I've been snappish when perhaps I needn't have been. But enough about my misfiring neurons!
Each response could have been the right one, and frankly they could be spot on in the near future, but then this would be a moot post, wouldn't it?
So, what did happen, here?
I mean, you'd want to know, right? You'd want to know the truth, right? Not just how someone maybe carefully crafted their presentation to poke you in the feelz, rile you up, get you on their side of whatever the "issue" is and share, R/T, forward, or whatever? Right?
Oh, lort, please say "Right!".
That photo I took at the market?
That's where frozen, ready to heat-and-eat foods usually dwell. Meatballs, chicken wings, nuggets, strips, and patties. Country fried steak. Stuffed chicken breasts. Corn dogs. You know the stuff. A second case nearby would normally have frozen turkeys, burger patties, brats, and whatnot. It was also empty.
Why?
A simple failure of the refrigeration/freezing doodads.
Yup.
They broke.
That's it. That's all.
I know because I asked at the meat department, and the fella there who usually stops to chat with me for a moment was happy to confirm that the cases had, indeed, fizzled and that anything I'd normally get from them I could ask for and he'd fetch it hither from the behind-the-scenes of the department.
Boring, yeah? I could probably have told whatever narrative I wanted and let it fly, and probably no one would have gainsaid me. Probably it could even have been copied or shared and used to support someone else's narrative without regard to what was/is really going on. That could still happen.
It's happening with all kinds of other images/stories. Happens every day. Sometimes there's just enough truth to make it seem really real, and sometimes it's all horsefeathers. Sometimes people know they're spreading misinformation and/or hyperbole, and they're doing it with the intent to manipulate people into responding without thought, with high emotions. Nothing like a conspiracy to speed misinformation along, root it deeply enough that truth no longer matters.
So yes, please, think twice and look into things before you pass them along in a frenzy of like-and-share-if-you-agree, polarizing posts. Does the agita really need feeding?
And to my beloved kin/tribe who saw the original post and answered - I love y'all more than salt and in no way wished to cause unhappiness. I hope you'll always respond with your honest thoughts and know that I am a special kind of asshole but would never knowingly aim my assholery at any of you with intent to do harm (or, really, at all - I usually save my assholery for yelling at strangers in traffic when they can neither hear me nor see into my car and read my lips because I am a considerate asshole and don't want to cause angst in others).
Wait. I am home. Onward!
As time passes, btw, there may be more replies to my original ToV post, but I wanted to write this now, so here we are. Also, those first folks? Are people I know and love, not strangers, mostly not nutjobs, not trolls. They represent a rather satisfying array of personalities, ages, social strata, political and spiritual beliefs, educational levels, modes of employ, and car ownership. Some are dog people, some cat people, some are horse people, some like reptiles, some have many critters, and some eschew pets entirely. They're readers, writers, thinkers, yarn harlots, artists, mechanics, gardeners, painters, ex-lawyers, white collar, blue collar, male, female, and many other varied and wonderful things. They were polite, informative, and some even linked to informative articles in support of their thoughts.
The responses ranged from Putin ordering Russian troops to invade Ukrain to supply chain issues to corporate shenanigans to controlling the populace through food to end stage capitalism to the impending Mardi Gras, and each response was likely rooted in what is foremost on the responders mind. Boy, do I grok! Lately, my response to stimuli has been rather more cross than not because I? Am rather more cross than usual. Because my brain is feeling somewhat mean-ish, it interprets every little thing as an affront, and I've been snappish when perhaps I needn't have been. But enough about my misfiring neurons!
Each response could have been the right one, and frankly they could be spot on in the near future, but then this would be a moot post, wouldn't it?
So, what did happen, here?
I mean, you'd want to know, right? You'd want to know the truth, right? Not just how someone maybe carefully crafted their presentation to poke you in the feelz, rile you up, get you on their side of whatever the "issue" is and share, R/T, forward, or whatever? Right?
Oh, lort, please say "Right!".
That photo I took at the market?
That's where frozen, ready to heat-and-eat foods usually dwell. Meatballs, chicken wings, nuggets, strips, and patties. Country fried steak. Stuffed chicken breasts. Corn dogs. You know the stuff. A second case nearby would normally have frozen turkeys, burger patties, brats, and whatnot. It was also empty.
Why?
A simple failure of the refrigeration/freezing doodads.
Yup.
They broke.
That's it. That's all.
I know because I asked at the meat department, and the fella there who usually stops to chat with me for a moment was happy to confirm that the cases had, indeed, fizzled and that anything I'd normally get from them I could ask for and he'd fetch it hither from the behind-the-scenes of the department.
Boring, yeah? I could probably have told whatever narrative I wanted and let it fly, and probably no one would have gainsaid me. Probably it could even have been copied or shared and used to support someone else's narrative without regard to what was/is really going on. That could still happen.
It's happening with all kinds of other images/stories. Happens every day. Sometimes there's just enough truth to make it seem really real, and sometimes it's all horsefeathers. Sometimes people know they're spreading misinformation and/or hyperbole, and they're doing it with the intent to manipulate people into responding without thought, with high emotions. Nothing like a conspiracy to speed misinformation along, root it deeply enough that truth no longer matters.
So yes, please, think twice and look into things before you pass them along in a frenzy of like-and-share-if-you-agree, polarizing posts. Does the agita really need feeding?
And to my beloved kin/tribe who saw the original post and answered - I love y'all more than salt and in no way wished to cause unhappiness. I hope you'll always respond with your honest thoughts and know that I am a special kind of asshole but would never knowingly aim my assholery at any of you with intent to do harm (or, really, at all - I usually save my assholery for yelling at strangers in traffic when they can neither hear me nor see into my car and read my lips because I am a considerate asshole and don't want to cause angst in others).
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