posted on Jan, 23 2008 @ 01:49 PM
Don't often check this forum. Imagine my suprise that this was still on the front page.
To clairify: Yes that fact that this was touted as news by the MSM when far, far more important things were going on at the time. And yet we had
this...as...news. Mindboggling. I mean wasn't that the point of the show Entertainment Tonight? To handle this kind of "news" and leave the real
news for the grown-up anchors like Brokaw, Jennings and Cronkite. Pipe dream I know...we have Katie Curic, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams now,
which I had to look up since I stopped watching television completely after 9/11 other than when it on at someone else's house while visiting. All
radio WLW and the net for news now.
As for the commentary of young mothers being nothing new. Well aware of that fact as my own mom was 16 and pregnant with me and gave birth 3 months
after turning 17. And yes, mom and dad are still married, 38 years this July. So no, the fact that she was 16 was not my point either. Although I was
serious about hoping she didn't ask her sister for parenting tips.
Myself, too much of a loner for marriage and family but my sister married after college and has 3 boys. Things for her and my brother-in-law are well,
but naturally busy. But since I live several hours away from everyone her oldest asks his grandma when is Uncle Greg coming when I had to miss out on
Chistmas last year.
So while I wish Spears and her baby well, it wasn't really worth the attention the story had when there were things of far greater importance
happening. And while my OP was an undiluted rant of what would become a multi-day/weeks long story.
Some of the responses in the thread were interesting. Full of venom, undiplomatic and outspoken. Much like the current administration's responses to
negative rhetoric and propoganda. So if you strip the significance to the topic and see it as information that you didn't want to hear about, then
the base emotions of the reactions and responses to reactions go far in to explaining how we as nations become involved in unresolved differences that
could lead us to wars. In otherwords mistaken conclusions to words, dehumanising, breaking off commuication, and inflamitory responses. Posting with a
title of a fluff piece that broke when I posted and the president being briefed on the possibility of an Iranian Nuclear Weapons program garners
pretty much the same reaction, the difference being that we only speak for ourselves and the President speaks for the nation. Well that and us going
too far is just a big red warn tag...hopefully the president doesn't view it in the same way.
While many will still see this thread as nothing but tripe. I found it quite educational and informative. The media does far more than condition by
repeated rhetoric to make the masses grunts "war" in unison. They also do a fine job of making people jaded, unattententive and impulsive thanks to
the Education system that rewards based on answering faster than the question is asked by repeative drilling of information until bored.