Media – Sillyfrog's Blog

Unanswered Question: Why do we keep lying to ourselves?

Posted on 05/25/202305/25/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

I saw a post and only read two lines of the poem.
The image of George Floyd was clearly displayed at the top of the page.
The poem spoke of “slave ships”.
That was enough for me.
The death of George Floyd was tragic on so many levels but the stubborn adherence to the idea that it had anything to with race is absurd. What that mindset does is perpetuate a myth, a political flashpoint, and a lie.
Derrick Shovan was a terrible, barbaric, man and cop.
George Floyd was a drug addict, repeat criminal, and misguided soul.
We could investigate all day long the ‘whats and whys’ that made them each that way, but that’s not the point.
Something terribly tragic happened and we’re not placing the blame on ‘what happened next’ where it belongs.
Both men had culpability in the route they took to that place and time of Floyd’s death, yet their race wasn’t deemed, even in court, as having an influence.
So, why do we keep lying to ourselves?
Why is George Floyd a folk hero?
How does his life and death have anything to do with slave ships?
Derrick and George were already known to each other.
No ‘hate crime’ allegation was pursued in Derrick’s trial. Because race was NOT a factor. (He was a real ‘rotten egg’ and got what he deserved.)
Race hustlers came rushing out of the woodwork, though. Some for financial gain (BLM organizers) and others for political leverage (BLM self-proclaimed Marxists, among others). Both types should have been recognized as and declared opportunists immediately.
That’s why the riots, marches, and continued mythology over George Floyd are so baffling and IMHO are symptomatic of even darker ills than a would-be individual act of racism.
Those most desperate ubiquitous illnesses are victimhood, ignorance, and-bias inspired- gullibility.
The clear perpetrators of those crippling diseases are the media, our educational system, and political activists. If you want something ‘real‘ to be outraged about, their accountability isn’t even going to be EVER considered. The avoidable death and destruction in the aftermath will go on being falsely labeled a noble crusade. Instead, the misnomer of “systematic racism” (in this specific case) will continue to destroy our harmony, unity, and sense of justice. We will therefore go on being victimized and consumed by ‘lies’, half-truths, and narrative manipulations, until the nefarious goal of dehumanizing and dividing our country for the purpose of totalitarian control, is achieved.
Don’t play a role in it by not getting your facts straight.

Unanswered Question: May I have your attention on occasion?

Posted on 02/28/202302/28/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

This post was inspired by a comment that I made on another post. It was about my opinion that our media is complicit in a larger global campaign of stealing our freedoms and futures by promoting an almost daily “crisis” and/or a new focus of outrage. You can totally disagree with my assessment and still learn from this post, so I ask you to continue reading.
Let’s start with a cute childhood riddle.
“What’s worse than discovering a worm in your apple?”
“Discovering half of a worm in your apple, of course.”
This is funny and a perfect segway to my next question:
“What’s worse than being fooled?”
“Not knowing that you’ve been fooled, of course.”
If you’ve never watched the TV series called Brain Games, I excitedly suggest it to you. It explores the human brain’s limitations and strengths. It’s science, folks!
Many of you already know how frustrated I get when I’m shutout of a conversation. Some of you expect conversations to be a competition to conclude “Who is ‘right’?” and avoid them because who has time for ‘battles’ these days?
What if conversations were a means to gain knowledge and understanding? That’s how I ‘see’ them.

We are not physically nor mentally equipped to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. That’s a fact. Multi-tasking is actually a state of busyness not a super-human mental ability. We may jump from one task to another with alacrity, but our efficiency suffers for it. Sorry for popping that bubble. 😉
So, what I am trying to point out is that no matter what YOU believe, you can be distracted and fooled by others who are able to get your attention. I certainly have been fooled and it not only ‘stinks’ it can be costly. The best attention getters are passionate or fear-based media reports. We’re wired to protect ourselves and preserve our values so, of course, we ‘drop’ everything else we could be paying attention to, in favor of self-preservation.
If we’re ‘busy’ in this fast-paced world, the available amount of our attention beyond our tasks is limited.
Do you know people who just read headlines and/or listen to media ‘warnings’ and leave that ‘ugly’ topic of “politics” to the zealots? I do. I can’t blame them. What bothers me is that they are being ‘played’ by censorship and misdirection when they do.
But, lucky for us there are retired, thoughtful, concerned, citizens who DO pay attention because it’s our “politics” that, whether we like it or not, directly affect our prosperity, freedom, and futures.
So, I ask, “May I have your attention on occasion?”
That request comes with no expectation of agreement or argument. It is a matter of “food for thought” in a busy world.
Below is a segment from Brain Games that may ‘open your eyes’ to how easily we can be fooled (and robbed) when our attention is diverted… many times it’s diverted for unseemly purposes. [In my humble opinion, our language, institutions, and futures are being ‘pick pocketed’ and twisted, while we’re being told in the media that we are each other’s adversaries by calling us racist, unkind, and uncaring, according to our political positions. We’re better than that. 😉 ]
We’re all in this together, friends!

Words 'n' such Poetry

#Tanka Tuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge #305- Media Trolls

Posted on 01/31/202301/31/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

Below, I’ve generated a list of 100 random words. The idea is to read through the words, searching for a word that sparks your inspiration.

Then, choose no less than three words to use in your poem.

Media Trolls

Rampant
Phobic anguish
Maddening ‘crisis’ trolls
With sober concerns spread numbing self-doubt
Rude hoax

The Crapsey Cinquain is a five-line, non-rhyming poem featuring a syllable structure of 2-4-6-8-2. Choose words that create drama that builds into the fourth line. The turn occurs on line five, the most important line. This is where you change your focus away from the drama in some interesting way. Cinquain poems need a title.

#TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge No. 305, 1/31/23

Writing Prompts

November 28th: Story Challenge- Guard Yourself

Posted on 11/29/202211/29/2022 by Susan St.Pierre

November 28, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the saying, “not my monkeys, not my circus”. What is the situation that would spawn that aphorism? Have fun with setting and characters! Go where the prompt leads!

“Son, there are two dynamics going on. Individual behaviors vs behaviors of those who make the ‘rules’. Media presents the former 24/7 in order to distract us.
The only individual whose action you control is you. “Not my monkeys, not my circus” applies to the rest.
But, in order to ensure a bright future, you must discriminate “anecdotes” from policies. Never dismiss governmental actions even if they don’t seem to apply directly to you. When sensational items are dwelled upon, look beyond them. It’s not your job to save the world from itself. Guard yourself against the world.”

https://carrotranch.com/2022/11/28/november-28-story-challenge-in-99-words/

In my humble opinion..., Writing Prompts

SoCS Saturday- 5/28/22 Our Trials

Posted on 05/27/202205/27/2022 by Susan St.Pierre

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “trail/trial.” Use one, use both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use both. Have fun!

To sweep the event that has shaken all of us into an ‘isolated safe space’ as we enjoy our hard-fought freedoms with loved ones this Memorial Day Weekend, would be easier, and possibly more humane, than bringing it up but this weekend, after all, is made possible because of loss.
I’m not interested in applying a corkscrew to every broken heart with horrific details like the shameless media. I want to address how we humans have the capacity to rise above grief for an outcome that animals cannot.
The best athletes have a tool that not everyone develops. They know how to compartmentalize emotional pressures in order to bring forth their gifts and skill. We all know the phrase “they choked”. That describes any activity where a human being is overcome emotionally to the point of it affecting the ability to do his ‘best’. Hey… we all choke sometimes. We’re human.
Many folks have also developed a similar tool when it comes to critical thought and problem solving. That ability alone separates us from all other creatures. To unemotionally examine our problems, according to expansive investigation, grants us an incredible survival advantage. We need not repeat mistakes in order to learn to avoid danger.
Not every human can do this. Emotions are powerful and necessary. Our emotions actually serve us well in decision making in tandem with critical thought. We’re not robots and that’s our most crucial gift. We can figure out how to improve AND apply humanity.
I’m afraid humans have either failed to inspire critical thought skills in each new generation or our species has somehow had that ability erased from our DNA. For some reason hearts are currently ruling more often than heads. Our media surely has caught on. Tugging at heartstrings is a far better business model than investigating facts.
Those who are unable to ‘deal’ beyond emotion have become hecklers to those who care so much they want to prevent, rather than cure, troubles. News Flash: troubles almost never have a single cause nor a binary solution, yet the hecklers reduce every tragedy to that immature level. I’d wish they’d stop that!
I wonder if they actually care or just want others to see them as “those who care”?

It’s understandable if you’re numb with grief or if you feel confused and helpless but PLEASE stop demonizing everyone else awaiting factual information or blaming people who aren’t ‘the cause’ (i.e., the NRA, Republicans, the Founding Fathers…), you look foolish. Grow up or kindly just get out of the way.
Our trials desperately need critical analysis or the trail of human existence, most certainly, will be short.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
A salute to all who have perished so that we might learn, love, and thrive another day.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 28, 2022

In my humble opinion...

THEY LIE WITHOUT REST — Citizen Tom

Posted on 02/26/2021 by Susan St.Pierre

I’m reblogging an interesting post with a sound message.

Reporters with various forms of “fake news” from an 1894 illustration by Frederick Burr Opper (from Fake new.s – Wikipedia) A an easy riddle. Riddle: How does one lie without rest? Answer: One tells a falsehood. Isaiah put it this way. Isaiah 57:20-21 New American Standard Bible 20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it […]
THEY LIE WITHOUT REST — Citizen Tom

In my humble opinion..., Nature Knowledge, Sideshows

Ignorance Perpetuates Prejudice

Posted on 07/23/201307/23/2013 by Susan St.Pierre

There’s so much outrage these days. Something has stirred up our emotions and I’m at a loss to find one single cause. The overall theme of this simmering pot is misunderstanding with a big helping of mistrust on top. The visible combatants, via our sensationlizing media, in these divisions are claiming the ability to divine the intent of anyone who has a differing opinion. The core element to the outrage seems to be a misguided philosophy that assumes, those who differ, do so from a purely mean-spirited inspiration.

I’d like to offer a true story that helped me to realize that most prejudice comes from ignorance not an evil agenda.
A few years ago, I witnessed one of Nature’s violent “goings on”. I was alerted to a “bird battle” in my back yard by dozens of squawking crows. As I watched the commotion, there was a flailing of wings and seeming screams coming from a gang of large birds on my lawn. One red-tailed hawk emerged from that pile, and flew off, followed by more crows than I could count. My curiosity brought me straight to the, now abandoned, crime scene to discover three dead fledglings on the ground. My human heart was saddened but I returned to my daily routine.
A few hours later, my neighbor had taken up the task of burying the victims and joined me at my doorstep with his tale of the tragedy .
Before I tell you about his understanding of the bird “murders”, I’d like to point out that most people have a small knowledge of birds, and Nature in general. In fact, until my curiosity of natural things had awakened, I was among those folks who could identify only Robins, Crows, Blue Jays and the, occasional, Cardinal. These birds are of the highly visible type that most people come to know. With that commonness , there also comes wide-spread folk-lore about them. Blue Jays are brash and bossy, Robins are sweet, Cardinals are special and Crows are murderers. In fact, a group of crows is referred to as a “murder of crows”. (In defense of crows, they are actually primarily scavengers and highly intelligent to boot. I’m sure, the common place sightings of these fellows eating carrion was the impetus of the “killer” label.)

Now, back to the story:
My kind neighbor broke into a tale of murderous crows who attacked a red-tailed hawk nest, leaving baby hawks littered in our shared yard. It was true that we witnessed the same event but ignorance was there too.

I proceeded to tell him my version. The dead babies were crows. I showed him the straight beak of one of “the fallen”. It was easy to understand his confusion though. Crows are big birds and are about the size of many hawks. The dead babies were very close to leaving the nest, therefore, they were almost full-sized.
My tale continued with the murderous intent shifted to the hawk. By the time I had finished, his sympathy had done a one-eighty. My tale ended with an admiration for the community and brotherhood which had brought so many crows, out of nowhere, to aid in the rescue attempt.

So you see, my neighbor was not being mean-spirited in his inaccuracy. It was his ignorance that perpetuated the prejudice.

I’m hoping this story, inspires you to take a moment to explain yourself when someone has a different opinion and refrain from judging others as mean-spirited. Overall, the most important message, here, is to stay informed and curious.