Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Newsflash... Who the Fuck Cares?

Dear Internet,

It has always surprised me how much Americans care about specific, generally pointless things. The new shoes so-and-so has, the swine flu or whether Michael Jackson is dead or not are perfect examples of traditional topics that nobody should give a flying fuck about.

Why you ask? Well the answer is simple. 80% of news is bullshit or non essential to daily life continuing to the next day.

Case numero uno (#1 for you non-spanish speakers): Swine flu.
-Do you remember when the first reports of swine flu came out? I sure don't, but I do remember one of the guys in my hall flipping shit about one guy in Spokane, where I was at the time, who (allegedly) had it. Safeway had sold out of the disposable paper masks that don't really do anything but prevent particles of wood entering your lungs . Anywhoo... chaos ensued for about... 30 minutes. That is, everyone else but me (probably some others too, but mainly just me). I heard what Jake said, and then calmly went back to what I was doing before so rudely interrupted. I wasn't afraid of the one man in Spokane (population 462,000) from giving me Swine flu, nor the fact that Swine flu is treatable especially in a young, physically fit person (damn attractive too).

So now you should be asking: "So why did everyone flip shit over the Swine flu?" The answer is...

Because the media told us we should.

In an era where I can tell anyone anything in less than 10 seconds, the media runs out of things to talk about. Why do you think that Swine flu, a disease that has only claimed 147 American lives, is being posterized by the media for being a mound of death and destruction?

So....What should we do?

Stop taking the news so Goddamn seriously.

Just because something is on the news, doesn't mean that it will affect you in any way shape or form. Specific news to your area, such as robberies in your neighborhood, incoming tsunamis, or sightings of the Legendary Manbearpig are basically the only news worth paying attention to. Mass media (CNN, MSNBC, FOX News) is only there to make money.

If you hear anything on the news, take it with a grain of salt. Most likely it isn't as important as it seems...

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