Beloved Clickbait
Buzzwords
Lifting the targets
For the AI bots to consume
He's for the mask
She's against the vaccine
Stirring it up
In three word sound bites
Magically designed
To make us salivate
Like Pavlov's dog.
In Honor of Al Jaffee
The image below is probably the most politically incorrect graphic the great comic artist Al Jaffee ever produced. Originally published in a special issue of MAD magazine in 1971, it brought protests for its seeming disrespectful tone. It even launched a brief FBI investigation into possible political subversion. So, why am I bringing it up? 2 reasons. First, Mr. Jaffee just celebrated his 95th birthday. Second, In all of the turmoil of the Election, it is important that the pledge be for all people. Not just the moneyed elite. More importantly, to weed out infection the poisons of bigotry by all people need to be aired. Burying thoughts and ideas through euphemisms and language discussion allow the opinions to fester. The quote "Just because you silence a man does not mean you convert him" very much applies. Donald Trump has made efforts to silence his critics. His critics have made a double effort to silence. him. And nothing gets done.
I am going to be serious here, for a moment. When I was a teenager, we had a small terrier mix, who loved to eat raw fish. On days when we had fresh fish caught, and to be cleaned, my Dad would click a pair of surgical scissors, in advance of sharing a piece of fish to the dog. As soon as the terrier encountered to ringing of the steel scissors, she would dance on her back legs, putting on a show, in order to be rewarded. (For the record, this maneuver was her idea. She trained us, not the other way around, as you might surmise.
ReplyDeleteEventually, Dad started freezing extra portions of fish for the dog. I recall, there we times, when the dog netted all of a given day's catch, although handed out over a period of days.
Animals do train their humans.
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