E! The Modern Inquisition

Onhell

Infinite Dreamer
A thought came to me the other day as I was reading World Without End by Ken Follet. I admit it is not an original thought, but I thought it might create some good discussion.

The book takes place in the early 14th century and there is a scene where the town's crazy lady is tried for heresy. Not only is her trail public, but her punishment is to by tied to a ox-drawn cart as she is paraded around the town all the while being whipped on her way to the gallows where she is to be hung. Follet describes how most of the town is there with only a few people (the ones I like to describe as sensible) not attending any of it. At the trial most people are there for the show and some cheap laughs at what the mad woman says. Others are indignant at the mockery of the "trial" as it is obvious the woman is off her rocker, but she is taken seriously as a "heretic" and will die... for nothing.

Then I realized, the more things change the more they stay the same. Sure most religions don't burn witches or heretics anymore, but one quick look at celebrity news like that on E!, a glimpse of MTV and even CNN and one can see little has changed. E! is constantly judging celebrities on how they act and what they wear... If you were unlucky enough to catch they're coverage of the Lyndsay Lohan trial you know what I mean. Poor woman, she clearly has substance abuse issues along with some emotional ones as well and she is put up on TV to be further shamed... in public.

Also, unless you have been living under a rock, The latest political MILF to hit the scene since Sarah Palin is Christine O'Donnell. She is currently running for U.S Senate and what is her opposition accusing her of? OF BEING A WITCH. That's right, in 2000 fucking 10, accusing someone of being a witch apparently still carries great weight. So much so that her response ad starts off with "I am not a witch..." good god. All on TV for our information... err, I mean entertainment.

What is reality TV than people making asses of themselves? Sure we no longer have public hangings, burnings, lynchings, but we have The Jersey Shore, Teen Moms, Survivor and CNN to satisfy humanities innate need to gawk, point and laugh....

Discuss...
 
Onhell said:
Also, unless you have been living under a rock, The latest political MILF to hit the scene since Sarah Palin is Christine O'Donnell. She is currently running for U.S Senate and what is her opposition accusing her of? OF BEING A WITCH. That's right, in 2000 fucking 10, accusing someone of being a witch apparently still carries great weight. So much so that her response ad starts off with "I am not a witch..." good god. All on TV for our information... err, I mean entertainment. 

Discuss...

LOL, nobody's accusing her of being a witch, they're making fun of her for thinking she "dabbled in witchcraft". And the fact that she started her ad with "I'm not a witch" shows that she's too dumb to realize nobody thinks she's a witch. Please don't try to defend the stupid shit that woman says.
 
I am not defending her, I agree it is idiotic, but just imagine the conversation that went on with her publicist to have that defensive ad. Bill Mahr is making fun of her for "dabbling" but how many conservative idiots might think she IS a witch? That's what's scary, and the overarching point here, people's stupidity to believe that and to be entertained by reality TV and celebrity gossip.
 
Onhell said:
...how many conservative idiots might think she IS a witch?

This is politics. There's an election at stake. The gloves are off. If the Dems can scare dumb right-wingers into hating O'Donnell, good for them. The Repubs have been doing that for years.
 
The point I see is the ridiculous lack of public understanding between what is entertainment (that which is interesting) and what is news (that which is in the public interest).
Gossip and watching others be humiliated has always been high on the entertainment radar of the lowest common denominator.
And it is a shame that so many are attracted to that kind of entertainment.
Journalism purports to arm people with knowledge that challenges them to think.
But the fact remains that most people don't want journalism that challenges their preconceptions, they want journalism that reinforces their preconceptions.
And media corporations that judge success viewer by viewer, or web hit by web hit are going to give the people what they want — that is the way the free market of ideas works in the western world.
I could go on a rant about the irresponsibility of the media, but the fact is, it is the thirst of the masses that feeds that beast.
I don't give a fuck about Lindsay Lohan, but there is a reason we all know her face and her story.
You're right Onhell, people really haven't changed.
 
This isn't gossip or humiliating people, this is holding that crazy woman accountable for the crazy shit she says. How can you take somebody seriously when they can't even name a supreme court decision they disagree with? That's fine if you're an average Joe but this is a politician.

I disagree with digging up dirt and all the mud slinging that goes on around election time, but that's very different from holding someone accountable for what they say.
 
Suicidehummer said:
This isn't gossip or humiliating people, this is holding that crazy woman accountable for the crazy shit she says. How can you take somebody seriously when they can't even name a supreme court decision they disagree with? That's fine if you're an average Joe but this is a politician.

You are right, however that wasn't the point of my post. I am not intending this to be about politics (though threads do have a life of their own), it was about human behavior and how no matter how much we think we have "evolved" or superceded "backward and barbaric behaviors"... we really haven't, they are still present, just in a different medium.
 
BTW I saw what you mentioned last night on The Colbert Report... about O'Donnell not knowing what policies she was against, hilarious.
 
Ok, I was going to start a new thread, but I think this fits into the "theme" of this thread which is people's.... hmm... lack of vision for lack of a better phrase.

As many know I tutor Spanish at the local community college and I talk about a lot of things with the students. There is this particular student who is the poster child of America's public image. VERY Christian, VERY conservative and lives under a rock. Today's gem came when she had to write a story based on pictures in the textbook about a guys life. I went off on one of my little rants saying that he was raised by wolves in the jungles of India... She says, "Onhell! That's not true! Animals can't raise human children." I was dumbfounded! I asked her if she ever heard of feral children and not surprisingly she hadn't.

I explained that feral children were basically children who for whatever reason were isolated from human contact, whether through abuse, running away or kidnapped and raised by animals. She told me, "I believe that they could have been isolated by abusive parents, but not raised by animals." Apparently human being's evil is much more believable than animal kindness... good grief. Even after I showed her this website: http://www.feralchildren.com/en/index.php she was still unconvinced. She said, I'm sure they're lies. I pointed out that the website actually addresses hoaxes AS WELL AS real cases of children being raised by animals from ostriches to bears to wolves....

She looked at me like if I was trying to convert her to Scientology and I'm sure she still thinks it's all bullshit.
 
When you've grown up with parents that force that crap down your throat I would imagine it's hard to believe anything different. That's the only reason in modern day that anybody would believe in a religion.
 
Suicidehummer said:
When you've grown up with parents that force that crap down your throat I would imagine it's hard to believe anything different. That's the only reason in modern day that anybody would believe in a religion.

I agree with your first sentence completely. Your second, no.
For many, religion can be the crutch or pillar (depending on your point of view) that gets them through the demons that life puts in their path.
We can mock if we wish, but it is a reason, and one that appears to work for some.
 
mckindog said:
I agree with your first sentence completely. Your second, no.
For many, religion can be the crutch or pillar (depending on your point of view) that gets them through the demons that life puts in their path.
We can mock if we wish, but it is a reason, and one that appears to work for some.

You beat me too it. Not to mention, that's not the main reason why she's so narrow minded. She's "backwards" in more ways than one, but she definitely lives under a rock.
 
I know... I know, I'm reviving an old thread, but a little back story. I was channel surfing last night and landed on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He was giving a monologue on Black History month and his guest was going to be Dr. Cornel West. I knew what I was watching the rest of the night, it was awesome and wanted to share it with folks. However, the clip isn't up yet and in the search results I found this instead (in a minute actually). It really goes back to my original post about public shaming and Lyndsay Lohan's issues as well as other celebrities. In the case of the following clip it is Britney Spears. I really wish their were more people like Craig on TV:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bbaRyDLMvA
 
Back
Top