public relations and fuel prices
Fascinating stuff on NPR this morning.
First they talked about Freud and how, thanks to some of his insights about how people are not quite as rational as they thought, we now have a public relations industry. Apparently, back in 1905, the general feeling was that the best way to convince people was to present a proper argument with proof and evidence. Freud challenged that, saying that people are really ruled by desires, and that by tapping into those, you could make people do whatever you wanted (apologies for oversimplifying this - any psych major could probably write a thesis on this topic).
Well, people realized that this idea had great potential - so that today, rather than giving us the information and letting us decide for ourselves, corporations and politicians and other people who can benefit from our actions try to bypass our reason by putting a "spin" on things in order to appeal to our internal desires.
NPR used "bacon and eggs" as an example. It seems this was not always the "all-american" breakfast, until a bacon manufacturer hired Freud's nephew to help them increase sales, and he set up an ingenious campaign to popularize the meal. And guess what today's top breakfast is? It ain't because it's good folks. It's because someone got paid a lot of money to make it popular.
What else is presented in a way that bypasses reason and appeals to inner feelings? Oh, you'd be surprised.
How about every single product commercial produced these days? The obvious ones don't even show the product, but even the simple commercials put in catchy jingles (zoom zoom zoom...) or sexy actors or gentle summer breezes or cheerful well-adjusted families or whatever else will make you feel good.
Products (cars and technology are notorious for this) are designed to look sleeker and more sexy.
You know those grass roots political and corporate protests that college kids love to participate in? Grass roots my ass. Most of the time, there's a bucket of money behind these activities, paid for by someone who has a lot to gain from it.
I like picking on PETA because they are so full of shit. Rich old ladies die off and will their entire estate to their cats, care of PETA, because they have this image of being sweet cuddly animal lovers. The PETA execs get rich and buy even more PR, putting the faces of cute fuzzy animals on billboards to inspire more people to volunteer, so the execs can make even MORE money, etc etc. Meanwhile, they ignore non-cute animals unless there's a PR reason not to, and they kill pets that are sent to the official PETA animal shelters. It's all crap - it's a farce where people on the bottom are fooled into thinking they are working for a feel-good cause, and the people on top are doing anything for a buck as long as they can maintain good PR. (I recommend the World Wildlife Fund instead)
Political issues? Oh HELL yes, you'd better believe it. Why do you think bills are named the way they are these days? Who's going to want to vote against something called the "no child left behind act" or the "american job act", or a sex-offender registration act named after a murdered child? These things are positioned to take advantage of our sympathies and desires, not our ability to reason.
Political campaigns are not based on issues or facts, they are based on whatever gets people excited. Sex scandals, drug abuse, insults, popularity polls, it's all about getting people wound up. There are people who get paid millions of dollars to manipulate you.
I'm going to say that again, because you really need to get this point:
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO GET PAID MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO MANIPULATE YOU.
And it works. It works REALLY well.
Repealing the death tax...the PR hype says it hurts farmers and common folk. It doesn't - it hurts...guess who? The billionaire political fat cats who are trying to get it repealed and their big financial contributors, duh.
Why is Bush fighting so hard for private accounts? Oh, wait, let's call them "personal" accounts, that sounds less corporate (that piece of research probably cost about $150k). Is it because he's worried about the future of the country or the youth? Uh, no. It's because a very large sum of money has been put in his pocket by a company or companies who stand to make even more money if it gets implemented. I'm guessing one of the big financial firms like Merrill Lynch or whoever ends up getting the federal contract to MANAGE the "personal" accounts after the legislation passes. Look, he wouldn't be spending so much time and money trying to put a spin on this if there wasn't a buttload of money to be made off it. Someone is paying for this.
All right, one more example. The house recently passed an energy bill that was marketed as a way to bring down gas prices. Great spin - that's something that is on everyone's mind right now. However, guess how they intend to do this. Go on, just guess.
Are they reducing demand by applying long-overdue small-car fuel consumption standards to SUVs, or subsidizing the development of alternative fuel sources?
No.
Are they reducing overall cost to the consumer by researching and implementing new ways of preparing and delivering fuel?
Don't be silly.
The people who PAY for the legislation always get the direct benefits. You should know this by now.
The oil companies are getting money. The government is voting to give huge sums of money to the oil companies with the "expectation" that they will pass the savings on to the consumers.
Right. Let's all hold our breath.
Oh, and while we're at it? Let's "reduce our dependence on foreign oil" by letting OUR oil companies get even bigger and mine in places they previously couldn't.
It's time to wake up, people.
We are all being manipulated on a regular basis by everyone who wants to get their hands in our pockets, and they use every tool at their disposal to do it - advertising, news media, entertainment, religion, politics, networking, subversion, misdirection, and outright lying. This is the world we live in.
So drop your rose-colored glasses and your feel-good notions of what makes the world work, and take a good look around. Everything you see was paid for by somebody. Stop taking it for granted, there's a reason for it, and more often than not, it ain't pretty.
First they talked about Freud and how, thanks to some of his insights about how people are not quite as rational as they thought, we now have a public relations industry. Apparently, back in 1905, the general feeling was that the best way to convince people was to present a proper argument with proof and evidence. Freud challenged that, saying that people are really ruled by desires, and that by tapping into those, you could make people do whatever you wanted (apologies for oversimplifying this - any psych major could probably write a thesis on this topic).
Well, people realized that this idea had great potential - so that today, rather than giving us the information and letting us decide for ourselves, corporations and politicians and other people who can benefit from our actions try to bypass our reason by putting a "spin" on things in order to appeal to our internal desires.
NPR used "bacon and eggs" as an example. It seems this was not always the "all-american" breakfast, until a bacon manufacturer hired Freud's nephew to help them increase sales, and he set up an ingenious campaign to popularize the meal. And guess what today's top breakfast is? It ain't because it's good folks. It's because someone got paid a lot of money to make it popular.
What else is presented in a way that bypasses reason and appeals to inner feelings? Oh, you'd be surprised.
How about every single product commercial produced these days? The obvious ones don't even show the product, but even the simple commercials put in catchy jingles (zoom zoom zoom...) or sexy actors or gentle summer breezes or cheerful well-adjusted families or whatever else will make you feel good.
Products (cars and technology are notorious for this) are designed to look sleeker and more sexy.
You know those grass roots political and corporate protests that college kids love to participate in? Grass roots my ass. Most of the time, there's a bucket of money behind these activities, paid for by someone who has a lot to gain from it.
I like picking on PETA because they are so full of shit. Rich old ladies die off and will their entire estate to their cats, care of PETA, because they have this image of being sweet cuddly animal lovers. The PETA execs get rich and buy even more PR, putting the faces of cute fuzzy animals on billboards to inspire more people to volunteer, so the execs can make even MORE money, etc etc. Meanwhile, they ignore non-cute animals unless there's a PR reason not to, and they kill pets that are sent to the official PETA animal shelters. It's all crap - it's a farce where people on the bottom are fooled into thinking they are working for a feel-good cause, and the people on top are doing anything for a buck as long as they can maintain good PR. (I recommend the World Wildlife Fund instead)
Political issues? Oh HELL yes, you'd better believe it. Why do you think bills are named the way they are these days? Who's going to want to vote against something called the "no child left behind act" or the "american job act", or a sex-offender registration act named after a murdered child? These things are positioned to take advantage of our sympathies and desires, not our ability to reason.
Political campaigns are not based on issues or facts, they are based on whatever gets people excited. Sex scandals, drug abuse, insults, popularity polls, it's all about getting people wound up. There are people who get paid millions of dollars to manipulate you.
I'm going to say that again, because you really need to get this point:
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO GET PAID MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO MANIPULATE YOU.
And it works. It works REALLY well.
Repealing the death tax...the PR hype says it hurts farmers and common folk. It doesn't - it hurts...guess who? The billionaire political fat cats who are trying to get it repealed and their big financial contributors, duh.
Why is Bush fighting so hard for private accounts? Oh, wait, let's call them "personal" accounts, that sounds less corporate (that piece of research probably cost about $150k). Is it because he's worried about the future of the country or the youth? Uh, no. It's because a very large sum of money has been put in his pocket by a company or companies who stand to make even more money if it gets implemented. I'm guessing one of the big financial firms like Merrill Lynch or whoever ends up getting the federal contract to MANAGE the "personal" accounts after the legislation passes. Look, he wouldn't be spending so much time and money trying to put a spin on this if there wasn't a buttload of money to be made off it. Someone is paying for this.
All right, one more example. The house recently passed an energy bill that was marketed as a way to bring down gas prices. Great spin - that's something that is on everyone's mind right now. However, guess how they intend to do this. Go on, just guess.
Are they reducing demand by applying long-overdue small-car fuel consumption standards to SUVs, or subsidizing the development of alternative fuel sources?
No.
Are they reducing overall cost to the consumer by researching and implementing new ways of preparing and delivering fuel?
Don't be silly.
The people who PAY for the legislation always get the direct benefits. You should know this by now.
The oil companies are getting money. The government is voting to give huge sums of money to the oil companies with the "expectation" that they will pass the savings on to the consumers.
Right. Let's all hold our breath.
Oh, and while we're at it? Let's "reduce our dependence on foreign oil" by letting OUR oil companies get even bigger and mine in places they previously couldn't.
It's time to wake up, people.
We are all being manipulated on a regular basis by everyone who wants to get their hands in our pockets, and they use every tool at their disposal to do it - advertising, news media, entertainment, religion, politics, networking, subversion, misdirection, and outright lying. This is the world we live in.
So drop your rose-colored glasses and your feel-good notions of what makes the world work, and take a good look around. Everything you see was paid for by somebody. Stop taking it for granted, there's a reason for it, and more often than not, it ain't pretty.