Self-deprecation is worth its weight in smoldering phoenix-ashes and baby unicorn tears.
or; little brother, coming back for your souls.
Published on September 26, 2007 By SanChonino In Politics
People always worry about Big Brother. They have that image fixed in their minds - the thick, dark mustache, the heavy brow, and the growling visage, overlooking everything. But I'm more and more convinced that a "Big Brother"-style government is a concept that will never have credence in the US, simply because we've been weaned on the idea that a government like that is bad. (Never mind the long conversation we could have about how Huxley's dystopic vision is the frightening future of the US, and we're content to do nothing to stop it.)

But I've come to believe that it's not Big Brother who's the new oppressor - it's Little Brother. It's the viral media, it's the bloggers, it's the world of 24-hour news exposure. It's the fact that no one can say anything in confidence; the fact that there are no closed doors; the sad fact that there is no way to keep skeletons in the closet. And it's not the MSM's fault (even though so many of the blogosphere [I can't believe I just said that word] are content to blame the majority of our current difficulties on them). It's YOUR fault, people.

You wanted this. You demanded that the news come to you in pretty little packages on your damned RSS feeds. You declared your independence from the MSM, while simply becoming a (pointless) part of it yourselves. You uploaded every stupid thing you've ever seen on YouTube so that the world can see it, and ruined your neighbor's reputation in the process.

Rather than helping rein in the terror that is the modern media, you made yourselves willing participants. And then you sit back, typing from your gilded keyboards, declaring your moral superiority from the medias sources that surround you. You somehow think you're different. You somehow think you're special.

You're not.

You're f*ckin' Stone Phillips with an uglier haircut. You're Anne Curry, but not as (surprisingly) hot.

You are part of the machine. Enjoy the grave you've dug yourself, blogosphere (ugh). You are Little Brother - the new bastion of control of society.

You are Barbara Walters.

Aren't you proud?






PS I hate you.

Comments (Page 1)
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on Sep 26, 2007
Nice, but don't forget social networking sites as well. Nothing says 'security risk' like a profile where every tagged pic shows another alcoholic fun time.
on Sep 26, 2007
on Sep 26, 2007

Reply By: SanChoninoPosted: Wednesday, September 26, 2007

when is your birthday? I will be glad to not talk politics for that day. Can we discuss some live baby menus?

on Sep 26, 2007
SanChonino,

I usually disagree with you on politics but found your article hard to argue with. Very thought provoking and well written.

Good Job
on Sep 26, 2007

I'm of the opposite mind.  I think that blogs and email have made the world a better place.  The main stream media would never have covered the story of Jena 6 if a man hadn't made a youtube video about it that got emailed instead of stupid jokes for a while.  Why not talk about something that really matters, something substantial than just passing jokes around etc. 

I think big brother is the problem.  Big brother is the one that catches us on video every time we check out at Walmart, use the ATM machine, pass through a red light, pump gasoline etc.  Big brother tracks what DVD's we rent, which brand of tampon we buy, our internet usage.  It's not the bloggers that are following us around with camcorders every minute of the day.  It's not the bloggers watching over our shoulders as we type on the computer. 

And I am NOT baba wawa. 

on Sep 26, 2007

PS I hate you.

Oh and you know you love me.  lol

on Sep 27, 2007

Everyone (Disclaimer: That is a generalization) thinks that the Internet is magic, and that blogging is some kind of new invention of the wheel.

The reality is no, it is just a new public forum that has the potential to reach more people than standing on a soap box on the corner of a busy street.  The latter of which has been happening since recorded history.

Yes, I blog, so therefore I am might seem to be some novel new creation of a brave new world.  But in reality it is just a cyber soapbox that might (or might not) reach more people.  It is not a new idea, just a new method.  And the jerks that post are no different than the "walking comber" you see on the streets of your city.

YOu can hate all you want, and tilt at that windmill Don, but the truth is you are merely looking at an old razor in the mirror of your medicine cabinet.

on Sep 27, 2007
YOu can hate all you want, and tilt at that windmill Don,


Gladly. You'd be hard pressed to give me a greater compliment than to refer to me as Quijote.

As for the rest of your response: Thank you for singlehandedly showing us how culturally inept, certifiably obtuse, and amazingly haughty the blogosphere (really ugh) is. To equate the power of the internet with street preaching proves just how deluded you are.

Thanks again for proving my point. Why don't you go have yourself a great day ruining civil discourse elsewhere?
on Sep 27, 2007
The convenience of blogging is what really makes it crap. Any idiot can do it. You can blog annonymously. You can be a horrible writer and still blog. You don't even have to be dressed when you blog. You can do it from the comfort of your own home.

Public speaking, you're out there. People know who you are now. You can be a horrible speaker and get on a soapbox, but a lot of people are afraid of public speaking. You have to get dressed, go out, find a spot that's public but that has people coming by often, you have to pick the right time and place, you have to put EFFORT into spreading your message.

I just post stuff on JoeUser and my message is on a search engine that a whole bunch of people use. It's there forever.

If I go out in public and speak, my message is only there as long as I am. Then, it's gone.

So, while it's a different method, it's also an easier, more permanent method.
on Sep 27, 2007

As for the rest of your response: Thank you for singlehandedly showing us how culturally inept, certifiably obtuse, and amazingly haughty the blogosphere (really ugh) is. To equate the power of the internet with street preaching proves just how deluded you are.

I am sure you are proficient in Spanish, but you appear to have a comprehension problem with English.  Perhaps you may want to re-read my response and see where I am equating power anywhere.  Or show me how the printed word is so much more radically new today than it was yesterday?

You proved your own point.  I guess you do not like mirrors after all.

on Sep 27, 2007
where I am equating


Good Lord, you're more obtuse than I previously thought.

But in reality it is just a cyber soapbox that might (or might not) reach more people. It is not a new idea, just a new method.


Meaning - it's the same thing. Meaning - you equated the two.

Meaning - you're stupid.

Please stay off my blog, if you're going to blatantly contradict yourself and say it's somehow my fault.

Consider your ass on the BL. Any more comments from you will be baleeted.
on Sep 27, 2007
Here, here, well said Braeden: Begin quote[it's Little Brother. It's the viral media, it's the bloggers, it's the world of 24-hour news exposure. It's the fact that no one can say anything in confidence; the fact that there are no closed doors; the sad fact that there is no way to keep skeletons in the closet. And it's not the MSM's fault (even though so many of the blogosphere [I can't believe I just said that word] are content to blame the majority of our current difficulties on them). It's YOUR fault, people.]end quote
on Sep 28, 2007
Hey look now I can do it with a smiley!

Free Smiley Face Courtesy of www.FreeSmileys.org

Sniff, mom would be so proud!
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