John Ellis, February 3 at 4:37 pm:

CLASS —— WARFARE

Anarcissie says:

“human beings evolved under difficult conditions
and are happiest when they are stressed and
tested pretty close to their limits.”

Above is the argument given by all good capitalists,...

Actually, I got the “argument” not from a capitalist but from a book by a fellow named Tennessee Williams, who was an author of plays and stories, and he was drawing a conclusion from his own personal experience: as a struggling, unknown playwright living hand-to-mouth, he was happy; when he went over big-time, after awhile he became quite depressed.  It was then that he reflected that humans evolved not sitting on a couch watching television, but running after game and away from tigers in the forest primeval, or wherever they did such things.  He realized he had to put himself to work.  Fortunately art was ready to present him with the enormous challenges, risks, and rewards he needed.

But given the trouble you had reading my little paragraph, I can’t suppose that you have even heard of Tennessee Williams.  Oh, well.  You probably have lots of company, anyway.

It’s interesting to think about language in connection with how we view the pain of others.
For example:  I am not you.  We are not they.
Personalization breaks down commonality in the very structures that express what we think of as “meaning.” 
  Top that with centuries of the gradual breakdown of tribal living emphasizing interdependency of larger social groupings made up of individuals forced to conform to governments of leaders. Class societies take shape as cities, then nations with this or that in common.  ?We? overpowers both “I” and “you/they”.
  To resist the oppression that followed, the idea of “individualism” gained emphasis—“individual freedom”  “voluntary cooperation”  “community” etc.
involving unity by choice, not forced.
  Gradual loss of feelings of “belonging” in a larger constituency; loss of cultural identity; loneliness, anomie, etc. Idea that “dependency” is bad and “independence” is good.
  Difficulty of establishing a common worldview in spite of desperate need for cooperation.
  Division of the self within the self (largely unconscious):  schizophrenia and schizoid behavior such as “Murder is a crime except in case of war.” Suicide.  Suicide bomber. etc. “I must kill you before you kill me. “Or I am a “Blue.” You are a “Red.”  I hate you; you hate me.  Who will “win”? One OR the other.  Not both. Compromise is not possible. I am right.  You are wrong.
  Or even within our own heads, “I have a bad side and a good side.” Impact of religious concerns with divisions, good versus evil.
  It is hard to say whether system creates language or language creates system, but there is certainly a poorly understood connection between them.
  Some languages are less divisive; some more, but all influence feelings of relatedness and/or lack.

Gerard—my guess is that human beings evolved under difficult conditions and are happiest when they are stressed and tested pretty close to their limits.  However, because of industrialization, mere subsistence is pretty easy for most people.  A minority take the opportunity provided by this luxury to engage themselves in things like art, science, politics, religion, sports—something that engages them fully.  For these people, death and destruction are usually pretty boring and repugnant.  However, their course in life requires original thinking, which is not encouraged.  The majority go along with the unchallenging, stupid life offered to them by the social order, and consequently are bored—bored to the point where even a disaster like a plague or a war is exhilarating.  Television is one of the toys the bored are offered, but obviously it doesn’t help much.

While I think institutionalized boredom is one of the things that feed the desire to have wars and make people more susceptible to being conned into supporting them, the whole business is more complicated.

As to whether death and disaster freaks lack empathy, I don’t know.  It could be that they are not only empathetic but sympathetic, and enjoy suffering as long as it’s secondhand and doesn’t do permanent damage.  That may seem paradoxical, but consider the large number of people who enjoy sadomasochism, tragedies, horror movies, rough contact sports, slam dancing, physical combat, and so on.

Anarchissie:  Thanks for responding.
  Do you think Sirota is writing for those who have junked their TV?  I don’t.  Do you think those who have junked their TV are immune to, or have escaped from disaster porn or its effects?  I don’t.
  I was trying to explore some of the possible reasons, why so many are drawn to disaster porn, and in the previous comment mentioned ways to break free—taking local control of the “educational environment” (actively promoting creativity, action and nonviolence,etc.)
  Surely one reaason is what you say:  “People have stupid lives and are bored out of their minds.” Yes, but ... what is it about disaster porn that intrigues them—what is secondhand pain? Is it really pain?  If so, wouldn’t feelings of empathy arise? Something prevents that.  What is it, do you think? Do we voluntarily turn off compassion, or does disaster porn eventually kill compassion?
  My main point:  War maintains both the “market” (production/distribution) and the “need” for disaster porn (to see what happens) and yet—the reality of it is recognized to be “too much” so it is carefully carved and served in bite-size pieces lest the consumers vomit and stop “eating” it. In which case we would experience rapid economic collapse. That’s our general predicament—TV watchers or not—and I don’t think “boredom” covers it. Sirota doesn’t even begin to cover it either.  It’s too “heavy” for a column, I think.

Gerard—I think you are mixing up two subjects.  One is the theme of Sirota’s article, which is that television is bad and “we” are bad for watching it.  This is a dead horse which is enlessly flogged by a certain kind of writer, but in fact for those who have junked their televisions, it died a long time ago, and it is pretty silly of Sirota to contribute whacks to the dusty corpse with such a worn-out stick.

The other is that many people are strongly attracted to death and disaster, regardless of whether it’s on TV or in the neighborhood.  I work near the World Trade Center; within hours after the attacks of 9/11, the area was swarming with death and disaster freaks and their big cameras.  The site, a hole in the ground, has been a major tourist attraction ever since.  There may be an element of schadenfreude in this, but on the whole I think the big attraction is that people have stupid lives (by choice) and are bored out of their minds.  A disaster charges them up for awhile.  I think this is possibly another issue, although I suppose television helps people keep their lives stupid.

By attacking Sirota for what he says or does not say, his main point gets lost:  His exposing of our perverse enjoyment of “disaster porn.” Other writers have commented similarly calling attention to our enjoyment of the pain of others—a kind of sado-masochism from a distance. (It feels so good because it is not happening to us.  Or, it feels so good because somebody else is doing it and we are not responsible.)

It is important to recognize this as porn and a kind of exploitation of second-hand emotion deliberately brought to our awareness and vented, but without awakening the conscience to resist or make any counter-moves to stop the pain.  Each “shot” takes its toll on empathy and leaves us a little less able to respond humanely. Gradually we become numb and the “dose” must be increased—up to a point.

There is a need for research concerning this"point”—the boundary between numbness of conscience (titillation) and arousal of conscience (revulsion)- for the boundary is narrow and poorly understood. It is easy to understand why such research is neglected, and certain realism in war photography is masked.  If we actually saw what was happening in all its atrocity and gore we would perhaps put an end to it. Revealing some, but hiding the worst of the photographs from Guantanamo is an example.

“GDP smaller than the annual executive bonus fund at a single Wall Street bank” 

Mr. Sirota, how do you conjure this? Please demonstrate some journalistic integrity. What is your authority? WHERE do you get your facts? The GDP of Haiti was $6.5 billion in 2008 and that is a mere fraction of this year’s salaries bonuses to Wall Street bankers ($145 Billion for 2009!) See Wikipedia, the CIA Fact book and just google it.)Please demonstrate your credibility by showing us one executive bonus fund of more than $6.5 billion.

Something more credible than hyperbole and hearsay would certainly enhance your credibility- especially where you have something relevant to offer. Hyperbole, hearsay, and resort to absurd porn connections do little to enhance your credibility and much to affirm that the Internet is an ideological swamp.

And, speaking of context you might be surprised to learn that Haiti has the 5th largest U.S. Embassy in the world - it was 4th till the embassy we recently built in Baghdad. Context? Now, isn’t it amazing that nowhere in the mainstream news (or even here) have we seen any mention of that?  That embassy, for reasons we don’t need to be told, stood up quite well in the quake.  But the 5th largest U.S. embassy in the world for an itty bitty island nation whose total GDP was $6.943 billion in 2008? What’s up with that?

Ask why one of the poorest nations in the world, one whose agricultural base has been destroyed by promises of globalism and the ‘free market’ and which has an 80% unemployment rate, needs the 5th largest U.S. embassy in the world?  Then, sir, you might have something like contextualized news. But I’m not going to do your homework for you. The very telling facts are there for anyone interested in the Truth. Go dig.

DR was not strongly affected by the earthquake.  DR newspapers, easily found via Google under “periodicos de republica dominicana” have advertisements suggesting ways to help Haitians.  The Wikipedia article on the DR seems reasonably factual and reveals the troubled history of relations between the two countries and the mixed role of American (and European and Haitian) imperialism in Dominican affairs.

Who is Anderson Cooper???

Samson, I think you said it so very well in your earlier post.  And you describe exactly the problem I have with Sirota.

Sirota recently appeared on Moyers, and still could not denounce the person he voted for.  Oh yes, he did mention his disappointment.  Woo Woo. 

At some level I do forgive Sirota and many other self described alternative media writers, only because it is more my nature to forgive.  But at another level, aside from forgiveness, I absolutely reject the notion that their contribution in media is any different from the MSM.  And I reject strongly, because frankly, if they do not see or hear my strong objection to their flimsy justification of continuing to support an obviously imperialist president and yet write a “scathing” article on the very media system that the imperialist agenda is based on..good grief.  Talk about not being able to connect the dots.  Get these FAUX alternative media writers a coloring book with sweet pictures outlined in numbers and let them practice until they need to sharpen their crayons.

Why yes, Sirota put together a small pinky fingernail sketch of the dire history of the Haitians.  Good for him.  But he still can’t link, let alone WRITE, how everything Obama has voted for in the Senate before his Presidency and everything the he is putting together now, isn’t leading us towards where Haiti is now.  Bcause what Sirota doesn’t do is link how Obama is OF the imperialist agenda, making absolutely no concrete or substantial policy against imperialism. Nor Fascism.

Seemingly Sirota’s article is for the people.  But his vote and his continued support of Dems and Obama tell us the truth of his writing.  No one can tell me that the Dems are any different than the Repubs when the most recent decision to continue Bernanke as chair of the Fed was a landslide.  If that does not whiff of one party politics…

He tells us that the MSM is guilty of providing flesh pictures without history.  He does not tell us that when the MSM did not provide those pictures in other matters such as 911 and the Balkans (as another comenter mentioned), that without those pictures, frankly, the American public was unmoved to ask questions, or if they were moved, those questions were met with statements like, You’re either with us or against us, or conspiracy theorists or simply not writing the full history of what led to any of these events.

Now the media shows us graphic fotos of Haiti. Well good for them..finally. Graphic fotos mobilize people to help.  And yes, there are questions raised. But I for one never expected the MSM to answer those questions.  Did he?

Imagine how we would demand the wars to stop if we saw graphic pictures in Iraq and Afghanistan…wow.

Why doesn’t Sirota ask questions like, what purpose is being served besides the obvious humanitarian rallying to help Haiti, by showing those graphic pictures? What pictures are not being shown? Where are the fotos of the thousands and thousands of planes and troops and military equipment pouring into Haiti from the U.S.?  Imperialism in action.  How about he ask, why is it that Mexico can send 250,000 TONS of food, water and medical supplies in 48 hours of the event, and the US can only mobilize men with guns in slightly under a weeks time?

He doesn’t ask those questions, because those are questions against our imperialist expansionism.  He focuses instead on the media that HE watches, the clothes, the appearances and his peeve of it, and then points the finger at us.  Accusing us of watching what we are trapped into watching…or not.

Someone tell Sirota, that many of us are waiting on him to catch up. With US.  We have already turned off our TV’s in retaliation.  We need him to also.  We need him to start writing to serve OUR needs.  We need him to write stories that serve a new Paradigm.  This is what we are hungry to read.

There is always something to gape at on the nightly news. The bad reality, that can’t happen here, Juxtaposed, to the glittering good news of new cars, and more potent pharmacueticals to cure our degenerative diseases. Diseases we have attained with our devotion to gluttony, greed, and sloth.

Long gone are the network news shows, that informed and taught, and provided understanding of what was happening in the world and in our country.

They weren’t popular with liars.

Now the same exact battles Haiti fought and lost, that led to 80% unemployment, are happing here.
And we are losing inch by inch, day by day, as all the tricks and traps, of corporate supression and plutocratic control, unwind themselves in our lives as well.

A broken political system, and people so unreal that not even death can waken from their dreams.

I blew our TV up 35 years ago. I had tried removing tubes, and the kids became
tv repairmen. So I unplugged it, and it blew up. I pulled the plug wired into the back of it rather than the one in the wall socket. It wasn’t really ‘our TV. My oldest son had left it when he went away to college, He thought it would be safer that way…

Now, I do have TV. I pay for basic cable, and have watched part of one World Series Game last fall, and a couple of nights of the Merry Monarch Hula Festival staged here in Hilo, every April. I am going to sign up for full cable in May, so I can access the World Cup. When that ends, I’ll go back to my books. I did that in 2006, and it was great, but getting up at 4:30 am to watch soccer requires real dedication. The TV is also useful for watching movies when I am trapped in a recliner with my arthritis, or an injury, or recuperating from surgery. Usually tho, I just read a book. I haven’t watched a movie in 6 months - I bought the dvd documentary of Cuba’s Jazz Greats, Irakere. It was well worth the hour and a half.

So, just quit - it’s much easier than quitting smoking, and gives you more time to do much more important things. You know, like hot-tubbing with your spouse and talking for hours. Or teaching your kids Chess or Cribbage. You’ll even have time to read, garden, and take your dog to the park.

I don’t even know who Sirota is talking about, except for Gupta - wasn’t he up for Surgeon General till he realized how much that would cut his income or some such excuse?

elisalousia—I was speaking to those who were complaining about the content.  It’s like drinking gin and complaining that it tastes funny and makes you dizzy, and then drinking more of it.

Nobody’s forcing you to watch television.  Tune out, turn off, drop it out at the curb.  Really.  I haven’t had one that works for 20 years.

Turning off the TV is more important than just denying advertisers revenue.  Its about reasserting your own ability to think for yourself.

How often do you talk to people who only seem able to repeat what was on TV?

If you turn off the TV, even for a while, your own native ability to think will start to grow again.

And its very good for the soul.

Frankly, one reason most politicians, whether Democrat or Republican, sound quite ridiculous to me is because I’ve blocked out all their self-justifying blather and propaganda from the TV set.

Turn it off for awhile, and you’ll realize that they all sound rather silly.

Don’t put us all in the category Anarcissie, the less TV I watch the more content I
am. In fact I am thinking of following Chris Hedges’ footsteps and not even having
TV.at home, for more than one reason.

Disaster porn ... well, speak for yourself dude.  Me, I’ve got CNN, Faux and all the other fake news channels blocked from my TV by parental blocking features.  Life is better that way.

Then there’s “opposition porn”.  That’s the obscene sight of Democrats pretending to be in the opposition.  You’ve probably seen it. The Democrats stand up and speak pretty words about how bad things are.  Then they fold up the camera and go home laughing about the fools who buy the stuff.

To understand Sirota, you have to understand this. A year and a half ago, he was telling us how wonderful things would be if we’d only elect Obama and the Democrats.  Even now, while he points out the problems of Haiti,
-He refuses to criticize the Democrats for the fact that for over a year now they’ve continued Bush’s policies towards Haiti. 
-He refuses to criticize Obama for refusing even in this crisis to let the democratically elected President of Haiti (Aristead) back into the country. 
-He refuses to criticize Obama for making the decision to put the US military in charge of the ‘relief’ effort. 
-He refuses to criticize that we have a flotilla blocking Haitians from escaping, but somehow can’t deliver supplies.
-He refuses to criticize that we are pouring 20,000 troops into the country in what looks like an occupation, while being incredibly slow in providing ‘relief’.

But hey, he’s cranked out his 750 words of opposition porn, so his work for the week is done.

And guess what ... in a few more months, this master of ‘opposition porn’ will be telling us all that we all need to go to the polls and elect more Democrats.  Despite the fact that they’ve done nothing but screw us in every orifice ever since the last time we made that mistake.

Excellent article.

However, I also think worth noting here is the politics of which dead bodies we see on television.  The dead black body is always considered fair game, so to speak, whereas the dead white body is considered far too graphic for viewers.  Anyone who has watched enough mainstream news has at some point been flashed by images of dead black bodies.  The amount of mutilated Haitian bodies that were filmed over the past several weeks and broadcast on the major news networks is absolutely astonishing. 

Now can anyone recall seeing horrific images of mutilated white bodies from 9/11 or the conflict in the Balkans?  In both of these instances, thousands of dead white bodies were produced, yet almost none of them got any airtime on the major news networks.

Our Addiction to Disaster Porn

Of course the title is a non sequitur & becomes a
Rorschach test for readers to interpret & comment on
from their perspective.
This is the one of the biggest obstacles facing
professional writers who need a “hook” or catchy
phrase
to lure readers to the article. IMO, the biggest
problem is having to write when he or she has nothing
significant or original to say.
While this article was excellent once the chaff was
removed, the title offended some readers & wasted
valuable time & space.

It is quite true that the first step is to turn off the TV.  Massively, nation-wide.  Deny TV its audience and ... advertisers will lose money, which will reach them where they live.

Create and support, financially and psychologically, alternative radio and news media from community to nation.  Fairness and accuracy in reporting on real human needs, responses, problems, ideas, accomplishments.

Strengthen community education—schools, organizations, agencies. Explore the world via internet. Share and discuss ideas for a viable future.  Help each other—teach-ins, study groups

There’s so much that we all can do. There are so many of us who can do it. There are so many ways to do it. There is so much need.  What are we waiting for?

A powerful and insightful article against the background of the disastrous history of colonial powers!

If we add to this the news (or rumors)being reported in other parts of the world about the Haiti’s earthquake being the result of a man-made experimental newest weapon of mass destruction, conducted jointly by the military industrial complexes of both the US and Israel, then one is left with total feeling of disgust about those who openly make a shameful display of compassion and concern for the poor and under-trodden while in reality they are doing this to cover up their evil designs!

I dislike articles and the reporters that lump “us” all in one catagory.  I have not watched the major networks for years now.  I don’t believe “we” are addicted to disaster porn.  I believe “we” are fed that by those who want “us” to be addicted. 

But eating it remains optional.  Seemingly it’s inescapable.  But actually it is. 

Tune into music, tune into your neighborhood, tune into your heart. 

Yes, we want to help Haiti, no we don’t have to watch any of the MSM to understand they are not the way to help.

I had no idea what’s his name t-shirt was too tight and neither should the author of this article. First I’m learning of it is here on truthdig.

More, I am seeking media that completely leaves behind the old paradigm.  I already get it that it is poison.  I am not part of the “we” or the “our” of this article.

If you want my financial support, YOU will also have to leave behind all that annoys you about the MSM, and create what the real “we” desire to support, what I will support.

So if you are going to write about the MSM, be sure to include yourself in the “WE” and the “OUR” instead of placating and assuming your reader is a part of that addicted catagory. 

Stop labeling your readers as idiots.

Change is hard isn’t it? (and that’s not in support of the Obama rhetoric) What the hell will be written if not complaining about what is? 

Write to create. 

Damnit.

So why are you all watching television if it’s so bad?

Dave,

You hit the nail on the head!  The problem IS the Disaster Pornographers…and when there is no disaster to cover, they just become prime time, ‘round the clock media!  The inability of major media networks to get to the real heart of any issue other than Tiger Woods sex life and the like IS the real problem.

My family is addicted to this stuff!  It really burns my ass that when addressing a topic such as the devastation in Haiti or even New Orleans, the conversation gets skewed off any point with real substance to, points that are completely meaningless like the looting.

This is essentially pulling the fabric apart of our nation and most people are too damn blind to see it

“well, it might ruin the money shot.” Yup, the acting anchors don there Jungle Jim clothes and do the let’s pretend shtick, and my fellow Amerikan’s enjoy, just like dinner hour during the Vietnam war.
You could do another like article on the Dominican Republic next door. Same problem with less hunger.
Good article, you’re getting better.

Our Addiction to Disaster Porn
Posted on Jan 28, 2010
By David Sirota

“And We the Ogling People drink it in.”

Hey David Sirota:

Excellent article !!!

Only things missing were the air brushing of Katie
Couric & how America’s
slave owning elitist founding fathers long range
planning set up the erstwhile colonies to become
the new colonial slaves under the guise of a
Democracy of the people,
but selected by the fascists & offered like a Chinese
menu, column A & column B, but
no a la carte. The column I, is of course, just a
ploy to divide & conquer, which was
used so effectively with Teddy Roosevelt to get
Woodrow Wilson elected.
And just as “President Thomas Jefferson feared a
successful black republic would
“inspire slave insurrections throughout the American
South.”, the current MASTERS OF
THE UNIVERSE ,the elitist one per cent, can’t allow
freedom to ring. Now that N. America
is enslaved, they are escalating more permanent wars
to lock in their NEW WORLD ORDER:
ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT. With the Illuminati / Vatican
controlling the SCOTUS,
The Bush Crime Family & other Cabal members have
that
“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED SIGN” ready to display.

Excellent article, David Sirota.

“We do not deal much in facts when we are contemplating ourselves.”

[MarkTwain]