JUNK FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Brittlestar’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue #57
I made a Really Great show. It’s a comedy panel game show. They’re short 10 min episodes and you can watch them right now: Really Great
JUNK FOOD FOR THOUGHT
He looked to be about mid-20s.
A very nice young man - clean cut, polite, simple but well spoken - considering he was about 20 feet away from a soon to advance again police line.
Evan Solomon, a reporter from CTV News here in Canada, had been reporting on the protest crackdown in Ottawa. He and his camera operator spent hours with the protestors, with many of the protestors showering them with insults, spitting on them and generally being threatening.
To his credit, Evan would try to give these very angry protestors a chance to say their piece. Live. On national television.
No filtering. No editorializing. Just raw to the country.
The nice young man in his mid-20s was one of the protestors Evan spoke to. He said he felt it was important to be a part of the protests to have his voice heard.
Fair enough.
He said he had three young children that he was very worried for.
Understood. 100%.
Then, when pressed about the details of his reasons for being there, offered up the notion that he didn’t want his kids listed in a “QR code system”.
Uh…
My first reaction is… that is bonkers talk and, by extension, this young man is just another purveyor of bonkers talk.
But the more I thought on it, the more I thought… I could have a beer with this young guy. He was nice. He seemed, in all other regards, reasonable.
So, what the hell is happening?
We’ve never had as much access to news and information as we do now. If an earthquake rumbles through California on the other side of the continent, I know about it via my pocket computer within 30 seconds. If they announce that the Queen of England has COVID, like they did this morning, I know about before 8AM in Canada. If you ask me a question I don’t know the answer to, within seconds I can have a buffet of answers on my lap (that last one sounds a bit gross if you linger. Let’s move on).
And that just might be the problem.
When you are young and/or financially struggling and you’re hungry, what sounds like an easier and more enjoyable solution? A bag of chips or some fresh vegetables or protein you need to prepare?
If you’re like most of us, that bag of chips is your choice. It’s easy. It’s goes down easy AND it makes you feel good… at least in the short term.
I think that’s the issue.
Think about our young friend… Early 20s, a concerned Dad, in the middle of a historic pandemic that has probably made money very tight.
Legitimate news sources say he just has to suck it up and wait it out. Do what he’s told and take one for the team.
Junk food news says it’s all a scam, he doesn’t have to change, “they’re” trying to trick him.
He’s starving for information and he’s filled up on junk.
Faced with easy access to abundant boring, dry news information that might be good for us, it can be too easy to choose the easier, flashier and more fun junk food for thought.
How do we fix that? I’m not entirely sure. But we need to… and quick.
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Pictured: Author consumes VERY* healthy donut (*don't check)