Da i ja sam primjetio da se dosta napada internet u medijima. Recimo na HRT-u su na Dnevniku optužili Internet zato što se ljudi nisu cijepili protiv svinjske gripe iako je samo dan ranije na HRT-u bila emisija "Na rubu znanosti" u kojoj se sat vremena govorilo drakonski o tom cjepivu.
Ili recimo Roger Ebert (filmski kritičar) koji je nedavno imao članak na svom blogu o mržnji prema Obami i o tome kako ga neki uspoređuju sa Hitlerom te je prvenstveno okrivio Internet za to iako su televizije stalno napadale Obamu još od predizborne kampanje nerjetko ga uspoređivale sa Hitlerom. Evo recimo par ulomaka što je Ebert napisao o netu:
But never mind health care. What about the entire climate of paranoia and hate? Have these people always been there? Are they only now becoming more visible because of the internet, cable news and talk radio? They're way, way beyond the pale. I believe they feed more on each other than on what they learn from the media. It's too easy to blame them on Fox News. Somewhere there must be internet sites paranoid even about Fox. Some of these people are uninterested in anyone who doesn't buy into their fantasy. Name a subject, and they know the real story that's being covered up. ...
Racism plays a role, but conspiracy theories themselves have an addictive quality. They appeal to a personality type. Many of those who take nourishment from them have, I suspect, a bitter resentment against authority. They don't want anyone telling them what to do. They're defiant. Anyone who is in power is lying to them for evil motives. Nothing they learn from the mainstream media can be trusted. Some people may think they're so smart -- but these conspiracy insiders know the real story. They learn it from each other, they embellish it, they pass it around, they "document" it with invented connections, they bond among themselves, and they live in a closed system that seems to validate them.
They lack common sense. Their conspiracy theories cannot tolerate it. Most reasonable people, when they heard Obama wanted to kill their grandmother, simply smiled, because -- well, because they knew he didn't. But the conspiracy people Know Better. That's the whole point. That's where the fun comes in. They have a peculiar intensity in their circular reasoning. They cite facts that are not facts, supported by authorities who are not authorities. As my grandmother freely said of perhaps too many people, "They don't have the sense God gave them."
Some of this may be connected to the weakness of American education. Yes, I know that there are splendid schools and brilliant, dedicated teachers. See my recent review of such a school. But many good teachers will be the first to tell you that they despair of some of the students sent to them from lower grades. They cannot read, write, spell, speak or think on a competent level. They aren't necessarily stupid. The schools, their parents and society have failed them. The words "no child left behind" are a joke.
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