Jay_Gatsby
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2004
- Messages
- 1,719
Interesting writer who sounds a bit like many of us on this board, but with a slight conspiracy-theory bend....
Orwell via Huxley
Orwell via Huxley
I think the writer is giving way, way, waaayy to much credit to corporations and gov'ts. They're not that smart nor that clever.
They will stumble into clever situations or have a nefarious brainstorm but it is after the fact, not crafted in some secret room ahead of time like some global chess game.
Unless, of course, he's talking about the Illuminati, in which case, it's all true <grin>
I think the point he was trying to make is that government and corporations are opportunistic when the opportunity to make money is involved. Hyperbole aside, the following was quite apt:
What are the Accepted Narratives? We all know them very well. That you should spend. That you should extend yourself... That you should buy all the stuff the corporations sell. Get yourself in debt to the banks. Buy the American Dream... the expensive car, the expensive house, the granite kitchen you see on HGTV. Get addicted to stuff, and get larded up with debt you'll pay the banks from cradle to grave. ["[/B]
Agreed, but he makes it sound like the marketers are gleefully rubbing their hands together as if we are following some plan they cooked up ahead of time.
Opportunistic? Sure. But no one is sitting in a room going: "ok, now let's get all these losers addicted to those granite tops so that we can keep folks on the treadmill and paying us for the rest of their lives...bwahahaha!."
It's just business...and unless you just fell off the turnip truck, it's up to each of us to recognize where they're coming from, the pitfalls and manage our own expectations, lifestyle and expenses.
We must have collectively just fallen off the turnip truck, because only a certain type of person resists this stuff. My TV suddenly started showing things like HGTV that I had never seen before. I can't tell if these crazy people are plants, or if home buyers really go for this granite and other over the top stuff. No doubt it is attractive, but before its fairly recent popularity it would have looked like something straight off the farm, My maternal gps, who never had 4 cents to rub together had all kinds of marble topped furniture. My grandmother who lived with us used to make pull taffy and fudge, and cool it in shapes on the top off a marble topped table carried from the farm.It's just business...and unless you just fell off the turnip truck, it's up to each of us to recognize where they're coming from, the pitfalls and manage our own expectations, lifestyle and expenses.
Yes; I agree completely with what you say. The people on this board have different tastes, means, and methods, but I think we are all pretty good at avoiding being taken in.Ha: it's not about 'resisting', its about recognizing where they're coming from and having the awareness of at least knowing when someone is trying to sell you something you don't want.
I think most folks on this forum are pretty good at keeping their needs vs wants in perspective and acting responsibly, don't you?
I think most folks on this forum are pretty good at keeping their needs vs wants in perspective and acting responsibly, don't you?