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Moral outrage is hiding the fact that it's not the kids doing it. There is an entire network of activist organizations researching these issues, so that when tr

Moral outrage is hiding the fact that it's not the kids doing it. There is an entire network of activist organizations researching these issues, so that when tragedy strikes, a campaign can be astroturfed within a day, and pressure can be exercised on large corporate and public targets. This takes time, and effort, and willing megaphones in media. The biggest illusion of the social media era is that any of this is "organic" rather than instigated top-down, using human networks built slowly over time rather than spontaneously willed into being using the magic of Twitter. The media does not report, they shape the agenda, decide what is important and what isn't, and who gets to be heard under what sort of light. Even this article pulls the same scam: it sneaks the question by you of whether the "kids" will succeed, thus painting them as the only real people with agency. You don't need to believe in conspiracy or crisis actors to see this is bunk.

CodeWriter23 9y ago
It’s really as simple as this. This is a 34 second clip of Edward Bernays, consultant to Joseph Stalin and father of the American Public Relations Industry illustrating how to transmute a reprehensible idea into an acceptable one. And doing it with a frightening amount of ease. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5dtg-qFPYDE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5dtg-qFPYDE
- bobthechef 9y ago
  More good material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ddVmKS3AOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ddVmKS3AOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBEclayBCdc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBEclayBCdc
  - CodeWriter23 9y ago
    This one, he’s on Letterman and has Letterman call him “Doctor”. He wasn’t a Doctor nor. PhD. Tap in to find out why he did that. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hH3roMe4w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hH3roMe4w
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  Bernays was a genius, probably evil, but a genius nevertheless. His Wikipedia page is a worthwhile read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays
colordrops 9y ago
Despite the down votes you've stated the situation quite clearly, nice job.
drb91 9y ago
What do you mean by “it” & “the agenda”? I’m not quite sure.
- coldtea 9y ago
  Parent explained what he meant by "they set the agenda" literally in the same sentence: "[they] decide what is important and what isn't, and who gets to be heard under what sort of light."
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
unknown_apostle 9y ago
Absolutely. Social media may be new, but coopting or even creating "outrage" as a weapon to further a specific political agenda is nothing new. The Chinese cultural revolution with its hysterical Red Guards comes to mind (as a particularly harsh episode).
wepple 9y ago
This is interesting, and people here seem to agree. Any research or anything I can read that gives more info/backs up your claim? I don’t doubt your claim and I’m sure it happens to a degree, but I also believe that 18 year olds are capable of saying “yeah, we’re not happy that our friends are dead and no one is doing anything about it” while a camera is switched on.
- Pulcinella 9y ago
  You can watch Adam Curtis’ Century of the Self documentary. It’s about the rise of modern “Public Relations” and the systemization and proffessionalization of propoganda by corporations and governments. Teenagers are quite capable of doing what you said and organizing their outrage when they really feel like it. That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t also vast political and social machines working to aid, defeat, or co-opt the students’ cause. And I say this as someone who agrees with the students.
  - wepple 9y ago
    thanks, that’s a very reasonable response & I’m going to take a look at the film you recommend
thegreatcosmo 9y ago
Yea Bill Maher was saying something similar recently. Pretty eye opening.
- mistermann 9y ago
  That's fairly interesting, do you have a link to what he said?
- Profragile 9y ago
  Bill Maher is one of the clowns they used to get democrats to support killing innocent Middle Easterners after 9/11.
nugi 9y ago
It appears some of those you describe are here downvoting. You are absolutely correct.
crdoconnor 9y ago
>There is an entire network of activist organizations researching these issues, so that when tragedy strikes, a campaign can be astroturfed within a day, and Those "corporate and public targets" do the exact same thing. This is just how politics works (sometimes wirh astroturfing, sometimes without). >pressure can be exercised on large corporate and public targets. Who use similar tactics but they do so with more money and resources than their diametrically opposed activist networks, and are typically way more reliant on astroturfing - e.g. when Comcast stuffed fake comments in the FCC comment box in its push to roll back net neutrality.
KhanMahGretsch 9y ago
Entirely correct... but only for media outlets and advocacy groups I disagree with, of course! </sarcasm>
bobthechef 9y ago
And many of those networks of activist organizations are tied to rich patrons. This is one reason why inequality is problematic. Inequality as such is not a problem, except for the purely envious, but in a wage slave economy like ours, money can buy extraordinary influence.
JPKab 9y ago
You are correct. I'm a Virginia Tech alumni. A roommate was wounded, and my academic advisor and several former professors of mine died. The killer had handguns. When NBC chose to air the recorded manifesto that Cho recoded after he killed two students, but before he had gone to Norris Hall to kill entire classrooms, I knew they were ringing a dinner bell for more killers. Gun availability hasn't changed. Media reporting has. However they shape the narrative by selecting who to interview. Many Parkland students blame the FBI and Broward County police for ignoring dozens of specific warnings regarding the killer. They aren't included in interviews, at all. I resent the fact that the media repeatedly ignore the recommendations from the American Psychology Association and report the name and picture of the killers, fueling copy cat incidents, and conveniently ignore this in favor of guns. When NBC gave the killer of my academic advisor his dying wish to get ratings, I knew that they don't care about victims. They just want ratings and the controversy that feeds them.
- alphabettsy 9y ago
  It’s interesting to see how it’s all played out. Fox News of course has only shown students blaming the FBI and pushing for armed teachers, also criticizing CNN. CNN has pretty much only shown the student activists pushing for gun control. And every network is out there for ratings. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be pushing the gore and brutality along with constantly talking about the perp, as you mentioned.
alphabettsy 9y ago
I’m sorry but I don’t believe that at all. Sure there are large groups pushing for change in certain areas but it’s significantly more likely these kids held these views before and now have an opportunity to voice them to a large audience. If you believe these kids really have no intention then you also need to believe Kim Davis the homophobic champion of the right or the cake bakers also did what they did and continue to do only at the urging of backing groups. I believe these people truly believe in their various causes, and while it’s possible some larger groups helped shaped them, I don’t think any of it can be called a scam.

CodeWriter23 9y ago

It’s really as simple as this. This is a 34 second clip of Edward Bernays, consultant to Joseph Stalin and father of the American Public Relations Industry illustrating how to transmute a reprehensible idea into an acceptable one. And doing it with a frightening amount of ease. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5dtg-qFPYDE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5dtg-qFPYDE

bobthechef 9y ago
More good material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ddVmKS3AOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ddVmKS3AOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBEclayBCdc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBEclayBCdc
- CodeWriter23 9y ago
  This one, he’s on Letterman and has Letterman call him “Doctor”. He wasn’t a Doctor nor. PhD. Tap in to find out why he did that. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hH3roMe4w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hH3roMe4w
maxxxxx 9y ago
Bernays was a genius, probably evil, but a genius nevertheless. His Wikipedia page is a worthwhile read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays

colordrops 9y ago

Despite the down votes you've stated the situation quite clearly, nice job.

drb91 9y ago

What do you mean by “it” & “the agenda”? I’m not quite sure.

coldtea 9y ago
Parent explained what he meant by "they set the agenda" literally in the same sentence: "[they] decide what is important and what isn't, and who gets to be heard under what sort of light."

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

unknown_apostle 9y ago

Absolutely. Social media may be new, but coopting or even creating "outrage" as a weapon to further a specific political agenda is nothing new. The Chinese cultural revolution with its hysterical Red Guards comes to mind (as a particularly harsh episode).

wepple 9y ago

This is interesting, and people here seem to agree. Any research or anything I can read that gives more info/backs up your claim? I don’t doubt your claim and I’m sure it happens to a degree, but I also believe that 18 year olds are capable of saying “yeah, we’re not happy that our friends are dead and no one is doing anything about it” while a camera is switched on.

Pulcinella 9y ago
You can watch Adam Curtis’ Century of the Self documentary. It’s about the rise of modern “Public Relations” and the systemization and proffessionalization of propoganda by corporations and governments. Teenagers are quite capable of doing what you said and organizing their outrage when they really feel like it. That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t also vast political and social machines working to aid, defeat, or co-opt the students’ cause. And I say this as someone who agrees with the students.
- wepple 9y ago
  thanks, that’s a very reasonable response & I’m going to take a look at the film you recommend

thegreatcosmo 9y ago

Yea Bill Maher was saying something similar recently. Pretty eye opening.

mistermann 9y ago
That's fairly interesting, do you have a link to what he said?
Profragile 9y ago
Bill Maher is one of the clowns they used to get democrats to support killing innocent Middle Easterners after 9/11.

nugi 9y ago

It appears some of those you describe are here downvoting. You are absolutely correct.

crdoconnor 9y ago

>There is an entire network of activist organizations researching these issues, so that when tragedy strikes, a campaign can be astroturfed within a day, and Those "corporate and public targets" do the exact same thing. This is just how politics works (sometimes wirh astroturfing, sometimes without). >pressure can be exercised on large corporate and public targets. Who use similar tactics but they do so with more money and resources than their diametrically opposed activist networks, and are typically way more reliant on astroturfing - e.g. when Comcast stuffed fake comments in the FCC comment box in its push to roll back net neutrality.

KhanMahGretsch 9y ago

Entirely correct... but only for media outlets and advocacy groups I disagree with, of course! </sarcasm>

bobthechef 9y ago

And many of those networks of activist organizations are tied to rich patrons. This is one reason why inequality is problematic. Inequality as such is not a problem, except for the purely envious, but in a wage slave economy like ours, money can buy extraordinary influence.

JPKab 9y ago

You are correct. I'm a Virginia Tech alumni. A roommate was wounded, and my academic advisor and several former professors of mine died. The killer had handguns. When NBC chose to air the recorded manifesto that Cho recoded after he killed two students, but before he had gone to Norris Hall to kill entire classrooms, I knew they were ringing a dinner bell for more killers. Gun availability hasn't changed. Media reporting has. However they shape the narrative by selecting who to interview. Many Parkland students blame the FBI and Broward County police for ignoring dozens of specific warnings regarding the killer. They aren't included in interviews, at all. I resent the fact that the media repeatedly ignore the recommendations from the American Psychology Association and report the name and picture of the killers, fueling copy cat incidents, and conveniently ignore this in favor of guns. When NBC gave the killer of my academic advisor his dying wish to get ratings, I knew that they don't care about victims. They just want ratings and the controversy that feeds them.

alphabettsy 9y ago
It’s interesting to see how it’s all played out. Fox News of course has only shown students blaming the FBI and pushing for armed teachers, also criticizing CNN. CNN has pretty much only shown the student activists pushing for gun control. And every network is out there for ratings. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be pushing the gore and brutality along with constantly talking about the perp, as you mentioned.

alphabettsy 9y ago

I’m sorry but I don’t believe that at all. Sure there are large groups pushing for change in certain areas but it’s significantly more likely these kids held these views before and now have an opportunity to voice them to a large audience. If you believe these kids really have no intention then you also need to believe Kim Davis the homophobic champion of the right or the cake bakers also did what they did and continue to do only at the urging of backing groups. I believe these people truly believe in their various causes, and while it’s possible some larger groups helped shaped them, I don’t think any of it can be called a scam.