4 ms·

Whenever I see these kinds of articles posted on Hacker News I'm always reminded of Paul Graham's excellent article The Submarine (http://www.paulgraham.com/sub

by indy 4y ago

Whenever I see these kinds of articles posted on Hacker News I'm always reminded of Paul Graham's excellent article The Submarine (http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html)

graderjs 4y ago
"These sorts" I guess you mean "insect eating" articles, which, hahaha, I have to say I rarely see, but OK (maybe that's my own sort of...not cultural blindness--we're from the same culture probably--but media-diet blindness? I just don't see a lot of those articles). So you are suggesting these are the work of PR firms. I mean, maybe... like a corporate PR strategy to slowly normalize the eating of insects? Like I get the "insect meat enviro activism" angle, but I think it's possible to see this article as something that exists without that, independently of that. I mean, it is kind of a culture-blind doubling-down to be so blind to the fact that other people (real people, not stock images in advertising campaigns) eat insects around the world...that you see any emanation of stories about these as part of a concerted PR strategy. Because maybe that fits your cultural-bias that "this stuff doesn't really happen so if we see it it has to be a corporate profit motive", right? I mean, why can't it just be a story about another culture and what they do? Why need to get all judgey and like "from only your perspective thou shalt speak the truth" about it? Personally I don't get the strong "immune" reactions I see here. Is it a sublimated expression of the visceral (but probably culturally relative) revulsion? Or like where is this coming from for you? Like why can't it just be a story, why does it have to be propaganda for something? I'm curious. Please relate what's there for you, if you want! :P ;) xx ;p
- brigandish 4y ago
  I'm not sure it has to be propaganda but I'd say it's probably a good thing if people at least consider if what the media serves up is propaganda, because there's a reasonable possibility it is.
  - graderjs 4y ago
    Oh, I totally agree. But I guess I was thinking that some little out of the way food-focused bloggie by some local traveling lass was maybe slightly less likely to be a propos psy-op than the trash served up constantly by the lamestream media. Hey, but that's just my take! :P ;) xx ;p I also didn't know the "insects for food" lobby was such a powerhouse as the view you invoked seems to suggest? Care to elaborate? I'm all ears, literally want to learn about this.
    - brigandish 4y ago
      I don't pay much attention to the insects for food thing because I'm a vegetarian, but I do see the stories in the media - old media, big media, and bloggers - and it does seem to be on the increase. I saw Bill Gates in a video[1] just yesterday talking about how the rich nations should be eating synthetic meat, and of course the World Economic Forum are planning (apparently) to move everyone over to insects, while they dress like cartoon villains. Do a quick search for "eat insects" on the BBC site, for example (the biggest news site in the UK) and you'll see they do regular stories with positive headlines like Eating insects: Should we be eating more? Why are they so good? (June this year), or the more insidious Why you may have been eating insects your whole life (April 2018). Seriously, do a search on some major media sites and it comes up again and again and again, especially left leaning media. In right leaning, it's obviously anti that. As I say, I've not got a dog in this fight (if anything, I'm pro synthetic meat) but if you roll the "insects for food" lobby into the "climate change" lobby, and possibly the "oligarchy keeping the rest of us paupers" lobby and perhaps you'll think it has some power or perhaps it will cement for you that it's a silly conspiracy theory. Or it could simply be an overreaction to these stories, lots of people get emotional about food, it's part of identity, preference, and health, so a threat to it will provoke a reaction. [1] https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/14/1018296/bill-gates-climate-change-beef-trees-microsoft/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/14/1018296/bill-gat... Not the video, that was an Instagram story so it's gone but this is an interview with Gates about it

by indy 4y ago

graderjs 4y ago

"These sorts" I guess you mean "insect eating" articles, which, hahaha, I have to say I rarely see, but OK (maybe that's my own sort of...not cultural blindness--we're from the same culture probably--but media-diet blindness? I just don't see a lot of those articles). So you are suggesting these are the work of PR firms. I mean, maybe... like a corporate PR strategy to slowly normalize the eating of insects? Like I get the "insect meat enviro activism" angle, but I think it's possible to see this article as something that exists without that, independently of that. I mean, it is kind of a culture-blind doubling-down to be so blind to the fact that other people (real people, not stock images in advertising campaigns) eat insects around the world...that you see any emanation of stories about these as part of a concerted PR strategy. Because maybe that fits your cultural-bias that "this stuff doesn't really happen so if we see it it has to be a corporate profit motive", right? I mean, why can't it just be a story about another culture and what they do? Why need to get all judgey and like "from only your perspective thou shalt speak the truth" about it? Personally I don't get the strong "immune" reactions I see here. Is it a sublimated expression of the visceral (but probably culturally relative) revulsion? Or like where is this coming from for you? Like why can't it just be a story, why does it have to be propaganda for something? I'm curious. Please relate what's there for you, if you want! :P ;) xx ;p

brigandish 4y ago
I'm not sure it has to be propaganda but I'd say it's probably a good thing if people at least consider if what the media serves up is propaganda, because there's a reasonable possibility it is.
- graderjs 4y ago
  Oh, I totally agree. But I guess I was thinking that some little out of the way food-focused bloggie by some local traveling lass was maybe slightly less likely to be a propos psy-op than the trash served up constantly by the lamestream media. Hey, but that's just my take! :P ;) xx ;p I also didn't know the "insects for food" lobby was such a powerhouse as the view you invoked seems to suggest? Care to elaborate? I'm all ears, literally want to learn about this.
  - brigandish 4y ago
    I don't pay much attention to the insects for food thing because I'm a vegetarian, but I do see the stories in the media - old media, big media, and bloggers - and it does seem to be on the increase. I saw Bill Gates in a video[1] just yesterday talking about how the rich nations should be eating synthetic meat, and of course the World Economic Forum are planning (apparently) to move everyone over to insects, while they dress like cartoon villains. Do a quick search for "eat insects" on the BBC site, for example (the biggest news site in the UK) and you'll see they do regular stories with positive headlines like Eating insects: Should we be eating more? Why are they so good? (June this year), or the more insidious Why you may have been eating insects your whole life (April 2018). Seriously, do a search on some major media sites and it comes up again and again and again, especially left leaning media. In right leaning, it's obviously anti that. As I say, I've not got a dog in this fight (if anything, I'm pro synthetic meat) but if you roll the "insects for food" lobby into the "climate change" lobby, and possibly the "oligarchy keeping the rest of us paupers" lobby and perhaps you'll think it has some power or perhaps it will cement for you that it's a silly conspiracy theory. Or it could simply be an overreaction to these stories, lots of people get emotional about food, it's part of identity, preference, and health, so a threat to it will provoke a reaction. [1] https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/14/1018296/bill-gates-climate-change-beef-trees-microsoft/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/14/1018296/bill-gat... Not the video, that was an Instagram story so it's gone but this is an interview with Gates about it