I'm sure I've vented about this before, but I can't watch regular television any more. In my student home I don't have a television - and I'm not missing it. But these bastards have all sorts of ways of trying to reach me and try pry loose some of whatever they want from me.
The worst are the charities. Flinging pictures of cute puppies in abuse and helpless Negro children in flooded or otherwise torn countries at me, they bid me to help. Well, it isn't much bidding, it's more like commanding. They don't ask any more, they say things like "Help, now." "Donate immediately." "You can make a difference by supporting us, send money to..." etc. And I hate it. The goddamn guts they have to come on my computer screen, attempt to talk me into some kind of guilt-feeling making me send money. Well that doesn't work with me. Watching those bastards talk in front of a bluescreen depicting a disaster area, I can just tell by the look on their faces that they're out to fuck me. And it doesn't matter which charity you pick, they're all the same, including the ICRC.
Now I know how MOST people work, how it is effective to play on people's feelings of compassion and other basic things like using fancy words 'those' people won't understand or throwing around statistics to appear more scientific. But to this observer, the whole bunch is deceptive, and I can't stand that. Especially not from charities, which one might think are there to help people.
The common commercials are so stupid these days that they have successfully trained me to resent watching television. They're so superficial and easy to see through. The tactics they use to ensnare people into purchases are so terribly obvious. Nauseating almost... it definitely makes my tummy hurt. A disgusting sensation of perceiving evil.
Commercials are bad karma.
The worst are the charities. Flinging pictures of cute puppies in abuse and helpless Negro children in flooded or otherwise torn countries at me, they bid me to help. Well, it isn't much bidding, it's more like commanding. They don't ask any more, they say things like "Help, now." "Donate immediately." "You can make a difference by supporting us, send money to..." etc. And I hate it. The goddamn guts they have to come on my computer screen, attempt to talk me into some kind of guilt-feeling making me send money. Well that doesn't work with me. Watching those bastards talk in front of a bluescreen depicting a disaster area, I can just tell by the look on their faces that they're out to fuck me. And it doesn't matter which charity you pick, they're all the same, including the ICRC.
Now I know how MOST people work, how it is effective to play on people's feelings of compassion and other basic things like using fancy words 'those' people won't understand or throwing around statistics to appear more scientific. But to this observer, the whole bunch is deceptive, and I can't stand that. Especially not from charities, which one might think are there to help people.
The common commercials are so stupid these days that they have successfully trained me to resent watching television. They're so superficial and easy to see through. The tactics they use to ensnare people into purchases are so terribly obvious. Nauseating almost... it definitely makes my tummy hurt. A disgusting sensation of perceiving evil.
Commercials are bad karma.
3 comments:
I learned years ago to just ignore most commercials by either doing something else while they're on or changing the channel momentarily until its about time for the program I was watching to resume. I've also become desensitized to the charity commercials.
I usually switch channels when I do watch at my parent's place. National Geographic channel and Discovery channel are good for this tactic, one starts the commercial 5 minutes earlier than the other channel - so I catch a little of the program running on the other one before turning back to where I was when the commercials started.
But whatever I try, comfortably numb doesn't seem to come.
I gave up TV in college; and I haven't been a TV watcher since. No loss; it is overall dreck.
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