George Orwell had it right

Puller

Puller

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George Orwell must have had a crystal ball back 72 years ago when he wrote 1984.

That football player that was recently hurt and had the cardiac arrest on the field (sorry, I don't recall his name) came to mind when I read this. We have service men and women and LEOs and firefighters who put their lives on the line every day and when one of them is injured in the line of duty seldom is more than a nod given to them outside their family. But a revered football player gets hurt while on TV and it's a national calamity, national news reports and social media frenzies and nation wide prayer vigils.

Personally, I found the whole focus on one overpaid football player to be an example of misplaced priorities in our nation.

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Conversely we still have the right to choose what we will and will not pay attention to-the Right to Ignore. When one woman at work asked what I thought about Barbara Walters I replied that I had NEVER watched her. Never seen a Katharine Hepburn movie, and who are these Kardashians of whom you speak ?
 
It's a common lament on the forum: Why do celebrities in various fields and their doings (and deaths) receive so much more media attention, public attention than our non celebrity servicemen, first responders, worthy teachers, etc.

I think it's just normal. Just the way the world works and always has. People have to be well known as individuals to be widely appreciated. To be well known as an individual you need to be doing something as an individual that attracts a lot of interest. Most soldiers and most teachers aren't. A pro athlete, watched by millions on TV, is.

I also think the recent attention paid to the pro football player — I don't recall his name either — who nearly died after taking a hard hit is useful in that it helps accentuate to all the dangers of the sport.

Though not a very avid fan, I like football. I think like most fans I like it for a variety of reasons, but surely one of them is its aggressiveness. I think that is to say I like it, in part, because it is dangerous. I think best not to kid myself about that part.

I recently asked my third son, an avid fan, and one who had a D-I athletic scholarship, not football, to one of the best universities for his sport in the country, if he has a son if he will allow him to play football.

He said, "No way."
 
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BLACKHAWKNJ said:
Conversely we still have the right to choose what we will and will not pay attention to-the Right to Ignore. When one woman at work asked what I thought about Barbara Walters I replied that I had NEVER watched her. Never seen a Katharine Hepburn movie, and who are these Kardashians of whom you speak ?
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Rooster Cogburn was a great movie. :D
 
Proles are attracted to sensational stories.

I have sympathy but don't really care about stories like heart attack football man, the 4 dead students in Idaho etc. These are individual tragedies that don't merit much attention. Yet people eat it up...
 
One of the Great Lessons of Life I have learned -often the Hard Way-to tune out, ignore. pay no attention to and concentrate on what interests ME.
 
During the recent Covid lockdowns here in Australia, great effort was made, especially by Government, to get the football competitions (Rugby League and AFL) up and running. This was to give the masses something to watch and entertain. Also a way of controlling us through the lockdowns and not panic. As someone said previously, "idle hands do the devils work"........... I hope I got that right.
 
I did not let one celebrity death pass without notice. Gina Lolobrigida passed two days ago at age 94. Hardly any notice of it in the mainstream media. I have a book she authored that contains many masterful photographs of her beloved Italy. At one time she was regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world. I remember her fondly. May she rest in peace.

John

 
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