Mindsets, Media and Marketing

Iceland is green, for the most part, and Greenland is white. Well, 80% of Greenland is white so that makes it, in my poll, the majority winner.

Things are not always as they seem.

Take Halifax, for example. I have been to Halifax—both Halifaxes. One is in the North of England and the other is on remote soil in a semi-deserted environment the name of which you might suppose to be ‘New Yorkshire’. Mysteriously, it is not.

The ‘other’ Halifax is in New Scotland or, as they are want to call it, Nova Scotia.

This is odd. Nova Scotia is Latin. You might think that, because of the French influence, it would be called ‘Nouvelle-Ecosse’ or ‘Nouvelle-Camargue’, or some such.

Ah, well, perhaps ‘New York’ was already taken.

Things are not always what they seem to be.

Suppose you were an alien and landed here, on Earth, after a flight from another star system that has taken many years to complete.

Perhaps, instead of buzzing a couple of cars and abducting a small child and then buzzing off, you decide to land and take in the sights.

It may be that the first people you meet are encased from head to foot in white sheets that terminate, at the top, in a pointy hat like a wizard’s but without the rim.

These white robed people are busy stringing up a person, who has dark skin, by the light of a burning cross.

When you ask why they are doing it they will tell you that it is their duty to hang black people. This is what real Christians do.

Bemused, you ask what the sin of the black person was that required his extinction.

“He looked at a white girl,” you are informed.

You get back in your ship and travel many years back to your home World. On arrival you announce that Earth is a violent place filled with white-robed Christians who are hell bent on wiping out black people by tying them to trees by the neck.

The need for a burning cross is completely lost on you but you were not about to hang around long enough to find out about it.

All is not what it seems.

Illusionists and magicians, as well as the media and marketing people, know all about twisting the viewpoint of their audience to suit their needs.

In marketing it is a desire to sell more product. This will require the ‘new, improved’ version of whatever they are selling.

Nobody ever asks, “What was wrong with the old one?”

The new one, if it is a food product, will invariably contain more sugar and/or salt. We develop an acquired taste for sugar and salt that needs up-dating from time to time in the same way that cocaine addicts find that two lines of ‘blow’ are no longer sufficient to meet their needs.

We accept that what we are told by the media is the truth. It usually is not. It is a selected viewpoint, often distorted, to present the facts as their sponsor needs them to be seen and heard.

This leads to a problem. Once we have adopted a mind-set we will reject any information that goes against that point of view; we will only accept information that supports our ideas or beliefs—irrespective of the logic or source involved.

Example:

On the universal Internet page of complaints, hate, anguish, pet pictures and suffering known as ‘Facebook’, there are (shock, horror!) people who are conspiracy theorists.

These conspiracies are abundant and some are quite convincing but they all lack actual physical proof. They all ask you to believe, without question, the testament of ‘experts’—usually of dubious authenticity.

Conspiracy Theorist: “The Government are spraying us with chemicals from commercial airliners.”

Me: “Why? For what purpose?”

CT: “To dumb us down.”

M: [Thinks, 'Seems unnecessary, really.'] “What chemicals are they using?”

CT: “Is a secret.”

M: [Of course it is!] “How are they releasing it?”

CT: “From commercial aircraft at 36,000’.”

M: “From that altitude it is unlikely to ever reach the ground.”

CT: “It is especially designed to sink.”

M: “How do they know WHERE it will reach the ground [if it ever does!]?”

CT: “The Government scientists know.”

M: “How do the people who arrange for this avoid breathing it in?”

CT: “They stay inside because they know when it will come down.”

M: “What equipment is on the aeroplane to distribute this chemical?”

CT: “That’s secret.”

M: “Any equipment on an aircraft is there to solve a problem on the aeroplane. Weight is the enemy of aviation. More weight = more fuel burn to lift it. Who pays the airline for this extra cost and how can the money be funded secretly?”

CT: “The Government pays. How they do it is secret.”

M: “Who puts the chemicals in the aircraft?”

CT: “My Mum knows a man whose Uncle works with a fellow that has a cousin… [long tenuous link to an anonymous person] …that has a brother who sees a man going out to the aeroplanes carrying a mysterious container. That guy is the only one who is allowed near the aircraft with this container.”

M: “All airlines have one or two guys who service the toilets. Those people get extra money for unsavoury duties hence there are only a couple of them. The mysterious container has disinfectant—like ‘Racasan, in it.”

CT: “No! This is a secret chemical.”

M (gives up): “Yes you’re right. The chemical they are spraying us with is a deadly compound called DiHydrogen Oxide!”

CT (calls out to everyone): “See? We were right! This guy is an aviation expert and says the chemical is DiHydrogen Oxide!”

People will believe what they want to believe.

That is why the media and marketing can control us just like dogs herding flocks of sheep.

Greenland is mostly white…