As IF Times

link: https://www.bitchute.com/video/uoJ14xgAIEPL

The linked story above is noteworthy not only for the circumstances surrounding the death of the young lady, since serious issues related to vaccines are becoming more and more difficult to ignore. But that’s another discussion. The interest lies more with the woman’s ‘profession’.

Imagine that as recently as only 5 years ago, you could have told someone that you’ve decided to be a Tik Tok influencer.  No one would have any idea what that was.  The precursor to this of course is the Facebook phenomenon wherein unremarkable people posted pictures of themselves doing, for the most part, unremarkable things. The really adept posters were able to frame their activities as more fun and much better than YOU could experience and hence they created a ‘following’.

In effect these savvy pioneers harnessed the inner envy and voyeuristic urges of most people (mainly women) and created lives to be oohed and ahhed over.  As we know, this activity evolved into other social media platforms that enabled focused commercialization of this ‘look at me’ zeitgeist. People, but mainly women, with only the advantage of youthful attractiveness, could propel themselves to fame and notoriety if they managed to attract the attention of interested voyeurs…and we know there’s an unlimited supply of those.  It’s well known that the Kardashian clan have monetized this dynamic into enormous wealth and fame.

The arrival of Instagram and now Tik Tok has created a veritable cornucopia of ‘talent’ trying to cash in on the ‘look at me’ business.  And it is a lucrative business. Recently, it was reported that Paige Spiranac, a golfer but now a very successful Tik Tokker and Instagrammer, has over 2 million followers to her adventures.  In her case, it’s likely not mostly teenaged girls but rather bug-eyed men. The size of this  audience is not lost on marketers of products as it’s rumored that for Paige to mention or support a product of any kind, would cost a minimum of $20,000.

So it’s a win-win proposition for ‘influencers’.  They do what they want, in some glamorized way, attain fame and maybe get paid a lot of money to do so. This is so much better than the old fashioned way of attaining fame and fortune by trying to become an actor and having to run the Harvey Weinstein gauntlet.  To be sure, like acting, success is not guaranteed, but it’s better than having to get a regular job.

It’s not the intent to sound cynical, because in fact these roles are necessary for the evolution of commerce.  In effect, these influencers, actors etc. are hawkers of products for various manufacturers.

As some may know, the moniker of ‘soap opera’ was coined to refer to television shows in the early 1950’s created solely to attract the viewership of housebound wives to hawk soap.  To this day, all television shows are created only with commercial interest as the objective. So in effect, the ‘influencers’ of today are the evolved exponents of marketing strategies. Nothing wrong with that of course, since logically, you use the skills that are conferred upon you.

I can only imagine the conversations in households as kids inform their parents that they are forgoing an education to become a Tik Tokker.  The parents plead with their kids to do something respectable such as lawyer, accountant …or actor.

link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Soup

There’s a classic old European fable about stone soup. Different cultures have their own iterations on the idea, but the essential story is as follows:

Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the very hungry travelers. Then the travelers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making “stone soup”, which tastes wonderful and which they would be delighted to share with the villager, although it still needs a little bit of garnish, which they are missing, to improve the flavor.

The villager, who anticipates enjoying a share of the soup, does not mind parting with a few carrots, so these are added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not yet reached its full potential. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient, like potatoes, onions, cabbages, peas, celery, tomatoes, sweetcorn, meat (like chicken, pork and beef ), milk, butter, salt and pepper. Finally, the stone (being inedible) is removed from the pot, and a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by travelers and villagers alike. Although the travelers have thus tricked the villagers into sharing their food with them, they have successfully transformed it into a tasty meal which they share with the donors.

The way the story is spun according to Wikipedia, it seems as if the tale is all about sharing.  In fact, the story is more about the naivete of people once they are convinced of an idea, and the entrenchment of that idea once others confirm that view.  It struck me that this is an apt parable for what’s been happening over the past 2 plus years in (mainly) western societies.

Recall that a ‘deadly virus’ had emerged which was a grave threat to civilization.  A simple 2 week period of sequestering would resolve this; then four weeks, then masks; then vaccines for the elderly; then for kids, then travel restrictions; then job curtailment, then fines, etc etc etc. Lo and behold, the people are convinced that the figurative soup is wonderful.

We should all understand why history repeats, or at least rhymes, over periods of human history.  People don’t change and the same formulas work over and over again.  There will always be purveyors of stone soup, but sadly there are even more people willing to consume it. It’s too bad that the lessons of history can only be seen with clarity in hindsight.