FOX Analysis
There really needs to be an expose of the profiles of people who still watch FOX at all. What kind of psychological issues do these people have to bring them back to FOX every day? I have a theory, but no credentials to make it worth much more then a brain fart let out despite my best efforts not to embarass myself, but I'm too familiar with embarassment to let that stop me most times, <i>brain</i> farting that is. I'm pretty reliable with keeping the other kind to myself. I wish I could train my dawgz to do the same!
There has to be some sort of emotional high for people who return time and again to shows like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. It occurs to me that people, in general, are all seeking an emotion to confirm they are alive. FOX sells anger/rage to people. Bill O'Reilly and the rest have a <i>schtick</i> that they play over and over again. It's tiresome to watch for me because it seems all so contrived, but I know there are others who may not see things for what I believe they are.
Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert are making fortunes with their parodies of FOX. There is a wide audience for their <i>schtick</i> as well, but people are laughing about it. Then, one day, a Daily Show reporter, Wyatt Cenac, I believe, went to South Florida during the election. In a room full of seniors one lady was defending the worst President in American history and was confused by the disagreement aroused by her stand. She innocently declared, "I heard it on FOX News!" The room erupted in laughter. She sought to redeem herself by meekly saying, "...but they're fair and balanced." More laughter. I was intrigued by her evident sincerity.
It seems that the FOX faithful have been isolated from the rest of the media by the accusation that the MSM is part of some vast left wing conspiracy. So FOX folks have no other place they can go, no one else they can trust. They listen to the noise and watch the anger develop and they share the feelings. Being brought to this emotional place, they no longer are capable of hearing what is actually being said, nor of asking themselves, "Is this true?"
A classic example of this is Glenn Beck's recent meltdown. The man became visibly tearful as he described his country disintegrating before his blurry eyes. This was a few weeks after bringing a couple of militant Reich-wingers on board describing their nightmarish vision of a future when small towns isolate themselves from outsiders and take care of their own because the rest of the nation has become so unstable. Glenn Beck is the one in tears talking about how the COUNTRY is unstable?!?
It seems to me some thorough research by professionals should be able to break it down. What do these people get from being angry <b>all the time!!!</b>? Of course, I wonder what I get from being angry all the time as well, sitting here ripping at FOX, but in the interests of being polite, let's look at them first! :-{)>









There are people that, due to insecurity, have to believe that they know better than anyone else, what the truth is on any given issue. And usually, due to low self-esteem issues, they have to believe that it is simply due to their self-believed uncommonly high retention of "common sense".
That these people are knee-jerk deciders is conditioned by their peers or parents by deriding them for any and every momentary indecision. To them everything in simple, and everything is knee-jerk decided, and everybody that disagrees with them is simply wrong. These people have not only not been taught to think for themselves, they've been taught that they shouldn't think for themselves.
One of the telltale phrases of these people is: "That's the way it's always been, and if it was good enough for my daddy, it's good enough for me.", clearly indicative of no thought about the issue at hand.
March 24, 2009 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting. My opinion is that FOX can get away with their bogus "fair and balanced" claim because some people equate dissent or criticism with being objective.
March 24, 2009 5:37 PM | Reply | Permalink