The following is my reaction to the latest letter from Jason Calacanis, founder of Silicon Alley Reporter, Weblogs, Inc., and Mahalo.com. He’s also an avid blogger at www.calacanis.com. To subscribe to his mailing list, visit https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/jason
Jason -
Excellent letter. Definitely some deep thoughts in this one.
This isn’t just a phenomenon in the online world, and removing oneself from the online world itself doesn’t cure IAS. Look at the daily news on CNN, Fox, any channel. Everything and everyone has an agenda, and is willing to dehumanize the rest of the world to get ahead and accomplish their agenda.
Is it the Internet? Is it TV? Is it the breakdown of ‘family values’? Is it the Suburb-based car-driving culture? Ultimately it all contributes to the same isolation of the world. Why are communities where people walk to the corner store usually safer? It’s awfully hard to hide when everyone knows your name. It’s a lot harder to flip someone off on the freeway when you might see them at the office, in the parking lot, at the grocery store. But in a city of 20M people, with sound proof, climate-controlled, isolated cars, what are the chances?
Just in writing this, I’ve seen headlines like “Freedom Under Fire”, “Stimulate This!”, “Lou’s Line Item Veto”, … And this is supposed to be from CNN… “the most trusted source for news”. Slow-mo shots with completely bogus headlines. Shameless self-promotion. And this is on mute.
Hype & sensationalism. It’s a land grab for people’s attention, driving up adrenaline by pitting one person against the next. It’s the two party system at its worst. It’s the winner-take mentality that doesn’t consider the human cost.
At the risk of being flamed, has anyone studied history? Hitler was Time magazine’s man of the year, because he brought people together on a platform of nationalism, reform and by quashing all debate. Instead of engaging in healthy dialog, we call everyone we disagree with a Nazi, Communist or, more recently, a terrorist. Airport security too long? Must be a Nazi. Don’t like your coffee today? The barista must be a terrorist. And the coffee beans are funding terrorism… Throw them all in a “camp” to “protect all of us”. How much more ridiculous can we get?
A man in LA murdered his family and committed suicide because he lost his job and fell into despair. There were headlines calling this “domestic terrorism”. How much more ridiculous can we get?
Squashing dissent and debate aren’t healthy. This country was founded by people who were escaping exactly that type of government, culture and intolerance. It’s exactly the respect for different opinions, multiple political views, religion, etc… that creates strong societies. While it is the natural progression of societies to get caught up in the strength of their leaders, their difference, their dominance in military and economic power, they quickly forget that their cultural dominance exists only in their minds, long forgotten in the intolerance for different views that were the core of their foundation.
Fall of the Roman Empire, anyone?
So to all those who espouse bigotry, against races, genders, religion, or new ideas, there is nothing we can do to stop you. But your words and your actions bring us all down.
Do the negative comments affect me? Sure. Does my thick skin protect me? Not a chance.
Kathy Sierra felt it and checked out. Mike Arrington felt it and checked out. You felt it and (held back). I’ve felt it. The only response that keeps you sane is to either check out, or dismiss _everyone_ as “crazy and irrational”.
Olivier
ps. I heard that the first rule of surviving as a celebrity is “never read the papers”. Unfortunately this is true online as it is in the movies.
