I have a theory about the bizarre shit you can find on the Internet. It is all because of Hans Christian Andersen. That’s a pretty good trick for a guy who predated the Internet by centuries.
It all goes back to his fairy tale, “The King Has No Clothes.” In the story the King is conned by a couple of tailors. They convince the King that they have made a suit of clothes out of magical material. The ability to perceive and appreciate the outfit is governed by the relative merit of the viewer. The King checks out the new outfit and decides it is the greatest suit he has ever seen.
Con men and charlatans have been trying to duplicate Andersen’s efforts ever since, with varying degrees of success.
It should be no surprise that the greatest success in the big con, continues in the fashion industry. Here are two examples of “cutting edge” design. If one doesn’t “get it” then it is the fault of the viewer not the designer. It proves that bluster and bullshit can give talent and taste a run for its money.
A new variation of the big con are people known as influencers. These people have no particular ability, superior intellect, or particular merit as human beings. Best I can tell they get to be influencers because they have no shame. The nature of influencers has changed over the years. Here is one pre-internet.
Jack LaLanne was a TV pioneer and fitness advocate. He emphasized exercise and nutrition. In order to succeed, one had to do the work.
Compare that philosophy to modern day influencers. Want health? Get naked, spread your cheeks, throw your legs into the air and act like a bicycle rack.
What says Christmas like a Norman Rockwell print? The illustrator, best known for covers on the Saturday Evening post, drew hundreds of images. These images ended up on Christmas Cards, napkins and assorted other decorations.
I know! I know! Let’s capitalize on the nostalgia surrounding old time Christmas. Available on Amazon, shipping included. Photographs of the Nazi concentration camp, where an estimated 1.1 to 1.5 million people died during the Second World War, had appeared on Christmas tree decorations and on a bottle opener for sale on the site. (The Independent)
It isn’t fair. In the old days (prior to the Internet) one was given a verbal warning that the next thing you witnessed wasn’t quite right. Oftentimes, they were the last words ever uttered by the show-off. There were regional variations but the sentiments expressed were much the same. Recall:
“Hey, watch this!”
“Hold my beer!”
“You ain’t got a hair on your ass!”
These words weren’t an exhortation to follow the leader. The statement, in whatever form it took, was an effort to shut down any attempt or desire to duplicate the act. If done right, no rational person would attempt what they were made to witness.
If the fashion designers, influencers and Christmas ornament designers are holding to ethos of “Watch This” and then sitting back and laughing like hell, then nice joke.
If the perpetrators of these frauds are serious. The joke is on the MSM. The MSM has no sense or humor or irony. This lack makes the Internet a very dangerous place. The inmates have gained more influence than they have any right to have.
