I had to think twice about posting this article, because my posting this is itself ironic (isn’t it my job to be making fun of other people’s irony and hypocrisy?). But here goes anyway.
It has long bothered me that the mainstream media often gives a platform to people who really don’t deserve one, because conflict — even if made up — sells newspapers (or TV ads or whatever). Thus we continue to hear about people like “Joe the Plumber” long after his 15 minutes of fame have run out. Note that even progressive papers do this; it seems to be endemic.
So it was with mixed feelings that I read the latest article about dear old Joe Wurzelbacher. It seems that he made a scheduled appearance at a Borders bookstore in DC to sell his new book. The bad news is that this was news. The good news is that only around 11 people showed up (see photo), and the event, which was scheduled to last three hours, ended in less than one. Maybe the media will realize that this person and his opinions aren’t really news anymore and leave it alone in the future?
Naw.
4 Comments
Oh wow! This brings joy, not to mention HOPE, to my cold, cold heart!
I don’t think “conflict” is the reason why people like joe the plumber or paris hilton ,etc. are constantly on the news. I personally don’t see a whole lot of good intentions. They want to make the people as simple and vulgar as possible. They want to make them busy thinking about these kinds of things and not think about more important things.
Good point.
Perhaps it was because the only people who liked Joe the Plumber couldn’t read books!