OPTING OUT OF THE ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
A Facebook friend of mine posted the following link in a comment to one of my posts on my Facebook Wall, and I thought it was so good I had to share it:
For me, the real insight of this article were these statements by the article's author, "Fitzy:"
"Many of us Opting out of the ‘Alternative Media community’ or ‘The Truth Movement’ are doing so in part, because of the obviously ridiculous fictions at play in those communities. While our hypothetical zoo keepers feed us a milligram of Truth for each Kilogram of BS, just to keep us chewing, its become so obvious and unpalatable we can’t abide it any longer.
"So in summary, our own judgement and critical thinking is rejecting Alternative memes and narratives, and what little truth there is on offer in those movements is too meager to hold our attention.
"So whats next?"
His answer to that question is that we become ruggedly individuals in view of the coalescence of the alternative and mainstream media. Well, after a certain recent disastrous flirtation with one such alternative medium, I couldn't agree more. And I totally agree with his prescient observation that the alternative and mainstream media will grow progressively closer together. The alternative to all this in his view? Remain individuals, and withdraw from that "community." In a certain sense, I couldn't agree more. We desperately need a return to independent thinkers. Note I said thinkers, not purveyors of the latest neo-Gnostic pabulum-puking "ET and the galactic federation" nonsense. We need, in short, something like the Renaissance, which, if one examines it closely, was less about rediscovering classical Greek sources, than it was about the rediscovery and implementation of Hermetic sources. The Renaissance was not a "community," nor even, really, an era; it was a culture of discourse.
As a result, I find myself in a dilemma. What do I call myself? Am I an "independent researcher"? Well, not really, since I do read and attempt to integrate the views and research of others, both "alternative" and "mainstream." Am I an "anomalist"? Well, no, not really. Or is it even necessary to call myself anything? I suspect it's the latter.
Lest the readers or members of this blog assume from the title of this article, however, that I intend on "retiring" or any such thing, I certainly do not. I will continue writing, sharing my ideas, reading others' ideas, questioning, synthesizing, analyzing, and questioning again. There are still places and shows and people I will associate with, venues and media I will visit and, as occasion arises, have recourse to. But there have also to be standards, and there are those with whom I will not. Be patient with me, as I sort through the details of what that means.
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Comets fly by earth on a regular basis. It seems like certain cults attach an exaggerated significance to such celestial events. Kahoutek in 1973 was held as a sign of an apocalyptic event by the Children of God cult now commonly known as the Family International. We must not forget the unfortunate outcome of the Heaven’s Gate cult in 1996 with the passing of Hale Bop and now all this hysteria around the passing of Elenin. (Smells like cult to me). Does anybody have a clue where all this comet=apocalypse stuff comes from? It sounds like babble crap to me. Things happen in the skies all the time but to attach holy significance to it just seems downright over rated and kind of dumb. To top it off nothing ever happens. Never.
To be honest Terry, I have no idea, The only hypothesis I could offer is the number of real looney theories come from minds that are unstable at best and off in lala land at worst. My personal opinion (and it is just opinion as I’m not an MD) is that much of it may come from personality disorders, if you imagine taking a few people who really haven’t done anything with their lives or got to the place they wanted to be, what better way to achieve their “15 minutes” than to become an internet talking point that attracts the interest of many when outside of their virtual insanity they would go unnoticed in a *crowd* of 3 people.I also have suspicions that it’s the subject matter itself causing some of this problem, lets imagine the Late Stichin was still with us and arrived at your house and proposed that your pet cat was JFK, pretty quickly he’s going to be shown the door or hauled away to a rubber room.His *theory* about JFK the cat wouldn’t stand for more than 2 seconds BUT when you have people with no scientific credibility,experience or history offering rocking horse crap theories that are impossible to disproove without a few hours at least of research their theories get listened to for at least a period of time.
Now once they have command of somebodies attention for those few minutes and before their initial bat crap theory gets disprooved they come out with something else to divert attention away from the original proposal. What it does mean is their madness has to get more extreme as time goes on to continue to divert attention away from each level of their insanity.
Let me demonstrate if I may?
Initial Theory: Comet Elenin is a brown dwarf star,
(response,possible, lets do the math,…..humm hold on,there’s a problem with that because…..)
Theory One: Actually we have now discovered Elenin may well be a space weapon.
(response, ere,that doesn’t sound good (i’ll ignore the brown dwarf bit as this is gettinga bit more serious))
Theory Two: I now have evidence to be released *soon* that Elenin may well be a craft from an alien planet.
(Response, ummm well that does tie in with the weapon theory so this may well have some validity)( they don’t recall the fact the weapon theory was BS in the first place as they never got time to check it out)
Theory Three: We are in real trouble now,We may have evidence from Buzz Lightyear(the pilot of elenin) that they mean us harm.
(response) dam I’m in danger, I really need to hear this to find out what to do (the psyche ignores the fact buzz lightyear is a cartoon character based on the fight or flight response)
and so on and on…..
What you end up with is a lot of scared (and in some cases mentally unstable people) believing whatever BS they get fed, meanwhile the initial theory proposer has achieved a level of fame that working at the local store on the checkouts is never going to get them,it’s like ADD, they need the attention and will get it however they can.
If anybody thinks people aren’t that gullable, ask the Branch Davidians (if you can find any surving ones)
Quite scary really….
“Does anybody have a clue where all this comet = apocalypse stuff comes from?”
The human mind is the pinnacle (to date anyway) of evolution – capable of sending us beyond the bonds of Earth, while at the same time threatening the same with mass destruction. That being said, it’s wise not to dismiss or ridicule “extraterrestrial” (a deliberately broad term here) believers but, instead, try to understand them. These believers can be divided (generally) into two groups: eyes-open or eyes-closed. Mental instability is an exception to the groups rather than a separate category.
“Eyes-open” ET believers are well aware that the positions they support and ideas they assert (whether their own or another’s) aren’t actually “true.” This group is further divided into two types of individuals: (1) those who use their belief system to rook, swindle, and defraud their marks (a/k/a fellow believers) out of as much money or material gain possible without getting caught or exposed, and (2) those who use their belief system to (ostensibly) entertain or educate.
The overwhelming majority of eyes-open ET believers is composed of Type 1 individuals; most apply their deceptive “trade” for material gain, while the remainder (Type 2) do it for the entertainment it affords at the expense of the eyes-closed ET believers whom they manipulate.
“Eyes-closed” ET believers honestly accept as true those positions or ideas which they advocate. While they may rook, swindle, and defraud each other (e.g., selling books, videos, hidden knowledge, and other marketable paraphernalia), this group does so because its belief system is accepted as THE truth, as opposed to the eyes-open ET believers, who are in it largely for the money or material gain.
Interestingly, fear is the primary motivating (manipulation) tool within the eyes-open and -closed group. The emotion is very effective for directing short-term change provided it’s presented appropriately.
When it comes to “all-things” ET, the majority of believers are eyes-closed. There’s a reason for this. People who proclaim to have experienced a UFO encounter, alien abduction, or obtained hidden knowledge (a/ka/ a subject matter expert or SME) typically require (at least) a minimal of acting ability to carry off their deceptions and a competent understanding of basic human nature.
The ability to interpret and present “scientific data” in a manner or method which reveals a hidden knowledge to the point where the mark has been successfully impressed into believing the SME knows things about ETs that others either do not know or will not release (e.g., the government – THE favorite whipping boy of many eyes-open believers) takes time, intelligence, and practice to develop. Alternatively, eyes-closed ET believers don’t require any such mental capabilities or effort. For these people, the most important requirement is the ability to turn on a computer and use Google – the dots connects themselves with assistance from the SMEs.
Eyes-open ET believers deserve to be ridiculed and exposed as the frauds they are. They’re preying on the honest beliefs of people who trust in what they mistakenly perceive to be experts, people who honestly think they’ve discovered truths that the vast majority of the world either doesn’t know about or deliberately choose not to face.
Hi Joseph,
I think I know what you’re talking about. Many of my favorite thinkers/researchers are iconoclasts who are wary of groups, even alternative groups.
I know you and Jon Rappoport have talked (he had you on his show last fall). I’ve really been digging into Jon’s thinking lately, and I think he could provide some good insights into this particular issue. He writes about the dangers of groups (even well-meaning groups) and really champions individual thought and individual creativity. In fact, while you are sorting this out, it would be great if the two of you could have a chat about this…and maybe share the results of such a conversation with the members during one of your (really fabulous) Friday night video chats….
Two pence for Joseph:
Writers can often get really aggrevated with media outlets, alt and ‘lamestream’, and then they tend to write angry (which discredits them). One of the reasons we all love Dr. Farrell’s work is that he doesn’t do this. And in the face of utter boobs, he would wisely walk the other way.
I would do the same. On the other hand, the reason that most people love The Daily Show, is because Jon Stewart confronts stupidity, he’s quick enough, and smart enough to really be dangerous to ideas and certain people. A few sentences and Tucker Carlson was sent scurrying, his show pulled, never to wear a bowtie again. That was precious.
I would never ask Dr. Farrell to do something I wouldn’t do myself, but it would be awesome to see the good Doctore go all ‘Jon Stewart’ on some of these idiots.
In the words of Calvin Coolidge, “Press On” -we love you for it Dr. Farrell
Amen Chuck 🙂 Personally i’d like to go all jeffery dahmer on some of them 🙂
Jon Stewart is just another puppet/lier like a lot of the media unfortunately. Jon Stewart isn’t even his real name (and that is an important clue to who he really serves). He claims to be hard hitting, and people believe that … but stare at him for long enough, and I think you will see that he is taking the p*ss out of his viewers and audience. He knows the score and he constantly taunts you with it. He’s not there to rock the people who run the media. He’s one of them. The same with Colbert. Another one who claims to be what he isn’t.
They’re just clever, “funny” (nahh not really) versions of people like Alex Jones. They know who runs things (and it ain’t the Nazis folks or the Vatican … still baffles me that last one lol) and they’re there to carry on that agenda and divert people from the real truth about things.
(for instance did you know that Alex Jones has the same lawyer as the Bronfman family??? … and I should know … I’m the one who discovered it hehe … thats all you really need to know about who Jones works for …)
II believe America’s school system has failed (consistently) to promote objective reasoning and the scientific method over easily-influenced subjective beliefs. The levels of cognitive dissonance and compartmentalization within the “alternative media community” or “truth movement” (from David Ickes to Richard Gage) are shocking and sad. Given what we know today (truly know via gathered and tested empirical evidence versus what we believe to know via faith), we – Homo sapiens sapiens – are the ONLY sentient species in the Universe. That’s an important TRUTH often overlooked in the belief systems of those subscribing to any truth movement. But what does a certain population of us do with the intelligence and processing capabilities we’ve gained? They return the species to its early days when we thought fire was a gift from the gods. And they use the fear of these imagined gods (e.g., Comet Elenin is the preferred vehicle of an alien invasion) to manipulate further this population’s cognitive dissonance and compartmentalization. What’s even worse, though, is that these people neither know nor comprehend the great disservice they are doing individually to themselves or collectively to the species. If there is ANY advice I could offer such people, it’d be the command, “Study the Law of Parsimony and apply it to your observations.”
Bob Dylan Blowin’ In The Wind Lyrics
How many roads most a man walk down
Before you call him a man ?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand ?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned ?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
regard’s
For the time being I am a Philosopher
I’ve left more groups than I care to remember……
I’ve shunned groups and communities for a long time for this kind of thing. If not outright manipulation, then all the head and ego games people seem to fall into in a group.
James Marcus Bach (Richard’s son) wrote a book and coined the term “Buccaneer Scholar,” to give himself and others a label he like. He was using the term buccaneer in the sense of a wildly independent person who captained their own ship and was not a part of anyone’s power structure.
If it wasn’t originally a Templar symbol, I’d suggest you hoist the Jolly Roger and consider yourself a Buccaneer Scholar.
Then there is a term I picked up from the Steampunk band Abney Park – “Anacropologist” – combining anachronism and anthropologist (yes, I am a fan and have actual dogtags showing I hold that rank in their fan base….)
Since you are scholar in the truest sense, I suppose you could use “Renegade Heretic Scholar.”
Or maybe get a poncho to go with your western hats and cigars and be the “Scholar with No Name.” (cue Sergio Leone….) Maybe Flanchered’s next video could be called “The Good, The Bad, and the Scholar. “Or maybe “High Plains Scholar.”
Or maybe take a cue from Joe Satriani and create “Strange, Beautiful Scholarship.”
Does raise a good question – what is the alternative to Alternative?
Sounds like a small contest is needed to come up with a name…..
You are right to use the word Heretic. People like turn everything into a “religion”.
The quoted article is a valuable and balanced examination of the title “alternative media”. It prompted the remembrance of this “warning” I took from the lyrics of an old Christian Rock song from the 1980’s:
“…you’re so open minded, your brain leaked out.” IE: All inquiry should have at least some limits in order to preserve some sanity.
This was taken from the 1988 Steve Taylor song,”Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number’s Up?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RMHqzLqCxs
Worth a listen, IMO…
Joseph,
Have you come across the story linked below regarding a Ghost City that appeared over a river in China. The media says it is a mirage. If you have seen the story, I wandered what your thoughts are?
Thanks,
Ross
http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/mirage-of-a-city-appears-in-huanshan-city-in-east-china/story-fn5fsgyc-1226082498230
This reminds me why Jacque Valles got out of the entire UFO field for some time. I believe George Knapp sumized it that he was tired of all the bickering, infighting and nutcases.
Something is happening. Yesterday I wiped facebook out of my life, not that any of you will notice. Maybe it is all those Galactic Federation ships parked off our bow just waiting for the right moment to swoop in and give us a leg up.
I wish you had been more specific in defining alternative media. I know you had a bad experience lately with a certain group leading the fray with unsubstantiated facts but I am hoping that you do mean to include others that have brought forward information on GMO foods, the imperialists wars of America or the overt militarization of our police force just to name a few items left out of Main Stream Media and which would never get the light of day in MSM. Of course, some people will never be able to establish the truth but do not destroy the many thought provoking and brave works that get into the alternative media.
WE must discern yes; but abandon the alternative system no. Not all information can be gleaned from established authors. We need to be responsible readers who look at several sources reporting on the same story.
I will not abandon the alternative media and become the isolationist individual. We need information to make difficult decisions in these turbulent times. I ‘ll trust my own analytical
skills and bring my own thoughts to bear but please let us not just decipher the reality by the shadows on the cave wall.
Hi Dr. Farrell,
to my knowledge you have never, ever been a part of the “alternative media”-
you are simply an Iconoclast, only known to, well, “those in the know”-
I first became aware of you thanks to Project Camelot (so don’t defecate on these people too much, OK?) due to your “Nazi International” book which I immediately ordered and devoured after your PC interview- since then I’ve devoured 6 more of your books and will continue to order and devour all of them- not to mention your website-
we’re all seeking the truth together- no-one is perfect and we’re all viewing things through a provided filter-
we just need need to get over ourselves and realize that all of us are a product of social conditioning/manipulation-
Larry in Germany
Sadly Larry, PC come across as a couple of kids who threw their toys out of the pram. The interview with Steve Greer (A medically qualified Doctor and licensed I may add) was at the end of the day not only impolite but aggressive and conflicting as well as in very poor taste. A lot of these easy come easy go internet *media* outlets would do well to realise that without credible interview subjects they will just fade back into obscurity without anybody noticing. As a person I’m sure Kerry is a lovely lady but as a representative of a media organisation she is a disgrace.
Since truth, has now become a revolutionary act, color yourself a revolutionary.
An interesting read, but such mundane conclusions: “YOU, Author your own Reality”. I mean, this is a polemic about some fringe culture v.s. mainstream opinion, but that very statement seems to be the zeitgeist.
Brain-washing begins in the ‘mind’. The logismoi. The Logos. Every coo happened at a form of the ‘Renaissance’ – Carolingian and Florentine; right. The word ‘renaissance’ is a modern term. In fact all the ‘historical’ terminology we use refers to ‘kronos’ as though there is some sort of humanistic development. Post-Modern, Middle-Ages, Dark-Ages, New-Ages, Antiquity… yeah right.
The new meme is the ancient egregore. I do not see an inconsistency between the science of say Albert Budden’s research into the M.O. of poltergiest/UFO/alienographic C.E. I-II-III and its implications with Electromagnetics with say Vallee’s research into the mythological insights into that behavioural M.O. and John A. Keel’s profound warnings about a world-wide manipulation. Then we have Rene Guenon’s Spiritist Fallacy and Reign of Quantity to give us the cultural and phenomological bits in between. All the while, these insights fit eruditely in the spiritual warfare the Philokalia calls ‘Demonic’!!!
Is this a new phenomena. Are we assulated by ‘reptilians’. Or Merovingian elitists spawned from the co-habitation of some fallen angel race in the DNA?
My opinion is invalid. But I’m thinking that the interception is not in the somatic principle, but in the noetic one. Right where the thelemic and gnomic will meet. Farrell surely knows what I mean here. Right?
The mainstream is just another term of the vox-pop; like ‘pre-antiquity’. The matter at hand is the zeitgiest. The elite of this ‘kosmos’ (macro-cosmopolitan) can only have such an infallible insight if it is outside of time. In that Aeon between ‘uncreated’ and ‘kronos’.
Surely Karl de Grosse was not that smart without some sort of ‘master-mind’ influencing him on the level of ‘logismoi/noemata’?! I can’t see such a consistency happening throughout such a broad spectrum in history in a human mind. I can only see a meme/egregore being the product of something that operates and intercepts at the level of hierohistory (to steal a concept of Henry Corbin’s). But if it is the case for a nihilistic malikim, then how much more so is it for a benevolant hierarchy that evades a somatic principle.
Hi RAENOLD,
you wrote:
“Is this a new phenomena. Are we assulated by ‘reptilians’. Or Merovingian elitists spawned from the co-habitation of some fallen angel race in the DNA?
My opinion is invalid”-
your opinion is as valid as everyone else’s here on this website-
I just think that our existence on this planet is much, much more interwoven/complicated than any of us can even imagine with our limited conscience minds-
Larry in Germany
Came across this earlier from a guy died two weeks later after giving it. Full on NAZI fifth column stuff. Should be up your street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jug-W-DKcms&feature=feedlik
Thank You Charles. The YT channel You reccomended is a really superb treasure chest.
Speaking of Nazis, came across this articles last night which is long.
Get Out of Dodge – Update June 19, 2011 – Why “We the People” Are Not Waking Up by Panama Law
The interesting part that pertains here is below:
…The people are dumbed down because of toxins, contaminants in the food, water and medicines that are designed to “dumb down” we the people. …
Hitler and Fluoride in the Water – Yes Hitler and his very intelligent scientists discovered that sodium fluoride can be put in drinking water to dumb down an entire population. I will quote from this source:
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=14949
“At the end of World War II, the US government sent Charles Eliot Perkins, a research worker in chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and pathology, took charge of the vast Farben chemical plants in Germany. The German chemists told Perkins of a scheme which they had devised during the war and had been adapted by the German General Staff. The German chemists explained of their attempt to control the population in any given area through the mass medication of drinking water with sodium fluoride, a tactic used in German and Russian prisoner of war camps to make the prisoners “stupid and docile”(Stephen 1995). (I understand this was also done to the jewish people put in concentration camps to make them more docile.) Farben had developed plans during the war to fluoridate the occupied countries because it was found that fluoridation caused slight damage to a specific part of the brain, making it more difficult for the person affected to defend his freedom and causing the individual to become more docile towards authority. (Please Take Note: They will not defend their freedom and became more docile towards authority). Fluoride remains one of the strongest anti-psychotic substances known, and is contained in twenty-five percent of the major tranquilizers. It may not seem surprising that Hitler’s regime practiced the concept of mind control through chemical means, but the American military continued Nazi research, exploring techniques to incapacitate an enemy or medicate an entire nation. “
“The discovery that fluoride benefited teeth, was paid for by industry that needed to be able to defend “lawsuits from workers and communities poisoned by industrial fluoride emissions” (Bryson 1995) and turn a liability into an asset. Fluoride, a waste constituent in the manufacturing processes of explosives, fertilizers and other ‘necessities’, was expensive to dispose of properly and until a ‘use’ was found for it in America’s water supplies, the substance was only considered a toxic, hazardous waste. Through sly public re-education, fluoride, once a waste product, became the active ingredient in fluorinated pesticides, fungicides, rodenticides, anesthetics, tranquilizers, fluorinated pharmaceuticals, and a number of industrial and domestic products, fluorinated dental gels, rinses and toothpastes. Fluoride is so much a part of a multibillion-dollar industrial and pharmaceutical income, that any withdrawal of support from pro-fluoridationists is financially impossible, legally unthinkable and potentially devastating for their career and reputation.” (Fluoride is a vast amount of consumable products getting into the brains of people through many different pathways).
The eintire article can be read at :
http://www.panamalaw.org/getting_out_of_dodge_06-19-11.html
Yeah, thanks Charles. That was good stuff.
‘Nobody messes with the Kissinger!’