The idea that the pressure on social media for people to speak out and take a stance on every issue arises from people being implicitly thought of as brands with audiences to cater to is really clarifying and thought-provoking. Ditto for your discussion at the end about maintaining a clear-eyed distinction between what corporations and people can('t) do/believe.
I read the intro and all my brain saw was "Parker here with the final edition" my heart just dropped. And then after my double take, my brain finished reading. lol
Elizabeth Spiers had a very good piece in the NYT touching on this requirement to have an opinion an everything. "In an environment where people are led to believe they should post or blurt out simplistic opinions, they will, for fear that others will think they’re not informed enough, they don’t care enough or their moral compass has been demagnetized. But a reactionary social media post tells you nothing about what they really think or know, cheapens the discourse and impedes progress. It’s sloganeering masquerading as moral clarity." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/opinion/social-media-israel-palestine.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
It’s a real fear they have that any political position is going to offend a portion of their customers. And Comcast and Coke and Starbucks etc don’t want to lose customers for a frivolous reason. Thats not good for business, or executives’ bonuses.
Maybe it's a good thing? People today are generally more empathetic, more willing to see people very different from themselves as human beings whose suffering has meaning, so it's more natural to express that empathy in public.
I read No Logo in college (early 2000s) on the recommendation of a friend. It's one of the books I've read that's helped shape my belief system. Doppelganger is definitely on my to-read list.
You don’t need some new statement on the Middle East anyway when you already have a number of Propagandhi songs to reference. For example - “Fixed Frequencies” from 2005:
Statements, Statements Everywhere
The idea that the pressure on social media for people to speak out and take a stance on every issue arises from people being implicitly thought of as brands with audiences to cater to is really clarifying and thought-provoking. Ditto for your discussion at the end about maintaining a clear-eyed distinction between what corporations and people can('t) do/believe.
I read the intro and all my brain saw was "Parker here with the final edition" my heart just dropped. And then after my double take, my brain finished reading. lol
Elizabeth Spiers had a very good piece in the NYT touching on this requirement to have an opinion an everything. "In an environment where people are led to believe they should post or blurt out simplistic opinions, they will, for fear that others will think they’re not informed enough, they don’t care enough or their moral compass has been demagnetized. But a reactionary social media post tells you nothing about what they really think or know, cheapens the discourse and impedes progress. It’s sloganeering masquerading as moral clarity." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/opinion/social-media-israel-palestine.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
It’s a real fear they have that any political position is going to offend a portion of their customers. And Comcast and Coke and Starbucks etc don’t want to lose customers for a frivolous reason. Thats not good for business, or executives’ bonuses.
Maybe it's a good thing? People today are generally more empathetic, more willing to see people very different from themselves as human beings whose suffering has meaning, so it's more natural to express that empathy in public.
I read No Logo in college (early 2000s) on the recommendation of a friend. It's one of the books I've read that's helped shape my belief system. Doppelganger is definitely on my to-read list.
You don’t need some new statement on the Middle East anyway when you already have a number of Propagandhi songs to reference. For example - “Fixed Frequencies” from 2005:
https://propagandhi.bandcamp.com/album/potemkin-city-limits-2?t=2