Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Media, Movies, Marketing and Massacre All Start with M

First and foremost, I would like to offer my condolences to the families and friends effected by this tragic event.  My thoughts here are written as a humble plea for change.

The lack of empathy in our culture is depriving children of their right to develop into emotionally healthy human beings. The evidence is accumulating all around us.


These tragic events are not random. They are all the effects of the same simple cause. They are the consequences we will continue to pay, as long as we allow our youth to be exploited. In the very first paragraph of his last YouTube Video transcript, Elliot Rodger very clearly states: 
 "I've been forced to endure an existence of loneliness, rejection and unfulfilled desires all because girls have never been attracted to me."
He then goes on to say this in the SECOND paragraph:
"It has been very torturous. College is the time when everyone experiences those things such as sex and fun and pleasure. Within those years, I've had to rot in loneliness. It's not fair." 
But what does the media report on?  Gun laws and privacy bills; political agendas have been thrust into the spotlight and the victims haven't even been laid to rest yet.  Let me just go ahead and say it: i call bull-shit on the whole friggin' shit-show. Tightening gun laws (considering Rodger's first 3 victims he attacked with a knife), or changing the way a psychotherapist is supposed to interact with patients aren't even worthy of being called band-aids. It's nothing more than distracting noise. 

If we actually want to effect change, then we have to pay attention to what is really being cried out through these violent, horrific acts.  These perpetrators are children, who felt disconnected from other human beings. They instead bonded with media and marketing campaigns. Images and soundbites became role-models which suggested to these children they were inferior over, and over, and over again; year after year, the chatter ever-falling into a young, malleable, developing mind... because it makes you a better consumer. There is a reason why kids are going ape-shit and it has been going on right around us for decades:
"Ketchum Global Research and Analytics (KGRA) is an award-winning, global team. We're the largest research group in the PR industry. And we're committed to using innovative quantitative and qualitative research in all phases of brand marketing, corporate reputation and employee engagement."
If one were to de-code the above statement, I believe it actually says:
"We are down to use science, math, whatever means necessary, to help you mind-eff the s out of your target demographic."
Which, unfortunately, 'hookin'-em-while-they're-young,' and making people feel like they NEED a product to be whole or accepted, somehow became two foundational pillars on the way to success in the wacky world of modern marketing. Well guess what? Making kids feel like they aren't good enough is one surefire way to fuck them up.

The good news, however, is that awareness is more than half the battle.  We can all effect the world just by being honest with ourselves when we make decisions in our daily lives. As stated above, young minds are malleable, be careful what you let them absorb; the future depends on it.

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