A hostile world, hostile life.
Let’s all start from the same place.
I plan on using the word “hostile” a bit this morning because it is precisely the word I mean. So I thought I would include the dictionary’s version here at the beginning so we are all on the same page:
Hostile means unfriendly, aggressive, or relating to an enemy. It describes people who show ill will, ideas that face open opposition, or environments that are harsh and unsafe.
Why definitions?
I like harsh and unsafe. Inhospitable. Relating to an enemy. Unfriendly. That’s what I mean by the word. This is important, I feel. The meanings of words are not ‘choose your own adventure’, not options, not even up for debate, in my opinion. That makes meanings of sentences malleable and I don’t do that unless I am writing tunes or trying to be clever. With truth? With facts? Never. I aim to be clear. Hence definitions, sometimes.
Why so hostile?
Hostile is exactly the word I mean because that is exactly how it feels ‘out in the world.’ If someone disagrees with you on your favorite brand name, politicians, religion, or even pundit, there could be conflict. At least, folks act that way. At the guitar shop, at school, at home, even in bands, it makes for hostile living.
This is corporate life too, if you didn’t know. After all, there’s hostile takeovers, even recently. Folks from other companies or competitors are enemies. The rules are in the hands of those with the most money and power, not a set of ideals to protect everyone, enforced by everyone.
My corporate experience.
I worked a corporate job for a bit. Not too long, less than 2 years was all I could take before driving trucks. I also was in a union, then promoted to no union, as if that makes sense. Nothing about the corporate world appeals to me. I think folks get ruthless to the extent I can’t even be a part of it. I was in collections. At the time I was with a major cell phone carrier. They charged per text message back then. Every day I saw bills for thousands of dollars from teens running up text messages. It seriously bummed me out. Had to leave. Not that trucking was any better. Plenty of corporate bullshit in trucking too. I just didn’t have to screw over normal everyday people in trucking. Just had to worry about myself.
That was 20 years ago and it’s nothing but way more hostile now than then.
The reason, or at least one reason, is micro targeting. Folks might tell me, sure they get my data, “so what?” Well the answer to “so what?” is what they use that data for. Any social media is going to have you pegged in a short amount of time on a grid of brand names and gut reactions. They are going to cater to you not just your preferences, but things that get a reaction from you when they need it.
The culprit.
“Micro targeting collects personal data to build detailed user profiles. Companies and campaigns use this data to send hyper-specific ads or messages to small groups. It changes content to match a person's known fears, hopes, or habits.” -Google search.
They are lying to you, treat them as such.
If you do not know precisely when this happens, what it is about, and the person or corporation behind the campaign, you are being manipulated. No one knows the truth about so many things, yet we are certain of them to the point of hostility.
2016
The Trump 2016 campaign told Facebook users on both sides what they wanted to hear. The MAGAs got their bullshit, but the liberals got their bullshit too about staying home and not voting. This message was sent to both parties, proven, by the same campaign. ‘Staying Home’ was dressed like a liberal meme or pundit, but it was Trump’s micro targeting from a company called Cambridge Analytica. I’d only be mad at Trump. However, he only hired Cambridge Analytica in 2016 after Obama had used them in 2012. However, Cambridge had upped its game in 2016 to collect a record amount of data from third-party apps, surveys, and just playing on social media.
This was a decade ago, y’all. You wonder where these micro targeting sons-of-bitches are at now with the AI tech gone so crazy? Everyone is in the dark now. No one knows shit. Unless you really know, you don’t know anything.
The grid lines, yuck.
Not only has this obfuscated the truth, it has set up and reinforced phony dividing lines. See, when you are only told what you want to hear or what makes you spend money or go vote, you are like a veal of the mind. You are locked in place with a shallower way of thinking. “Digging deep” isn’t on the menu for your mentality. You are in a cage. People I love dearly harbor a contempt for groups of people that only exist in their head or across the world, which is still in their head. I know folks who think they know how things work, they do not. I know folks who think they know motivations and morals of politicians, they do not. I even know folks who think they know what will happen, they do not.
Are you sure???
If we are thinking clearly, looking at the evidence, the only conclusion is there’s a whole ton of things we do not know. Those are the things data contractors hide with their influence and brain washing. Anyone with an ounce of truth in them says “I don’t know” at the drop of a hat these days. Data contractors do not do this. They are liars.
Who stands a chance against data scientists armed with all your data? No one.
If you are on social media you are in a small group in these folks’ eyes. These folks consist of data scientists, bad ass computers, and a ton of your information. They are for hire. Good guys and bad guys both hire them. Could be a political effort like an election, or BREXIT (who also hired Cambridge Analytica, FYI), or it could be a favorite brand name pitting you against competitors. I have definitely seen it in energy drinks, big music acts, movie and TV streamers, even restaurants, and music gear. No one gets out alive.
So what do we do?
The only way I have found to combat the invasion of my mind from influence and manipulation is to get rid of social media and severely cut back time online. I have even gone to drastically reducing screen time. I have removed screens from the main music room. The reason is I can sense the stimulation of screens now, like coffee. That makes me receptive to manipulation. It’s just wanting to visit, but they know that. They cater to it, but in disguise as ‘friends.’ Most of the folks on my lists, I’d never met. They existed purely in my imagination. Maybe they’d have sent an email wishing me well. But maybe they’re brainwashed like I was.
- Side note, documentary recommendation..
A documentary I’d recommend is called “The Great Hack.” It is about Cambridge Analytica and it got me going researching data contractors. This one film made me see the world differently. Everything I have been able to find since points to its veracity. I even googled every fact I could find, google’s proud of these facts. Go figure.
Kelly Kintner, Editor