Sunday, June 10, 2018

Grandstanders


Seems like just about everyone will do or say just about anything to get in the headlines, accumulate more followers on social media or attract the ire of President Trump in one of his tweets. Andy Warhol was wrong. 15 minutes of fame is not enough for most cowboys nowadays. It's now 15 thousand click-throughs that most are seeking. I would dismiss this trend as pure silliness except for the fact that money is involved ... lots of money flowing out of Google, Twitter and other Internet sites to those who can get best noticed.

In his attempt to counter the plethora of fake news out there, our president has provided a model for many of these headline grabbers ... who now try too out insult, out swear and out joke their way to more "eye-balls" on the Internet. Even the #MeToo movement is part of this tapestry of attention (and Stormy-style money) grabbers. I would be willing to bet that many of these sexual-harassment claims are more fiction than fact ... and that many more serious abusers ... even some females ... are still lurking in the shadows ashamed and afraid to be equated with those pervs already outed.

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