Slave Leia Figures and Sensationalism in the Media

I've seen a lot of posts about the "news" story from Fox's Philly affiliate, FOX 29,​ talking about people being offended by a Star Wars Slave Leia figure that's been on toy shelves since the fall of 2013. Now, most people direct their ire towards the folks who were offended. I say don't even bother with them. People can get offended at anything, it's nothing new. It's not some sort of strange new thing. People have screamed, "won't someone think of the children" since time immemorial, so let it go.

No, your outrage should be with FOX 29. The catalyst for the story is a cellphone video a father took at a Target showing his girls pointing out the figure (come to think of it, if it was a spontaneous discovery, it's sorta weird that he was just filming them running down the aisle and pointing it out. Could be for presentation effect, but I don't know). After interviewing him in a Target parking lot (kinda weird, but okay) the news team then starts confronting other parents about this toy, which as I stated previously, has been a peg warmer (that's a figure that just sits there on the shelf for an incredibly long time, by the way) for almost TWO YEARS! Seriously, there's no way these parents didn't see this figure before. I just don't buy it.

Now, before you start thinking that I've donned a tin foil hat, I'm saying that these people are paid off or just completely oblivious morons. The figure just wasn't important enough to register on their radar. However, when you stick a news crew in front of anyone and ask for their opinion, that's when people are pressured to say something. This figure was a nonissue until FOX 29 made it an issue.

This, right here, is the problem with journalism today: Sensationalism. Making a story where one doesn't even exist and blowing it up to a massive proportion. I'm not saying, "they're distracting us from the real issues". That's dumb. People can concentrate on multiple stories at once. Our Reptilian Overlords™ in the Illuminati™ have nothing to do with this*. It's not distracting us from any of the BIG issues, it's just wasting our time and helping a (most likely) rich owner of a local news station get richer with every click we make to their site.

FOX 29 WANTS you to be furious. At who? It doesn't really matter. You could be furious at Hasbro for making the figure, furious at Target and other stores for selling it, or furious at them for making the story. It's all a win-win scenario for them, cuz it's all about getting the clicks and the viewers.

Best advice I can give? Just ignore the story. If you pay attention to it (which I do realize is a double edged sword because how am I supposed to talk about it and not pay attention to it) then they'll realize that this is what brings people in. Which means they'll start trying to capture that same kind of attention again by doing follow ups to this "story" and other little blurbs along the same line. Don't let their, "Shit, there's absolutely no news going on today. Better make something up" brand of news become the default (for them and other stations across the nation). Otherwise, where else would we get our reliable news from, other than the Associated Press, Reddit, other various websites, etc.

Till Next Time, Space Monkeys!

*Side note, can we knock it off with the New World Order/Illuminati crap? No, those videos you're sharing aren't evidence of a shape-shifting reptilian creature, that's just digital artifacting. It's very common in low rez and/or poorly compressed video. Thank you.

A Message for the Hypersensitive and Insensitive

Okay, we get it. Everyone is extremely upset over one thing or another. I understand that you feel powerless to do anything so your only method is to vent on Facebook, but that doesn't help at all. You see, instead of trying to talk things out and learn to empathize with others, many folks take the, "This isn't the way things were done back in the day" approach to these problems, finding it easier to dehumanize the "other side" for having beliefs that conflict with their own. I'm going to give a special message to both "sides" in a language they're sure to understand.

For The Hypersensitive:

You find yourself offended by something? That's fine. Being offended isn't a voluntary reaction, you can't control it. Just don't expect that everyone will find the same things offensive or that you'll be able to change their minds. Change is not something simple that can be forced onto another, it has to be an epiphany for them (if that would even happen at all, since everyone is different). You always have to be careful and pick your battles, know when to make and a stand and when it's better just to back off.

For The Insensitive:

What the fuck is wrong with you? Yes, sometimes people can take things too far and get offended at trivial items, but that doesn't mean you need to bash them for it. And even if you are certain that they're over reacting, why the fuck would you continue to antagonize them? News flash you piece of shit, most everyone else has a moderate temperament, and your actions make you come off as a douche-nozzle rather than the Real American Hero™ image that you want so desperately to portray.

While it might sound like I'm taking a harder stance on the insensitive folks, part of it is hyperbole to get them to listen and the other part is that their aggression usually ends up escalating the conflict for all parties involved. I do think both "sides" need to come to the table and talk things out. Hypersensitive people do, for some issues (not all), need to become more thick-skinned. Insensitive people need to tone it down for a lot of issues (again, not necessarily all). Talk it out. Learn from each other. You might come to realize, "Wow, they're human beings, just like me. Perhaps I was being a douche-nozzle after all."

Till Next Time, Space Monkeys!