Grumblings...

I have a zit that I keep squeezing... but that’s beside the point.

So, here I am thoughts racing through.

As I write this there are two things running through my head which really concern me. The first is of course Bill Clinton. But then, as YOU read this, there’s probably only one thing on your mind too -- first and foremost and that’s Bill Clinton. You may even be reading this like month’s, or years, after the fact and LO! and behold in pops the President into your mind. This is an amazing feat given that, in my opinion anyway, it’s all much ado about nothing.  Just that we, and our media folks, cannot get over it (editor’s insert: technically, PIZ is media, Bill’s being mentioned here, point proven.) 

 The second thing that is on my mind is the fact that fall is here and the weather is getting colder. Now, if BILL did get cold, say in a shower, maybe my first thoughts would not be happening, but that’s a hard one to say. Anyway.... I do not like winter at all: I know this is a grovel more than a grumble. The problem with fall is that it leads to winter and winter is (a) COLD, (b) COLDER, (c) the COLDEST season we have, and (d) awful. Now, about February I resign myself to the fact that there’s not much I can do about it. Until then, let me grumble and warm myself over Bill Clinton.

Okay? Thanks......

Manufacturing Need

This will sound very weird and off-hand. But, read through it. Do it twice. 

Then decide whether you agree or not.

We are now heading up to the pillar of all capitalist exploits, the Christmas Shopping Season. This is a time when every marketing whiz will tell us how much we need their product, how silly and/or unfortunate we are not to have it, how our lives are incomplete, etc..., etc...., etc......

Inevitably, we buy into the propaganda that is presented in this advertising. I’ll stop and say to my wife, “Gee, honey, I really need to buy the new Gagme Whipper Blender Phone.” She too will ponder and agree.

This is the beauty of marketing and the thrill of making a need -- in business-speak, creating a market. Consumer psychology is huge, and one of the key factors in conveying the message is not only that the product exists, but that we -- and here’s the key word -- need it.

This is nothing new, and nowadays we have extended our thinking about all this to recognize that need-manufacturing is there. Perhaps the greatest story that exemplifies this is that of Windows ‘95 which as the story goes was distributed with bugs and all so that people would be forced to buy upgrades. Another, still in the field of computers is that of redundancy which, with expanding technology, creates need: a Commodore64, a clone 286, and a Pentium II computer all compute. They all do computer functions like wordprocess, finance stuff, etc... BUT, the thinking is that the latest version is better -- therefore we need it.

Again, none of this is new. Everytime I’ve purchased a computer I would lament from the moment I took it home onward that it was set to redundancy. To this day, even with a fancy pentium I still look at ads to see what’s out there, what I might need.

So, far, so good. Let’s take this one step further. Many of the professions we have create need. They have taken the “create the market” ethic and made it their own. Think for instance of the medical profession. It has a special place in our society. Doctors are sacred pillars of our society and health care is a paramount issue for us. In Canada, the greatest attestation to this is whenever any government (whether federal or provincial) tries to cut health care spending or attempts to circumvent universal access. Everyone cries foul.

What is interesting is how the medical profession has created need. Our fear of death is a big one -- it is tied to the fear of getting old, to our fear of ill-health. None of this is unreasonable, though arguably much of it is cultural. Yet, if you listen to what is presented by doctors and dissect the lingo a bit, unpack it, you discover again a manufactured need in some cases. Alternative health care, for instance is effective only if supervised by an M.D. -- assuming the M.D. you chose will subscribe to the theories and practices of such folks as chiropractors, homeopaths, etc...  In a lot of the things we do, we are reminded to “see your doctor” or “consult your doctor”? About to begin an exercise program? “Consult your doctor?” Interested in taking an aspirin? “See your doctor?”

Before I get slapped with a lawsuit or accused of something horrendous here, don’t get me wrong. Doctors are important and when I am sick I will go see one. Yet, for countless millennia human beings have done things -- such as exercise programs -- without consulting their doctor... and survived! 

In terms of medical practice, my favourites are the plastic surgeon types who can give you the nose you’ve always wanted. Or the opthamologists who can perform laser eye surgery -- the paradox being that if you need this one, you won’t need glasses. With these folks the even greater paradox, as a friend pointed out once, is that the commercials tell you that you can have this simple eye surgery and voilà, all is well... but the person doing the surgery, well aren’t those a pair of glasses up there on their nose???

Lawyers have that bad reputation... ‘nuff said. Think of the “Sue their pants off” commercials....

Teachers too make their profession needed. They don’t need to advertise. The built in advantage for educators is that an added feature in that they work as kid minders or sitters and thereby remove one of the impediments to working. The need has been manufactured, and when teachers go on strike, for instance, we resent it completely.

Lots of other professions and situations have manufactured a need, and in so doing they ensure their own marketability. We need them. Suddenly, we find ourselves needing our stock brokers, our university professors, our car makers, our therapists, our employers, and so it goes. Life was simpler when the need wasn’t there -- not that I’d know, I’ve always been needy. The deep dependence is so entrenched, there is no way out. And so, another need is manufactured, I guess, that of finding the guru who can lead us out of needing.

Whither the Internet?

I cannot figure out the internet... Most of the information that is found there is retarded. Other than that it’s spam and triple-x stuff. I think television is better.

Now, that’s just my opinion. But, I think the internet is far too hyped up.

Let’s get back to basics and leave well enough alone.

To whom it may concern:

This is a grumble directed at those who mumble.

You may in fact be trying to be humble.

Don’t give a damn.

Please:

Speak UP!!!

All material in this site is copyright (c)1991-2008 by John Stopa