Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry being in the news

glennmagusharvey

This merits one human-interest story at the end of one single day's worth of evening news broadcasts.  Maybe.

It's been reported on at least thrice now.

Seriously, this is more newsworthy than election controversy in Russia, a second round of recall elections coming up in Wisconsin, shit hitting the fan in Syria and Yemen, the Occupy movement shifting to preventing foreclosures, and much more?

Wicked223

People are more interested in celebrity gossip than global politics, because the former is easier to understand and makes them feel better. This is nothing new.

glennmagusharvey

Y PEOPLE NO WANT TO WATCH AND PLAY THE POLITICS GAME?

Malkavian

Because it's horrifically depressing?

Seriously the only thing that keeps me watching is some warped sense of civic duty.

glennmagusharvey

It's like a fucking MMORPG but with real-life implications.

Forge alliances.  Team up with friends to do battle against your enemies.  Fight for the causes you believe in, according to the values you hold.  You can be a loud-and-proud grandstander who forges ahead, opposition be damned.  You can be the "good cop" negotiator and extend a hand to the other side when have them cornered.  You can be the one to rally your troops for your cause.  You can be the one who works behind the scenes and breaks people's kneecaps--figuratively, of course.  Or maybe even literally.  The opinions and decisions of others are your battlefields!  Go forth, strategize, and fight!

Sound enticing enough?

Malkavian

It's like a fucking MMORPG but with real-life implications.

I have found where it all goes horribly horribly wrong. =D

captainbrass

GMH - It's also worth pointing out that whilst there is some truth in your view of politics for the politicians/activists, most people aren't politicians/activists and don't want to be. The experience for the average voter is a bit more like "come and see the news endlessly dominated by the obsessions of the local anime club, but with politics and then turn out every few years to vote for the club committee. Despite not liking anime."

You should go into sales, though - you sell it well.

ET's jewellery being sold was only an "and finally" item on the last BBC news bulletin I heard here, incidentally, despite her British connections. 

glennmagusharvey

Well I guess there's that sort of contradiction, where some people want the ability to decide what their lives, communities, and countries are like, but also don't want to take the burden of responsibility to do so, so they do it through voting for elected officials and then complaining when said officials do things they don't like.

And similarly, there's the contradiction that people want to be all involved in doing exciting and risky things...except when those risks could actually affect them in real life.

Malkavian

^It's why vidya are so popular.

RedEyedAbyss

"Well I guess there's that sort of contradiction, where some people want the ability to decide what their lives, communities, and countries are like, but also don't want to take the burden of responsibility to do so, so they do it through voting for elected officials and then complaining when said officials do things they don't like."

This is the kind of thing that makes the anarchist motto of "Don't vote, organize" sound a lot more appealing.