Social Distancing

Like the folks from Bellingcat have often said, much of what calls itself the news media theses days is actually being ripped from blogs, FB and Instagram, out of convenience. Of all the professional liars, I find RT and the BBC the smuggest. When it comes to carrots on a stick, it seems the Russians have it mastered in ways you would think could never happen. RT applies a pseudologia that likes to borderline on conspiracy theory, but only in so far as give an impression of openness. Of course they’d never divulge any errors of their own, just the same as the BBC would never admit the lies and blame shifting of Brexit (or the Tories for that matter). It makes Fox News and Q-anon seem more like an amateur circus for the functionally illiterate. I’ve come across all kinds of these misinformation agents in cyberspace. They like to plant themselves in all things esoteric, especially where belief degenerates into pseudoscience and virtual cosplay. The worst part is, a lot of them don’t even realize it themselves. Call me a low glider, but I’ve always preferred to keep below that radar of popularity contests. So many things entrusted to me on the personal level, I wouldn’t think of writing a novel about. No, I’m not talking about those years in HQ, nor its political ugly rumour gallery. All the places I’ve been and the people I met. Influential people, who for some damn reason confided in me like a priest in some remote confessional, as if I should have some magical power over destiny. Although I’m inclined to take much of that for projecting, or maybe it’s just the way I look, it was nonetheless a learned experience. When the truth is stranger than fiction, of course no one wants to know. Tell them what they want to hear and they’ll never let go. Many don’t realize just how much is revealed- not only by their demeanor or choice of words. My paternal grandfather was an immigration inspector, the best in his field. He could read people like a book, but it’s not like I really want to.