Inspiring or dupe?

I don’t think I’ll put a photo of some laughing prick on this one, because the main subject here is a 12 year old girl. This post isn’t directed at her, but at a system that attempts to dupe readers.

As I said, this story in the news relates to a 12 year old girl who has started a business in selling expensive boards to middle class wannabes. The tone of the article is one of hope, and it tugs at your heartstrings as you see a young go-getter rising to the top and raking in the big bucks.

As the reader, you’re meant to marvel at her acumen. You’re meant to both envy and respect her. Perhaps even feel inspired – hey if she can do it, why can’t I? However, to scratch at the surface would reveal the dupe.

This young girl (who I won’t name here, but it’s in the story) started out her entrepreneurial life selling lemonade and scones out the front of her home, along with selling candles at local markets. Now she sells toys on a website that seems to have all the fruit you require for commerce – shopping trolleys, memberships etc.

This kind of website isn’t the cheapest to set up, especially for a 12 year old girl. Perhaps she had some help, either financially, or professionally?

A cursory Google search reveals that a basic commerce site can begin at $2000 – which is a lot of lemonade, scones and candles.

To dig even deeper, you might even find that the girl in question might be attending a school that costs tens of thousands a year – nearly $2000 a month. That’s not exactly the kind of scratch that any person can just throw around these days, especially with mortgages being that they are and the average Australian rent being what it is.

Suddenly this notion that any person can be an entrepreneur starts to look a little out of reach, and perhaps being something that only the already wealthy can achieve. Heck, if you have money, it’s easier to make money.

Why did news.com.au run this story anyway? Is it a paid advertisement? Heck, just look at the story and how the girl’s website is plastered everywhere.

As this story was under the “Parenting” section, I cannot help but feel this is the kind of story that makes lower socio-economic parents feel defeated and worthless. Why can’t they provide for their kids like this? Why can’t they discover the next big thing and rake in $3000 a day.

Look away. Don’t be duped by this story that would have you believe that “anyone can do this”. What we have here is a success story of already-wealthy people who are using their position and resources to become wealthier. Combine that with a news monster that devours clicks and traffic to survive, and you see that this girl is just more grist for the News Corp mill to grind up and spit out.

Good on the girl for taking a chance. Shame on news.com.au for cynically using her for clicks.

Catastrotunity

It was on the podcast “The Bugle” where John Oliver talked about the people who thought they could ride stock markets based upon news covering major tragedies. This would effectively allow bottom-feeders and weapons-grade assholes to profit from actual live misery.

However, there’s another currency that people like to manipulate, and that is political currency. Quite recently I was driven from Twitter in the social media churn that followed the deadly Friday 13 November Paris attacks, in where certain people used the tragedy to grind their axes on their political stones. Or their hate. Or their loves.

Take, if we must, Donald Trump.

“Had there been some guys with a gun, there would have been a shootout and probably the primary people that would have got whacked would have been the killers,” Trump said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “You can’t any tougher than Paris, and you can’t get any tougher than France” on gun control, he continued. “They just said, come here, boom, come here, boom…shot these people at will.”

Trump has been carrying a torch for less restriction on guns for ages now, having already stirred up the gunge on Twitter following the attacks on Parisian délinquant par le commerce, Charlie Hebdo. Of course, Trump is so far embedded into his own ass, he neither hears nor cares what the hoi-polloi think of him on Twitter.

Like most people of prominence and wealth, I am sure he views Twitter as just another avenue to maintain his own relevance – the ultimate currency when your wealth relies upon your visibility, for good or bad.

It’s this kind of shit-fucking that leaves people gawping in horror, or makes others cheer at the spine. People are actually dead, and some rich dude wants to ensure:

1. He gets his time in the light
2. He gets to keep his toys

Be sure, while Trump serves to divide people, Trump only serves Trump. He is casting himself not as a champion of the people, but as an anti-politician. He knows that people have grown weary of the bland, polished caricature of how representatives should be, and he’s jumped in with two feet and a gun on the hip. He’s not afraid to answer the tough questions with flagrant blunt ignorance, which is scary because there are a lot of people who believe that he’s “sayin’ what we’re thinkin'”

There has been a lot of coverage relating to Trump’s gunning for the White House in 2016. He’s been poking and prodding bears for the past few years, hoping to fish out some support so that he can get to run the Presidential playhouse for a bit. So, where does this all come from? People might think he’s just an arrogant ass with too much money and ego. While I don’t disagree, I think it all stems back to this moment in time.

It starts around the third minute, and you can see the seething and bubbling. Go on, look at him. This is the moment that a little boy had his ego shattered, only to push aside the fragmented pieces of his soul and then give birth to a vengeful little boy with a new, unshattered ego.

And he wants to play with the big boys.

Introductory post

It’s like staring into the abyss. An abyss with perfect teeth and no soul.

What’s a new blog without some kind of “hello world”? Sure, I might have summed up things a little on the About page, but there’s no harm in going an extra mile to outline what I’m hoping to achieve.

Well, firstly I’d like to have a blog that doesn’t die on its ass within a few weeks. That’d be good.

Secondly, I’d offer something to think about, particularly concerning the gap of wealth and how I see the planet being divided by class. Many probably already think they see it, and that there are already plenty of voices decrying the privilege of the few at the expense of the many (and I’m not suggesting they’re wrong), but I think many see an enemy where there may not be one, and see an ally where there isn’t.

Thirdly, I guess I’d like to propose solutions (if I can think of one).

Fourthly, I’d like to do it in a manner that is somewhat humorous. I guess that’s the real challenge.

All this needs to come with a caveat: these are my opinions only. I don’t expect you to buy into what I’m saying. All I’m asking is for a moment’s consideration, even if you don’t believe immediately it. I’m not seeking people to convert, only a moment of consideration.

Converts are for cults.

So, welcome. Let’s hop on this carousel and light this bastard up.