"Wait, I think I missed something... Operator."
"I saiiiid..." the kid whispers, "There's an elephant in the bathroom doing...(giggle) knotty (giggle) things to my brother."
"Oh, ok, I got." She stands up and shouts, "There's an elephant with a broom doing knotty things to my brother!!!"
Everyone laughs. Yes, of course they do, they're 13 years old... and it's funny. It's a classic game of telephone, we all played it when we were young... And let's face it, we all know that it would have been dreadfully boring if she shouted out the actual story:
"Once my brother used the bathroom and found a cricket in the toilet!!" Oh really!? Cool! ZZZzzzz.
The sad part is that although I am referring to a children's game, this kind-of stuff happens everyday in the real world. A story, when passed through enough individuals, seems to get tweaked a bit. On top of that, there's always that select few who think it would be way more exciting to over-exaggerate, or perhaps add some new, more interesting details. Often in the end, the story is far from what was originally told.
If you can't tell yet, this post has nothing to do with photography or my life journey, but it does hit close to home and more then anything I'm really just taking a minute to stand up on my soapbox.
As adults, I think we can all look in the mirror and know that at some point we have been guilty of passing along information that may or may not be true, a rumor, a lie, an exaggeration - whether we knew it was true or not, we probably didn't think for a second about how what we said could effect someone else. We've heard something from a friend, who read on their sisters Facebook page that something crazy happened. And then, because it's such an interesting topic of conversation, we decided to share what we heard with our co-worker, who tells their brother, who writes a blog... OK, you get it, and I know you know how it works.
[Courtney, what's your point!?]
Right, my point. The reality of a rumor being spread from individual to individual is pretty much inevitable. We are social beings, we communicate, we talk, we share information, it's pretty much impossible to avoid, no matter how hard we try. I guess the people I have become most disappointed in are those with the microphones in their hands. Those who know they have an information-seeking audience yet still make the choice to pass along a story that really, they know nothing about, except what they have heard from others, who heard from others... who heard from others... and we all know how that ends - with an elephant molesting my brother.
Freedom of speech and freedom of press - This means anyone, can say anything, at anytime... something to keep in mind. I guess, with all of this, what I am trying to say is that it would be awesome if we, as a society, could get better about not automatically believing something to be true simply because we hear it. And if we're not sure if its true... it's probably best if we don't contribute to the telephone game - I know I can work on this.
And with that, I will now jump down from my soapbox and return to a more positive state of mind.
Ciao for now :)
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Well said, Court. Unfortunately, this sort of behavior is way too common in our day and it's extremely disappointing to me as well. The best we can do is to not play the game, keep our heads high and second guess everything we hear from others. It's sad, but true. We each need to do our part in investigating these "truths" ourselves and either setting them straight or letting the lie.
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying that story about you falling asleep on the toilet is NOT true??
ReplyDeleteNO, that is true. And there's proof to boot! ;)
ReplyDeleteHAHA, Dan Dan! Ignorance is bliss. But your job shouldn't exactly be blissful, and these so called professionals that do use regurgitated ignorant info from other people are shameful, lazy and deceitful. It's true that you have a personal responsibility to do your own research on something that would have been presumed to have been researched in the first place. It's crazy, but I guess there is a price to pay for the info super highway. Did you see my fbook post of the Daily Shows report on whether Fox news is stupid or evil? The important thing is to be angry about it and call it out anytime you see it. If there is any doubt in your mind to the validity of a story, then your instincts are probably right, and depending on the significance that issue has on you personally, make a decision whether you will spend another iota of time on them.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do think this is directly related to photography in the sense that a picture could tell a more accurate story than the reporter speaking for it these days, and that's sad. "Look at that horse!"