Last night and until about 7 a.m. or so (EST) today -- Monday, May 30, 2011 -- many web surfers, probably a wee bit liquored up in the states since today is a national holiday (Memorial Day ... aka we ain't gotta work Monday so we's gonna party Sunday!) found themselves extremely confused (or thrilled) at news on the front page of the website for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) NewsHour.
According to the article, famed rapper Tupac Shakur (also known as 2Pac) didn't die in 1996 after suffering complications from a drive-by shooting. It was all a big conspiracy and Shakur has been living the high life at a resort in New Zealand with Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who apparently didn't die in 1997.
The widely reported murders of Shakur and Wallace have also been referred to as conspiracies, which is sarcasm for some and belief for others. Whatever the case may be, "Tupac Shakur still alive" has been widely Google searched for years and has been the butt of many jokes, as has the death of Notorious B.I.G., so it's not surprising this news on PBS NewsHour's website drew much attention.
It was later reported this hoax article wasn't simply a solo joke but a distraction as hacking group LulzSec, responsible for the attack, uploaded the article in addition to stealing passwords from PBS servers, PBS affiliates around the U.S. and press accounts, etc. Very serious and scary indeed and media outlets are digging deeper into the reasoning and what-have-you of the situation, especially if people are safe from identity fraud.
Not to downplay LulzSec's attack, the implications and the prevalence of hacking (i.e. the recent PlayStation hacking), but I can't stop thinking about the obsession with dead celebrities.
2Pac
Notorious B.I.G.
Elvis
Michael Jackson (even though he's looked dead-behind-the-eyes for years)
Jim Morrison
They're not really dead! They are still alive and fooled us all! It's the same for the recent death of most hated man ever Osama bin Laden. Almost immediately after the U.S. reported bin Laden was dead, news outlets were filled with equal amounts of American pride and conspiracy theories. Why didn't President Barack Obama release photos of bin Laden's lifeless body? What are they trying to hide? Why did they bury him so fast in the Arabian Sea? Was it to uphold his religious principles or because the U.S. didn't want to get caught in the lie? Oh you want to see the body? Well we buried it already in the sea. It's shark bait so ha, we win. It's not like the U.S. upheld bin Laden's religious principles when he was shot in the face. What is the U.S. covering up? How do we know he's really dead?
Maybe bin Laden has been dead for years and the U.S. used him as a scapegoat to scare Americans into submission. Terror alerts and bin Laden hate-videos to keep us scared and ready for war! Maybe Sept. 11 was all a hoax, orchestrated by the U.S. so there would be acceptable reasoning behind the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I could go on ...
Conspiracy theories, from aliens in Roswell, N.M. to the Kennedy assassination to the spread of AIDS in the black community to the Free Masons and other secret societies ... everyone has heard these tales. Everyone has an opinion.
In American culture people were, for the most part, sheep to the government, going along with wars and drafts, rises and falls in the economy with a smile on their face as they continued reaching for the American Dream, until the upheaval of the 1960s, especially politically. There were protests, finger-pointing, shouts and anger directed toward the government. Maybe people had always been angry and suspicious but the 1960s and on brought these concerns to the front line, more so today with technology. It became commonplace to share problems, to not believe in Uncle Sam anymore and what he can or can not do for you. Life wasn't so simple anymore.
Trust is gone from politics. We are fed information from news sources, develop our image of each situation and render an opinion accordingly. Some people don't even read the news since, honestly, there is too much shit going on in the world today. Much more than a human mind can grasp since the world population keeps soaring to ridiculous levels.
So, what's the answer? How will we ever know for sure? What's the point of conspiracy theories? Questioning everything will leave you with no answers, no sense of security. You will no longer trust anyone but at least you won't be duped ever again! It's like a woman who was cheated on by her boyfriend and then never trusts a man again. Mama didn't raise no fool!
What if you woke up tomorrow and found out it was all a lie. The world you've been fed through news outlets is fabricated. How easy that would be because it's not like you are getting first hand knowledge of world affairs! There isn't a war in Afghanistan. There is no Osama bin Laden, never was. No nuclear problems in Japan, heck there wasn't even a tsunami. Nothing going on in Egypt or Yemen or Libya. It's all been a distraction. The news has been fabricated to keep you on your toes, keep you nervous, keep you loyal, keep you busy. The gas prices went up to keep you feeling helpless. It's not like you give a damn anyway so why not fiddle with world affairs?
Why? It's easier that way. Controlling the news is easier. It started as simple control and turned into full-on fabrication. Why? Well it's just easier. Would you want to know? What would you do then? What's the point of your existence? It's not like you could do anything about it anyway.
What if Elvis is still alive and well, eating fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches in his bunker? America fell in love with him so much he decided he wanted to be even more popular and beloved, so why not die early. What if there were aliens in Roswell? What if there are aliens walking among us right now? What if you are an alien offspring? JFK's assassination was a conspiracy, Sept. 11 was staged, blah blah blah. You couldn't handle the truth. Too much mass hysteria would be very hard to control.
Do you really think if the government found alien life in the U.S. they would tell us? How would we handle this information? What would we do? How could we change our lives accordingly? Isn't the government there to control everything anyway since we obviously can't? There are huge issues of race still prevalent in the U.S. -- black vs. white vs. "Mexican" vs. Asian -- so how on Earth would we handle another race, an alien race?
What's the frequency Kenneth?
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