'un-spun' - UFO Cults & Us

I feel like some of the 'spin' discussed in this chapter was absolutely ridiculous, while other parts of it made total and absolute sense.

For instance: Mrs. Keech and her 'faithful followers' of the Guardians of Planet Clarion. A story where an esteemed person in the practice is relayed a message from a supreme being, and is then to spread it out onto others. When put in this sense, it parallels most, if not all, religions - which should make it seem less unbelieveable that it gained followers in the first place. What was more surprising to me was the fact that there were still so many followers after the 'fake flood' incident. Granted, "un-Spun" does quite a good job at bringing every story down to it's basic lining, so perhaps in reality the circumstances were much more convincing. The whole idea also reminds me of the drama and hype that surrounded Y2K. People went crazy transferring and withdrawing money from banks, stocking up on food essentials, and preparing for whatever they could think of. But when the ball dropped on Dec. 31st, life, society, and technology went on, completely unaffected.

What I do find very relatable are the multiple examples of confirmation bias, which ultimately, taken to an extreme, will produce results such as that of the Clarion followers.
Human beings, no matter their personality, are prideful, self-centered, and stubborn at our very cores, despite how our individual upbrings may conceal those such qualities. The kindest people we meet, the most genuine people we know, all have their primal instincts. The need to be right is one of them, and it runs dominantly through us, especially when our ideas are being challenged. When something we believe in is challenged or compared, we could feel a variety of emotions, and respond to each differently, as described in the chapter. We could feel trapped, offended, or misunderstood, and in turn become very defensive, lash out our opinions, or just claim our superior judgement until we've comforted ourselves. I think these urges and emotions are ever present, no matter how open-minded we may be, and in turn we influence ourselves further down a certain mental path in according to our beliefs. Viscious cycle, eh?

"un-spun" - from snake oil to emu oil.

To begin, I am really enjoying and appreciating this little book. I think it states a lot of things that the 'common people' may be picking up on, but don't fully comprehend or pay attention to when it comes to propaganda, predominantly in advertisements and politics.
The very first example given is a perfect case of what I feel is the common setup of advertising propaganda. Sellers gauge what is a current focus of people's problems, and then sell them a "cure" for it (or at least something that will help take away the severity). However, later in the chapter there was another example of some such "miracle" remedy. Not to try and rank propaganda's effectiveness or credibility, but Guerro's "Supreme Greens" formula was advertised as able to cure everything from fatigue to cancer, along with helping the consumer lose weight. Written in the text, it seems highly unbelievable that anyone would believe such a claim (when the cure for cancer is still unknown, and if it were to be found, it would most likely be published from somewhere other than an infomercial). However, Guerro still managed to sell his product, which just goes to show how much "spin" the public is willing to believe, despite its form.

A Purpose.

Everything's got to have a purpose.

Including, this site.

This is where I will be replying to posts and writing my own takes on different readings, ideas, and thoughts expressed in my WRH 315 class [Propaganda, Power, and Politics].