Mindless Following 101 needs to be abolished from the American curriculum

Just saw that this photo has gotten 22,155 shares on Facebook:

The caption reads, "This photo is actually getting pulled off Facebook...so, the photographer added a lil text and renamed the file. Pass it on. I'm SURE the media doesn't want this one out there. Share it as much as you can." - Geoffrey Lueken

So here we are, brought back to the basics of Mindless Following 101. Just some comments on the post include, but are not limited to:

"WOW!"

"The media is not going to fool ME!"

"Take a look at the Occupy Wall Street crowd! Utterly amazing."

"Why is MEDIA keeping this protest a SECRET?"

Before even reading the comments, I questioned just how possible this really was. It just didn't seem real. And, usually, when something doesn't seem real, it probably isn't. Thus I quickly found a link to this website that proves this photo was photoshopped. Maybe THAT is why, Mr. Lueken, this photo is being pulled off. 

The blogger, Tim Parkinson, writes, 

"The original photoshopped image was produced by digital artist Scott Lickstein, who intended it to represent a 'virtual 99% turnout', ie what the OWS protests would look like if all of the people supporting the movement online could turn up at the protests in person... Whilst Lickstein’s other work certainly has a political bent to it, this piece was never intended to mislead people into believing it to be a real image."

First off, it is kind of awesome how quickly a spurt of action like that can happen on a Tuesday afternoon. Tim Parkinson's blog blew up with traffic once he made that post. Pretty awesome for him, I think, to get that kind of recognition by doing something so simple as a bit of quick research and demonstration. 

To follow, it's sad how people allow their emotions rapidly lead their actions like that. I think some people want to believe that the 60's & 70's movement has returned. I don't think it has. But that's just me. Power to the people who want to relive the hippy days of drug-aided love, happiness, and freedom. But those people just further prove my point -- that the basic principle that governs a lot of today's generation is that they want to protest like their parents once did. 

Protesting is the most short-term fulfilling way for people to express their unhappiness. It is visual, vocal, and it gives people a sense of belonging -- towards a cause, and a group of other people. It's an awesome thing, really; it really puts peoples' potential cumulative energy into first-hand perspective.

As much as I believe that there is a good share of people who protest for the right reasons, I also believe that there is a greater share of people who protest for the wrong reasons. They want to make a preposterous spectacle -- they want to exaggerate everything -- and they throw out connotations (e.g. "He's a fascist pig!") and images (e.g. Hitler mustaches) as if it were candy at a parade. 

Listen, if you want other people to really pay attention to what you're saying, don't attack them. People hate being attacked. And they will attack back. And if they're stronger than you (in which some cases just means that they have more money than you), they are going to attack harder than you. I know it doesn't seem fair, but you crying like a baby about it and throwing up neon hot pink signs stating that you were RAPED by the government is not going to get rational people from the other side to ever listen to you. And that's why you're protesting, right? Because you want people to listen to you?