I physically removed my TV from my house

Originally posted by dune_mister
God is in the TV....................

Kill Your God, Kill Your TV

We took the plunge in August this year. We canceled all TV programs. We did keep the TV tough. I too hated with how much crap I and even my kids were being bombarded. We had been playing with that thought for a while and what really pushed us, was when they came out with that show "dance your ass off". I've never watched it or would, but just the fact that we as society call this entertainment, sealed the deal.
Now I get good DVDs for the kids...shows that I watched as a kid myself and that has nothing in common with such lame and stupid shows like Dora or Backyardigans.

My son sleeps much better and I feel so relieved not having tv programs anymore. Now, if only could put an end to all the commercials on the radio

If you have an understanding on how the television is fiction and creates misconceptions it should be safe to watch. You can't program someone who is aware that its being done.

subliminal messages don't work if you're aware of them.

i find it hard to believe that someone who visits ATS can't handle or ignore the crap on TV. i mute all commercials, and probably the main channels that i watch are IFC and the food network, and sometimes some certain primetime shows, thursdays on NBC. cspan is cool, adult swim can be funny, who doesn't love metalocalypse and venture bros.?

other than that, yeah, they are cool to have because you can watch movies with your friends...

Look I think I must say here that I do believe that most of us here have two appendages sticking out from ones torso yeah?
Then these appendages are referred to as arms yeah?
And on the end of these arms or hands yeah?
Then at the end of these hands are fingers yeah?
I do believe that when I was a somewhat new Human being some many years ago
I worked out that my Brain controls these Arms and the hands and also the fingers and a few times I got near an appliance called a stove and I worked out a thing could reflex action and almost instantly I was able to withdraw my hand from the appliance that had a high level of heat dissipation and so I avoided what I later learnt was a burn to the skin that could range in intensity of pain yeah?
So I have learnt that there is this Black box that lives on electricity and sits in my lounge room. I thought it was a friend at first but then realised it could synthesis into any of my relatives with its direct communication of vision and sound and was simply like a Window in to the world outside. But unlike any ordinary window. It could distort reality and then my reality if I let the sound and vision keep going incessantly.
Then I remembered I had that appendage on the end of my torso called an arm and then a hand then the fingers etc. Being a Right armed/handed person
I learnt that due to the dissipation of excessive vision and sound my reflex action would kick in and I would hit the red button on the TV with my finger and then I would go outside and pat my Cat or talk to a Neighbour or pick some flowers or read a book.
But I still keep my Black box in the same way I still keep my relatives and friends

[edit on 27-12-2009 by Epsillion70]

reply to post by downtown436


Good on ya, Mate!

I did the same thing in June 2008. Never felt better or more relaxed in my life. Some people would argue that you could just change the channel, but even then you're bombarded constantly with the psychologically enhanced brainwashing techniques of advertising.

Plus it's way overpriced. I mean I live in Canada, and I don't speak French, or Italian, or Chinese. Yet there are about 5 channels airing programming in these languages 24/7. And if that's not bad enough, there are other useless channels (depending on your taste) that you would never watch. For me it would be:

The TV Guide Channel (I use the built in guide that comes with my digital box)
the religious channel (Not that religious)
the community channel (doesn't affect me one bit)
the shopping channel (I don't buy crap)
the sports channel (not TSN; and I don't watch sports)
The Weather Network (when the 24hour news channel has it on their screen)
YTV - Youth Television; Children's TV (I'm 27)
WTN - The Woman's Television Network (gimme a break)
and FOX.

And that's just basic cable for around $20-25/month. And I'm only using half those channels. If I want more like TLC, or Discovery, I have to pay more and get additional channels that I don't need.

And to top that off, only about 30-50% of the programming is really worth watching, IMO.

So yeah, F it. I cut the cable. The family was pissed off at first, but now they do more productive things like meditation, yoga, and reading. Our quality of life has improved a lot. No more watching TV while eating dinner, being zoned out with our brains glued to the "idiot box".
I've gained more useful knowledge from the internet than I ever would have from watching TV. YouTube alone has been a godsend.

Most of what I used to watch on TV, I now watch on the internet. There's more choice and you're not bogged down by someone else's programming schedule.

[edit on 27-12-2009 by sumgai]

Cutting off my cable TV subscription 9 years ago was probably one of the most positive changes I've ever made in my life and in the lives of my family. My kids were NOT happy at first, but over time they've come to realize how much better the quality of their life is now versus if they had spent the last few years staring at a TV. Now in their 20's, both have thanked me (on separate occasions) for opening their eyes and cutting the cable line. My grand daughters are also getting to grow up entirely TV free.

Three hours a day gained x 365 days a year x 9 years = 9,855 hrs of living life rather than watching others pretend to live theirs on TV.

also

$65 a month saved by canceling cable service x 12 months a year x 9 years = approx $7,020 saved so far.

We've since redirected our savings to purchase a 1080p HD projector, 120" screen, 1000w receiver, 7.1 speakers and two 400 disc DVD changers so that if we want to watch an occasional movie from our fairly extensive collection, we can do so in relative comfort and style.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/663d64625337.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by downtown436

Also it makes this high pitched sound, that I can't really describe, that really really bugs me. Try it. Mute the TV, and tell me what that sound is. Is it the electrons hitting? I don't know, but it sucks.

this part made me laugh :-)

I know exactly - and it drives me crazy too - have similar feelings about my fridge and my computer

my TV just removed itself - died a couple weeks ago from natural causes

I've gone through a few periods in my life without a TV - longest continuous amount of time without one was about 5 years - maybe longer - but 5 for sure (my memory...)

you won't miss it - I never did

the interesting part is the reaction I get from friends and family when I tell them it's gone - you'd think I was going without food

thing is, there is some stuff I will miss - and that would be comedy. It's the antidote to all the toxic crap that I absorb during the day - and when it comes to dumb TV, sometimes the dumber the better

but I have my computer - so I can still find plenty of dumb stuff to keep me sane :-)

Originally posted by Sean48
reply to post by downtown436

 

I just bought a 52 inch Flat Screen HD

I only bought it to help the economy though.

Last I heard the economy of China was doing OK.

Anyways, you can do more than watch broadcast TV with a screen. Such as... visit this website.

reply to post by downtown436


I guess I'm coming onto this thread a little late, but wanted to share my experience, too.

The beginning of the end for me and TV was the morning of September 11, 2001. I woke up late that morning, answering the phone and being told to turn on the TV, two planes had attacked New York. As I watched the second plane crash into the towers the first time (for me) I told my wife, "This is the CIA. Hijacks like that don't happen in America." After an hour of being bludgeoned with the "event," I turned it off. Shortly after that, we stopped paying the cable bill (not out of protest, my business was just slow at the time, ha ha). I moved the TV (an old 31" Mitsubishi, the thing weighed like 75 pounds) into the bedroom closet and we were amazed at how much space we reclaimed in our tiny apartment living room.

The changes were subtle at first. I missed watching reruns of Voyager and Third Rock From the Sun and my wife missed her shows, but neither of us had watched the news or talk shows for years. We already spent an inordinate of time on the internet, so that didn't change. What did change was the nature and the quality of our conversations.

First thing I noticed was that we didn't talk about what was happening in the shows we watched anymore. That might seem obvious, but it was significant: our friends that came over still were talking about what they saw on TV and we realized what a large percentage of their conversations were little more than that. As time went on, it seemed that my thoughts were becoming more and more my own thoughts, and not those that had been "programmed" in to me by some show or commercial.

I also noticed that I was becoming open-minded again. By that, I mean I was really listening to and evaluating the content of what information came to me, from conversation, reading, the internet, etc. What I saw my TV-watching friends doing, and realized that I must have been doing the same thing, was giving a moment's attention to some topic or subject, and then accepting it or rejecting it whole after a very short time. I think what was going on was they were "channel-surfing"--if the topic agreed with what they already had in their head, they stayed with it, otherwise they changed the subject or just tuned it out. Often they would just dismiss whatever they didn't like with a very hip, flippant comment that really didn't have anything to do with the subject at hand and that was it, end of conversation. There was no bringing them back to it once that happened, either.

So what began as a minor personal economic crisis soon became a kind of militant stance with me. But even though I was very anti-TV, I was still susceptible to its dubious charms. I remember going over to a friend's home and as soon as I walked in getting completely sucked in by their 48" screen. It had been about 2 years since we dumped our set, but after 15 minutes we (my wife, my son, and I) were still standing at the edge of the room, coats on, staring slack-jawed at some car commercial. When we realized what was going on it struck us all as very funny, but it impressed me as to just how powerful a programming tool the TV really is.

So star and flag, great post and a great move on your part, o.p. Stick to your guns and I hope that the experience of no TV enriches and bolsters your own independent mind!

reply to post by without_prejudice


I love your signature

reply to post by coverfirehero


Ever heard the saying, "in a perfect world"? In aperfect world, all would and should be as you say.

However, it's not a perfect world. Far from it. And in this imperfect world we are all hypnotized to one extent or another. No matter how "aware" we believe we are, we experience reality through the distortions that our experiences, beliefs, and a priori assumptions provide. The programmers of TV are well aware of these facts and use their opportunistic access into our conditioned minds to insert and reinforce certain values and concepts, and to set up blockades against other values and concepts.

The type of brain wave pattern enforced by viewing TV suspends many of our conscious defenses and speaks directly to our subconscious minds. After a short time of watching TV we become unplugged from the extant reality we are immersed in physically and even our autonomic responses become reactive to the perceptions being broadcast. Even the most innocuous or foolish programs are designed to take advantage of these facts. What is not apparent to the viewer, however, is the nature of their own subconscious mind or the methods used by the programmers to access, influence, and stimulate it.

So I must respectfully disagree with your statement.

What way do You point Your soffa now..?

Happy new year everyone!

Just thought I would update on my situation. I still have my T.V. but very rarely watch it. There are a few shows that I really like and do enjoy those.
But something else happened.. my lap top died and I am now on a dinosaur computer. huge tower beside my desk, loud key board, and a big clunky monitor. Slow as can be. Quite aggravating....but at least now I don't spend no where near as much time on the internet as I did before. do my bills and look up what I need to and no more. Came back here today to see what was happening but won't be here long. It is just not as much fun sitting at my desk doing things as it was laying on my comfortable bed PLAYING on the computer for long periods of time. Sitting here awhile hurts my back!!!!
I have done so many more things since my lap top is gone. Things that I just kept putting off.

Later folks!!!

reply to post by Serafina


That is what I do dvds only no net work tv. And there is no way I will pay 100 dollars a month for tv just to get my brain washing. What a racket.

Originally posted by downtown436
I have determined it to be a brainwashing tool, and don't want it in my house anymore. I just couldn't handle it anymore.

I feel much better, even after just 24 hours.

Has anyone else taken the step, to simply remove their TV?

How did your family react?

How do you feel, and are you accomplishing more in your life?

I bet the tin foil company is loving you because I bet you've stockpiled a lot of it over the years.The tv only brainwashes you if you let it.

Why do you guys act like the internet is some panacea whereas TV is something to be avoided at all costs?

Television can be pretty educational and informative. As a consumer of information, there is much to be gained from watching television. Whether it be on YouTube or on a cable network.

Since my Televisionial extermination I have:

-Re painted the interior of my house, and put it on the market to sell.
-lost 7 lbs
-feel like my life has more peace
-increased sex life
-got a raise
-less stress overall

LOL

My life has improved, not all these things are directly related to getting rid of the TV, but I have found that I have a better overall attitude.

My wife says she likes it better without the TV, and my daughter is only 6 months old, so she just says MA MA MA amammama ma ma . I take it she is happy.