The bitterly ignorant masses

There are so many ways I could approach this topic. Here is a 2 minute video of a recent 'event' that is making headlines in world media and has over the past two days accumulated a million views on YouTube alone.



No, this thread is not about Michael Bay and the irrelevancy of his unfortunate performance. Nor is this thread about how the media is handling this non-event in its typical sensationalism. This is just one case in point out of millions and I don't know anything about Bay himself. What truly interests me here is the reaction of everyday people and their cognition toward someone richer and more famous than they are. That is what is important. Here are some excerpts of what appear to be very common reactions... I have filtered out the worst of it due to ATS T&C rules on profanity.

What a talentless hack

He just walked away? That's the behavior of an adolescent, not an adult who makes a living by being involved in million dollar productions. Bizarre.

If you cannot talk about your passion without using a teleprompter, it's not your passion

He's always been a waste of sperm. I don't know how he's so successful.

Oh, boo-hoo - what a little Primadonna. When the world doesn't revolve around you, just run away from it. Couldn't happen to a more self-absorbed twit.

Brilliant. So not only is he a hack but he needs a teleprompter to talk about his own work. What a joke, this guy.

all style, no substance. this proved it.

We all know human beings are incredibly judgmental creatures, we make assumptions about people, we pass off our conjecture as if it were fact, we put people in a box of our own design. When it comes to celebrities these foibles go into overdrive. Lest a second go by anywhere in the world and someone somewhere is spewing profanity, negativity and hate toward people they have never met. On account of what? Their fame? Are millions of us around the world so embittered with our own lives that we harshly criticise the value of human beings who lead lives of higher status? Lives that many of us agree are objectively better, whether in terms of money, fame or creative power/expression. Why is Michael Bay an idiot? Why is he a waste of life? All I saw is that he failed to perform on stage and excused himself. What exactly is it about that that makes him subject to abuse? Who knows what other conditions were affecting him at that time. Does he force detractors to watch his movies? Then, why whine and complain as if a) you can't go watch something else b) you cannot get off your ass and create your own. If he is truly as talentless as some people think then rising to his position should be a simple endeavour.

People just love to hate, behind that envy, judgment and disrespect for another human being, or however it is expressed, is bitterness in their own lives. Our opinions of the whole world is really just an expression of the relationship with ourselves. Do people really rally against the 1% because they think perceived inequality of wealth is unjust? Or do they just wish they had it for themselves. Would they be complaining then?

It is concerning that this abuse has now become acceptable. It is commonly acceptable to belittle the worth of human beings who you've never met and never did anything to you. Not all of us do this, but there are many amongst the masses who show the tendencies required of a lynch mob. To me, it is as much of a problem as the celebrity worship. Both are refusals to see people as just people. Both are expressions of the worst aspects of our species. To exalt and to hate, without reason.

The opinionated responses to the video (as with an endless supply of other celebrity controversies) are indicators of flawed thought processes, ignorance of our common humanity, a lack of empathy and perhaps most importantly, symptoms of a self-loathing resentment. It is a dysfunctional non-constructive outlet for our bitterness with our lives. These are the puerile echoes of idiots who will dissapear unknown, their lives signifying nothing.

reply to post by SteveR

t is concerning that this abuse has now become acceptable. It is commonly acceptable to belittle the worth of human beings who you've never met and never did anything to you.

People are missing compassion to a huge degree.

I think behavior is addictive in the way swear words and drinking to much smoking most negative influences are catching the more you are around them.
With all the social media and one line tweets things will get progressively worse. I am very conscious of such things and yet I found myself answering with a quick thoughtless oneliner today.

What we say not just what we do is very important it changes the world.

Well it appears he embarrassed himself and left the stage. He's probably so used to using a TelePrompTer, he's forgotten how to talk without one.


I don't know what the presentation was going to be about, don't know him, so it's taken out of context when reviewing the comments.

I agree with you that society is this way. It's called greed, people who say these things about others who are more well off than them are just as greedy, except they spend most of their time wishing, obsessing, dreaming. The wish doesn't come true so they get pissed off, bitter and envious. Developing the inferiority complex and running down others.

The grass is always greener on the other side. Reality is, it's not.

My observation is these mini greedy's seem to develop a sense of entitlement. They fully expect someone who has more money, should just hand some over to bail them out of a financial situation they completely exaggerate for sympathy.
I've helped people out and they're like stray cats. Never feed a stray cat because you will never get rid of it. It keeps coming back for more.

The hero worship/contempt that the general masses seem to display only goes to show how easily distracted we are by shiny things. They need to look up/down on things in order to make themselves feel fulfilled. It's sad.

As someone once said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Rich or poor, strong or weak, we all are in the battle of our lives.

So sorry, I think he basically spit out his dummy, took his toys, and went home.

So the teleprompter wasn't working. Really? He's THAT unprepared to speak about ANYTHING that was germane to the speech at hand? Come on....

That was ENTIRELY a temper tantrum to the tune of something like "Can't you guys get anything right? I'm a PROFESSIONAL!!! I'm not working with these unprofessional morons!!!"

I mean really...if he does this for a one off event...imagine what being in one of his films must be like unless you're the A-lister who he's trying to kiss the ass of ?

If there was a short delay, even a hundredth of a second, in the PA system there it can interfere with a person's ability to think. This problem has messed people's speeches up. This may or may not be the case here. I have read research about this feedback problem and that sometimes it is used intentionally. Since I did not hear what he was attempting to say, I cannot find probable cause so if it did occur, it may have been unintentional. Basically I have not said anything important other than a possible reason for the guy's speech getting messed up.

I could not have said that better myself, and I appreciate someone else saying it so well.

What drives us to belittle others?

It's so inappropriate. It helps nothing and no one. People cannot understand that compassion is a part of leadership, and watching someone fail, and berating them for it, rather than helping or at least mitigating some of the negative consequences, they make the situation worse.

I play a lot of poker, and when someone makes a play that could be considered 'poor' by the initiated, someone always berates them. Even though that player is there to make money from other people's mistakes. They cannot make the connection that they need or want really bad players in the game, or there wouldn't be any money to get. They should be trying to make the bad players as comfortable and happy as possible. Instead they give them a reason to play better against them, or make them leave altogether.

Silly mortals...

Great rant, OP! I used to hate one of my jobs because of all the constant unkind and negative gossip among the staff. It would help if people focused on making their criticism constructive instead of destructive; and if they can't do that, as my grandmother used to advise, it's wiser to remain silent.

reply to post by SteveR


One of the biggest fears besides dying is public speaking. You can be the most skilled at what you do, but if you have deep seeded anxiety and the fear of speaking in front of a crowd, it takes numerous presentations to begin losing your fear. Even when you know what you're talking about, your thoughts become a mangled mess. Using a teleprompter doesn't remove the fear, it just gives your mind a sense of security because your thoughts are written out in front of you.

This guy panicked because he lost his "security blanket". The only people who can relate to this guy are those that have experienced the same fear and anxiety. The crowd should have just acknowledged he panicked due to his anxiety and just left it at that. The responses were typical from people who don't have problems speaking in public or have never been in front of a large crowd giving a presentation.

I can relate this to those people who have anxiety being in an elevator (me being one of them). Our security blanket is feeling the elevator moving and watching the numbers light in descending or ascending order. The minute the elevator stops and those doors don't open right away, panic sets in. I keep forcing my self to ride elevators which has helped some, but I know I still will probably freak out if I would get stuck in one.

reply to post by SteveR


I think it has something to do with how little people really do in their lives. Few are adventurous or takes chances. Few are willing to risk it all to chase whatever motivates them. As a result, they have no (or at best highly skewed) context or perspective to frame someone else's actions.

The more you do in life, the less inclined you are to believe you understand someone and their situation from one speck of data. In this case, the guy's failed presentation.

reply to post by SteveR


Really, this is where you take your stand in life? You are defending a Hollywood, Illuminati, foot soldier then throwing the blame off on the masses with some 1% rhetoric like we are jealous of him and his wealth and success because this teleprompter idiot (like another teleprompter idiot in the White House) cannot stand up there and wing a few simple words? That's rich! I guess some of us are insensitive and forget about the suffering and hardships of America's forgotten minority, the Hollywood elite.

We all know human beings are incredibly judgmental creatures.

Thread title:

The bitterly ignorant masses.

This is a self-proving thread.

I think it's rude but feel sorry for the guy rather than think negative about him.

Although he could have done a better job with Transformers, so many fans who watched the episodes when they were young and played with the toys. There are hundreds of Transformers, there's Cybertron with so many hidden rooms even the Quintessons didn't know about, there's even a whole universe outside of Cybertron and all people get to see are a fraction of the Transformers busy on Earth without headmasters, targetmasters, micromachines and they could have added for more of the human part for people to identify with.

The movie could have played an important role in introducing AI and robots to the public as it did for so many children growing up with the idea about how robots/computers/space research can make the world a better place. He could have made an epic 3 part movie where Unicron would have Cybertron as a body and the Decepticons could join him and then it would be up to the Autobots and their human allies to save Earth, which is Unicrons next target. Part Two would have Unicron attack the Earth and in part three it would be revealed the Quintessons didn't create Cybertron, nor the Transformers and they had a totally different destiny.

Loved the responses. I just wanted to chime in to add a quote that fits so well with one of the themes of this thread.

“The strong-minded rise to the challenge of their goals and dreams. The weak-minded become haters.”
― Steve Maraboli

reply to post by SteveR


I agree with many of your observations. I was going to type a long reply analysing what you said, but I fear this will bore many readers of the thread so I will instead keep it short.

While there are a variety of other factors to consider, just remember that an 'internet persona' allows one the freedom to be more hateful, judgmental and downright ruder to others than their normal 'real life' interactions would allow.

The internet has gifted us with many benefits and positive experiences, but it has also exposed a darker side of human nature that thrives on the ease of access, anonymity granted and (usually) consequence-free opportunity to speak negatively about others.

reply to post by Dark Ghost


I think anonymity just means that you will get a persons honest opinion like it or not!
If i had to show name and adress when posting, i would choose my words with care or not reply at all.
Im not saying its good or bad, its just the way it is.
But it does say alot about human behaviour and psykology.
In general i think haters think deeper and lovers just follow the stream and the easy way.
Hate is a strong word im just using it in a broad term to show general dissagrement.
If you hate something you want to fix it if you love something status Q is fine with you and nothing new happens.
Im a hater!

I get your point Steve and excellent thread btw. It's not enough to disagree with someone now, you have to demean or even dehumanize them. Opposing opinions are that dangerous to the individual now? If so we have become small as a society.

I'm sorry but I'd have to say that this very thread is a great example of what you are talking about. Everyone on here is judging the people who were judging him. You're just continuing the cycle. Oh and I'm not to fond of Mr. Bay, don't hate him, but don't much like him either. By the looks of the vid he could have been throwing a tantrum, or just honestly goofing up lol. Either way, I'm not going to pass judgement on him because I wasn't there to see the whole thing, nor am I going to pass judgement on the youtube comments because I don't know what is going on in their life at the time they wrote those responses. They could be in a rough spot in life and consequently looking through life with negative perception lenses on. So, I say, who cares, let them be human. Humans are both negative and positive, so why point out only the negative... unless that is how you are viewing life right now; through negative perception lenses. If that's the case then I totally understand. Either way you should try to focus on more positive aspects of life, like sunsets, food, and the fact that you are alive. Peace

zeroBelief


So sorry, I think he basically spit out his dummy, took his toys, and went home.

It seems you are exactly what the OP is referring to. Do not fret that you cannot associate the association, that is one of the pitfalls of being that person, you are minimizing the situation to your own standard.

Maybe BAY has glossophobia? Maybe he had a cold and the medication was messing with his equilibrium and instead of canceling the event he planned the TelePrompTer. The point is that you should not reduce the possibility of reason just so you can remain inside the comfort of your cynical judgment.

So the teleprompter wasn't working. Really? He's THAT unprepared to speak about ANYTHING that was germane to the speech at hand? Come on....

It's so painfully obvious that you are the donkey the OP is pinning the tale on. He should thank you for showing up here and validating his thread.

That was ENTIRELY a temper tantrum to the tune of something like "Can't you guys get anything right? I'm a PROFESSIONAL!!! I'm not working with these unprofessional morons!!!"

You created that entire judgment out of thin air. Bravo.

I mean really...if he does this for a one off event...imagine what being in one of his films must be like unless you're the A-lister who he's trying to kiss the ass of ?

Generalize much? There is much resentment inside you and there is no reply to this message that can strip you of that. Unless you delete the post, which I am not sure you can do at ATS. So there you have it, if some new ATS member wants to search for a cynical generalizer who give zero benefit of the doubt to his fellow human, they will have this thread to identify you.

To the OP, great thread, very true.

Do people really rally against the 1% because they think perceived inequality of wealth is unjust? Or do they just wish they had it for themselves. Would they be complaining then?

Very good point. How many of the 99% would love to be the 1% and hold the 99% down? Conversely, how many of the 99% that could become the 1% would refuse and seek further equality?

Great thread.

AAC

reply to post by SteveR


What I've noticed is that many people, hopefully not most, think its a wonderful idea to spit all over people who they don't know when can't relate to them. A short time ago there was someone complaining about uncivilized threads on ATS and challenged people to look on any random thread. I accepted the challenge and looked at a random thread. I found that while ATS members were mostly respectful towards each other, they would freely hurl insults out public figures that could not defend them self on the forum that would otherwise get them banned in an instant if that person were there on the thread to defend them self. I thought it was sort of unsettling, and the video you showed was only an example of people outside ATS doing the same thing.

The fact is people the people on that thread I looked at on ATS wouldn't even remotely consider saying those things about a person right next to them.

I suppose this kind of thing is a negative feedback loop of some sort and I don't understand why someone would want to participate. Do these people feel better about them self by spitting on people who are successful? I don't understand the point of schoolyard bullying and don't relate to that type of person. That said, if something bad happens to them I'm not going to celebrate and verbally attack them.