OT - Reality

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richardallen

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Oct 15, 2002
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Today ends the 15. International Filmfestival in my hometown. It was quite interesting, with lots of good, but not mainstream, movies to watch. Yesterday I watched a movie called 'Bodysong' (you can check it out somewhere in the net, they've got a website). There was a small movie before the main one started, and it got me thinking a bit.

Can we still tell Reality from TV ? Do we still know what is real and what is not ?

To elaborate: Who of you stared on the TV on 9.11 and thought "This is some weird fake gag/This can't be true, someone made it up/..." - seriously, who did believe at first everything they saw was for real ? I didn't. At least for a couple minutes.

Then I read an article on www.eightballmaazine.com (a good read btw). It was about the bulldozer rampage. It also mentioned that the police used some 'reverse 911 system' to warn people. And here's the quote that got me thinking even more:


Now, I don't know about you, but if my phone rings and some recording tells me to get out through the back because an armored, gun-wielding bulldozer is headed through the front, the first thing I'm doing is looking for the cameras. I figure "Oblivious" or "Scare Tactics" is being filmed in my town and I'm the first chump on the list. After that ****er comes crashing through my front door, though, I'd start thinking about moving somewhere a bit more safe.
Click to expand...

So, what are your feelings about all this ?

cheez
 
The robots will battle the Fascists in future earth to save common man.



munk
 
i beleived it the first time i saw it on 9.11. my first thought was "ho $hit".

when someone tells me something that is very wacked out, i tend to go into a defense mode. you dont have to beleive that what they say is real, but you do immediately take into consideration that something isn't right. from there you can start to figure out what is real and what isnt.

if someone said that i needed to get out of my house because someone was comin for me in a tanked out bulldozer, id immediately consider it. first thing id do is put on my boots, pack my normally travel bag (normally already packed), and then step outside to see what the hell was going on.

in any event where danger is present, i try to follow these steps -
stop, look around
expand your awareness of whats going on
disregard previous state of mind
follow any train of logic to explain situation that seems like it would fit
be prepared to defend
 
munk--your comment reminds me of the cover blurb on The Penultimate Truth: "Men and machines go berserk in a crazy world of their own making." Pretty much sums up reality, as well as the plot of every PKD novel I've ever read :D
--Josh
 
Actually my neighbor called me on 9-11 and told me about the first plane hitting. I replied "Terrorists? Why the World Trade Center? That's just people. Why wouldn't they hit the Pentagon or something?" I hung up and continued getting ready for work. About 5 or 10 min later my friend called back. "Jim, you were saying...." :(

A friend of a friend I know was at the Pentagon cause he's a firefighter. Last I heard he was having some intrusive thoughts about it. A lot of people think PTSD is BS but it's real.
 
munk said:
the sheep look up?





munk
Click to expand...

Along with Stand on Zanzibar , two of the best Sci-fi novels ever written. Brunner was a genius. How long before we have our own Shalmaneser?

--Josh
 
Remind me what PTSD is. btw, i'm a member of a privacy advocacy group. You might be interested. (most of them won't vote for Bush either)


munk
 
PTSD. I bet a lot of us suffer from that. I stll flinch when catching a ball or shooting? My damaged eye remembers.... I figure this summer I'll sit down out on the plains and get the flinch cured. No worries, mate.


munk
 
posttraumatic stress disorder.

I understand Caroline Kennedy is a big privacy advocate. Never read her book on it though.
 
After several car wrecks I had not really flashbacks but would recall the moment of impact at odd times. Didn't really interfere with my ability to function but I could understand how something more intense could. Faded after a few months.

My mom worked at Monsanto in her teens when it blew up and killed a bunch of people. That was probably mid 50's and she said she still occasionally flashes on the force of impact when it shattered all the windows in the building she was in and the people that were burned and screaming. She doesn't wake up at night or anything but it's there.
 
I tuned in to see the second plane hit the WTC, and the first thing to go thru my mind was: "Why couldn't that have been St. Mary's Medical Center?" ( in Reno ).
 
Let's say I didn't like the way I was treated there.
 
I think it's better to assume that the threat is real and react quickly than to stand there and ponder too much..

I think about that kinda stuff after.

Edit: This is if I recieved something like a reverse 911 call or if I saw an alien's head peeking into my window... ;)
 
Depending on your severity of PTSD and whether or not you have been lucky enough to be able to work through some of it, It can render you almost petrified of having to go anywhere or do anything without having a "guard" with you at all times.

The fact that reality is becoming more bizarre and you never know when someone is trying to pull one over on you or if it's really a serious threat cna be quite confusing and very frighteneing.

Life does go on though....sometimes.
 
"Scare Tactics" would need EMS and a good lawyer if they tried that crapola with most folks I'm tight with. Even if not armed with a firearm, the two or three shows I've seen have all had available weapons...

Hey! Think I'll shoot a video segment on that! ;)

Seriously, though, I'd be grabbing ammo, longarm, and bag (with hydration system), and hitting the door. Might've grabbed a couple bottles and the gas, too, in this particular instance.

I suppose there might be various things people could call PTSD. Took me a couple years to not automatically flinch if a girlfriend reached up to touch my face. :(

John

For Sale:
Glock 24 w/ high caps
SUB-9
 
Spectre said:
Took me a couple years to not automatically flinch if a girlfriend reached up to touch my face. :(

John
Click to expand...
When I was almost 7 my old man slapped me open handed over a double bed. I crawled under it to get away from him and swore that if he ever slapped me again I would kill him. I had PTSD over that for years. Anyone and I mean anyone who even patted me on the face after that got automatically slapped or punched. It was an automatic reaction and not thought as I was a pretty peaceful kid that would rather make love than fight.:)
Mom tried to wake me up one morning when I was maybe 15 by patting my face and even coming out of a deep sleep my reaction was quicker than thought and I slapped her a good one.:(
Had to tell her why when I woke up. Made it easier for her to understand why I beat the $hit outta the old man a few months later after he slapped me again.
After that I slowly started healing I guess and am pretty much over it now. Haven't had the bad dreams about it for years now, a good thing as I used to wake up from them ready to kill.:(
 
richardallen said:
Who of you stared on the TV on 9.11 and thought "This is some weird fake gag/This can't be true, someone made it up/..." - seriously, who did believe at first everything they saw was for real ?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, the reality was all too real for me....I have friends that work in the Pentagon and around it. We still had phone access until about 10:30 when it finally got overloaded and shut down.

Crazy times.....



Now, the NY part of 9.11 was a bit unreal at first....I still think about it....imagining what it must have been like for those on board, as well as those in the building....haunts me sometimes...
 
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