6 ms·

How does this allow for it to be sneakily applied, as you suggest ?

by Hbruz0 2y ago

worldsayshi 2y ago
The public, as a group, can only keep a small number of subjects in focus at a time. This feels like a phenomenon that I take for granted to be true but I haven't heard any name for it or read any studies. It really feels like a symptomatic phenomenon of our time.
- dsign 2y ago
  >> The public, as a group I don't know, my local journalists paid with public money seem to be able to follow a lot of domestic trivia. They are much less capable of following matters of national interest, like how the country's economy is doing, what laws are coming up, and how's that Orwellian State business coming along.
  - account42 2y ago
    Quite a convenient arrangement, the public broadcasting business.
prmoustache 2y ago
Many unpopular laws are passed during major sports events, soccer world cup, olympucs and/or during summer holidays season.
- pelasaco 2y ago
  > Many unpopular laws are passed How many? Can you list some of them? I think that your assumptions are kind of the general opinion, but I am interested in facts. I couldn't find "many unpopular laws being passed during such events", can you?
  - orwin 2y ago
    In France: - summer 2017, a law to limit demonstrations and strikes. -summer 2020: LPR, that incite scientist to shut up, and limit their autonomy while strengthening administrative power over them (students tends to protest laws like this). But usually, how you do it: you make a 'protect the children' law, or a 'counter terrorist' law, and you expend it's reach with executive power, that how Macron does it. Is it authoritarian? Yes.
- ErikBjare 2y ago
  Many unpopular laws are also passed not during these events. Without comparison it's a meaningless statement.
- paulcole 2y ago
  Can you start with a single example?
- BodyCulture 2y ago
  Many new laws are unpopular, always.
latexr 2y ago
It creates a diversion. Classic move from cartoons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzYOdO4pEyI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzYOdO4pEyI It works in real life too. Distract the public for long enough that few people make a stink and the law gets through. When people complain later it’s “Oops, we didn’t know, no one seemed to care. Well, nothing we can do now”. Much harder to do that if everyone is shouting at you to not do the thing.
- t0bia_s 2y ago
  Similar was transition from covid to war in Ukraine. Suddenly, covid disappeared from media.
  - netsharc 2y ago
    So, who orchestrated a country's army with its hundred thousand men, tanks, bombs, against another country's, plus its civilians, and then even more civilians needing to run away... as a distraction? From what? Man, how did this "conspiracy theory" mental illness become so commonplace?
    - andruby 2y ago
      Playing devil's advocate (I don't agree with the conspiracy one bit). They might be saying that the war happened, and then "the media" used that to stop talking about covid. Honestly, I would say that's just the media jumping on the next thing. Everybody was sick of hearing about covid for 2 years. The war was also a lot more threatening by then (at least in Europe). As for Covid's evolution, like all pandemics before it (plague, spanish flu, swine flu, ...) disease evolution and human immunity reduces its danger and importance.
    - NiloCK 2y ago
      They aren't suggesting that the war was orchestrated by the media, but that the war provided the media with an opportunity to wind down pandemic coverage.
    - t0bia_s 2y ago
cjs_ac 2y ago
This is the infamous Dead Cat Strategy[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_strategy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_strategy
- jv95 2y ago
  More Like Bread and Games https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bread_and_circuses https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bread_and_circu...
fastinfer 2y ago
Here in Italy the worst and most controversial laws are proposed and accepted in the last days when the parliament is open, which happened to be in the middle of August, where everyone is on summer holidays and all activities and offices are closed.
michaelt 2y ago
For a similar example from the UK, look up "good day to bury bad news" [1] Quite often a government body has missed some performance targets, suffered cost overruns or has other bad news which they need to announce publicly at some point. But they can choose when the announcement comes out. Then along comes September 11th 2001, planes crash into the twin towers, and while the towers are still burning government PR teams are rushing out the announcement that they've badly missed their train punctuality targets. They know the news and social media are going to be full of the big event for days or weeks. By the time things are quiet enough that the newspapers have space to report on train punctuality, the bad figures are old news. This works equally well with big good-news stories like royal weddings and big sporting events. The "good day to bury bad news" quote is interesting because someone leaked an e-mail where a government PR boss literally encouraged it. Usually such encouragement would be by telephone or whatsapp to avoid creating a paper trail. [1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1823120.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1823120.stm

How does this allow for it to be sneakily applied, as you suggest ?

by Hbruz0 2y ago

How does this allow for it to be sneakily applied, as you suggest ?

The public, as a group, can only keep a small number of subjects in focus at a time. This feels like a phenomenon that I take for granted to be true but I haven't heard any name for it or read any studies. It really feels like a symptomatic phenomenon of our time.

dsign 2y ago
>> The public, as a group I don't know, my local journalists paid with public money seem to be able to follow a lot of domestic trivia. They are much less capable of following matters of national interest, like how the country's economy is doing, what laws are coming up, and how's that Orwellian State business coming along.
- account42 2y ago
  Quite a convenient arrangement, the public broadcasting business.

prmoustache 2y ago

Many unpopular laws are passed during major sports events, soccer world cup, olympucs and/or during summer holidays season.

pelasaco 2y ago
> Many unpopular laws are passed How many? Can you list some of them? I think that your assumptions are kind of the general opinion, but I am interested in facts. I couldn't find "many unpopular laws being passed during such events", can you?
- orwin 2y ago
  In France: - summer 2017, a law to limit demonstrations and strikes. -summer 2020: LPR, that incite scientist to shut up, and limit their autonomy while strengthening administrative power over them (students tends to protest laws like this). But usually, how you do it: you make a 'protect the children' law, or a 'counter terrorist' law, and you expend it's reach with executive power, that how Macron does it. Is it authoritarian? Yes.
ErikBjare 2y ago
Many unpopular laws are also passed not during these events. Without comparison it's a meaningless statement.
paulcole 2y ago
Can you start with a single example?
BodyCulture 2y ago
Many new laws are unpopular, always.

latexr 2y ago

It creates a diversion. Classic move from cartoons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzYOdO4pEyI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzYOdO4pEyI It works in real life too. Distract the public for long enough that few people make a stink and the law gets through. When people complain later it’s “Oops, we didn’t know, no one seemed to care. Well, nothing we can do now”. Much harder to do that if everyone is shouting at you to not do the thing.

t0bia_s 2y ago
Similar was transition from covid to war in Ukraine. Suddenly, covid disappeared from media.
- netsharc 2y ago
  So, who orchestrated a country's army with its hundred thousand men, tanks, bombs, against another country's, plus its civilians, and then even more civilians needing to run away... as a distraction? From what? Man, how did this "conspiracy theory" mental illness become so commonplace?
  - andruby 2y ago
    Playing devil's advocate (I don't agree with the conspiracy one bit). They might be saying that the war happened, and then "the media" used that to stop talking about covid. Honestly, I would say that's just the media jumping on the next thing. Everybody was sick of hearing about covid for 2 years. The war was also a lot more threatening by then (at least in Europe). As for Covid's evolution, like all pandemics before it (plague, spanish flu, swine flu, ...) disease evolution and human immunity reduces its danger and importance.
  - NiloCK 2y ago
    They aren't suggesting that the war was orchestrated by the media, but that the war provided the media with an opportunity to wind down pandemic coverage.
  - t0bia_s 2y ago

cjs_ac 2y ago

This is the infamous Dead Cat Strategy[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_strategy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_strategy

jv95 2y ago
More Like Bread and Games https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bread_and_circuses https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bread_and_circu...

fastinfer 2y ago

Here in Italy the worst and most controversial laws are proposed and accepted in the last days when the parliament is open, which happened to be in the middle of August, where everyone is on summer holidays and all activities and offices are closed.

michaelt 2y ago

For a similar example from the UK, look up "good day to bury bad news" [1] Quite often a government body has missed some performance targets, suffered cost overruns or has other bad news which they need to announce publicly at some point. But they can choose when the announcement comes out. Then along comes September 11th 2001, planes crash into the twin towers, and while the towers are still burning government PR teams are rushing out the announcement that they've badly missed their train punctuality targets. They know the news and social media are going to be full of the big event for days or weeks. By the time things are quiet enough that the newspapers have space to report on train punctuality, the bad figures are old news. This works equally well with big good-news stories like royal weddings and big sporting events. The "good day to bury bad news" quote is interesting because someone leaked an e-mail where a government PR boss literally encouraged it. Usually such encouragement would be by telephone or whatsapp to avoid creating a paper trail. [1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1823120.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1823120.stm