Spazzatura

I have occasion to regularly enter someone else’s house to carry out a task for them. A TV is always on in this house during waking hours, even when vacant, and so is always on when I enter, and I enter at varying times, so I’m not hearing the exact same show or announcers every time in. It is always tuned to CNN or MSNBC. I am never in the house for more than 30 seconds before I hear the word “Trump” and never more than a minute before I hear the word “Russia”.

That’s every single time I enter the house for more than a year, no matter what time I enter, so I have to assume that’s about all that gets discussed on those stations (I never watch corporate TV news, and haven’t in many years, so that’s a guess based on my daily sampling), even though I’m led to believe there is still no proof of criminal activity by Trump or his campaign with respect to Russia (that linked conversation, by the way, being non-spazzatura – see below – of the highest order), many though the allegations and suggestions are. I’m not so far aware of even an instance of the appearance of impropriety involving Trump and/or his campaign as substantial as that outlined in the story linked below about the Clintons and their foundation.

I’m not a Trump admirer or supporter, he’s rightly thought a buffoon, and worse. This isn’t written in support of him, Republicans, Fox News, or anything else thought to be on the ‘right’. I’m amazed Trump gained the presidency or even had the chance to, and I thought the major party presidential options offered to Americans in the last election were probably a gag, bordering on a psy-op, perhaps to see how low we might stoop in accepting our options (Hillary Clinton being to me equally as repellent a candidate and person as Trump).

That said, the Clinton Foundation instance is tangible and verifiable, damning and significant – it’s amazing no indictments have been issued (or would be if that sort of thing ever happened), and it’s never mentioned, that I know of, not on those two stations. Almost never, anyway, unless maybe to discount the story briefly before getting back to Trump. I never hear the words “Clinton” and then “Russia”, in any case, except as an accusation by Hillary Clinton about Donald Trump.

Anyway, that’s a landslide of coverage of an unproven story line, and unproven after a very long period. Relentless, one might call it. One might also call it propaganda, rather than news reporting. Relentless, bludgeoning propaganda. Propaganda with an obvious agenda that all useful propaganda must have, and that agenda not being impartial investigative reporting. CNN’s even been caught admitting they make stuff up for ratings. Recently. You’d think they’d be out of business or have their license revoked.

It’s garbage, and obviously so. In Italy they have an expression for such broadcasts: spazzatura (spahts-uh-tooruh). Spazzatura means ‘trash’. Trash TV. I stayed in Florence for awhile during college, living with an Italian family. When I would enter their house the TV was always on in the living room, always way too loud, usually tuned to some spazzatura (usually a modified talk show format with a middle-aged man in a suit looking ‘legitimate’, but with a super-busty, scantily clad young woman at his side, who would both get joined at random moments by, say, a grotesquely made-up clown riding a giant tricycle in circles around their couch a few times while shrieking some nonsense while everyone guffawed before riding off again).

Since I didn’t speak the language fluently enough to comprehend the words spoken at a normal conversational rate, I was left to just take in the overall impressions, both auditory and visual, that the broadcast created in me. The auditory one was very significant. It was horrible to listen to. I didn’t need to see the screen or understand the words spoken to know that the show was poison, numbing poison, and intentionally so. Terrible energy, very low wavelengths some would probably say. I felt my own energy dim in its presence. That’s all I needed to know. The sound, energy and feeling of spazzatura is unmistakable to me now. Very easy to identify, especially when not looking at the screen.

Though I do speak English, and even though there is no clown on a tricycle, and it’s more toned down, American corporate news (CNN, Fox, the NBCs) is all absolutely spazzatura, both in content and in style. Entirely partisan and contentious propaganda meant to distract the viewer from all wholesome, relevant and honest trains of thought, and with an energy meant to numb those exposed to it. It’s so obvious. It’s amazing to me that anyone wants to watch and listen to it.

But, they do, everywhere, all over the world, in the ‘West’, anyway, and it’s a crucial point about human nature and susceptibility. Certainly not an argument for humanity’s innate love of beauty, truth or critical thinking.