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Ned B.'s avatar

"The purpose of the mainstream media is not to inform you, but to conform you."

- Ned B.

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Steve Martin's avatar

Yep. I've been living in Japan now for 40 years now, and the corporate nation-state's propaganda tentacles have become particularly infuriating. Fear porn upon fear porn, phrasing the day's numbers to reflect record high 'cases' since last week, last month, last year etc., editing and locking what is phrased as 'reader's comments' to on-line 'newspapers'. There is so much bullshit over here, and most of the working class is kept so close to the edge of financial sustainability, they just don't have the time or energy to dig deeper than the evening meal and televised bullshit.

As an educator for my entire career over here, my observation is that since the beginning of the modern nation state of Japan (younger than the U.S.), compliance to authority and self-censorship have always been the highest values of institutional education ... not critical thinking skills, or compassionate, collaborative problem solving.

The dark-triads running the show of Japan Inc. are patient and persistent, and when the hammer falls in Japan, it won't be pretty ... particularly for ethnically different foreigners like me.

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