Everybody's lost interest. It's fallen down the charts. The audience has moved on. If this were a band, the pause in fighting would be perceived as a career misstep, a loss in momentum, something hard to recover from.
You've got to agree that Taylor Swift knows how to fight a war. During a pause in the action, with the tour down, she got involved with Travis Kelce. And that death in Brazil, tragic, but it allowed Swift to show compassion. And why isn't there a call for cancellation of shows and festivals during heat waves? Oh, that's right, money talks and we're the living proof, the show must go on!
Kinda like in the wake of the Travis Scott tragedy. He's back on the road. Supposedly not doing such great business, but that has not dripped into the fawning press coverage, writers have no clue, Travis has been rehabilitated, being contrite, right before our eyes.
People just don't have the bandwidth, the attention span. Come on, think about Ukraine during another winter? This is just too long, like those three and four hour movies indulgent directors are serving us. Can't we at least have a bathroom break? No, because this is the way the director wants people to see it, damn your bladder.
And I'm not saying the rabid young left has changed its take, but the "Times" poll said that people are coming to Israel's side, as in Hamas were bad actors, butchers, on 10/7. In other words, the anti-Israel faction is smaller than we think, although very vocal.
But these anti-Israel voices were silenced by people standing up, or at least impacted by people taking a stand, exactly what musicians refuse to do, they're scared. Stay silent, that's what their handlers say. Well, the handlers don't sport their monikers, and if they were so bright, why don't they make the music?
The message has seeped out. Hamas are evildoers. And you can be queer in America, bud dead in Gaza. You look stupid if you defend Hamas. And no one likes to look stupid, especially when no one is paying attention.
Of course I'm overstating here, but the fatigue is palpable, the American public needs something new. The Palestinians are never giving up, from the river to the sea, baby. They're going to fight to the death, they're already dying, because those damn Jews have got to go.
But the Jews, um, the Israelis, we know they're different, but in truth antisemitism runs wild, don't care about their image, they know they're in a fight for their survival as a people, as a nation. They're not going to listen to anybody tell them to cool it, because no one ever listens to them. But Bibi is bad, atrocious. True, but you don't change horses in midstream. And have we looked at ourselves recently, on the verge of authoritarianism? America used to be the model for the world, now a good chunk of the country wants to secede, shut the doors, put a curtain around America, after all we need no one else. Enough with supporting these countries we can't place on a map. I'm sick of paying taxes for something that does not affect me. As for holding back Putin, he's a good guy, that's what Trump says, he's just misunderstood.
But this is untrue, you say! Doesn't matter. Truth is irrelevant. It's emotions all the time. And our emotions say that the intelligent have screwed the underclass. And the underclass are willing to burn it all down to teach them a lesson. Kinda an analogy to Hamas, don't you think? Yes, the fat cat Republicans are like Lebanon and Egypt and the rest of the Arab countries cheering on the Palestinians, but in truth they want nothing to do with them, they won't let them migrate across their borders. Keep those taxes on the rich low, the benefits are going to trickle down, I tell you!
In the modern world keeping a story alive is nearly impossible. Trump understands this. This doofus is tweeting, making news, staying in touch with his audience nearly 24/7. And they love it! He's feeding them fodder, they're rabid. He's their hero in a world where there's very little to believe in.
And the opponents? What a joke. They tell us to trust them. But we don't trust anybody. And there is a secret police, who come out and stab you if you say anything anti-Biden. He's visibly too old, he's factually too old, and what do they tell us? Look at Trump's age! But then we'll say everybody ages differently, isn't that what you told us?
And people can't even understand this. They'll think I'm pro-Trump. Because people are no longer educated to think, but to make money. Hell, I'd rather have AI make decisions than those educated in untruths in substandard schools.
Everything is up for grabs, so you're focused on yourself, preserving what you've got. Who's got time to think about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict? Things aren't so good in your own life, right in front of you.
Hamas was Billie Eilish. Building her career when no one knew who she was. Eilish didn't come out of nowhere, nor did BDS, Interscope and management developed Billie Eilish and the Palestinians developed BDS, it just didn't appear spontaneously. And did you see that Billie likes women? Well, dig deep and I'm not sure that's true, at least sexually, but the headline implies it.
The headlines, conventional wisdom, tell us the Israelis, the Jews, are rich, smart and invulnerable. People are stunned that they missed the intelligence. But this just shows that they thought Israel and the IDF and the Mossad were all mighty. Based on the past. Things change. But those damn Jews, we know they're the problem, people have been told that their whole lives. They're here to replace us. They spread Tucker Carlson's word in Charlottesville, Elon Musk endorsed the generational trope, and they're trying to blackmail X, didn't you hear?
Yes, just like Israel is guilty of colonization and genocide. Even though neither applies. How can you have truth when people don't even know the definition of words?
And how can you believe in equity when Florida State is denied a slot in the playoffs. They were robbed, just like Lewis Hamilton in 2021, the system, men, not the sport, denied them their place. But life goes on. You've just go to eat it.
Can't they end that damn Israel/Hamas war? Can't everybody just get along?
Well, I guess not. You're not out protesting for Black Lives Mattering anymore and after all the brouhaha not much changed, which the Blacks will tell you happens again and again, but they're equal and not entitled to voting protection and gerrymandering is a right, not a privilege. And if you don't have power, STFU.
Everybody feels powerless, everybody needs a cause. Swift? Trump? They're easy to glom on to. They're American, they're constantly making news, they're worried about career management. Israel and Hamas? Man, that's far away. But the war is more intense now than ever! Aren't you worried about all the Palestinians who are getting killed? Yeah, I am, but man the airport is overcrowded and I'm thinking about my vacation and gas costs a fortune. But it went down! If a Mercedes-Benz goes down by 10k can most people afford it? Still no. Yet the people driving these Suburbans behind tinted windows, they don't care about the price of gas, it's a drop in the bucket. They're not struggling. And they too are sick of paying taxes. The rich know better, about everything, just like Elon Musk!
Overwhelmed yet?
Welcome to America.
And now you can see why most people have moved on from the conflict in the Middle East, they've only got time for that which directly affects them, and the war doesn't, so it's not completely forgotten, but it's in the background now. Shhh... Don't interrupt me, I'm bingeing "Friends."
--
Visit the archive:
lefsetz.com/wordpress/ --
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart:
ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple:
apple.co/2ndmpvp --
www.twitter.com/lefsetz --
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters,
Unsubscribe To change your email address
this link 