Rants in the Pants, Episode 17- They Want It All

https://irawhite.com/rants-in-the-pants-episode-17-they-want-it-all/

Well, the big distraction is over, and it is time for another rant.

Distraction? Yes, the big game was a big distraction. While you were watching the game and hoping for a Taylor Swift cameo or two or three, Congress had a special Super Bowl session in which it passed another $90 billion for the wars in Ukraine and Israel and stripped all money from the amendment that had been put in for border control. Now that’s…. Look over there! A squirrel!

But we’re used to being distracted. Commercials cut in to our consciousness all the time. While I’m at it, I want to say I used to watch the game partially to see the commercials which used to be clever and fun. This year the commercials fell down on the job like a drunk worker falling off a roof. They were full of glitz and sparkles, just like the half time show. Both depended on putting your eyes out with glitter without much in the clever department. One commercial was quiet, but it spoke loudly. Made me want to go wash a cop’s feet so he wouldn’t arrest me for writing this screed.

Commercials have gotten so obvious that I’m glad I gave up my cable years ago. I thought that would do it, but no way did it matter. The internet is so full of commercials it’s difficult to find what you were looking for. They flash and pop up keeping your eyes peeled and your mind off what you were doing. What is more, they seem to know what you want and troll it to you whether you actually want to buy it or not. That is scary! They are in your head, and you can’t evict them.

I like to play a game on my computer. You would think that would be a safe place to get away from being advertised as the game came with the computer. Nope. You would be wrong. As soon as I boot it, there are little flashing click baits going in every corner of the page. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I have to give over my screen and speakers to a 30 commercial break or, to get rid of the little devils, I must pay $9 a month. What a crock!

So, get away from the internet and you get away from the advertising. No way! Signs and billboards litter the landscape. The read out on the pump at my favorite gas station tempts me to go inside where I can get hot coffee and doughnuts and it asks me to check my oil to see if I need to buy some. Not only that, but people litter their bodies with commercials. Hats, T-shirts, hoodies, shoes, cups, mugs, and pants- top to bottom some folks are covered with advertisements. There are company emblems, badges, and stickers on everything we buy. Some trucks have scenes on the sides and back, outdoing those that only have the name of the company.

Why is this? They want your money. All of it. Every last penny they can squeeze out of you. At the same time, they are trying to make you identify with their product. And we put up with it while some of us just love it. “Look! I just got a shirt with the logo of my favorite beer on it!”

That’s why, with all this craziness going on about who or what we identify as, I’m identifying as a dog. Woof!