crying wolf

Okay, apparently the Jiffy Pop Flying Saucer Baby story was designed to draw attention to the family. (Because they're attention whores, it seems: they were on a reality show a couple times, and apparently the kids seem coaxed in their interviews (I did not watch them).

You know, this is why I think people need to learn the old, old fables and stories as children. (A while back I remarked on my surprise that none of my Youth Group kids knew, or at least admitted to knowing, the Little Red Hen story).

We need to remind people of the Boy Who Cried Wolf story. You have too many of these fake crap "news" stories where someone's ginned something up to draw attention to themselves (wonder if the family's got a book deal yet?), and eventually a REAL tragedy will happen and no one will give a crap.

The only sad thing is that the attention-whores will never be the one in the real serious dire straits; it will be some innocent person who genuinely needs help but no one wants to believe them.

(And apparently the kid hurled on-camera when being interviewed? Twice? I knew someone once who could apparently barf at will, I'm just sayin'...)

I don't know. On the one hand, I like that there is 24 hour news on now; it seems a lot of the more cockroachy things that go on politically get a bright light shined on them. But on the other hand, it seems that stories that lack even the weakest leg to stand on get played up, spun up, into a huge froth, with no critical thinking.

Okay, I admit it: I was out driving yesterday. I heard the news report on the radio. And I said a prayer that the kid was OK. And I said to myself, "oh, this is not going to end well" when they opened up the thing and there was no kid in it, and they said there was a claim that someone saw something like a gondola falling off the thing. So I feel kind of used when apparently the kid, thinking a "show" was being put on, hid in the attic the whole time and didn't come out.

I think the family should have to reimburse all the "rescuers." And I hope to God there was no one in actual danger at that time who got pushed aside because of this.

For once I'd like to see someone getting recognition for actually doing something GOOD and WORTHWHILE. But any more, it seems that a talent for self-promotion is what wins accolades and attention.