Hey Roger

[The Wizard]

This year, I've had a question knocking around in my head. Just one of those thoughts that lurks at the back of your conscious, niggling like a tooth ache or a bad knee. Apathy or Boredom? Are the monkeys too jaded, brainwashed, and bored to see what the world really is like, or do they just not care? I'm not talking about the baboons and the howler monkeys, the screeching mob with their placards and their self righteousness. No, I'm talking about the people who are right beneath the noise, scratching their asses and living their lives oblivious to everything outside of what directly affects them. I'm talking about the silent majority, the sleeping tiger which never really wakes up, but occasionally roll over in bed, throwing the entire world on its head.

I look at these monkeys, the People if you want to call them that,  and I can't figure out what keeps them blind. Are they all stuck in their own little cells in the Black Iron Prison, and they just need to break out, or is it that they don't care? Can they not see past the Lies to the Truth, or are they just happier staying ignorant? The question keeps kicking around in my head bones, on optimistic days pointing toward Boredom and darker days Apathy. So I've decided to take this to a Holy Man. Is it worth the trouble trying to spread the Truth to the Quiet Apes? Boredom or Apathy?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

This year, I've had a question knocking around in my head. Just one of those thoughts that lurks at the back of your conscious, niggling like a tooth ache or a bad knee. Apathy or Boredom? Are the monkeys too jaded, brainwashed, and bored to see what the world really is like, or do they just not care? I'm not talking about the baboons and the howler monkeys, the screeching mob with their placards and their self righteousness. No, I'm talking about the people who are right beneath the noise, scratching their asses and living their lives oblivious to everything outside of what directly affects them. I'm talking about the silent majority, the sleeping tiger which never really wakes up, but occasionally roll over in bed, throwing the entire world on its head.

I look at these monkeys, the People if you want to call them that,  and I can't figure out what keeps them blind. Are they all stuck in their own little cells in the Black Iron Prison, and they just need to break out, or is it that they don't care? Can they not see past the Lies to the Truth, or are they just happier staying ignorant? The question keeps kicking around in my head bones, on optimistic days pointing toward Boredom and darker days Apathy. So I've decided to take this to a Holy Man. Is it worth the trouble trying to spread the Truth to the Quiet Apes? Boredom or Apathy?

You really want to know?

Okay.

You're a fucking freak.  You, me, and everyone like us.  These monkeys shamble through life, obsessed with beer and mating and Nascar, in no particular order...And if they had their way, they'd kill us all just for being different.  Not because they're cruel and callous (they are), and not just because they're ignorant and brainwashed, but because we have "Bob" and they don't.  They can sense that they're missing something we have, and they'd happily brain us with the jawbone of an ass to get it.

There's nothing to explain about them.  They are what they are, miserable, unhappy primates plodding their way through the life that has been arranged for them.  What needs explaining is us.  Why can't we just shut up and let things go, like everyone else?  Why must we ask "why" and "how" and "why did they haul off that nice old man that used to live down the street?".

Maybe we were brought up wrong, or have bad chromosomes, or perhaps we were dropped as babies. 

That happens, you know.  Maternity nurses don't like to talk about it, but it does.

[The Johnny]

Consciousness is a privilege not everyone can afford, or has access to.

One should be grateful (grateful to whom? depends).

[The Wizard]

You really want to know?

Okay.

You're a fucking freak.  You, me, and everyone like us.  These monkeys shamble through life, obsessed with beer and mating and Nascar, in no particular order...And if they had their way, they'd kill us all just for being different.  Not because they're cruel and callous (they are), and not just because they're ignorant and brainwashed, but because we have "Bob" and they don't.  They can sense that they're missing something we have, and they'd happily brain us with the jawbone of an ass to get it.

There's nothing to explain about them.  They are what they are, miserable, unhappy primates plodding their way through the life that has been arranged for them.  What needs explaining is us.  Why can't we just shut up and let things go, like everyone else?  Why must we ask "why" and "how" and "why did they haul off that nice old man that used to live down the street?".

Maybe we were brought up wrong, or have bad chromosomes, or perhaps we were dropped as babies.

That happens, you know.  Maternity nurses don't like to talk about it, but it does.

But they don't all drag their knuckles across the ground and hoot in time to Taylor Swift. Every now and then, if you look carefully, you can see a little flash of Bob or something approximating him flash through their media soaked brains. They'll say something that rings of Truth, or they'll ask a question, poke a little hole in the blanket over their heads. Sure, most of the time they recoil from it, throwing themselves back into their jail cells in terror, but still, for that little moment, their back straightens a little, and you can almost see a biped in there.

Then there are the poor schmucks who make a go for it, who try and break out, but don't quite make it. The walking tragedies who make a wrong turn somewhere, and fall apart. Saw a little bit of the Truth, and either couldn't handle it or missed something that they needed to keep on track. You see these guys in high school, the too smart kid who stumbles further and further into mania, or who hides behind pot smoke, so that the Truth doesn't find him. Or the homeless guy on the street corner, who if you listen long enough to the rambling, speaks poetry or prophecy. Where do they fit in?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

But they don't all drag their knuckles across the ground and hoot in time to Taylor Swift. Every now and then, if you look carefully, you can see a little flash of Bob or something approximating him flash through their media soaked brains. They'll say something that rings of Truth, or they'll ask a question, poke a little hole in the blanket over their heads. Sure, most of the time they recoil from it, throwing themselves back into their jail cells in terror, but still, for that little moment, their back straightens a little, and you can almost see a biped in there.

That's just "Bob" borrowing "processor time".  This also explains spontaneous combustion.

Then there are the poor schmucks who make a go for it, who try and break out, but don't quite make it. The walking tragedies who make a wrong turn somewhere, and fall apart. Saw a little bit of the Truth, and either couldn't handle it or missed something that they needed to keep on track. You see these guys in high school, the too smart kid who stumbles further and further into mania, or who hides behind pot smoke, so that the Truth doesn't find him. Or the homeless guy on the street corner, who if you listen long enough to the rambling, speaks poetry or prophecy. Where do they fit in?

Under a bridge.

Look, the world is nut-to-butt with people that let the pot or the beer do the thinking for them.  At that point, they're no longer "potential", they're "useless".  And for every genius you hear about, there's 50 whose different wiring led them to melt into a pile of human goo.

What do you suggest we do about it?  Me, I'm just trying to get by, and maybe catch me a little Slack^TM.  Saving the world is a thankless task...No, more than thankless, because they'll KILL you for waking them up.

[Juana]

I work with this Silent Monkey Majority, they are my students and my classmates. I think it's just willful ignorance. They know something Awful is going on, somewhere over their heads, but they think that ignoring it is the best choice. They tell me it's just not relevant to their lives, you see. Not relevant to putting food on the table, getting the kids to school, or paying rent and bills. Even though that Awful pulls the strings they have to dance on everyday.

They don't know what to do with people like us. Usually, they just stare like befuddled cattle and write you off with a dumb smile. They know you're smart and they don't really understand anything you say. So it's easier to nod and smile and ignore you.

[The Wizard]

That's just "Bob" borrowing "processor time".  This also explains spontaneous combustion.

Never thought of that...

Under a bridge.

Look, the world is nut-to-butt with people that let the pot or the beer do the thinking for them.  At that point, they're no longer "potential", they're "useless".  And for every genius you hear about, there's 50 whose different wiring led them to melt into a pile of human goo.

What do you suggest we do about it?  Me, I'm just trying to get by, and maybe catch me a little SlackTM.  Saving the world is a thankless task...No, more than thankless, because they'll KILL you for waking them up.

But the world needs saving, if only from the illusion of helplessness and boredom thrown over it. And if not us, who else? The job may be thankless and yeah, the People have a tendency to kill the people trying to help them, but someone needs to take that dive. My instincts have always pointed me towards the altruistic Pulp Hero end of the spectrum. Something in me just can't give up on the bastards, because I know what they're missing. A Mad Doktor can watch the lab rats scurry to their fate and the Holy Man knows better than to try, but a Pulp Hero, a Pulp Hero has to try and wake the bastards, whether they want to or not.

[The Wizard]

I work with this Silent Monkey Majority, they are my students and my classmates. I think it's just willful ignorance. They know something Awful is going on, somewhere over their heads, but they think that ignoring it is the best choice. They tell me it's just not relevant to their lives, you see. Not relevant to putting food on the table, getting the kids to school, or paying rent and bills. Even though that Awful pulls the strings they have to dance on everyday.

They don't know what to do with people like us. Usually, they just stare like befuddled cattle and write you off with a dumb smile. They know you're smart and they don't really understand anything you say. So it's easier to nod and smile and ignore you.

It's creepy how familiar that last paragraph is. That fucking happens to me.

But anyway, why can't they make the connections? You just have to grab a string and follow it, follow it right back to the politicians, the CEOs, and the Media Tycoons who are holding the other end. Knowing may not be fun, but at least it allows you too see their manipulations, and from their to play their own games right back at them.

[Juana]

It's not an issue of "can't" - they won't. Willful, like I said. It's easier to duck your head and sing to yourself than to look up and see the Truth.

[The Wizard]

It's not an issue of "can't" - they won't. Willful, like I said. It's easier to duck your head and sing to yourself than to look up and see the Truth.

That's an awful lot of selective blindness. The Truth lurks everywhere. Read anything by Thompson, Hemingway, Pratchett, or Twain and the Truth practically hits you in the face. Listen to Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Bed Religion, and dozens of other bands and artists, and its right there! How much can they take before the blinders fall off?

[Cainad (dec.)]

That's because you aren't afraid of it, Semaj. We know the Truth is big and terrifying and mostly beyond our grasp, but we go running after it like it was the only thing worth living for.

Others are afraid of it, because if they get too good a look at it they know they'll have to dismantle all their precious illusions or go insane. So they pursue their illusions with the same fervor that the Freaks pursue Truth.

For every piece of Truth like you've described, there's a hundred more sources for far more comfortable, safe, nonthreatening illusions. They may take a brief glimpse at the Truth once in a while to get the adrenaline flowing again, but it's only to remind them why they prefer the illusions.

[Sexecutioner Chao Tight]

Hmmmm, so all of this has me pondering where I fall on the spectrum.  There is a spectrum, right?  It isn't straight up monkeys or bipeds?  There is a learning/growth curve in there.  I guess it has to do with what happens when you start to see the  :fnord:s. 
I don't go running after the Truth, takes too much time.  I know I won't like it anyhow.  So, I removed myself to the fringe.  I live out west, in a low, very low population density.  If/when the fit hits the shan, I'm heading for the hills well armed.  I guess I'm not a team player.
I do know that I have my own reality, and I like it.  I will get pissy with anyone that tries to shake it up uninvited.  However, I think my reality is better than the Nascar watching, country music listening, bible thumping masses.  Fuck, all this sounds so much better in my head, then I start to type and it all turns to shit. 
The Truth?  what is the Truth?  We are all fucking cannon fodder?  For what?  For who? 
Anyhow, I think someone left the door open to my BIP cell... can't decide if I like it better in or out.

[Luna]

A lot of people are happier not knowing.  Hell, just look at the ratings for FOX News.  They want to be told, "Yes, you're right, you believe this, so we'll tell you this, even if it's utter bullshit, because you WANT to be kept in the dark and fed bullshit, because you're happier that way."  People want to be told, "Yes, there's someone here for you to shit on, easily identifiable as lower than you in the pack order due to skin color or who they prefer to fuck."  They want to be told, "yes, your prejudices are the same as most everybody else's, so they're just fine and dandy for you to have."  They want to be spoon-fed the ignorance they've just vomited up with a side order of, "we're all just as fucking stupid as you are."

Willful ignorance pisses me right the fuck off.