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| Awesome (general) |
Pity the old-time fringe lunatic. There was no internet. The number of radio stations was limited (primarily am and almost entirely commercial). Cable television hadn’t appeared and, as yet, the neighbour’s ability to demonstrate his aptitude for collecting bottle caps wasn’t a weekly feature on the airwaves.
It was a lonely time.
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| Awesome (general) |
If you had a theory (well, OK, to you it was fact) about world events you had to write a letter to the editor, publish a book, or stand on a street corner and shout your truth to the masses.
It was very difficult to have your voice be heard. Most never found many similar-minded lunatics, they vanished into history without attracting a following or making their mark.
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| Awesome (general) |
The problem with writing letters or books is that much of your target audience wasn’t, well, let’s say educated. If you need to reach those with limited analytical leanings, or world views, then requiring a level of literacy above the 2nd grade is a handicap.
Luckily, for those whose voices once echoed in the wilderness, the world has changed. A majority of their potential followers now can find their leaders. Awesome! These fringe truths are out there waiting to be discovered, and embraced, by the multitudes.
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| Awesome (general) |
In the United States↑ alone, almost 80% of the population has internet access. Even if they don’t find your blog, or profound announcements on social media, they could find you on just one of the 14,952 radio stations (as of December 2011↑). Heck, they don’t even need to be able to spell conspiracy to appreciate your broadcast thoughts. The lunatics are no longer sad and alone.
One of the lasting impacts of this brave new world is that our definition of “fringe” is changing. Much like the ever expanding universe, the notion of “ridiculous”, in terms of reasonable and credible, has shifted. Television is proof of that.
Of course, Galileo was a fringe lunatic. I can only hope that somewhere in the noise there is another one. It would make the insanity worthwhile.
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| Awesome (general) |
Honour's Post Menopausal View (of Second Life) 
DJ Frenzy
/ April 16, 2013Great post… Nice to know I am streaming live to the fringe, it has always been my base. :-) .
honourmcmillan
/ April 16, 2013They’ve been neglected for far too long :p
Rhianon Jameson
/ April 16, 2013It’s certainly true that the Internet has not helped the signal-to-noise ratio. There’s really something to be said for having to work at publicizing one’s particular crackpot theory by, say, standing on the streetcorner and hawking pamphlets. (That reminds me, I haven’t seen the LaRouche people around lately. They must be back in their cave.)
honourmcmillan
/ April 16, 2013oh you brought back memories – Wow, when LaRouche was one of the weirder ones, boy were we innocent!
Jo Yardley
/ April 16, 2013I love the internetwebs but still had a great (even better) time when I grew up in a world without it, without tv till 6pm, without mobile phones, ipads or all that nonsense.
Today the computer is the only modern thing in my house, I need it for my work.
But everything, yes everything else is from the 1930s, the golden age of cinema, travel, radio, fashion, design, etc.
There is not an electronic device in the world today that makes a song sound better then my 1930s Gramophone player.
And when I read about how incredibly social life was before WW2 and the amazing parties they used to have, I get a bit jealous.
Our ancestors seemed far from lonely.
They seemed a lot less lonely then most modern people I know, somehow, even before the internet, the weird people would find each other.
Perhaps because the world was a little smaller.
honourmcmillan
/ April 16, 2013/me smiles