Flare Sci-Fi Forums: George Orwell didn't know the half of it!

This is topic George Orwell didn't know the half of it! in forum Officers' Lounge at Flare Sci-Fi Forums.

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Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

"All good citizens will be happy to learn that in order to protect you better, Big Brother has decided to remove some of those pesky "rights" that interfere with your continued well-being. Any citizen not displaying the correct level of enthusiasm for this edict will be provided a safe, supervised environment, to enhance their safety. Thank you."

I found this website while looking for wierd news stories: http://www.scn.org/news/newspeak/ . It contains a delightfully chilling number of news stories wherein doubletalk and newspeak are elevated to new levels. What those levels are is classified, so you'll have to be content to know that I have personally examined this site and determined that all good citizens will read it. All other citizens will be rounded up and reeducated, so eventually all will enjoy this enlightenment.

--Big Baloo

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It is less important that you agree with me than it is for you to to understand what I'm saying.

http://members.tripod.com/~Bob_Baloo/index.htm

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

Lovely! Here's a perfect example of the articles available at the above site!

The Kiss of Death
A national telemarketing firm named Unitel discovered it had no choice but to shut down most of its phoning operations in Frostburg, Maryland and move them to Florida. Why? As their vice-president Ken Carmichael explained, "The culture and climate in Western Maryland is one of helping your neighbor and being empathetic and those sorts of things." (I particularly like the inclusion of the phrase "and those sorts of things", as if sanitary gloves should be worn when speaking of them.) This made Frostburg the first town in America to officially lose an industry because its citizen's were too nice. I can't wait to learn which town in Florida was deemed suitable to Unitel's corporate culture? (WP 3/17/99)

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It is less important that you agree with me than it is for you to to understand what I'm saying.

http://members.tripod.com/~Bob_Baloo/index.htm

Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

Well, some of these seem biased.

Pleasantville in the 90's
Ten million Americans now live in what are called "master-planned" suburban communities, according to the Community Associations Institute. These have been designed around the needs of mobile, affluent families who want safe, tightly controlled environments filled with like-minded people. These suburban oases offer strict covenants that prohibit a whole range of questionable practices and possibly give new meaning to the phrase "anal retentive." In Houston's "Woodlands" community, for example, houses may only be painted in approved colors, garbage cans may not be visible, barbecue grills may not be located in the front yard, garage sales are forbidden and bug-zapper lights may not be placed more than six feet off the ground. Residents Peter and Jill Addy defend this high level of conformity because, "It's to protect our own interests." Gotta keep those property values up. And as evidence of how well these covenants work: 50% of the violations are reported by neighbors. (Sorry, no stats on the number of parents turned in by their children.) (WSJ 10/7/98)

If people want to live in tidy, organised communities, what's wrong with that?

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Frank's Home Page
"Anarchias de meizon ouk estin kakon." - Creon

[This message has been edited by The Shadow (edited November 20, 1999).]

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Well, to quote Superintendent Chalmers: "The stick up that man's butt must have a stick up its butt..." Of course, in this case, it's a whole bunch of communities, not one person... :-)

Oha, and, Baloo, I think you mean "doublethink", not "doublespeak".

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"Alright, so it's impossible. How long will it take?"
-Commander Adams, Forbidden Planet

Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

Well, I mean, if I were living next to a neon-green house, I would be annoyed at having to look at it. And garage sales look like someone just took everything from inside the house and threw it out onto the lawn. Not everyone would agree, but if you do, it's good to know there's a place where you could live happily.

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Frank's Home Page
"Anarchias de meizon ouk estin kakon." - Creon

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

[Suddenly realizes there's a market for "Stepford" communities after all!]

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It is less important that you agree with me than it is for you to to understand what I'm saying.

http://members.tripod.com/~Bob_Baloo/index.htm