December 23rd, 2024

Know your facts before you draw conclusions


By Lethbridge Herald on May 12, 2022.

If you haven’t seen the heartwarming video and story of the Blue Jays fan who caught a ball and handed it to a young Yankees fan I’d suggest you do so. A gentleman, and I mean true gentleman, named Mike Lanzillota catches a ball hit into the stands by Yankees player Aaron Judge and takes a moment to celebrate the catch, he then does something that has gone viral for all the right reasons – he gives the ball to a young Yankees fan and the emotions pour out. Young Derek Rodriguez was given the ball, he’s Yankees fan but an even bigger Aaron Judge fan and the simple act of giving him the ball has become a shining moment in sport and in humanity.
The story grows as the Yankees and Judge invite Rodriguez to the dugout the next day and Judge signs the ball and gives him some batting gloves, the Blue Jays George Springer gifted Lanzillota with a signed Jays jersey for his selfless act. Now the Yankees have invited Rodriguez to New York to catch a game.
 What it is about this simple act that resonates so much right now? There are so many layers to it, a selfless act of kindness to a young stranger turned into an inspiring story. I’m not cutting onions, you are.
For me there is more to the story now, an internet watch dog has posted a portion of the video backwards and the social media reactions are telling. The post plays the video backwards so that instead of giving the ball to the kid it looks like the adult takes it from him and raises his arms in triumph. It was meant as an eye opening lesson in social media behavior and reaction and it has certainly sparked conversation.
Some of the first reactionary posts are angry, derogatory name calling, demands for the ball to be returned and “He should be thrown out of the ball game” comments. Even after someone else comments that it’s being played in reverse and posts a link to the correct “forward” video there are still more angry comments. And therein lies the social media problem we face today, too many people accept any post to be legitimate without question, they form an opinion and reaction based on false information and have no idea how to differentiate. Those same people are the ones who call main stream media fake, they don’t like the truth so they dismiss it and instead they trust and believe social media posts that are deliberately false.
Think about it the next time you read an online post or story, do you want to believe the ball was taken from a kid? I want to believe that there are still people out there who will do the right thing when no one is watching – it’s called integrity and it’s sadly lacking in social media.
Brian Hancock
Lethbridge Herald Publisher
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biff

heartwarming, for sure…but would that truth be overlooked were the media to wail on that the young lad was unvaxed and had left his bicycle illegally parked?

Sharkmeister

Get a life!

Elohssa Gib

In the context of the COVID pandemic, I figured the piece might be referencing those who believe some, most or all of the following:
(a) It’s not really a pandemic because a relatively small percentage of the global population have died.
(b) The nRNA vaccines are gene therapy.
(c) Vaccines cause variants because the virus mutates in order to evade the vaccines.
(d) The vaccines can make people magnetic.
(e) The virus is a hoax perpetrated by a secret cabal of powerful groups.
(f) That 5G phone masts spread COVID-19.
(g) That drinking one’s urine generates more protection against infection than being vaccinated.
(h) That effective therapies and remedies include hydroxychloroquine and consuming garlic and colloidal silver.

Ben Matlock

What nitwit would think “c”? Unless they skipped most of Bio 10, or they did go to class and were too stoned to remember what was being taught.

biff

yes, bio 10 is where all the facts of the universe, unwavering, are finally revealed to us each 🙂

Ben Matlock

Then, you would have to agree that the material covered in Bio 20, Bio 30 and then in the various sub-fields of the biological science one can focus on at the post-secondary level are simply reinforcement.

Older-Than-Old-School

Hey, back off biff. This is starting to look like a cat playing with a dead mouse.

biff

notwithstanding what can be said to be truly known about covid, we do know this much: 1) pharms torture animals, untold massive numbers, in order to contrive their products. the animals suffer immensely, and the very many humans on our planet support the depravity by using pharm products that are derived from acts of torture; 2) we know that most that buy into serial animal torture support the notion that govt ultimately owns one’s body, as so very many of the users fell into line supporting vax mandates and the consequences that underscored those mandates, which violated one’s right to their body; 3) we know that those that support serial animal torture by buying into pharm products do not support a person’s right to exercise their conscience, as they supported govts mandating vaxes with the significant consequences govt attached to the mandates.
my feeling is that you can take your silly list, along with your cruel and callous disregard for sentient “nonhuman” life…and park it.

Elohssa Gib

I wouldn’t agree that it is a silly list, but it is a list of silly ideas. And make no mistake, each entry can be found in social media, and each has a following. Indeed, some of these goofball ideas have been posted in the LH’s online comments.

As for your last comment, please don’t be presumptuous. My willingness to accept medications that have been developed in part on the basis of animal trials is neither callous nor thoughtless.

biff

i do not believe you are one that enjoys seeing animals in distress (just guessing); and yet, you support such a reality by supporting pharms and their practice of subjecting animals to torture: the torture is as massive as it is routine as it ongoing 24 hours a day, every day.
i wonder, could you directly inflict pain and distress on a creature? picture a dystopian world, where one’s survival depends on one having to continually press a button that inflicts pain on a sentient creature. if that repulses you, how does it become ok to support a third party that does so? is it hubris that enables so very many caring people to become so delusional? i do see your desire to distance yourself from the reality of pharm serial animal torture, as you use a euphemism, “trials,” rather than acknowledge what it is: torture. and, that torture extends to, pardon another euphemism, “nonhuman primates.”
while one is entitled to act on their conscience (lack of it?) with regard to supporting serial and massive animal torture, is it not rather sick that those acting in concert with serial animal torturers get elevated to top tier status with full societal privileges by taking pharm’s precious vaxes, but, a person also choosing to exercise their conscience, in opposition of pharm serial animal torture, is hit with significant consequences that render one a second class citizen, not limited to but including the loss of their job?

h2ofield

biff wearing his idiot pants again today.

johnny57

Much the same as you wearing your IDIOT-cap everyday eh waterhead!