What's up with Attendance?

[DrungoHazewood]

I talked to a lot of people after the riots, that said they would not venture to Baltimore for awhile. The statistics might be 1 in whatever, but no one wants to be that 1.

I'm sure folks who stay in their gated communities have lowered their odds of being shot from something like 1 in 1000000 to 0.75 in 1000000.

[CWalston108]

I don't want to get into political stuff, but I would like to recommend a great book that discusses this situation at great length.

Mods, if I happen to violate any rules with this post, obviously feel free to delete immediately.

The book is called THE CULTURE OF FEAR, written by UCLA sociology professor Barry Glassner. It's definitely worth a read and it breaks down the fear-mongering in U.S. society on a deep level.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Culture-Fear-Americans-Minorities/dp/0465003362

This is from the back cover of the book:

MSK

In regards to this, there is a great book written by Neil Postman titled "Amusing Ourselves to Death." He was with New York University for nearly 30 years but passed away back in 2003. His son recently re-released the book.

Anyways, his book focuses on the differences between Orwell's "1984" and Huxley's "Brave New World." Postman argues that people are constantly looking to spend money on amusement, etc. because they are so afraid of life - even if there is nothing to fear. As a result, what we love will ruin us, instead of an outside threat - whatever that may be.

Here's the foreword, in its entirety:

We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.

But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.

This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.

As MSK said, if this is getting too much into the political spectrum, then Mods, please don't hesitate to delete the post. I just thought the book relates to the topic at hand.

[weams]

I'm sure folks who stay in their gated communities have lowered their odds of being shot from something like 1 in 1000000 to 0.75 in 1000000.

Or even 0.50. I think ATV accident is a more likely cause of death in the US.

[Can_of_corn]

In regards to this, there is a great book written by Neil Postman titled "Amusing Ourselves to Death." He was with New York University for nearly 30 years but passed away back in 2003. His son recently re-released the book.

Anyways, his book focuses on the differences between Orwell's "1984" and Huxley's "Brave New World." Postman argues that people are constantly looking to spend money on amusement, etc. because they are so afraid of life - even if there is nothing to fear. As a result, what we love will ruin us, instead of an outside threat - whatever that may be.

Here's the foreword, in its entirety:

As MSK said, if this is getting too much into the political spectrum, then Mods, please don't hesitate to delete the post. I just thought the book relates to the topic at hand.

I'll distract Weams.

<iframe width="854" height="510" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BUbxZHQcOTs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[weams]

"What scares me going to the beach is the sun. I'm more likely to get melanoma [than get eaten by a shark]."

"I'm also afraid of jet skis, getting hit in the head with a surfboard, stepping on a sting ray, getting run over by an SUV in the parking lot or getting a bacterial infection from the wastewater that pollutes our [ocean]. Those kinds of things scare me more than the sharks do."

http://news.yahoo.com/shark-bites-two-possible-explanations-attacks-112107999.html

[Redskins Rick]

Or even 0.50. I think ATV accident is a more likely cause of death in the US.

Sean Taylor might have something to say about that, if he was still living.

[crowmst3k!]

Sean Taylor might have something to say about that, if he was still living.

Unfortunately, humans do tend to rely on availability heuristics rather than statistical probability.

[Going Underground]

As the great John Doe,sort of from Baltimore said we got to keep bars in between us. See how we are.

[video=youtube;3giBqOkBxmQ]

[DrungoHazewood]

Sean Taylor might have something to say about that, if he was still living.

That guy who won the lottery last week totally thinks buying lottery tickets is a great thing.

[weams]

That guy who won the lottery last week totally thinks buying lottery tickets is a great thing.

Indeed he do.

[Frobby]

I talked with 40,000 fans the other day who felt otherwise.

But last year that would have been 44,000 fans, maybe. Even if only the 10% who are most risk-adverse are deterred from making the trip, that has a very material effect on attendance.

I don't know, it's all complicated. The weekday crowds vs. Boston were up about 5,000 from same time last year (total for 3 games), while the weekend games against NY were down about 15,000. If anything, I would expect the fear of riots to affect nighttime attendance more than daytime attendance.

[Going Underground]

But last year that would have been 44,000 fans, maybe. Even if only the 10% who are most risk-adverse are deterred from making the trip, that has a very material effect on attendance.

I don't know, it's all complicated. The weekday crowds vs. Boston were up about 5,000 from same time last year (total for 3 games), while the weekend games against NY were down about 15,000. If anything, I would expect the fear of riots to affect nighttime attendance more than daytime attendance.

I also think Yankees don't have the names like before. 70% of the Yankee fans had Jeter stuff on Some Rivera and a few ARod.I did not see one Tex jersey.I don't think the Yankee fans are coming out to see these players.They are lucky they are playing well now or less Yankee fans would have shown up

[El Gordo]

I don't want to get into political stuff, but I would like to recommend a great book that discusses this situation at great length.

Mods, if I happen to violate any rules with this post, obviously feel free to delete immediately.

The book is called THE CULTURE OF FEAR, written by UCLA sociology professor Barry Glassner. It's definitely worth a read and it breaks down the fear-mongering in U.S. society on a deep level.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Culture-Fear-Americans-Minorities/dp/0465003362

This is from the back cover of the book:

MSK

I can recommend a better book. 1984.