After today’s news of the ‘Balloon Boy’ hoax I think we can see what some people will do to gain just a few moments of notoriety. It appears to be a common childhood aspiration these days – to want to simply be known for being famous.
Why do people feel such an attraction to being scrutinized by the public at large? What motivates them to enjoy being paraded on live TV and radio shows whilst all the time elaborating on a deceit that would inevitably be exposed at some point?
Of course, any conspiracy is only as good as its weakest link which in this case was the clearly poorly Falcon who accidently let slip that “it was for a show…”
It should not have come down to this. Perhaps we should have considered the abnormal response of a mother whose child is in danger calling a news desk prior to calling the emergency services. In the race for a sensational front page story the press were sucked in to the whole thing and failed to do some due diligence. Perhaps this is why it can be quite easy to get significant exposure – the parents certainly knew which emotional buttons to press.
I wonder who to feel most contempt for – the parents who would expose their children to this sort of ridicule or the press for facilitating such misguided attempts at infamy.
Any lessons for us here? Perhaps we should remember that human beings are complex creatures and motivated by a range of different things. They certainly are often not predictable and we should remember this when interacting with others. Expect the unexpected when dealing with others. Recognize that others have different motivations than yourself. Don’t become suspicious or paranoid around others but don’t be surprised if your best laid plans get side swiped by someone else’s view on reality.
Anyway, regardless of what charges are eventually brought I guess Mr and Mrs Heene got their moment of fame and now they just have to live with the consequences…
Up, up and away…
Optimize Blog - October 19, 2009 - 0 comments