Who ARE "They," Anyway?
They say that there is Global Warming.
They say that bacon is bad for you. They also say that spinach is healthy.
They also say that eggs are bad for you, except when they say that eggs are actually good for you.
They say that cryptocurrencies are the future of money...
WHO, Exactly?
We attribute an awful lot of stuff to "them" but "they" tend to remain intangible, nebulous, undefined, ambiguous.
Reflection and seagull
Sure, if we do our homework, we might be able to track "them" down... but nobody ever seems to actually do that. Unless, of course, "they" need to prove that they are right and they are wrong.
Get's confusing, doesn't it?
Seems to me that a lot of people use some from of "they" as an external mask over personal opinion. It's right up there with saying "studies suggest," as a preface to stating what is actually your own opinion.
Not that I can really blame anyone. Living in a state of personal accountability for what you feel, think and believe can be hard work, and even dangerous... if you end up being confronted by an angry mob whose opinions differ radically from your own!
Facing the Fear...
Some believe "they" are out to get us. Somehow. In some capacity.
Daffodil
Makes me wonder what "they" are planning to DO with me, once they "get" me. Will there be cake? A wedding announcement? A prison cell? Freedom?
We'll probably never know.
Of course, if we're going to drill down into the details, "they" are simply a figure of speech that allows us to — somehow — be non-specific, but somehow come across as having "authority."
Which got me to think about the many ways we feel threatened and fearful, in our daily lives. It's scary to fully own our opinions about religion-money-sex-abortion-politics and then be associated with that opinion. Throwing a good "they" or two out there allows us to abdicate ownership of the information. It's deflection; misdirection.
As of late, I have been in a very reflective mood. "They" say that it's common when people are going through protracted periods of stress... I guess that puts me in good company!
How about YOU? Ever ponder and pause who "they" are? Do you care? Do you use that figure of speech a lot? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
created by @zord189
(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180713 15:53 PDT
I don't care what "they" say and prefer not to dwell on "them" too much.
The more I learn, the less confidence I have in anyone's opinions, including my own.
But I will say - enjoy bacon and eggs, add some spinach if you want to, but kale is only fit to feed to cows.
.... but kale is only fit to feed to cows.
Don't live in SE ASIA! - You will be one of those who have an angry mob outside your house!
😂
You mean they like the horrible, indigestible unless you have multiple stomachs, stuff? Well, I guess "they" better not take any notice of me then. And I wont take any notice of "them". And we'll all be happy.
Yes, they do.... Weird but true...
I have to confess that I don't really care much about "them," either. And I often use it as a sort of litmus test... if someone uses too many "they's" in their speech, I start getting suspicious....
I say "they" are zionists headed by the rotchilds - they are as cunning as hell and their aim is to create a world of sick mind controlled slaves and then rule it even more fully than they already do
I concur with this reply.
Well... I can kinda go with that. There has to be an "Evil Empire" for people to worry about, or they would probably get bored...
Or in the case of most Americans to not even realise they were fully owned long ago!
Actually "they" are us only but to some other people.
or they can be our creation of mind to make up an excuse or put weight to an argument. most of the people uses "they" but none knows where "they" are.
Lot of they. LOL
Kinda like me... only different?
But yes, it's a good figure of speech to externalize your own ideas so you don't have to be accountable for holding an opinion. LOTS of people do that.
They are the people who I never want to meet. They always seem to NOT have my best interest at heart.
At least when I buy chewing gum... four out of five dentists can stand up for who they are.
No "they" seldom have your best interests at heart. And — quite often — there is a giant sucking noise near your wallet when "they" start saying things....
Something I learned few day ago, trust others less and yourself more.
It will be silly of anyone these days not to believe that they exist and that there’s a plan.
The question is what are you going to do about it (for yourself)?
There is no need to ask where the road is heading, and when you follow, you will always see the sun ☀️. The future of the team is always a few brave people
When the crow flies in a straight line, there is a chair on the flagpole?
There is a snail on the top of the flagpole. It is its breakfast.😄
Excellent post dear friend @denmarkguy invites you to a reflection, the "they" are in all areas of our lives, there are those who care much about what they say, however if you want to live a healthy life, you have to concentrate on doing things as best as possible and know where to where your personal space is, other than that you have to be as respectful as possible, if you handle it like that, the "them" does not matter
I take the opportunity to wish you a beautiful weekend
Really nice, thought provoking post, @denmarkguy :-)
My two cents:
"Some people say" (another great way to stay vague but sound authorative ;-)) that in this world you follow the money to get to know who "they" are. Works in every scale or environment. At work "they" is the board of directors. In your country it's the corporations with an exchange rating. In the world it's the Central Banks and their cohorts. We've made a world for ourselves where almost everything equates to (the power of) money.
This is but one of many possible answers of course: "they" will remain nameless, faceless, untouchable, unidentifiable. ;-)
Thanks for a great post!