In most cases, whenever we are
disclosing something or we want to sound knowable, we use them or they. Who are
they? Who is this enormous group of pundits and anonymous experts that have
gotten a place in the collective cultural medium? We "quote" them all
the time. " Well, they say if you this you can get that" or They say
its good for you or bad, depending on the apparent wisdom we are trying to
convey. Being that Them is a reference to all and none, we can´t even blame
Them for anything since we don´t know who these people are.
If we follow Bourdieus' core ideas,
then They are the status quo upholders. A bunch of people who sound clever but
don´t add anything nor inform anyone. We see them all the time on our
Television screens and sometimes we actually like what someone said, usually
because it is unexpected and it interrupts the passive unemotional tone. So, no
good "Thems" there.
Occasionally in a conversation with
friends, we meet Them for time to time and we tend to feel like there is some
good information there that we seldom put into question or ask, is that what
they really said? Who said that? Sometimes the answer is, my Doctor or my
person in the position of some form of authority that is considered above most
of us ignorant children.
However, They can be wrong. And They
are many times. In my opinion, They are the mask of poor research and
substance. They are an escape route to potentially win an argument with some
condescension and perhaps some added insecurity. Basically, it’s a lose-lose
game where good information exchange gets lost.
And now in COVID normalcy, Where are
They? Every day, They say something new or different or opposite to what They
said the week before, like ibuprofen. Recently the view on it has shifted from
a possible virus enhancer to a symptom destroyer. They are crazy and making us
all anxious daily. Are They so afraid to come out and say, " We don´t know?
Do your research. Become a worthy Us?!
Hey but you know what they say..
Right, me neither.
