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The Most Active Threads Since Friday
The topics with the most engagement since my last blog post included analyzing Jennifer Lopez, US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his upside down flag, Scottie Scheffler's arrest, and the third season of Bridgerton.
The most active thread over the weekend was the one that I've previous discussed about Fairfax County Public schools boundaries. Posters in that thread have worked themselves up into a frenzy and have now started a petition to oppose a boundary change that nobody had proposed. The most active thread after that one was titled, "Can we analyze jennifer lopez?" and posted in the "Entertainment and Pop Culture" forum. While the competition is fierce, this thread might be the most absurd that I've come across in this forum. The original poster accuses Jennifer Lopez of having a level of narcissism beyond anything that she has ever seen and, based on the title, is inviting other posters to analyze Lopez. I am sure that I can think of something more ridiculous than asking a bunch of people who almost universally lack any relevant qualifications and do not have first-hand access to the subject to conduct psychological analysis, but I would have to really work at it. Obviously, this a clear cut situation in which the responses will say more about the posters writing them than about Lopez. The first poster to respond more or less turns the tables on the original poster, writing, "She’s got you so hooked that you want to analyze her even though she allegedly repulses you." Another poster presented my own view fairly accurately, saying, "Nonsense post. Projecting based on what you think people are feeling based on photos?" A number of posters either don't view JLo as narcissistic or are willing to forgive her for it. They see her as a hard worker who has earned what she has. As one poster put it, "She looks incredible and to look like that you must be extremely self-disciplined." There are differences of opinion about her abilities as an actress or a singer, with most posters, even some who generally don't have a lot of appreciation for her, concede that she has at least some talent. But others aren't even willing to grant that to Lopez. Before long the thread turned into a discusion of Lopez's relationship with Ben Affleck, to whom she has been married for nearly two years. Lopez has had a rocky road when it comes to relationships and was engaged to Affleck over 20 years ago. Now there are apparently rumors that their marriage might not last. Posters were busy analyzing photos to see whether or not Affleck was wearing a wedding ring and debatting the significance of the couple arriving individually to an event be leaving together. One indicator of the quality of the "analysis" generally conducted in this thread is that any photo that showed JLo appearing happy was immediately alleged to be "staged" whereas any photo showing her to look like a normal person trying to get someplace without being hassled was used as incontrovertible evidence that her life is a disaster. With all of her wealth, I am sure that JLo can easily afford top notch mental healthcare. But, if it is ever needed, she can obtain psychological care free of charge from a host of eager DCUM therapists. What they lack in qualifications is certainly make up in obsessiveness.