A human hand is TICKLING a fish. A stingray, laying on its back, out of its element.
The TikTok clip went viral around the world, 168 Million people seemed to agree with the message: The fish is smiling -perhaps even laughing. They thought it was cute. They watched it, liked it, then went on to the next message, the next video clip, and the next headline.
Is the fish laughing?
.
I didn’t think so. Why? Because I remember the pain I felt when other kids held me down, took my shoes off, and tickled my feet. What they meant to be funny made me suffer. I am ticklish! To this day, I don’t dare to get a pedicure, because I fear I might kick the little Asian lady through the store, all because she would give me the honor of working on my feet.
Do not touch my feet! I will hurt you. It’s the simplest form of self-defense I can think of. Ask my husband, when we were younger -and dumber- I almost kicked one of his teeth out with my foot, when he thought he should find out if I am really ticklish.
The laughing fish?
It’s a split decision we have to make every day a hundred times. Do we swallow a headline, or do we research it, question it and dig deeper? Do we dare to form our own opinion, or do we just fall in line with what other people are thinking? It often seems the first comments set the tone for all the rest. Pack mentality! Let’s follow the lead, but what if the lead is wrong?
Do we follow mindlessly?
A stingray out of the water! Hello! It wasn’t hard, and it didn’t take long, and about thirty seconds later, I read the first article from an expert stating exactly what I had thought. The stingray was suffocating. He wasn’t laughing, he couldn’t breeze. Other experts agreed, and so did I.
.
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The “Stingray Video” stayed with me. How far does it go?
I thought about all the garbage we have to listen to now and it comes from all sides. Every evening we get bombarded by commercials from politicians who all seem to have one thing in common: They have little to offer, which forces them to focus on the shortcomings of their opponents.
Am I the only one who is tired of it?
The stingray – The politicians. It is not always what it seems.
The stingray makes me think about my friend Julie, who believes President Biden is to blame for the high gas prices and for the inflation. “Bad leadership,” she says. For her, it’s that simple, and she likes to keep it simple. She reads it somewhere! She hears it somewhere, and she repeats it!
We are friends, even though we have different opinions. Keeping my mind open at a time when so many have hard-lined is getting more complicated by the day. It challenges me in many ways.
Two-digit inflation rates in Germany and the UK. Gas prices in Europe are up to 7 Euros per gallon, and the people in France demonstrated on the streets against the high cost of living last weekend. All because of Biden? I don’t think so, yet Julie doesn’t want to hear about it. Her mind is made up -and so is mine (about Julie?)
The fish is not laughing; he is suffocating.
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It is really quite sad the length some people go to with videos for their 15 seconds of fame… the fish lives in water, of course it was not laughing. And to think all those people “liked” a video of it suffocating is unreal! It is a very tough world anymore.
15 seconds of fame, yes, sadly, that’s what they are after and it doesn’t matter who they hurt or prank. I don’t understand it.
I love the stingray story as illustration to your call for critical thinking! It’s certainly a curiosity. I am very careful with the stories I share or pass on, as I marvel at what people can do with manipulating images as well as taking so-called quotes out of context and suddenly you have propaganda. It doesn’t take that much effort to at a minimum stop and question information that comes to us, We might not always be certain something is true or untrue, but leaving the space open to suggest that we can’t know for sure is a place to start. I really like the way you made the point, Bridget.
Would I have reacted the same way if I wouldn’t be so ticklish myself? Critical thinking is a dying art, which is something I cannot wrap my head around. In school we learned to research and write essays with depth and meaning. What happened to us?
Standing out against the crowd requires courage and integrity
Only when you do it for the first time 🙂
True
This reminds me of the faces of bottle nosed dolphins who seem to have a perpetual smile, when certainly they are not always happy. It’s hard to know how much contact to have with people like Julie, especially if they are family members. I ask my son occasional questions about his beliefs and facebook memes, but when it seems like we are moving toward a “debate” I step back and look for common ground or something simple.
Don’t get me started on dolphines and killerwales at Seaworld.
As for Julie, we set some ground rules but it’s not always easy, that’s true.
I understand.
A good analogy. Sometimes right now, I feel like we are all suffocating.
I think many of us are suffocating. The question is do we notice?
Good question.
How shallow we are when we find entertainment in other’s suffering, whether human or animal!
I am not sure what to make of it. Shallow? Yes. Mindless? Thoughtless? Yes. I don’t understand how you can look at something -anything- and not add 2+2 together. A fish, out of the water, it’s really a no=brainer.
It amazes me how many highly educated, intelligent people believe the rubbish that is so often circulated. Like you I research everything that looks too good to be true.
I hate all stories about wildlife interfered with by humans. Leave them where they belong ~ in the wild.
“Rubbish” I love the word, always did. You are right, there is a lot of rubbish out there. When have we become so ignorant?
I appreciate this post so very much! I agree with you (because I think independently and critically). On another note, I NEVER want anyone to touch my feet!
That’s what it is. To think on your own, to dare to swim against the stream -when needed- to speak up when the wrong is so obvious. Thank you!
Yes!!!! You’re welcome ☺️
As a general rule I do not forward anything that has been forwarded many times; I seldom forward any meme or joke anyway. Some people think I have lost my sense of humour – I think it has become blunted through over exposure to some of what you describe in your post. When in the company of my grandchildren my stomach sometimes aches from laughter, leaving me feeling energised and so good afterwards!
You are a smart woman, Anne. I am not on Facebook or Instagram, or any other of these pages, so I am hardly tempted.
It does however surprise me how quickly things go viral -true or false.
Good for you for questioning this video! Critical thinking takes effort; it takes brain power. When I worked at the community college, we tried to teach critical thinking. I wonder if it can really be taught this way. I almost think it is something “caught” not “taught.” But I guess the college had to try. Your post encourages others to consider, think, research and form one’s own conclusion. And that goes for anything – politics, advice, judgement, trends, opinions, anything. Great post. Lastly, I do not like to be tickled, nor do I think others should be tickled. I like to breathe.
Critical thinking takes time, it’s so much faster and easier to just swallow information like gum drops.
What made me a critical thinker? Perhaps the fact that so many people in my life formed an opionion about me -and they were so wrong.