{"id":6243,"date":"2023-03-24T09:51:06","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T13:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6243"},"modified":"2023-07-13T11:24:51","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T15:24:51","slug":"beating-a-dead-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/03\/24\/beating-a-dead-horse\/","title":{"rendered":"Beating a Dead Horse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Medieval Markets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Metaphors and colloquialisms describe situations in our lives, in ways that go beyond the individual meaning of their words.  When \u201c\u2026the cat is out of the bag\u201d, it\u2019s much more than just opening a bag and seeing a cat. There\u2019s the mewling, the clawing, and the racing through the streets that comes with the newly freed feline.  To get back to its Medieval origins, \u201ccat in the bag\u201d seems to relate to another phrase, \u201cbuying a pig in a poke\u201d.  If you buy a pig in a poke, a bag, you might really be buying a much cheaper cat.  But you won\u2019t know you\u2019re swindled until  \u201cthe cat\u2019s out of the bag\u201d: the secret is revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We may not know what the actual origins of \u201ccat out of the bag\u201d are, but we definitely understand the meaning.  When the \u201ccats out of the bag\u201d the secret is out.  It\u2019s in the streets, spreading to all.  If you let \u201cthe cat out of the bag\u201d everybody knows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Farm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many of our favorite colloquialisms are based on farms.  \u201cDon\u2019t have a cow\u201d, \u201cstop beating a dead horse\u201d, \u201ca hard row to hoe\u201d,  and \u201cwhen pigs fly\u201d are all in our daily speech, even in areas where the nearest cow or row to hoe is miles and miles away.  One of my favorites is \u201cclosing the barn door\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClosing the barn door\u201d is part of a larger phrase, \u201cclosing the barn door after the horses are out\u201d.  It\u2019s a clear story \u2013 someone left the barn door open, and the horses got out.  Now, what once solved a problem, closing the barn door, doesn\u2019t solve it anymore.  The problem is getting the horses back.  You can \u201chave a cow\u201d, or even \u201cbeat a dead horse\u201d by blaming Little Boy Blue over and over again.  But the reality is \u2013 you\u2019ve got to go get the horses, wherever they are:  \u201c\u2026the sheep\u2019s in the meadow, the cow\u2019s in the corn…\u201d; and the horses are out.  Someone screwed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tik Tok<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From ancient farm stories we move to a most recent trend in modern life:  Tik Tok.  The social media application is used by over 150 million Americans, and a full one billion worldwide.  Tik Tok allows users to post brief videos of all sorts of things.  Us older folks who don\u2019t have the app still are exposed to Tik Tok through other social media.  A significant portion of my \u201cold school\u201d Facebook feed seems to be from Tik Tok.  The videos can be anything; school pranks to dances, insults, arguments and fights,  to jokes and cute babies.  It seems harmless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Tik Tok has become a new political metaphor for losing control of our youth.  The company  ultimately is owned by the Chinese Government (or to use the new \u201chate speak\u201d \u2013 the Chinese Communist Party).  And now Congressmen from across the political spectrum (and even President Biden) are sounding the alarm: social media collects data that can be used later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Really?  That \u201ccats\u201d been out of the bag for quite a while.  Weren\u2019t these guys at the 2016 election, when Cambridge Analytics taught the world how to manipulate social media users to their particular political goals?  These politicians are a little \u201clate to the game\u201d, aren\u2019t they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perfect Storm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But now we have the \u201cperfect storm\u201d for politicians against social media.  It\u2019s Tik Tok; it applies mostly to Gen Z (born after 1996) and seems extraneous to older folks, and Congressmen (that\u2019s kind of redundant).   And it\u2019s owned by the \u201cnew\u201d b\u00eate noire, China.  We can retread the old story about \u201c evil Communism\u201d to a whole new generation.  To some that might be \u201cbeating a dead horse\u201d, but Gen Z doesn\u2019t know that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they do know is that a whole bunch of old people are telling them what they can and can\u2019t do.  Old folks who don\u2019t have a clue about how it works, or why its interesting.  Old folks what are saying \u201c\u2026do what I say, not what I do\u201d as they use Tik Tok themselves to reach younger voters.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And don\u2019t think it just the \u201cgrandstanding\u201d of Congressmen in the House of Representatives.  The state of Utah last night, signed a law ( Black Letter Law) that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n