In the world of victorious conspiracy theology and the post-truth in which we live, it is extremely difficult to assess the credibility of events. The first reaction to any news is: “And who reported?” One Baltic edition next to the article writes: “Reliable source.” And one large social network attaches to the link to the news a link to an article on Wikipedia about the publication that the news published.
Moreover, the level of trust in a particular source is not absolute, but extremely dependent on the socio-political sympathy of the evaluator. We all do not believe in different things. We do not believe instinctively, categorically and immediately. And this dream of reason, of course, gives rise to such chimeras that it was impossible to imagine in the happy times of the Iron Curtain.
Here, let’s say, one of the people's stands there shows a bench on which is a plate with a declaration of love. “One journalist hung this sign here for money,” says the stands. But you, let’s say, have been watching the rostrum for many years and you know that a little less than everything he says is a lie of pure water. And you, of course, begin to look for a catch in his words about the tablet. Well, let’s say, how do we know that it was the journalist who hung the nameplate for the money, and not the people's stands? “And here is a list of donors,” says the stands and shows us the list. And there really is the name of a journalist - quite rare to refer to a coincidence. And you immediately think: well, maybe he sent his wife to introduce herself as a journalist and pay for the right to hang up a tablet. But the owners of the bench do not ask for a passport, honestly. Well, or not his wife, but this one, which lies on the couch. Yes or no one was sent anywhere at all, but simply printed this list on a printer - and it shows us. Well, because the methods are something like that.
And in days it turns out that there is no sign. “The journalist took off,” the tribune tells us, “in order to hide!” And you immediately think: well, it was not in vain that I assumed that there was no sign. And he himself screwed the stands. Then he showed us the list printed on the printer. Just because he cannot do otherwise.
And then a tablet pops up at one person who called himself a modern artist. Good friend of our rostrum, of course. And this artist begins to sell this plate at some auction. And he is supported by one very interesting guy who does not understand what he is doing, but at the same time he finances a publication with a staff and is generally very dumb. Well, what are you immediately thinking about?
Firstly, I really screwed the plate on the bench, then they unscrewed it and now they are allegedly selling it. Of course, supposedly, because not a single person in their right mind would pay 1.5 million rubles for such a tablet, as that dumb guy told us.
Secondly, you think that the plate on the bench may have been and was removed by someone else, but this artist is now selling a copy of it, printed on a 3D printer. Well, how it sells ... It pretends, of course, that it sells. Because in reality no one was selling anything to anyone, they just pretended. And one and a half million of these that the dumb guy promised to give to the children - they do not exist at all. And no one will give anything back to the children. Well, that is, a divorce from all sides, no matter how you look.
But what’s interesting is that all these crooks are directly accusing themselves of theft and trafficking of stolen goods. The tablet, according to their version, was stolen.
The dumb guy, however, is surprised: a tablet costs two dollars, but then they raised one and a half million for children, shame on you. But you know that you can’t believe a single word, and if they say about one and a half million, then there are no millions. And there are only mysterious bitcoins to which the stands in London flies.
Fairly respectable fans of all of the above meanwhile agree that stealing is good for a good cause. Freedom to Yuri Detochkin and all that. The more they convince you that they, scum, have no faith and can never be. Because a thief is a thief. And that old story, when one employee of the tribune and all their gang was accused of stealing a picture, begins to play with a completely different paint.
I then ask one person whose opinion about contemporary art is very appreciated. “How,” I ask, “do you feel about theft in contemporary art?” And he replies that if, as a result, the story with the journalist and the object of her love is discussed where she is being discussed, then it’s even good.
And you think so: so what now to do with all this? Let me write this whole story without names. Because this story is not about names. It is about conspiracy theology and post-truth, in the world of which we now abide. And the names in this world are an unimportant particularity. What matters is not names, but functions. Now a person has a function - to lie for a lot of money, and why then does he need a name? We already know everything about him and his function.
Suddenly a magician will fly in a blue helicopter from somewhere far away Mars, who doesn’t know a damn thing about how everything is arranged here, read this column and immediately understand how it works.
And it will fly back immediately to its Mars. And neither a movie will show, nor a popsicle will give.
And rightly so.
The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.