I Am Not A Robot, Or Am I?

 

With a national move toward isolationism, it is ironic that we also seem to be moving in that direction at a more personal level. Social interaction IRL is becoming more rare as we drift toward a parallel online universe destined to fill the void. It will eventually be harder to check the box, “I am not a robot.” Google has its reCAPTCHA system that uses background tests to determine if you are human or an automated bot. In this case, CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.

Is it any wonder that the digital universe in which we all must now live, exploded as if on cue, with the shooting of one of its influencers. In the minutes and hours immediately after the shooting, misinformation filled the vacuum created by the lack of pertinent information. The left and right posited their own guesses as to the identity of the perpetrator. We then saw that it wasn’t just the digital trolls who were guilty for the spread of misinformation, but we also saw national leaders jump on the guessing bandwagon. The president in the immediate aftermath blamed the “radical left” for demonizing Charlie Kirk and he claimed that this rhetoric was “directly responsible for the terrorism we are seeing in our country today…” He assumed that it just had to be a left-wing socialist who did this.

Likewise, FBI Director Kash Patel declared online that the killer was in custody long before the legitimate arrest was made many hours later. Patel posted on X that “the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.” In fact, two people were taken into custody only to be released after questioning. During the Patel posting on X, the Utah Governor was giving a press conference promising to continue to hunt down the shooter. The government handling of this brought back memories of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops with their comic ineptitude.

Both the victim and the apparent shooter were fixtures in the digital universe. The victim used that universe to advance his own cause and to victimize others with whom he disagreed. The shooter was also card-carrying member of the digital isolationist movement who used online acronyms and gaming references in his “messages.” After it was learned that the shooter was not some liberal socialist or ANTIFA soldier sponsored by George Soros, but a disillusioned NRA-MAGA Republican-family member, there were no retractions or apologies from those whose political agendas suffered but a brief setback. For most online pundits, there are no repercussions. It remains to be seen if more prominent government officials will be admonished for their slapstick performances. Patel, maybe—Trump, never.

Trump must be secretly thrilled that this news distraction has moved the media spotlight away from his “other problem”, albeit temporarily. As the lights in the theatre of the absurd begin to rise, the Epstein saga awaits in the wings. To paraphrase Macbeth: “Epstein is but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more.” Trump so desperately wants to have Epstein, “heard no more.”

I leave you with the full text of the Macbeth quote where he has just learned of his wife’s death. It seems to have some parallels here but to draw such an analogy would mean I am not a robot, or am I?

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.