The Ties That Bind

Image: Metro 2014:... ties are enjoying something of a rebirth. Ties are becoming acceptable again, leaving many men with a daily dilemma – do I wear a tie to work or not?

The Ties That Bind
And the advertising techniques that make men think they have to wear them.

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ADDENDUM: Sat. Aug 4 - From The Independent:
Tommy Robinson complains he was 'mentally tortured' because he had no TV in prison

An avowed racist is addicted to TV - and admits it.  By the way, in the video there's a guy yelling "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy" and I could swear he's Ontario's Premier Doug Ford, who also wears a "too-long tie", no doubt in honour of his hero, Donald Trump.
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I'm reading Vance Packard's 1957 book called "The Hidden Persuaders".

• "A brisk, authoritative and frightening report on how manufacturers, fundraisers and politicians are attempting to turn the American mind into a kind of catatonic dough that will buy, give or vote at their command--The New Yorker
• The book is a tell-all about the advertising business and how the consumer mind is molded by ad agencies that specialize in mind control.

Yep, they turn your brain to dough so they can get their hands on your bread. All expertly accomplished with paid input from psychologists and psychiatrists who, in my opinion, should be stripped of their licences to practise.

Whatever happened to "Do No Harm"?

From Wikipedia:

• Primum non nocere ... is a Latin phrase that means "first, to do no harm." The phrase is sometimes recorded as primum nil nocere.
• Non-maleficence, which is derived from the maxim, is one of the principal precepts of bioethics that all medical students are taught in school and is a fundamental principle throughout the world. ... It reminds physicians to consider the possible harm that any intervention might do.

Packard waits to the very end of the book to talk about political mind bending (if you think you know anything at all about your favourite politician, think again) and how to motivate employees to work till they drop  -- without actually killing them (Amazon no doubt employs specialists in that area).

I have not yet fully digested that final section, but it seems the methods used by politicians and some employers to push people in a desired direction is not much different from what the merchandisers of manufactured wares constantly inflict on the general public -- even, and maybe especially, on little kids whose parents use the TV as a babysitter.

As a direct result, people are programmed to think they have to do what everyone else is doing, or risk shame and embarrassment, a sense of not belonging or being somehow inferior.

The necktie is an excellent example:

USNews: 
California Mayor Wants to Forbid Neckties at Work

• The mayor cited a study published late last month that states wearing neckties decreases blood flow to the brain, which can hinder creativity and analytical thinking and pose a health threat.

That headline is a perfect example of how the corporate media misrepresent situations. They are eager to create eye-catching scandal and help the powers that be as much as they can. The Mayor was not looking to "ban" neckties, as is being stated in similar news reports, he simply wants them not to be obligatory in the workplace.

Those who prefer to risk a loss of brain power rather than the shame of going tie-less are good examples of the amount of brain power they actually had going for them in the first place after a lifetime of constant mind-bending via the media.

A commenter to the CBC article imagines that a tie creates an aura of importance; he even put one on his dog and the dog pranced around proudly. There's a man and his dog who have worn one too many ties (not to mention perhaps a too-tight dog collar), proving the results of the scientific study.

At my age, if it doesn't chafe, stick to me in hot weather, and I don't have to hold it down when the wind is up or kick it off when I want to run, that's good enough. So jeans, soft, cotton t-shirts, and comfy, laceless sneakers it is. Not being a slave to fashion, I don't even have to have fake holes in my jeans.

As an employee, I wore dress slacks and a decent blouse and low-heeled shoes. It was tolerated because I was good at my job, but when the big boss came to town it was gently suggested that I try to "pretty" up so that the local manager wouldn't be embarrassed at having hired me. He, of course, put on a tie and jacket for the occasion, while I caved and wore a fancier blouse, and was complimented on it, which I took as a nudge to do it more often, but it wasn't a comfy blouse and I went back to my usual non-stylish look.

You are not what you wear, and it's because of imprints from manipulative advertising that people can't relax and accept that about one another.

Too many women are wrecking their feet and legs with high heels and risking what Hollywood enthusiasts love to euphemise as "wardrobe failures" and plaster them all over the junk news. And in between those sad events, there's always Trump's too-long tie to jeer at.

Not to give Freud too much credit, but ties are rather phallic, don't you think? Men are always stroking theirs and looking at other men's ties and laughing at them if they're a bit too out there, or worse tacky and cheap. It's just a strip of cloth yet the price of it is an additional status factor, and it's so humiliating to have it snickered at.

Advertisers take full advantage of sexual insecurities. Maybe men would clue in that the whole tie thing is a hoax if they were as concerned about the blood supply to their brains as they are to other body parts.

I personally prefer men who aren't suit-and-tie slaves (although I have reservations about the ones who hide behind beards). They're usually quite intelligent, well-read, good conversationalists and listeners, have well-thought-out opinions and clearly are not easily fooled. And, they're often nice to look at, though they're usually the last ones to know that or care.

Isn't it obvious? Male or female, when you get home from wherever you've been, isn't the first thing you want to do is "slip into something more comfortable"? Everybody knows that "fashion" is uncomfortable, so why do people allow themselves to become slaves to it?

They're beyond being able to see that mind control -- euphemised as "advertising" -- is a multi-billion dollar racket that deliberately messes with one's mind for profit.

And now, with that study about ties causing reduced blood supply to the brain, we know why the necktie is crucial in the big scheme of advertising.

Then there are the totally unimaginative backlashers:
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CBC:
These designers think everyone should wear jumpsuits — so they've made one in 248 sizes

One has only to look at the comments section of the CBC article to learn why one-piece jumpsuits will not be an overnight sensation. I for one feel all sweaty and constricted just thinking about them. And going to the bathroom is not only made more difficult for women -- zippers were a boon to men, and they know it.

No doubt those enterprisers are opportunistic, but getting a free news media spot is not enough to produce a craze -- they will still need to pay massive bucks for suggestive "focus groups", manipulative surveys, and psycho-babble ad agencies. And if they can't afford that, there will not likely be a jumpsuit craze.

I tell you, if "advertising" were abolished, the same mind benders would accost people in alleyways, and their victims -- especially the ones wearing ties -- would hand over everything they own, and take them to their bank to empty their accounts.

Here's where it all begins:
‘School Is Out and My Kids Just Want to Watch TV!’