Judging by the internet discussions, our citizens are not interested in the fate of the people of Artsakh, they are not concerned about Armenia’s security issues, and they are not particularly concerned about whether there will be a state called Armenia or not. It would be more accurate to say that Armenians are interested in all these issues not as issues related to people’s lives, health, and dignity, but to the extent that publications and discussions about them give reason to say something bad about Ter-Petrossian, Kocharyan, Sargsyan, or Pashinyan.
The mechanism of information consumption is the following: people read the title, find a familiar name, word, or phrase there, and then begin to make assumptions about what the topic is and what the author’s position is. And then they start commenting on the material based on those assumptions.
If the title contains the name of one of the four above, the comment is easy. If there is no name and the title is, say, about the lack of atmosphere on the planet Alpha Centauri, then the problem becomes a bit more complicated. They have to find the “logical chain” that connects that title with their antihero. For example, “there is no atmosphere” – “and Levon (Robert, Serzh, Nikol) did not have such a thing” – “The poor people are deprived of it (was)” – “no one is being held responsible for it” – “Until this issue is resolved, nothing good can be expected from this country.”
Of course, not only Armenians consume information through this mechanism. It is just that in my country, in my opinion, there is a critical mass of politically indoctrinated citizens. Their brains, in computer language, are regulated in the internal political direction, or more precisely, by the fact that they hate one or all of those four people. Since we have four types of media outlets and publicists that meet the demand for this hatred, the public order is widely met. All four groups have the opportunity to cool off.
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There is, of course, a “scientific” explanation for social behavior. Accordingly, the people instinctively choose the most correct option that leads to their salvation. If so, I consider it a great fortune that a former police officer living in the United States did not run for Prime Minister in the last election. Otherwise, it is very possible that the people would have elected them the leader of Armenia with their unmistakable instinct.
Aram Abrahamyan
