Distraction. Distraction. Distraction.

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• March 6, 2026

Like almost everybody, I spend far too much time on the internet. It’s hard not to, especially in the winter when we are stuck indoors. In a recent internet conspiracy around whether or not Jim Carrey was cloned or sends a body double in his place (I think it’s very possible Jim has a body double he sends to media frenzies as Carrey is known for his hatred for the media), I saw a lot of people saying, “this is just a distraction from the Epstein files.”

While I am completely appalled by our governments blatant cover up in a pedophile ring (definitive proof that both Democrats and Republicans are truly terrible), suggesting that everything is a distraction from it, like something as complicated and serious as a war in Iran all the way to something as silly as “is Jim Carrey playing a prank on us all?” is utterly insane.

To be clear, I don’t think the public should forget or turn a blind eye to the Epstein stuff. However, those who think they are doing something about it by perpetually posting on social media are only fooling themselves that their social media handle is relevant to power. Trolling someone posting about UFO’s that aliens are a distraction from the Epstein files is far more psychotic than simply talking about the existence of aliens. If you’re going to troll anyone about government sins, troll people who work for the government. What do you expect someone with a podcast about aliens that probably has less than a hundred daily listeners to do about it?

Distractions, dare I say, are good things. I would venture to say that distractions are the best parts of life. For example, let’s take a cancer patient who is facing the biggest stakes— their actual life. They may turn to a TV series or a fantasy books, or something to distract them from the fact they the are nauseous all the time or that they may not make it to the end of the year.

Or let’s use something not as serious. If you’ve ever been dumped by someone you were in love with, you know the heart break and devastation that comes with the road to healing. Hopefully, people in your life rally around you to keep you in good spirits. And what will they do? Distract you from your pain. Go to movies, live music, play pool with friends. In these moments you temporarily forget you are heartbroken, as you are distracted from your gray cloud. Dare I say that life happens within your distractions?

Is playing a board game with your family a distraction from the fact that you need to do laundry or empty the dishwasher? Or is playing a board game with your family the whole point of this fleeting life we have? As a comedian, one of the rewards of the job is after shows when people tell you how much they needed to laugh because life is often hard and sad. I am the distraction. And the welcomed one. The reason someone laughs.

All of entertainment is a distraction and that’s the literal point and that’s okay. You don’t have to spend every waking moment of your life doused in your personal trauma or all the bad things happening in the world. In fact, I would argue, that obsessing over worldly problems that are out of your control is a distraction from enjoying your own life.

I failed to write down who the psychologist was, but I saw on Instagram a psychologist talking about how the general anxiety of society has gone up because, as humans, we were never meant to worry about problems outside of our personal sphere. All those oversea wars and famine? Not your problem. Move on. There was something so freeing in this realization. Again, this is not to say don’t be informed or to do nothing. If you have means to help (usually helping involves having a lot of disposable income), by all means, do it. But the doomscrolling doesn’t help the people you’ve never met and are worrying about and it certainly doesn’t help your mental health.

I would say I live for distractions. I live for great books, funny movies, songs that make me cry, a day at the amusement park, card games with friends, drinking on the beach. If all of that is a distraction from the horrors of life, then sign me up. I’ve spent far too much time and energy worrying about everything. Social media is a distraction from your life. This blog is a distraction from your life (or maybe just entertainment while you’re on the toilet having a poop). The 24 hour news cycle is a distraction from your life.

Find a balance, not just in the consumption of media, but how much you let it under your skin. The algorithm (and the bots that contribute to it) thrive on rage, because rage is a drug. Rage is a shit drug that eats your soul. I respect heroin addicts more than I respect rage addicts. Call your mom. Write a card to someone you love. Go to a bookstore, a movie theater, a live comedy show. Find some peace and joy in this fleeting life. There’s always going to be a war. There’s always going to be suffering. Help people within your reach. And sometimes, the best way to help someone is being a distraction from a sadness or sickness in their life.

It’s rare you can fix problems in anyone’s life but your own, let alone a global problem. If you can’t be the change you want to see in the world, then be the distraction that doesn’t make someone forget about bad things, but makes them remember that life isn’t all that bad at all.