MInd Rape. Mass Psychosis and Totalitarianism.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

From what I know about the bloody Bolsheviks and their murderous Cheka, as well as the Stalin purges and resulting millions of dead, I don't see the comparison to the republicans or trump etc.

I don't think we've seen much of the kind of brutal treatment described in Meerloo's book (though it DOES happen here, in prisons across the US and Guantanamo Bay and our bases around the middle east etc--CIA could tell a tale or two I'd say)

It's referring to humiliating, dehumanizing, torturous and life and personality depriving interrogation procedures.

a reply to: zosimov

Wouldn't your bolded point above be fodder for an anti-establishment bent?

Yes. There was a time when I said to myself "The coming downfall of the U.S. is well deserved". But then I counted the cost to real people, the kind who go to the same grocery store as me, get their water and electricity from the same sources. And so I forced myself to re-adjust my attitude.

the value of the institution (to which I agree--the established Constitution, the government and philosophy and medicine that civilization has worked to develop etc)

Yes. The Constitution is like a plan, a blueprint, but it is not the Government. The Government is the people who are in the positions outlined in the document. Elections have consequences. There's the rub. If the very mechanism of real flesh and blood Government is distrusted, maligned, and overturned, then the power goes to those who are most ruthless in their use of disinformation to sow discord. That is their strategy to power.

There's definitely a discernment which needs to happen between the inherent good of "system, stability" and the sometimes highly flawed officials

Experience has shown too that the husky robust athletes could not withstand the camp experience any better than their weaker brothers. Nor is intellect alone any real help. On the contrary it usually provides useful rationalizations for surrender. Mental backbone sits deeper than the intellect, and becomes increasingly rare in a world of changing values and little faith. Men with no strong inner principles, who depend on others for approval and support, fall easy prey to menticide. The man with the strong ego, with strong precepts and faith, will be less vulnerable. The enemy has to use special techniques to break him down. If pressure doesn’t help, he tries flattery.

I have come to realize that the New Age religious clap trap is designed to denigrate the ego, the self, the individual. Nothingness is valued over the real individual. As a heathen I know that this life that I live now is all there is for me, no eternal bliss, no immortality. But, the Western Christian ideal of balancing the needs of the many at the expense of the individual ego is far superior to the Zen "nothing is real".

I remember one artist patient of mine in Holland who was fervently anti-Nazi before the invasion of the Lowlands. At first he was shattered and confused by the impact of the occupation. Then the Nazis started to pay attention to his work, something that had never been done before. From that time on he gave up his critical attitude and became a will-less justifier and supporter of the enemy system.

Speaking of artists and flattery, see this: www.abovetopsecret.com...
See the flattery that comes in further posts. I didn't have the heart to point out that that particular piece of art was the artist's protest piece against incarceration and torture sponsored by U.S. at Guantanamo. When seen in that light, it has a whole nuther meaning than my flatterers took it to be. Oh yes, I too am subject to the normal human needs which make me vulnerable. I too can be broken.

Now since Chris Hedges the seminarian has been brought into the thread by strongfp,
Shoutout to strongfp!

I accidently grew up with this song:

It's an adaptation of The Present Crisis by James Russell Lowell - 1819-1891
I don't know why, but performances seem to leave out my favorite verse

Then to side with truth is noble,
When we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit,
And ‘tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses
While the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue
Of the faith they had denied.

That's an ego building song. That's why I like it.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I like that analogy so much Im stealing it

It is so very critical to realize that when we seem to have two or three obvious paths in front of us.. there is always the possibility that all of them lead to literally the same place we are trying to avoid. Particularly when they have been carved out of the bedrock itself as a trap as I believe is the case here.

And sometimes, we see that there is even a path carved already on the shore by someone who saw that all the current routes lead to disaster. If it was forged by an individual with prescience.. it may not only avoid disaster, it could lead to the best damn rafting in the entire region. Not only would we avoid disaster, we find a journey that leads to somewhere beautiful and thrilling.

a reply to: Serdgiam
Indeed.

The River has always been for me a metaphor. As in this case as we spoke, but from Hesse's Siddhartha as well.
So much so that upon retirement, I found a small home on a river and have lived here for almost 20 years. Like my life in this Western drought it now flow sedately rather than rambunctiously and almost stagnantly by the end of summer. Sometimes it's tough living life as a metaphor.

My avatar is also metaphorical for my life now, kind of hunkered down and watching. She came out of our river about ten years ago having taken about a week to pull from her bed, rolled up the side of the river until she could be pulled out at the bank. Worth it though.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

It's cool knowing the story behind your avatar--very lovely rock figure you have there

Also a big fan of Siddhartha's treatment of the river. I'm glad you found a place for yourself on the banks of a water source, though sorry to hear the source is diminishing.

a reply to: zosimov

Where up until five years ago our river would fill to the bank of our land at least once a winter it now reaches only a little more than normal summer levels. Each year we would thrill to the power and speed of the current dragging out to sea the debris of dead trees and other lumbers . Like our own parade.
When we first got here my summer swim and rock hunting cycle would last from late April to mid September. This summer I have only made it a few times with visitors from the city in late June. Commonly late June would be the earliest visitors would venture in for the coldness of the water. This year it was already at August temps with the algae already forming around the edges.

Still though I would not trade it. Our well has not gone dry as yet but we treat our supply with much more respect then we did even a few years ago. Ya never know.

Thankss for the chat.

a reply to: zosimov

I think the comparison is much more subtle than the physical ''brute force'' used in those cases. To me, what we are looking at here is not the physical means of coercion and control but more the mental trials utilized. In the case I mentioned the Republican politicians have not faced physical brutality but rather political castration. In Russia it was accept Stalin or die, Here is appears to be accept Trump or be ostracized. The weapon here is not the ''rack'' or another form of torture but rather the tool is the flock of Trump voters who for the first time in ages believe that they have found the guy who can make way for them to solve their problems. Side with me or don't get re-elected.

I'm not trying to make a case here that this is limited to Trump. The manner in which almost each and every Democrat candidate quickly turned into Biden fans once it was clear that he was going to win the primaries is as good as any.

I think that our struggle here, those of us who watch these games being played by the players, is to learn to recognize the games that are being played on US. I'ts easy to see the games that are being played on others but not nearly as easy to see that the same games are being played on ourselves. The old mote in the others eyes and the log in ones own sorta stuff.

a reply to: pthena

There's the rub. If the very mechanism of real flesh and blood Government is distrusted, maligned, and overturned, then the power goes to those who are most ruthless in their use of disinformation to sow discord. That is their strategy to power.

And this is the core of my personal concern with our current Trumpian episode. Sure, I recognize the tremendous perils of big government. I recognize it's inherent weaknesses when left unchecked by a party-going electorate who's major concerns are their weekends. Those whose idea of self governance is limited to which box to check every four years. Indeed I do.

However, this government, this juggernaut is the buggy we came in on. Tearing it apart at this point to me is more dangerous. Sure there are those within this power structure who have a war-lord mentality but at least they are to a fair degree held in check. Tear it down and those checks and balances are out the window and any half-assed wannabe boss with the right words to the right crowd can turn it all upside down with the crowd calling it down side up.

At this point I call back to the words of another poster in this thread who pointed out that if the US goes down, the wold world goes with it.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

this government, this juggernaut is the buggy we came in on. Tearing it apart at this point to me is more dangerous.

I couldn't have put it better.

I remember now when Bill Barr was nominated to be Attorney General for a second time. All the talking heads "He's an institutionalist. He'll do right by the DOJ." But the unitary executive theory of unfettered presidential authority over the executive branch of the U.S. government. No problem?

Whoops!

I was having a pleasant conversation with a mental health professional back in 2003. I was very puzzled about some things so I asked him "What the hell do these Republicans want really?"

He didn't even have to think about it. He just said it. "A king."

a reply to: pthena

He didn't even have to think about it. He just said it. "A king."

One might suggest that this desire has morphed in to a ''messiah''.

Great video Terry! Was not expecting such a thorough and concise breakdown of the topic. Will definitely be subscribing to their YouTube channel. Useful, informative stuff. Many thanks pal!a reply to: TerryMcGuire

a reply to: Horrence

Yeah, me too. The video was quite concise. I"ve been studying stuff like this since the mid 70s because I was drawn into a cult back then. Spent four years of my young and productive live under the spell. It took a lot of grief breaking those mental bonds. But even once I was out, those tendrils plagued me well into the next twenty years or so.

Back then there was still little general knowledge about cults let alone mind control. Over the years I studied into the nature of marketing and advertising and found that those in those fields utilized many of those practices fluently.

One book that I read early on after I was able to stand on my own two feet again was a book written by a couple of psychologists called ''The Guru Papers''. It help me a lot in understanding the nature of authoritarianism.

Anyway, thanks for the shout out and I"m glad the video has been of use.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I'm still sort of stuck on "the buggy we came in on" image and what I wrote about the Constitution and the Government being the people filling the positions specified in the Constitution.

There are calls from among the rabble following the lead of demagogues to "retake freedom" through violent means in order to "get back to constitutional norms". Pure madness of course. How exactly is "removing" the people Constitutionally placed there somehow honoring the Constitution?

For example see this thread which may or may not end up removed. www.abovetopsecret.com.... I can't comment directly because it's closed for review.

I'm considering fleeing this forum altogether if that thread isn't removed.

a reply to: pthena

Busy day. Yeah, it's deep sixed. Staying here has become a real challenge. Remaining as balanced as possible in the face of such one sided and all to often belligerent self assurance can be taxing.

A seminal book for me was titled ''Founding Brothers''. It laid out our history in the context of the men who cobbled together the constitution as wildly different in the approach to freedom rather than considering them all as founding fathers.

There were those who wanted to be free and just live their lives freely and then there were those who saw the vastness and riches of a new continent and saw a future empire. Like it or not, the America we know, the America we have been raised in and taught to love is not America, but America the Empire. It's not the constitution that has afforded our patriots the freedoms they espouse, rather those freedoms are the payment made to those most loyal to that empire.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I happened upon this video this afternoon looking for some new music.

How do you 'happen' upon something? You mean "happened to stumble" or something?

In any case, how do you stumble into something like this by looking for music? Don't tell me you look for music from video streaming sites..

In any case, just out of curiosity, what's 'new music'? Isn't all music already pretty old, and even the 'new songs' are never really 'new music', as they use the same 12 notes and same tired, old patterns that have already been used, as well as melodies and such?

What constitutes as 'new music'? Do you mean music you haven't heard before? What would that be for you, what were you looking for, specifically? What genre, for example? Don't tell us a juicy bit like this and then leave the reader hanging.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Good afternoon folks.

Good morning, missing Oxford Comma.

Good evening, assumed text-consumption chronological coordinates.

Can anyone receive your kind greeting, even if they don't identify as 'folks'?

I am always curious as to why people use these qualifiers that are not accurate, and yet almost always omit the Oxford Comma that would actually make that make sense?

Even if it was grammatically correct, I don't understand the need or urge to add some kind of qualifier at the end (or beginning), like 'guys', 'dude', 'bra', 'bro', 'man' or even 'people' (or why there's so much gender assumption in those qualifiers - at least that wasn't your sin).

Brainwashing has been going on for a really long time, and it has only intensified and become more subtle as technology has advanced and the mind-control techniques have been perfected. I wouldn't use a politically and emotionally charged word like 'rápe' these days, it's just a needless and useless red-flag hyperbole that doesn't do anything good for anyone.

It's nothing new or shocking, it's something everyone should take for granted these days. Thankfully, it's still relatively easy to avoid as long as you don't become in contact with too many brainwashed drones in your daily life, and you avoid the main concentrations of exposure, like the television and ads.

a reply to: Shoujikina

Don't tell me you look for music from video streaming sites..

I know you have told me not to do this but I think I will go ahead and tell you in any way.

I do search for music from a video streaming site. I had just finished watching and listening to Billy Strings and was perusing the column of available videos the site had to offer that for one reason or another were considered by the site to be somewhat related.

That took me to several other music videos which eventually led to a column of suggestions within which this video was listed.. I was interested in the title so I watched it.

And yes, I did mean music that is new to me.

It may be that you might think that all music is old music. I disagree. Music changes over time for many different reasons. New instruments are invented. Old instruments give rise to new instruments. A simple example would be the invention of the saxophone. One more in the reed family it's sound was unique leading to new unique voices in orchestration of classical music and eventually becoming a mainstay in jazz bands.

The electric guitar followed a simpler accustic guitar which followed the lute and other stringed instruments. All allowing differnt kinds of music to be invented.

Dave Brubek and others came along and did the unthinkalbe. Found a time signature of 5/4. Miles Davis came along and pushed the boundries of jazz and that genre changed with him.

And there was rock and roll which grew out of rythmn and blues etc.

Then there are the various sounds of different cultures which grew up in isolation to those cultures. As civilizations grew and came into contact with other civilizations the musics and instruments of those cutlures influenced the musicians of other cultures..

Then there was the advent of computer generated music. New sounds that have been used musically. Ever hear of a composer named Mason Bates? Fantastic. His music was completely unimaginable fifty years ago.

Have you ever heard of an instrument called a hurdy gurdy? I'ts an old instrument that has been totally re-impagined by a few musicians and turned into a musical form that is amazing. Adding in dubbing and foot controlled recording devices it can allow the musician to essentially be a one man band.

If you would like, I can link you to any number of music videos that I have found wonderful. You could if you want watch this incredible flat picker, Billy Strings. This guy takes the old blue grass genre and turns it on it's ear.

a reply to: zosimov

Laura Dodsworth lives just down the road from me and we have some mutual friends. By all accounts, she's a great person to recommend an acupuncturist but you wouldn't ask her to measure a length of timber.

originally posted by: Shoujikina


Good morning, missing Oxford Comma.

Good evening, assumed text-consumption chronological coordinates.

Can anyone receive your kind greeting, even if they don't identify as 'folks'?

I am always curious as to why people use these qualifiers that are not accurate, and yet almost always omit the Oxford Comma that would actually make that make sense?

Even if it was grammatically correct, I don't understand the need or urge to add some kind of qualifier at the end (or beginning), like 'guys', 'dude', 'bra', 'bro', 'man' or even 'people' (or why there's so much gender assumption in those qualifiers - at least that wasn't your sin).

I've only ever met one person qualified to be in the grammar police. It's not me and it's not you.

Look up how to use an Oxford comma. While you're there, look up why comma isn't capitalised in that noun phrase.