The Face of Your Enemy

Great post Heff! Your childhood sounded very much like my own - hiding under desks (omg how dumb that was!).
Your final warning that we are becoming the face of the enemy is very relevant and timely, They (the PTB) have split us on the GWOT issue - even old friends who I thought intelligent have fallen for the Islamic menace Part Deux propaganda. IF we can't even agree on that issue I'm afraid we're in deep doo-doo my friend.
Oh yeah, I have an ex-wife too
Seems we have suffered along similar lines.
Cheers, ATA

reply to post by Hefficide


Where's our friends Cheney,the Bushes,Clintons, Kissinger, and Rockefellers in the Terrorists snap shots?

Come on let's be honest and across the board now.

reply to post by EssenSieMich


shill words and phrases in my opinion 'the rabbit hole' and 'join the dots' ...come on wake up!

Thank you for a fantastic post.

When you think about those "boogiemen" that you mentioned and discussed, how much did media play in creating those monsters?

When propaganda is shown to the masses, the people have a hard time deciphering what is fiction and what is real. When that happens, I think we often have a sense of being even more scared or unsure of what is happening.

As these new boogiemen come about, do you think it's more frightening to see them being more "regular" than that of a leader?


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Thanks again for a great thread. This is one of the best threads I've seen on a message board...which tells me I've been to the wrong ones...and I am sure to find much more on here.

Wow and wow... the OP was incredibly succinct, eloquent, and right on target. In fact, in many of the recent threads regarding the AZ shooting and the violent rhetoric that could have caused a climate wherein violence against your "enemy" I have said almost the exact same thing about who are current enemy is.

It is no longer Arab Menace 2 like most people think. In fact, this is evidenced by the fact that if you bring up Arab Menace 2 as being an enemy and someone disagrees with you, all our conditioning has made us then make that person who disagreed with you, one way or the other, the enemy you need to watch out for. Your enemy is now either your Conservative neighbor with fanatical ideas about taking over the government and and forcing religion down your throat or it is your Liberal neighbor who is godless and loves terrorists and would love nothing more than to see you made to give up your guns and force you to love gay people.

We are then conditioned to believe that anyone who disagrees with your political ideologies is out to destroy America and you are, therefore, permitted to do whatever is necessary to protect her. It's sad, sick, and demented and people are falling for it hook, line, and sinker! Of course, none of this is necessarily a conscious choice. That is what conditioning is all about. You've been "programmed" into holding a certain view about situations and issues and then "programmed" to then react a certain way to them. The greatest thing about conditioning is you think it comes from your own mind--that you came to your conclusions all on your own when, in fact, you were led down a certain path, however ever-so gently guided down it.

We are all now at each others throats and most of it is over our governments handling of how to deal with the boogieman, i.e. Arab Menace 2. Its us vs. them and we've let that cloud the fact that our government is stealing our wealth, our freedom, and our dignity.

I always like well thought-out post because it make me think.There was a time when America could be thought of as a sleeping giant. Leave us alone and we won't bother you. If you want our help, just ask; but until then, we'll just quietly go about our business.

But now, we have our nose in everything. But I think it's important to realize that, although it may seem that way, in this new world of ours, we don't do anything unilaterally. There are back-room deals going on all the time between various "power nations". I believe that the proverbial line in the sand has been blurred so much with the advancement of the one world government/NWO that we don't know which way is up any longer.

Personally, I believe, in the grand scheme of things, it's "us", as in the citizens of the world, vs. them, as in TPTB who are working these back room deals to control and manipulate for the furtherance of their agenda. The truth is, the citizens of the world could overpower and take down any government if we were united. That's why they keep us divided. Keep the WASPS, Blacks, Whites, Muslims, Republicans, Democrats, all fighting with each other. That way there won't be any one faction that can rise up and regain control of our freedom.

The sooner we realize, (we, being the citizens of the world) what "they" are doing, the sooner we can unite and regain control.

very good post s&f for you

I can't remember the last time I read such a well crafted, poignant and succinct post. As someone around your same age, I can attest to it all being as you described, from the nuclear war drills, to the heady hope and promise of a new era when the Berlin Wall came down, to the new age of shock and awe television warfare, the dawn of the domestic terrorist, 9-11 and the rolls and changes in the economy and job markets along the way.

The illusive boogie man concept goes way back in time as a societal construct, with Hannibal of Carthage back door assault of Rome where he did the impossible by leading an army with elephants across the alps to attack Rome from the direction it least expected, destroying whole legions in the process and placing the eternal city itself under periods of siege in a hit and run campaign that took more than a decade to finally quell, and a decade more even after destroying Carthage and salting it’s soil to find the elusive Hannibal and assassinate him in his hidden exile.

The last detail the Roman Government failed to share with its citizens as it kept the thread of Hannibal as the boogie man alive for decades to come to keep the war engine well supplied and greased.

Even a century later Roman parents were scaring their children that if they didn’t go to bed Hannibal would appear and get them.

This concept of one terrifying resilient enemy that might strike anywhere anytime against a state all seems to emanate from their in what could best be described as a trick we have fallen for again and again ever since.

It would seem deep down many of us are the little child afraid of the boogie man or at least willing to be.

Perhaps this fear is just a comforting reminder of our own mortality and uncertainty in life that some how makes the fact we are alive more precious to us, with the thought that something might transpire suddenly, that we can never quite protect ourselves against, might take it away, or perhaps it’s just the love of drama and suspense that elevates us up and beyond the insignificant cogs of corporate and religious machines we most all typically are, that some how we are important, important enough for someone to want to kill out of jealousy and envy.

It remains though a lesson we have never learned as even here in America we have learned to accept every indignity and suspicion by our own government and one another to just travel and exist within the state.

It seems we can learn almost everything else through this lesson, how to hate, how to fear, how to justify murdering others, how to justify submitting completely to authority and trusting it blindly not to abuse that submission, we just can’t ever seem to learn that the boogie man is never as real, never as dangerous, never as deadly, and never as evil as the people and systems who breathe life into it and try so hard to make the specter of it’s elusive threat real.

One day we might finally be brave enough to see the real boogie man for what he is, that man who says, and remember always fear him and not me.

Outstandingly tremendous post, big star and flag.

Originally posted by General.Lee
Leave us alone and we won't bother you. If you want our help, just ask; but until then, we'll just quietly go about our business.

But now, we have our nose in everything.

Not only do we have our nose in everything but when people ask for our help, we only do it if there is something in it for us. Not that I am saying we need to help every single country/citizenry who asks for our help, but there have been instances where we should have helped and didn't. Tibet and Iraq after the end of the Gulf War come to mind.

I forgot to mention one thing that is important here -
They can sell us fear because WE WANT IT!
For the same reasons we watch monster movies or go bungie jumping.
It's built into our biology to generate adrenaline when we sense fear.
The equivalent of the government/MSM getting us all hooked on heroin.

It seems as though you've got the staged/manipulated crisis play of the playbook figured out, but you're going along with the idea that we're the bad guys now, just because we speak out and don't like what's happening? Everything seems to be going according to plan.

It was probably just a ruse for brezhenski to say that thepeople were waking up. To make us think we had a chance, to underestimate the underhandedness of the enemy. Yeah I said it, the criminal government and their statist allies are not my friends. Don't buy this crap, don't be scared to think for yourself, don't be intimidated, because that's the whole point of the media frenzy.

The first amendment gives me the right to say the 2nd amendment is there to secure the 1st and all others against would-be usurpers.

Indeed Heff, I think we've convoluted and irreparably distorted our society in response to blown up fears.

Are there enemies in the world? YES. Are there terrorists in the world? YES. Do any of these things present a clear and present danger to our way of life? YES.

Should we fundamentally alter our way of life to suit the fears of losing our way of life?

I'll answer that with another question:

How can adults possibly think this way and act surprised when the idea(of distorting society to suit fears) blows up in their face?

As has been pointed out a few times, thus far, my OP does not mention one specific subject... those who might be engineering the illusion of the boogieman - or those who have in the past. This was deliberate on my part for a few reasons.

Firstly, and foremost, I chose not to point fingers because, in reality, there is no way to really know just who is behind the door...


... We can speculate about who might be behind the mechanism. And in our speculation we come to a variety of conclusions. Anyone who has been on ATS for any length of time will be aware that the list of suspects is long and not all of those suspects can be meshed into any one theory. Some say Israel. Others say that the Nazi party is still running the world. Still others say that the Roman Catholic Church holds our puppet strings. We have the specter of the NWO, the Illuminati, organized Satanists, the world banksters, the Bilderbergers, The Knights Templar, and dozens of other suspects to choose from.

It is my opinion that we tend to get lost in trying to figure out the "who" and we lose sight of the "how" and the "why" in the process.

When one awakes to the sight of a man, in a ski mask, standing over you with a machete, well "who" is not the immediate concern of a rational mind. How to attain advantage, disarm, and then incapacitate the assailant all precede unmasking them in the prioritization structure.

ATS, for quite awhile now, has been a mess of partisan bickering. Conservatives against liberals. Christians against Muslims. Atheists against the spiritual. UFO enthusiasts against believers, heterosexuals against homosexuals... and the list goes on and on. This trend has been so powerful and complete that just about every single forum, currently, has a stickied thread heading it with "Manners and Decorum" or "Courtesy is Mandatory" in the heading. As of last night such a thread was authored by SkepticOverlord regarding the entire site, in general.

It seems to me that, while we are almost all aware of the fact that we are being manipulated, we are reticent to stop engaging in the behaviors which are symptomatic of that manipulation.

We lose sight of something very insidious. To "us", "us" being whatever group you self identify with, "they" are very clearly the boogieman. But few of us stop to realize that to "them", "WE" are the boogieman as well. It is in our nature to ignore the commonalities inherent in the human condition, and to demonize that which is different.

This is just one facet of my decision not to point fingers. I am entrenched in beliefs, whether I like it or not. I am indoctrinated to a degree. And, because of this indoctrination, I am incapable of rationally identifying my enemy. So, instead, I look at it from a different perspective. I identify the direct and indirect effects of the illusion. Then, and only then, can I learn to see the puppet strings and trace them to their source.

This, I think, is the desire, the trait, and the quest that has brought us all to ATS. Our community is strong. Our commonality can be salvaged and saved. And our collective reasoning, one day, may unmask the puppetmaster.

Until such a time, we serve to teach each other, and to help one another see past our illusions and indoctrinations.

These are my notions of what ATS means.

~Heff

Your so right its not even funny but jumping the gun you are.Right now its just starting to get momentum. An information blitz of shear facts and proof to anyone and everyone we know is the first most important thing anyone can do. I know like myself alot of you have been trying to and just get the cold shoulder, however I do not give up and I try and use some jeti mind tricks(physcology) humour works sometimes and if its a good friend I explain the scientific method and quote respected scientists or Doctors with unarguable credentials. If anyone of them has common sense they will sit down and listen and inspect the proof you have presented. Keep trying no matter what, some will see this as a sign that your serious and passionate about this subject or info and then asses the proof. Its only when enough people wake up and get madd not scared that a leader will be inspired and make his mark . This could be you or myself for all we know but If one emerges to early in the game they will be on him like a fat kid on a pack of smarties you can bet on that. Just look at the three assassinations this past week and they are already running the spin on CNN about how everybody including the colledge should have seen the symptoms in J-ared Lough=ner before he turned into a freak. I hope nobody is buying this bull# spin, hes got manchurian candidate written all over his mind controlled or blackmailed face. When the story broke I instantly jotted down a highschool buddy of his , some bitch named Caitie Parker name and googled it and SHAZZAMM!!!! Dozens and dozens of links about her interview already right the next morning and how shes has more twitter posts than anyone in that short period of time. So obvious they are now in their make believe play for the masses and then we find out hes Jewish from the same synagouge as Gifford. Oh wait it gets better she says in the interview that hes a conspiracys nut and obssesed with 2012 . HERE we go, Save all the info you can that will help they could pull the plug any day. Thats it thanx for reading and remember its not about my spelling lol

reply to post by Hefficide


I don't believe, like all human behaviors, that fears can be reduced to strictly binary concepts like good/evil- love/hate, or even irrational/rational.

It's easy to get people to fear things irrationally, for instance, because most fears have a seed of truth in them and are based on some sort of perceived/realized threat.

Of course one could say that it flies in the face of my belief that morals are not subjective, but generally fear is good. It let's you know that you shouldn't play in traffic. It keeps you alive, it is the other half of base human behavior that helps to shape overall morality in a society, it is reflected VASTLY in the laws we make, and in the fact that we make laws at all.

Some people are better than others at understanding this concept and how it is put into play by politicians and power brokers who pull the strings at the higher echelons of society, but those higher echelons are not alone in their ability to use fear or experience fear. Everyone, from the bully in the school yard to the president of the US, have something to fear and know how to identify and use the fears of others. Where morality comes in is where we (decide to)draw the line.

reply to post by projectvxn


I agree in principle - at least as far as individual "built in" fears go. It is good that we have a natural aversion to things like snakes, strangers, heights, etc.

Have you ever wondered why we don't recoil from the sight of a moving car? After all, we are more likely to die from a car than, say, an alligator - and yet we don't experience revulsion when we see a car. But throw a gator into someones house and, well, they'll dive through a window to get clear.

This is because real, honest fears, take tens of thousands of years to sink into the genetic coding of the human animal. Our ancestors willed us a fear of alligators. Since cavemen didn't drive Fords... well we received no such instinctive gift from them.

Cultural taboos can also be good things. Cannibalism for example. Or sexual taboos which protect the gene pool from inbreeding and which also protect us from STDs.

But collective or community fear is much more malleable, prone to suggestion, and very easy to use as a means of control. These are the fears that make me nervous. The ones implied upon us by our contemporaries and not willed to us by collective experience.

These are the types of fears which, for example, can make an entire society despise another group of human beings almost in an instant - as we witnessed on 9/11.

~Heff

reply to post by Hefficide


You may not recoil at the sight of a car but you're still not going to play in traffic, because, the fear is, you'll wind up as handsomely squished road pizza(that IS a technical term). Fear is very subtle, is the point I was making..

Sometimes it's hard to know whether this fear is realized or being spoon fed to you...

reply to post by Hefficide


When you talked about giving up more and more liberty it reminded me of this:

“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” -Benjamin Franklin

It's so sad how much we continue to lose on a day to day basis.

Good thread OP. Since i'm a youngin' I could not fathom having to do drills incase the US gets nuked. I would probably be in fear like most people were, which maybe is what TPTB want is for us to constantly be in fear. Our constant fear then makes us the enemy as we alow TPTB to keep doing what their doing. I'm starting to think maybe they don't care about us and have their own personal agenda.

Off Topic: I'm new here. I just made my profile a couple of minutes ago. I've been following this site for a little while and thought I'd join the fight to "Deny Ignorance". Also could anyone tell me how to make an introduction?