Reminds me of something I've recently come across:
"Can you imagine what could have been achieved, if the social momentum of 2020/21 had been used to solve real problems?
It seems those who orchestrated the mass propaganda and fear campaigns would rather rule in a hell of their own creation at the detriment of everyone including themselves, than serve honestly alongside peers.
Matter of fact if just a fraction of the infrastructure, resources, time and effort that is being wasted on propaganda was used to actually fix tangible issues, there would be honor in leadership. Instead we have despised people running broken systems."
---
I think the problem with it is that the methods themselves are evil. You can only get everyone singing a single tune with brutality because it's unnatural. Which is exactly why the methods of mass manipulation have the effects on people you outline here.
Good and interesting point about it being a wasted opportunity. Yes, I agree the methods are themselves evil, but I also think educating ourselves about these method can help to defuse them, like seeing "how the magic trick is done".
chuck the phone already. it has all the (dubious) capabilities of a satellite, so why people think it'll make them happy carrying it around in one's pocket is beyond me. it's not healthy, it's not natural, so why adhere to it? mass psychosis formation indeed.
Thank you for this. So important to highlight how serious the physical effects of this fear mongering is. I now have an old Nokia phone. It has been challenging to let go of the attachment but I feel reconnected to my life in ways I didn't expect .... and no longer anxious either!
This is an essential essay. The link between societal mental health and the psyops ordinary people imbibe from their rulers needs wider recognition. But this is just the tip of the iceberg...
The biggest problem in most people’s lives is, and has always been, psychological trauma (which is simultaneously neurophysiological trauma). Trauma is what creates a maladjusted ability to connect with others.
My thought is that our last few millennia on this planet have led to civilization as we know it developing unfavorably as a response to, or as a consequence of, accumulated and unintegrated stress and trauma. Essentially, this is the study of suffering from a historical perspective. Not only is it at the level of the individual, but all of humanity is locked into a cycle of trauma patternings. Trauma is anything that’s too much, too soon, or too fast for our nervous system to handle, especially if we can’t reach successful resolution. In addition, trauma is anything that should have happened which didn’t, especially in early childhood, where non-consideration of a child’s needs can be life-threatening or life-damaging.
With trauma comes a loss of feeling, a loss of resilience in engaging with life’s inevitable painfulness. Trauma can stunt growth and development because it can capture a person’s energy and agency and cause them to react from pain and fear. My view is that the problems we face today have to do with the wounding and trauma stored at the level of our nervous system, a cancer which grows from generation to generation, compounding suffering, until we now find ourselves in our present-day sorry state of affairs. What we see are human beings programmed and regulated by pain and fear which they’re trying to cope with in dysfunctional ways. It’s been a long time coming—and now it’s here.
This hypothesis is an extension of the idea of generational trauma. We are coming to understand more about epigenetics, where we have an additional set of genes which respond to experiences as we move through daily life. The epigenome switches on (or off) the gene pool so that various genetic traits are expressed based on the prior actions of the epigenome. Several studies have been conducted on survivors of the Holocaust and their offspring. For example, incidences of suicide and PTSD in the children of survivors far exceed the rate found in the general population. This has led me to believe that the human nervous system is a critical and central component in respect to the development of civilization.
Psychological trauma is and has been thrusting our civilization toward ubiquitous/large-scale states of fight/flight “normalcy”—a population which is evermore chronically traumatized. And so it’s necessary to see the world through the spectrum of trauma, if we wish to calm ourselves the-fuck down. Whether someone is suffering from a mental, emotional or physical dysfunction, it all has its roots in unresolved trauma. Trauma is distress without resolution. We are normalized to trauma. But because it is normalized, we don’t recognize it as such.
Unhealthy people have shaped civilizations, and civilizations have shaped people in unhealthy ways—a vicious cycle. This began when we started to see ourselves as separate and disconnected from people and planet. We started to see our best interests as being distinctly separate from the needs of others. We started to cage human beings, physically or mentally. Over time, other people’s thoughts, feelings, desires, and needs have steadily grown of lesser importance to our own. Even our children only exist to serve a role in our lives.
I zoomed over to Laura’s substack and zoomed away again - that is what I mean about feeding the beast. I think a diet of what Adam Curtis calls (I think) Oh Dearism contributes to the problem it’s supposed to tackle. This is why I stopped reading the Guardian- so fucking doom laden.
The world is a mess, as John Grey and Picketty have been saying for years the liberal democractic model has run out of steam - the rich are back in control, corporations have more sway than governments. So that’s the big problem- I don’t want lots of stories about the bad shit that’s going on - that’s just depressing.
Seems to me we need some new ideas about how any of this might be changed given the old class identities/ union’s structure has been replaced by mass consumerism
Hard not to think we’re fucked - which is kind of where I’m at but I find some comfort in Camus take on Sisyphus - that the universe is random and doesn’t give a fuck about us and we can commit suicide or whistle into the wind for the brief time we have.
Gary I don’t doubt you are right about the underlying tendency towards control by fear but are you perhaps feeding the beast?
I was on a bus in central London when the alarm went off and the response was almost nil. On a fullish bus there didn’t seem to be that many phones going off and the responses I saw were mostly either mild irritation or slightly mocking laughter.
One of the characteristics that I like about the Brits (which can also drive me mad) is their lack of engagement with big ideas - from any side of the spectrum. The reason we don’t much care for philosophy compared to the French is that we CBA. So we carry on queuing and don’t take to the streets.
The concept of a big state controlling us by fear sounds to me like the sort of big idea that Brits might find a bit of joke - especially given the incompetence of recon governments/politicians
Slightly running out of energy to develop this argument further but I’d be curious to know what you think?
Yes, I heard it didn't go off for a lot of people... never underestimate the British government to mess up IT projects! As you say, one thing in our favour. The British response to the pandemic shows that we also easily controlled by fear, however, including being turned against each other, and that we have Nudge units and the 77th Army Brigade working psyops against us [see Laura Dodsworth sub stack reporting on this]. As Matt Hancock said "lets scare the pants off them with the new variant". Plus the rising tide of kids with climate anxiety. I don't think the younger generations are imbued with our sense of humour/resilence.
»Where I see this as being truly evil is the weaponization of fear against our own children and young people...« – This is by far the most despicable action these criminals are perpetrating. Targeting the most vulnerable part of society for indoctrination, manipulation and control should be declared a crime against humanity and punished accordingly. When the so-called "Panikpapier" by the German Ministry of the Interior was leaked in April 2020, I was shocked when I read the following lines:
Point 4a) "Clarify worst case" states:
"In order to achieve the desired shock effect, the concrete effects of an infestation on human society must be made clear:
1) Many seriously ill patients are brought to the hospital by their relatives, but are turned away, and die agonizingly struggling for air at home. Suffocation or not getting enough air is a primal fear for every human being. The situation in which nothing can be done to help relatives in mortal danger is likewise. The pictures from Italy (note: which were later exposed as propaganda) are disturbing.
2) "Children are unlikely to suffer from the epidemic": False. Children will easily become infected, even with curfew restrictions, e.g. with the neighbor's children. If they then infect their parents, and one of them dies in agony at home and they feel they are to blame because, for example, they forgot to wash their hands after playing, it is the most terrible thing a child can ever experience."
-
Matt Hancock's plan to ‘frighten the pants off everyone’ about Covid comes to mind.
Government.....they definitely are attempting to "control" our "minds". Nowadays whenever I hear the word "government", I attempt to shake it away.....I think I'll imagine shaking a rug free of debris outside. May seem silly, but I do wonder how that term became used/accepted so readily! I haven't researched it, but this post made me ponder. Thanks Gary. Good food for thought and important information. Be well!
Reminds me of something I've recently come across:
"Can you imagine what could have been achieved, if the social momentum of 2020/21 had been used to solve real problems?
It seems those who orchestrated the mass propaganda and fear campaigns would rather rule in a hell of their own creation at the detriment of everyone including themselves, than serve honestly alongside peers.
Matter of fact if just a fraction of the infrastructure, resources, time and effort that is being wasted on propaganda was used to actually fix tangible issues, there would be honor in leadership. Instead we have despised people running broken systems."
---
I think the problem with it is that the methods themselves are evil. You can only get everyone singing a single tune with brutality because it's unnatural. Which is exactly why the methods of mass manipulation have the effects on people you outline here.
Good and interesting point about it being a wasted opportunity. Yes, I agree the methods are themselves evil, but I also think educating ourselves about these method can help to defuse them, like seeing "how the magic trick is done".
chuck the phone already. it has all the (dubious) capabilities of a satellite, so why people think it'll make them happy carrying it around in one's pocket is beyond me. it's not healthy, it's not natural, so why adhere to it? mass psychosis formation indeed.
I heard someone call it the Black Mirror in our pockets, and this made a lot of sense.
...as in zombyfying us and sucking up our sacred life-force?
yes, and is in the infamous tv show of the same name, the phone then the source of all these dystropian nightmare futures..
Thank you for this. So important to highlight how serious the physical effects of this fear mongering is. I now have an old Nokia phone. It has been challenging to let go of the attachment but I feel reconnected to my life in ways I didn't expect .... and no longer anxious either!
When a kid i lived in a prison of my mothers fears...
All these decades later i still dont know the cause of her chronic Fear...
only that she projected it onto so many things...
I believe The Elite are chronically afraid, and they project
their fear onto us...Why else do They want total control of us ?
Yeah and the problem is that when one is in that state, it's like an impossible mountain to climb.
We need to re learn how to connect to our body!
https://youtube.com/@TaroIwamoto
Thanks to you and others who are addressing this epidemic of fear!
This is an essential essay. The link between societal mental health and the psyops ordinary people imbibe from their rulers needs wider recognition. But this is just the tip of the iceberg...
The biggest problem in most people’s lives is, and has always been, psychological trauma (which is simultaneously neurophysiological trauma). Trauma is what creates a maladjusted ability to connect with others.
My thought is that our last few millennia on this planet have led to civilization as we know it developing unfavorably as a response to, or as a consequence of, accumulated and unintegrated stress and trauma. Essentially, this is the study of suffering from a historical perspective. Not only is it at the level of the individual, but all of humanity is locked into a cycle of trauma patternings. Trauma is anything that’s too much, too soon, or too fast for our nervous system to handle, especially if we can’t reach successful resolution. In addition, trauma is anything that should have happened which didn’t, especially in early childhood, where non-consideration of a child’s needs can be life-threatening or life-damaging.
With trauma comes a loss of feeling, a loss of resilience in engaging with life’s inevitable painfulness. Trauma can stunt growth and development because it can capture a person’s energy and agency and cause them to react from pain and fear. My view is that the problems we face today have to do with the wounding and trauma stored at the level of our nervous system, a cancer which grows from generation to generation, compounding suffering, until we now find ourselves in our present-day sorry state of affairs. What we see are human beings programmed and regulated by pain and fear which they’re trying to cope with in dysfunctional ways. It’s been a long time coming—and now it’s here.
This hypothesis is an extension of the idea of generational trauma. We are coming to understand more about epigenetics, where we have an additional set of genes which respond to experiences as we move through daily life. The epigenome switches on (or off) the gene pool so that various genetic traits are expressed based on the prior actions of the epigenome. Several studies have been conducted on survivors of the Holocaust and their offspring. For example, incidences of suicide and PTSD in the children of survivors far exceed the rate found in the general population. This has led me to believe that the human nervous system is a critical and central component in respect to the development of civilization.
Psychological trauma is and has been thrusting our civilization toward ubiquitous/large-scale states of fight/flight “normalcy”—a population which is evermore chronically traumatized. And so it’s necessary to see the world through the spectrum of trauma, if we wish to calm ourselves the-fuck down. Whether someone is suffering from a mental, emotional or physical dysfunction, it all has its roots in unresolved trauma. Trauma is distress without resolution. We are normalized to trauma. But because it is normalized, we don’t recognize it as such.
Unhealthy people have shaped civilizations, and civilizations have shaped people in unhealthy ways—a vicious cycle. This began when we started to see ourselves as separate and disconnected from people and planet. We started to see our best interests as being distinctly separate from the needs of others. We started to cage human beings, physically or mentally. Over time, other people’s thoughts, feelings, desires, and needs have steadily grown of lesser importance to our own. Even our children only exist to serve a role in our lives.
Brilliant, well said. Could not agree more! You should publish this as an article in its own right! I have written on the self-amplifying nature in our society too, e.g https://garysharpe.substack.com/p/trauma-at-the-institutional-level
I zoomed over to Laura’s substack and zoomed away again - that is what I mean about feeding the beast. I think a diet of what Adam Curtis calls (I think) Oh Dearism contributes to the problem it’s supposed to tackle. This is why I stopped reading the Guardian- so fucking doom laden.
The world is a mess, as John Grey and Picketty have been saying for years the liberal democractic model has run out of steam - the rich are back in control, corporations have more sway than governments. So that’s the big problem- I don’t want lots of stories about the bad shit that’s going on - that’s just depressing.
Seems to me we need some new ideas about how any of this might be changed given the old class identities/ union’s structure has been replaced by mass consumerism
Hard not to think we’re fucked - which is kind of where I’m at but I find some comfort in Camus take on Sisyphus - that the universe is random and doesn’t give a fuck about us and we can commit suicide or whistle into the wind for the brief time we have.
Inflammation-Nation!
Gary I don’t doubt you are right about the underlying tendency towards control by fear but are you perhaps feeding the beast?
I was on a bus in central London when the alarm went off and the response was almost nil. On a fullish bus there didn’t seem to be that many phones going off and the responses I saw were mostly either mild irritation or slightly mocking laughter.
One of the characteristics that I like about the Brits (which can also drive me mad) is their lack of engagement with big ideas - from any side of the spectrum. The reason we don’t much care for philosophy compared to the French is that we CBA. So we carry on queuing and don’t take to the streets.
The concept of a big state controlling us by fear sounds to me like the sort of big idea that Brits might find a bit of joke - especially given the incompetence of recon governments/politicians
Slightly running out of energy to develop this argument further but I’d be curious to know what you think?
Yes, I heard it didn't go off for a lot of people... never underestimate the British government to mess up IT projects! As you say, one thing in our favour. The British response to the pandemic shows that we also easily controlled by fear, however, including being turned against each other, and that we have Nudge units and the 77th Army Brigade working psyops against us [see Laura Dodsworth sub stack reporting on this]. As Matt Hancock said "lets scare the pants off them with the new variant". Plus the rising tide of kids with climate anxiety. I don't think the younger generations are imbued with our sense of humour/resilence.
»Where I see this as being truly evil is the weaponization of fear against our own children and young people...« – This is by far the most despicable action these criminals are perpetrating. Targeting the most vulnerable part of society for indoctrination, manipulation and control should be declared a crime against humanity and punished accordingly. When the so-called "Panikpapier" by the German Ministry of the Interior was leaked in April 2020, I was shocked when I read the following lines:
Point 4a) "Clarify worst case" states:
"In order to achieve the desired shock effect, the concrete effects of an infestation on human society must be made clear:
1) Many seriously ill patients are brought to the hospital by their relatives, but are turned away, and die agonizingly struggling for air at home. Suffocation or not getting enough air is a primal fear for every human being. The situation in which nothing can be done to help relatives in mortal danger is likewise. The pictures from Italy (note: which were later exposed as propaganda) are disturbing.
2) "Children are unlikely to suffer from the epidemic": False. Children will easily become infected, even with curfew restrictions, e.g. with the neighbor's children. If they then infect their parents, and one of them dies in agony at home and they feel they are to blame because, for example, they forgot to wash their hands after playing, it is the most terrible thing a child can ever experience."
-
Matt Hancock's plan to ‘frighten the pants off everyone’ about Covid comes to mind.
The document (pdf; German) which was then also posted by the Federal Ministry of the Interior on its website after the leak (and has since been deleted again) can be downloaded here: https://web.archive.org/web/20210208080904/https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/veroeffentlichungen/2020/corona/szenarienpapier-covid19.html
Government.....they definitely are attempting to "control" our "minds". Nowadays whenever I hear the word "government", I attempt to shake it away.....I think I'll imagine shaking a rug free of debris outside. May seem silly, but I do wonder how that term became used/accepted so readily! I haven't researched it, but this post made me ponder. Thanks Gary. Good food for thought and important information. Be well!