Mass psychosis & totalitarian takeover.

Jun 03, 2021

Totalitarian or dictator takeover of societies has occurred in many places and repetitive re-'education' of the public usually is part of the process. By causing extreme fear, and then some calm, and then more extreme fear, some more calm, etcetera, the public is lulled into believing that there is extreme danger and only the totalitarian brain washer is in a position to be able to 'protect' the public - create a villain or danger, so the savior can heroically step in and save the day. Note - the danger was created by the "savior" - so is the savior really heroic? or a manipulative abuser?

“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders...tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.”
-- Hermann Goring, (a Nazi) (ref)

Sections:

Parallel societies or isolated individuals can help guide others out of the mass psychosis - group think.
Isolation & Repetition - tactics for promoting a behavior change - in mind control, or animal training.
Question our messaging: Sitting is bad for our backs - we should squat more, continuing the natural position from our early childhood into a more flexible and physically fit adulthood.
Nations can also be isolated - trade & peace are partners that war disrupts.
Group-think - an instinctual desire to fit in with everyone else - is also a tool of totalitarian takeover - shift the public to be accepting of the 'savior' - who may be an authoritarian leader trying to become the next dictator.
Heightened mood from fear, stress, or excitement during a large group rally or protest might increase susceptibility to the messaging being stated by the group or a spokesperson. Elevated dopamine levels increase our susceptibility to belief in a placebo or nocebo effect type of way. (See placebo series on Peace-is-happy.org / blog, Impressionable? - May have more dopamine than average.)
Excerpts from the letter written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to personal friends during the rise of Hitler in Germany.
Tolerance that demands specific types of behavior - is no longer tolerant.
Instincts and pheromones can affect our behavior in ways our rational mind might try to rationalize - but it is wordless subconscious behavior patterns - not rational - reactions to the environment or internal chemistry.
Learned helplessness - the way out is hope that there is a different way.

Parallel societies or isolated individuals can help guide others out of the mass psychosis - group think.

Parallel societies - individuals or groups that have not given in to the repetitive brain washing - can help lead the way out for others, who did get caught up in the fear inducing messages and the idea that the false 'savior' really was going to save the day - but it never seems to get much better.

The Manufacturing of a Mass Psychosis - Can Sanity Return to an Insane World?, video by Academy of Ideas. (6)
The Mass Psychosis and the Demons of Dostoevsky, video by Academy of Ideas. (7) Dostoevsky uses the word demon to represent any wrong idea that possesses a person whether it is a personal idea, something race or other stereotype based, or the elitism of special treatment for some compared to all, a common step preceding totalitarianism. Those in power deserve it and the common people don't for some reason. In modern society celebrity status and those approved by media as popular, have been deemed deserving of more money and attention. Reality shows with a Vote-Them-Off element have been teaching society that some deserve more and others deserve none. Sacrifice of people was more common in religions in more unequal societies over the course of history.

How the "Greater Good" is Used as a Tool of Social Control, video by Academy of Ideas. (11)
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (11)
"The common good before the individual good." - Adolf Hitler. (11)
"...behind the Iron Curtain the most prominent complaint in the totalitarian system was the feeling of mental isolation. The individual feels alone and continually on the alert. There is only mutual suspicion." - Joost Meerloo (11)
"I rebel, therefore we exist." - Albert Camus (11)

Isolation & Repetition - tactics for promoting a behavior change - in mind control, or animal training.

Isolating people or animals makes the repetitive messaging more likely to lead to behavior change - the messaging becomes a habit type pattern within the brain, whether a habit of belief or action -> stay six feet away from everyone, wash your hands or use skin-damaging hand sanitizer, and wear a face mask against droplets even though it turns out that the risk is an aerosolized particle. Isolating and fear inducing, have been more than proven to be effective for changing public opinion and individual behavior.

Good ventilation or bright sunlight levels of UV light can help reduce risk from an aerosolized pathogen - or a full Hazmat type suit with a filtered/ventilated breathing device. Plexiglass shields and six foot distance guidance is only protective against pathogens that can survive in larger respiratory droplets.

Sitting is bad for our backs - we should squat more, continuing the natural position from our early childhood into a more flexible and physically fit adulthood.

Just because we are told something over and over, possibly from early childhood onward, does not mean it is true - it may just be a common custom of the current society. Sitting is an example. Modern society sits too much and makes children and adults sit still for too many hours of their day. It is bad for our backs. Children are just less likely to have back pain until later in their lives.

Why Sitting Down Destroys You [your spine & health], Roger Frampton, TEDxLeamingtonSpa, (8).

Yes, I am now standing, while typing, with my laptop on a counter. Sitting does make my back hurt. / Tangent - a mixture of some sitting desk time and some standing desk time may be better than either one or the other exclusively - variety of movement and counterbalancing use of opposite sets of muscles helps our body stay evenly flexible. Modern life leans our shoulders forward too much and it can help the back to do exercises that strengthen the reverse motion - arching backward, arm circles overhead or out to the side or towards the back.

Benefit of early childhood trauma - I still move like a child, never stopped. My shoulders shake when I laugh which I was told is a symptom of a personality disorder, nonspecific type. Oh. Should I stop laughing? Or laugh a little harder? >B

Nations can also be isolated - trade & peace are partners that war disrupts.

Isolating a nation from trade is also a negative - peace and prosperity for nations often includes a positive trade economy - which in turn helps promote maintaining the peace. Declare war and the peaceful trade ends and the businesses and workers involved suffer. Totalitarian takeover often includes isolating citizens and the nation.

“We should beware of the demagogues who are willing to declare a trade war against our friends, weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world, all while cynically waving the American flag." - Ronald Reagan

Group-think - an instinctual desire to fit in with everyone else - is also a tool of totalitarian takeover - shift the public to be accepting of the 'savior' - who may be an authoritarian leader trying to become the next dictator.

"I would like to see a world where nobody cared what anybody else was doing - in which ... group-think ... disappeared." - Glenn Gould

"Keeping up with the Jones" - having the fancy lawn furniture that the neighbors have - to show you are just as good as they are - is not an uncommon tendency. Capitalism and advertising make oodles of money by subtly tapping into that deep down desire to fit in with the neighbors, or coworkers, or school mates. The tendency can lead to people doing things they would not normally do - my peers are doing that, I should probably be brave and try it too.

- Well no, been there, done that, got the harsh lesson. If your common sense is saying, Wait a minute, then pause and listen. Our subconscious mind includes brain cell type sensation in our gut and our heart - so those butterflies in the tummy might be nerves about giving a speech or about a person you just met who seems untrustworthy.

Groupthink: "Risk-taking is common, and the lack of creativity and independent thinking have negative personal and political implications for both group members and outsiders. Groupthink decisions rarely have successful outcomes." (5)

The emotions of a group can also build up and intensify for each other so the whole crowd becomes more excited, or enraged, or sexually stimulated. Some ancient taboos may be to prevent the potential dangers of an overstimulated crowd. Children are also instinctually protected from sexual material which also has basis in physiology. Early exposure to sexual material or activity can modify a child's development and may lead to earlier development and a greater interest in sexuality and/or unusual quirks, or may lead to inhibition and a reduced interest in sexuality or fear of it. Pheromones are involved and they can affect our gene expression - which genes are active - which will be discussed in another post.

Parallel societies or individuals - those who stay separate from the emotions and messaging of the group think/mass psychosis, can help guide others to see the truth again. An individual observed this happening around him, during the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany, and he wrote a letter to a couple personal friends about his concerns - thanks to Dietrich Bonhoeffer for sharing his wisdom then and now.

Excerpts from the letter written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to personal friends during the rise of Hitler in Germany.

[...] "We note further that people who have isolated themselves from others or who lives in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals or groups of people inclined or condemned to sociability. And so it would seem that stupidity is perhaps less a psychological than a sociological problem. It is a particular form of the impact of historical circumstances on human beings, a psychological concomitant of certain external conditions. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or of a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. It would even seem that this is virtually a sociological-psychological law. The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other." [...]

"The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings."

"Yet at this very point it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in must cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person. This state of affairs explains why in such circumstances our attempts to know what ‘the people’ really think are in vain and why, under these circumstances, this question is so irrelevant for the person who is thinking and acting responsibly. "[...] - Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer turned out to be correct - the people of Germany did have to be liberated - by the Allied forces at the end of World War II.

Tolerance that demands specific types of behavior - is no longer tolerant.

Being more tolerant of others is a noble idea, yet forcing tolerance of one standard instead of accepting differences is also an intolerant attitude.

Having a group identity based on having the latest acquisitions is intolerant of different values. It is also exclusionary of those with less money and ability to afford the visible signs of group identity (the latest fashion or insider group look, or brand of electronic gear, fancy watch or car). It is instinctual to want to try to fit in with the crowd, not stand out to a predator maybe, or not stand out to the crowd in case they get upset with you and become dangerous.

We are more similar than different, in ways beyond the red color of our blood.

Instincts and pheromones can affect our behavior in ways our rational mind might try to rationalize - but it is wordless subconscious behavior patterns - not rational - reactions to the environment or internal chemistry.

Humans have instincts that date back to our cellular life forms - we like warmth and sunlight and our skin sense it. Behavior patterns based on instincts and that can be initiated by odors can get a lot more complex than enjoying sunbathing. (2, 3, 4) More about instincts we have in common with other species and humans around the world: 7.7 Our instincts may be based in actions learned by more distant relatives. (12)

"Responses are automatic (e.g. ‘innate’) because food odors and pheromones are the most relevant of all sensory signals to survival." (2)

"Love struck" - "crazy in love" - "spring fever" - "love sick" - that love at first sight feeling may also involve odor - our pheromones - our natural scent if we don't use perfumed body products. Infants will recognize their mother's odor over another woman's scent (and suckle faster at a bottle).

Maybe to a less crazy extent, spring fever might lead to picking strawberries for so long that you don't notice you also got a bad sunburn. Odor memories are possible - I see an image of lilacs and will also get a hint of the fragrance in my mind. The scent of violets and other flowers includes an odor chemical that can signal our skin's melanin cells to make more melanin - and protect us from that sunburn. Take home to the garden note - plant flowers in your sun bathing area. (Podcast episode: Forgiveness - the scent of violets)

During societal times of stress, whether a natural disaster or economic or political issue, people as individuals may be more likely to snap - 'run amok'. Originally running amok was a medical diagnosis for someone who suddenly seemed to go mad and start harming people or things. (13) Today we have mass shooters - and a lot of violent media that portrays some positively and some negatively. When individuals or groups are marginalized others observing become hopeless and may be more likely to act out in some way. (14)

Learned helplessness - the way out is hope that there is a different way.

Learned helplessness is a goal of authoritarian control - a victim that is so fearful and obedient that they wouldn't attempt to escape if given the chance.

How do we snap out of the stress and fear and seeming manipulative media? One person at a time - me or you - starting to pay more attention and to start talking about other things. We need more standouts and to build a parallel society to welcome a diverse group of others - not one political party or another - anyone who is aware that our freedom seems to be for sale now.

" Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Bonus example world: News from Nowhere, 1984, by B. F. Skinner. Spoiler - George Orwell faked his own death and has some stories to share with us - a good person to listen to. (9)

Double bonus, building your own inner world guidance: Carl Jung's Method of Self-Development - The Path of Individuation, (10) Recognizing our own flaws and strengths is an important step on the path of individuation - becoming fully ourselves. Suffering may still exist, but with a sense of personal enjoyment in life and our goals, we can put up with stressors as more of a challenge rather than an overwhelming burden. Life is unfair, step up anyway.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

Reference List

Bonhoeffer on stupidity - entire quote, religiousgrounds.wordpress.com, https://religiousgrounds.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/bonhoeffer-on-stupidity-entire-quote/
Kohl JV. Nutrient-dependent/pheromone-controlled adaptive evolution: a model. Socioaffect Neurosci Psychol. 2013;3:20553. Published 2013 Jun 14. doi:10.3402/snp.v3i0.20553 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3960065/
Kohl JV. Nutrient-dependent Pheromone-Controlled Ecological Adaptations: From Angstroms to Ecosystems. J Genetics & DNA Research https://www.hilarispublisher.com/abstract/nutrientdependent-pheromonecontrolled-ecological-adaptations-from-angstroms-to-ecosystems-24761.html
Subbaraman, N. Past 5,000 years prolific for changes to human genome. Nature (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2012.11912 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.11912
Group-think, psychologytoday.com, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/groupthink
Academy of Ideas, The Manufacturing of a Mass Psychosis - Can Sanity Return to an Insane World?, April 24, 2021, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/fdzW-S8Mwbl
Academy of Ideas, The Mass Psychosis and the Demons of Dostoevsky, March 31, 2021, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/QFie-UCFV_s
Roger Frampton, Why Sitting Down Destroys You [your spine & health], TEDxLeamingtonSpa https://youtu.be/jOJLx4Du3vU
B.F. Skinner, News from Nowhere, 1984, Harvard U. the Behavior Analyst, No. 1, (Spring) 1985, 8, 5-14, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2741768/pdf/behavan00064-0007.pdf
Academy of Ideas, Carl Jung's Method of Self-Development - The Path of Individuation. May 19, 2021, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/Vx_60kIXLIU
Academy of Ideas, How the "Greater Good" is Used as a Tool of Social Control. Sept 22, 2020, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/gvPKTVK10JE
Depew J, 7.7 Our instincts may be based in actions learned by more distant relatives. Instinct & Policy: Effective Care & Best Practices for Promoting Health and Preventing Harassment & Discrimination. effectivecare.info, (12)
Depew J. 9.4: “Running amok,” “going postal,” or "a red stapler" moment. Instinct & Policy: Effective Care & Best Practices for Promoting Health and Preventing Harassment & Discrimination. effectivecare.info, https://effectivecare.info/9-friendliness-helps-1
Depew J, Marginalization and Violence, Aug 15, 2017, transcendingsquare.com, https://transcendingsquare.com/2017/08/15/marginalization-and-violence/