Are we talking brainwashing?

[grumpyduck]

I'm sure I won't see it, but I believe that thirty or forty years from now, when the dust settles, somebody is going to do a study on what happened here over the past few years and write a book about it. "The Brainwashing of America," or something similar. And he or she is going to compare and contrast it to what happened in Germany and other countries.

The book will probably start with a study of all the negative comments made about Obama by Congress and the conservative media, and spend some pages on the controversy over his place of birth. Then it'll move on to Hillary and all the negativism piled on her even today. Then it'll probably come to the conclusion that it was all a very simple message right from the start: "These people are bad" -- a message that was repeated over and over until it grabbed a hold in the minds of many people.

A few things have already been written on this topic (check online), but I really think this book will focus on how simple that message was and how effective it was to repeat it so often.

Then the kicker: the book will examine how so many people were sucked into this message because that's all they were hearing -- because they weren't bothering to look elsewhere and learn about the issues facing the country. All they knew was the invective. Even today I see and hear conservatives bashing liberals because liberals are bad (DJT is still bashing Hillary et al whenever he gets a chance), but without actually mentioning the issues involved.

I first started to notice this approach back in my very early twenties when Ted Kennedy was running for President. and most of what came out of his mouth was about how awful his opponent was. I remember yelling at my TV one time, "Knock that shit off, asshole, just tell us what YOU'RE going to do for us!" or words to that effect. That was when I first began to detest politicians, but that's another story.

[CrispyQ]

1. It better start with hate radio & how the left/dems/liberals ignored it.

Hate radio spawned Fox news & still the left/dems/liberals ignored it. The right came up with "fair & balanced" & most Americans now believe every story has an equal opposite side, which is complete bullshit, but the silent left lets the right control the narrative. Now we have a large segment of the population who think Democrats are worse than Satan. I saw grown white women on national TV lamenting that their choices were a child predator or a democrat in the Jones/Moore race. That race shouldn't have even been close. We've ignored the hate stoking from the likes of Limbaugh for 40 years & now we're surprised it's so virulent? When Sarah Palin started her racist rhetoric on the presidential campaign trail, the GOP should have taken her off the ticket & when they didn't (& we know they wouldn't cuz they've been stoking the race card for decades!), the media should have shamed her mercilessly, but they are in it for the ratings, so fuck integrity.

Dem leadership should have read George Lakoff's "Moral Politics" back when it came out. It's probably too late, now, they've dropped the ball so badly.

[Mosby]

9. this is a great book on the topic

It was written in 2009:

The Eliminationists: How hate talk radicalized the American right.

I can't get my c/p function to work.

Eta:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6277780-the-eliminationists

[kimbutgar]

2. Neurolinguistic programming was developed by the CIA in the 1960's

I would not be surprised if it was refined and used by a Right wing radio and fox to turn those with weak brains.

[TheRealNorth]

3. According to some

NLP is used by Conservatives. Thom Hartmann wrote a book on this and makes suggestions on how to combat it.

[grumpyduck]

4. Thank you.

I will look into that book.

[TheRealNorth]

16. Thom Hartmann Book

Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision

NLP has been over-sold as a cure-all for psychological or even health conditions, but I think that Thom makes a good argument about how its been used by the Cons as a method of persuasive argument to get people to act reflexively rather than thoughtfully.

[PatSeg]

5. Well said

Brainwashing clearly is not a new tactic, but today the right has a large captive audience to work with. Right-wing radio on the way to and from work, 24/7 Fox News, and various fringe websites. They bombard people with the same negative, but simple message over and over again. The base doesn't know why they hate certain politicians, liberals, or the Democratic party, they just are effectively programmed to feel that way.

There was a time when the fringe was just that, the fringe, and no one took them seriously. They were not featured in the mainstream media, as they were goofy and outrageous. If one of them decided to run for public office, he or she would never have a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding. Now our congress is full of such oddities, as is the White House. They are no longer a bizarre, but humorous character in Dr. Strangelove. They are real and they are running the country.

[Mariana]

13. They aren't a "captive audience".

Their radios and teevee sets have on/off switches and channel changing capability. They listen to this shit because they want to.

[PatSeg]

14. Once you are effectively programmed,

you act out of that programming. It is an addiction and clearly, some people can consciously overcome an addiction, but there are those who are weak and easily manipulated. When it comes to brainwashing, just turning it off is not always that easy.

[tulipsandroses]

6. Brainwashing or Just brilliant Marketing - Trump was inevitable - Republicans have to own Trump

Last edited Thu Jun 28, 2018, 02:17 PM - Edit history (1)

[link:

|
Brain Washing/ Brilliant Marketing
Perhaps both.
A good watch for anyone that has not seen it - Lee Atwater- Boogey Man -


I wasn't paying attention to politics then, but I have been studying what he was doing then- He was a brilliant tactician- Dirty - but brilliant. That Willie Horton Ad was disgusting but brilliant. It was the black guy that looked up at the camera- The public understood who was to be feared. They are doing it till this day. They are still using coded words and making it work. This is why we can't do the same thing and think we are going to get the same results. This take the high road tactic is not going to work when these dirty tricks are being used against us. They are not playing by the same rules.

[Orsino]

7. Americans have been brainwashed in many ways since there's been an America.

To different degrees and via various means, but always in favor of the worst impulses of the most powerful people.

From time to time we have little reckonings, but we learn very slowly, and it can all be undone by those people trying to unravel our civilization for profit.

[grumpyduck]

8. Okay, so here's a tough question

Are people who live here susceptible to brainwashing because they (we) tend to be overly trusting, or complacent, or gullible, or something else?

[Mosby]

10. conservatives are susceptible because their brains

Don't like uncertainty. So they unconsciously seek out answers for everything, even if the answer is ridiculous or nonsensical.

That's why we often can't debate conservatives, because their beliefs are based more on emotion than anything.

[grumpyduck]

12. So that brings up an interesting question

Do people who don't like uncertainty (for whatever reason) tend to become politically conservative?

If so, that "uncertainty" could cover a lot of ground, including fear of change, fear of the unknown, maybe a problem making decisions, wanting rules for everything, and even a lack of imagination. I'm not a psychologist (not even remotely close), so I'm obviously just shooting in the dark here, but I've known a number of people who have several of those traits, and they tend to be Republicans.

So, if all the propaganda is making all these people "certain" that Democrats are vile, are they just supporting the administration because that's the alternative? Like the issues don't matter -- it's just that you are either one or the other?

Again, that's a wild guess, but it seems to fit the pattern of a lot of stuff I hear from Republicans.

[Mosby]

15. here is a good article that summarizes the research

http://www.businessinsider.com/psychological-differences-between-conservatives-and-liberals-2018-2

One aspect that is not covered in the article is the fact that most people affiliate with the same party as their parents. Hard to say if this is completely environmental, since the kids share the parents genetics.

[tulipsandroses]

11. Just a few days ago on MSNBC they were talking about the National Enquirer

It came out in the Cohen case that they were sharing stories with Cohen before publishing
Trump knew his base rabidly read the National Enquirer -so it was a brilliant move on their part to have them write all those ridiculous articles about Hillary's failing health. While rational thinkers would see how how outrageous those articles were - in the mind of Trump follower that subscribed to the National Enquirer, those articles were truth- more evidence of how unfit she was to be president. More brilliant marketing or brainwashing.