This is an interesting quote from the movie "
A Single Man." In the movie it refers to the gay population, but I think it works equally well for any persecuted minority, whether an ethnic minority in Africa targeted for genocide, or people whose minds work a little bit differently. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, but it's not much of one.
The Nazis were obviously wrong to hate the Jews. But their hating the Jews was not without a cause… But the cause wasnʼt real. The cause was imagined. The cause was FEAR.
Letʼs leave the Jews out of this for a moment and think of another minority. One that can go unnoticed if it needs to.
There are all sorts of minorities, blondes for example, but a minority is only thought of as one when it constitutes some kind of threat to the majority. A real threat or an imagined one. And therein lies the FEAR. And, if the minority is somehow invisible……the fear is even greater. And this FEAR is the reason the minority is persecuted. So, there always is a cause. And the cause is FEAR. Minorities are just people. People……like us.
Fear, after all, is our real enemy. Fear is taking over our world. Fear is being used as a tool of manipulation in our society. Itʼs how politicians peddle policy and how Madison Avenue sells us things that we donʼt need. Think about it. Fear that weʼre going to be attacked, fear that there are communists lurking around every corner, fear that some little Caribbean country that doesnʼt believe in our way of life poses a threat to us. Fear that black culture may take over the world. Fear of Elvis Presleyʼs hips.Well, maybe that one is a real fear. Fear that our bad breath might ruin our friendships… Fear of growing old and being alone. A fear that we’re useless and no one cares what we have to say.
This is an interesting quote from the movie "A Single Man." In the movie it refers to the gay population, but I think it works equally well for any persecuted minority, whether an ethnic minority in Africa targeted for genocide, or people whose minds work a little bit differently. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, but it's not much of one.
Like the Fear of Exposure?
ReplyDeleteLike fear of being taken advantage of and fear of being abandoned.
ReplyDeleteSeems that many other defense mechanisms incorporate anger as well.
ReplyDeleteThose who are angered by stupidity [or even arrogance] are usually those who fear exemplifying it the most. In contrast, those who are ambivalent tend to be more open minded and understanding.
Fear of being taken advantage? So they can take advantage of others? ....Would like to know how many "S" have actually been able to let someone in and be comfortable knowing others know.
ReplyDeleteWasn't implying that fear of being taken advantage of and fear of being abandoned were the fears of socio/psychopaths; just that they are fears that cause some people to react in what is sometimes projected as anger.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is emo shit. Nothing really interesting at all in here. Imma gtfo, this sucks
ReplyDeleteThis blog is emo shit. Nothing really interesting at all in here. Imma gtfo, this sucks
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will be sorely missed. *huggle*
How did that work out for you anonymous? What happened when you let somebody in?
ReplyDeleteReminds me mostly of this Obama Muslim nonsense that the news is always squawking about.
ReplyDeleteBetter to feared than despised, I suppose.
PMS does it whistle?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXIHXQjbtl8&feature=share&list=PL796F15CBE5E2F1A2
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBFEBeOTGXc&list
ReplyDeleteGotta watch those blondes...
ReplyDeleteSo true. And you will find that such fears are due to run away
ReplyDeleteimagination. "What if" type of thinking that rules a lynch mob
mentality. You should watch a show from the old "Twilight Zone"
series titled, "The Monsters Are On Maple Street."
Such hysteria is usually an "inside job" and usually devolves to
sexual and contamination fears. There were some beaches that
black people couldn't go to even in New York City in the 20th
century.
Such hysteria is usually an "inside job" and usually devolves to sexual and contamination fears.
DeleteMore than just "contamination fears" I think. It seems to be a central core. Sexual components of this type of paranoia, a sexually colored arguments among opposing forces caught my attention too.
Maybe since it already surfaced with "the Jooz" or in antisemitism. But by now, as my web experience during the last decade suggests, it has also shifted to the pro-Israel hardcore section, against who they perceive as their enemies. Correctly or mistaken, no matter.
My late friend David Mills did an excellent job on looking into David Horowitz, infamous pop culture student and FrontPageMag owner among other things, like Campus Watch. I was puzzled by one article that disappeared on FrontPageMag, and David at he time helped me to grasp the larger context. It was a specifically framed "culture" theme that had caught my attention. "Culture" needing to control and dominate the "Savages". No idea why it disappeared, it did anyway. I wonder if it was connected to Davids efforts, who I only met later.
But for whatever reason sometimes the "socia-hysteria-mindset" manages to embrace polar opposites. Take the tragic story of Otto Weiniger "The Jooz" as the ultimately female character, something Weininger tried to escape in the early 20th century. But there also was a pop culture variant or counterpoint, if you like, "the Joo" as a sexual predator. Just as the "sly Jew" (mischievous and manipulating, someone needing manipulation to reach his/her aims) ultimately mutated into the now the often embraced "Jewish intelligence", especially by the less bright. ... Opposites often go hand in hand in this field.
But in any case, yes it caught my attention too, that if you encounter a type of prejudice against any group the sexual hysteria and arguments are not that far.
A couple of years ago I watched a really odd event here in front of the house where I life. A gay couple walked down the street holding hands. A car stopped, a man got out. And stroke one of the man down. It happened so quick no one responded fast enough to stop him. The boy needed medical care. It took some time till people interfered, I was approaching the scene. An older friend or lover you may suspect. None of this. Simply someone who considers gays as a threat to "culture".
I don't like the tiny preview box, but maybe I should at least try to use it to proofread: "life" above, should look like this: live.
DeleteAs always, if you find something else, you may keep it. ;)
Love to hear your reaction to "The Butler"
DeleteI haven't looked at the Horowitz article series on David's blog for a while.
ReplyDeleteBut the second to last (from top down), in my link above is quite interesting in our context.
Was Lawrence Auster, simply a rightwing nut with an identity issue. Or as one of the authors published by Horowitz (=link to David's article on Auster), a psychopath? In any case, some of his revelations were denied publication apparently due to a perceived "lack of compassion" by the New York Newsday:
“The discovery that it was not just ignorant street people, but successful, articulate black professionals who believed these insane and wicked conspiracy theories, made a devastating impression on me. Indeed, with the exception of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, I was more traumatized by this program than by any other public event in recent history. It shook my former belief that blacks and whites could more or less get along in the same society.
“(I wrote an article about this program, saying the same things I’ve said in the present paragraph, which New York Newsday rejected because, as the editor put it, it showed an ‘odd lack of compassion.’)”
It could well be that the article about the dangerous predatory "black" savages, black in a more general way, may have been by Auster too. Minus the "conspiracy" pretty similar argument.
Some here, may consider this enormously off topic. It isn't for me.
you are looking at the negative side of fear, there is a positive side also, warning be alert. The predators are after prey for annihilation...evil goal.
ReplyDeleteSeems that many other defense mechanisms incorporate anger as well.
ReplyDeleteThose who are angered by stupidity [or even arrogance] are usually those who fear exemplifying it the most. In contrast, those who are ambivalent tend to be more open minded and understanding.
Machempath, , what would you say are the advantages of being self aware of this defense mechanism? Aside from self control and inner peace? <I understand these things open doors for your soul to breathe, for your life goals to be unhindered by useless anger. I understand that forgiving others their trespasses allows you to forgive yourselves, thereby allowing yourself to move forward .
But the other benefits? Would you be willing to share examples of your machiavellianism?
I think whenever we strip away a false narrative we have substituted for painful truth we tend to make better long term choices. So most of the time, peeling back defensive anger to locate the hidden fear beneath can be valuable in a therapeutic context. The key is: in a therapeutic context.
DeleteWhile it's certainly better for the world around you if you dial back your anger and make friends with your fearful inner child, doing that can put you in a very vulnerable position if you are not in a safe place like a therapists office. Often, people are chronically angry because it is how they manage to fight injustices foisted upon them by the circumstances of their births.
Fear makes you freeze. You have a "fighting chance" (I crack myself up) if you are angry because your body is ready for action that may save your life. That being said, chronic anger is bad for the body so once you are not in adversarial circumstances it's a good idea to address why you are so angry. Facing the underlying fears and applying critical reasoning skills will give you a bigger "toolbox" to solve the problems of being dealt a difficult hand.
As for the Machiavellianism question: I picked the handle when I first started commenting because I am a fan of Machiavelli's insights. Those insights do not have to be applied in a manner that violates other people's basic human dignity. Rather, understanding these insights (and those in an excellent modern day counterpart- The 48 Laws of Power, and of course Sun Tzu's Art of War) help you anticipate the actions of the truly ruthless individual- a sort of martial arts for the mind, if you will... You must seek to understand your opponent if you have any hope of participating in an outcome that is more than the result of a zero sum game.
Not so sure psychos really are a persecuted minority, they more resemble a "powerful elite" (!) in the media. And modern societies ARE psychopathic with all debate about working goody good folks and the bad dole moles eating without contributing. Commersials on tv sounds truly like a slick psycho trying to sell cookies with all sorts of promises that will (not) come true if one buys. Tv-show ideals are rude "tell them like it is" screamers behaving with little restraint and compassion while trying to help(?) folks that have hard times. The confession "I´m a psychopath" from somebody with good looks, money & power probably will just bolster a "fierce business reputation" (in europe at least). Unemployed & sick folks(!) are persecuted minorities, not psychos..
ReplyDeleteI don't even know why you have a website. It's sorta cracking me up. I mean, why the fuck do you even care what others think? What's your purpose, how does it even benefit you?
ReplyDeleteperhaps, as a sociopath, ME understands that knowing how other people think aids her in her master plan of achieving world domination, so the joke is on you and me and all the other moronic commenters, 9:47.
DeleteOr maybe she's just genuinely interested in understanding how a certain personality structure works and enjoys anonymous feedback from cyberspace.
Who cares? If you get something out of interacting here, great! If not... your absence will not cause SW to fall apart.
"If I do good things shouldn't that be all that counts? Shouldn't ppl be judged by the sum of their actions not the intentions behind them?"
ReplyDeleteI used to think this. regarding my ex. I figured who cared why he did nice things and had ulterior motives. I got stuff. I got a bf, I got a family he put near me so i felt i belonged, I got to go on trips, i got clothing, I got a warm body to sleep next to. and i got fun. I got a good time. I knew what was "wrong" with him, i saw him manipulating, i knew he was acquiring me, and i knew it was about what i represented. I was a charm for him to parade around. It was a shallow relationship and it was what i was idk, content with i guess.
But it was shallow. And it became real boring.
"The Nazis were obviously wrong to hate the Jews. But their hating the Jews was not without a cause… But the cause wasnʼt real. The cause was imagined. The cause was FEAR."
ReplyDeleteI respectfully disagree. The Germans acted out of disgust not fear. Tragically, thanks to the behavior of Israel and prominent Jews in the finance industry, this sentiment has returned worldwide. People are taking a second look.
FEAR IS A NATURAL REACTION TO THREAT THE FOLLOWING REACTION WOULD BE TO ELIMINATE THE THREAT... SOCIOPATHS ARE A THREAT THE COMMUNITY AND THE NORMAL WAY OF LIFE...
ReplyDeleteI sense a narcissist. lol
DeleteBeing a sociopath DOES NOT make you evil nor unethical.