Mind Control Essay, Research Paper
The first question i’m going to ask is. Is there really such a thing a “brainwashing,” or “mind control”? What kind of person is susceptible? What exactly is a “cult” and how are followers controlled? How can one recognize an organization that engages in such practices, and should such organization be held responsible for the damage intentional manipulation can cause? I personally think if the brainwashing and mind control are for an improper use they should be held responsible, which most of these thing are. Also I totally believe that there is such a thing as brainwashing and mind control. The most insidious threat to our basic freedoms, such as freedom of mind and freedom of speech, is a little-know phenomenon known as mind control. Mind control refers to all coercive psychological such as brainwashing, thought reform, and coercive persuasion. Mind control is the shaping of person’s attitudes, beliefs, and personality without the persons’s knowledge or consent. Mind control employs deceptive and surreptitious manipulation, usually in a group setting, for the financial or political profit of the manipulator. Mind control works by gradually exerting increasing control over individuals through a variety of techniques, such as excessive repetition of routine activities, intense humiliation, or sleep deprivation. As used by the Factnet, “cult” refers to a destructive group which uses mind control to deceivingly influence its members. It has become fairly standard to use this term for any organization or group which uses mind control on its members. Cults are not necessarily religious. A cult may form around any theme, such as a political, racial, psychotherapeutic, or even athletic agenda. (Factnet 1999 The FACTnet www.factnet.com) I’m now going to talk a little about coercive mind control tactics. According to the American Heritage dictionary Coercion mean: To force to act or think in a certain manner.. Or to dominate, restrain, or control by force. In the next couple of pages I will be talking about coercive mind control and the different tactics, that bring about this forceful mind control. Coercive psychological systems are behavioral change programs which use psychological force in a coercive way to cause the learning and adoption of an ideology or designated set of beliefs, ideas, attitudes, or behaviors. The essential strategy used by the operators of the programs is to systematically select, sequence and coordinate many different types of coercive influence, anxiety and stress-producing tactics over continuous periods of time. In such a program the subject is force to adapt in a series of tiny “invisible” steps. Each tiny step is designed to be sufficiently small so the subjects will not notice the changes in themselves or identify the coercive nature of the processes being used. The subjects of these tactics do not become aware of the hidden organizational purpose of the coercive psychological program until much later, if ever. These tactics are usually applied in a group setting by well intentioned but deceived “friends and allies” of the victim. This keeps the victim from putting up the ego defenses we normally maintain in know adversarial situations. The coercive psychological influence of these programs aim to overcome the individuals critical thinking abilities and free will – apart from any appeal to informed judgement. Victims gradually lose their ability to make independent decisions and exercise informed consent. Their critical thinking, defense, cognitive processes, values, ideas, attitudes, conduct and ability to reason are undermined by a technological process rather than by meaningful free choice, rationality, or the inherent merit or value of the ideas or propositions being presented.(Factnet 1999 FACTnet www.factnet.com) I will now explain some of the tactics of coercive mind control. Tactic 1 Increase suggestibility an “soften up” the individual through specific hypnotic or other suggestibility-increasing techniques such as extended audio, visual, verbal, or tactile fixation drills, excessive exact repetition of routine activities, sleep restriction and/or nutritional restriction. Tactic 2 Establish control over the person’s social environment, time and sources of social support by a system of often-excessive rewards and punishments. Social isolation is promoted. Contact with family and friends is abridged, as is contact with persons who do not share group approved attitudes. Economic and other dependence on the group is fostered. Tactic 3 Prohibit disconfirming information and non supporting opinions in group communication. Rules exist about permissible topics to discuss with outsiders. Communication is highly controlled. An “in-group” language is usually constructed. Tactic 4 Make the person re-evaluate the most central aspects of his or her experience of self and prior conduct in negative ways. Efforts are designed to destabilize and undermine the subject’s basic consciousness, reality awareness, world view, emotional control and defense mechanisms. The subject is guided to reinterpret his ro her life’s history and adopt a new version of causality. Tactic 5 Create a sense of powerlessness by subjecting the person to intense and frequent actions and situations which undermine the person’s confidence in himself and his judgement. Tactic 6 Create strong aversive emotional arousal in the subject by use of nonphysical punishments such as intense humiliation, loss of privilege, social isolation, social status changes, intense guilt, anxiety, manipulation and other techniques.
Tactic 7 Intimidate the person with the force of group-sanctioned secular psychological threats. For example, it may be suggested or implied that failure to adopt the approved attitude, belief or consequent behavior will lead to severe punishment or dire consequences such a physical or mental illness, the reappearance of a prior physical illness, drug dependence, economic collapse, social failure, divorce, disintegration, failure to find a mate, etc. These tactics of psychological force are applied to such a severe degree that the individual’s capacity to make informed or free choices becomes inhibited. The victims become unable to make informed or free choices becomes inhibited. The victims become unable to make the normal, wise or balanced decisions which they most likely or normally would have made, had they not been unknowingly manipulated by these coordinated technical processes. The cumulative effect form of undue influence than pain, torture, drugs or the use of physical force and physical and legal threats. How does coercive psychological persuasion differ from other kinds of influence? Coercive psychological systems are distinguished from benign social learning or peaceful persuasion by the specific conditions under which they are conducted. These conditions include the type and number of coercive psychological tactics used, the severity of environmental and interpersonal manipulation, and amount of psychological force employed to suppress particular unwanted behaviors and to train desired behaviors. Coercive force is traditionally visualized in physical terms. In this form it is easily definable, clear-cut and unambiguous. Coercive psychological force unfortunately has not been so easy to see and define. The law has been ahead of the physical sciences in that it has allowed that coercion need not involve physical force. It has recognized that an individual can be threatened and coerced psychologically by what he or she perceives to be dangerous, not necessarily by that which is dangerous. Law has recognized that even the threatened action need not be physical. Threats of economic loss, social ostracism and ridicule, among other things, are all recognized by law, in varying contexts, as coercive psychological forces. To answer an obvious question, why are coercive psychological systems harmful? This system violates our most fundamental concepts of basic human rights. They violate rights of individuals that are guaranteed by the first amendment to the United States Constitution and affirmed by many declarations of principle worldwide. By confusing, intimidating and silencing their victims, those who profit from these systems evade exposure and prosecution for actions recognized as harmful and which are illegal in most countries such as: fraud, false imprisonment, undue influence, involuntary servitude, intentional infliction of emotional distress, outrageous conduct and other tortuous acts.(Factnet 1999 FACTnet www.factnet.com)1 I will now put a little of my own words into this topic. I think that mind control is as real and as dangerous as it should get. Mind control can vary in forms though, such as the thought process where you visualize the steps of a certain operation or procedure. Such procedures could be visualizing what you would do in the bottom of the ninth, one run down and it’s all up to you to win the game. By mentally going through this process hundreds of times in your head could never live up to any physical training you could possibly do. Back to talking about the bad parts of mind control, I learnt that some of the side affects are permanent and very traumatic. Some of these include, extreme identity confusion (doesn’t sound very healthy), depression, fear, eating disorders, and the one that really caught my eye was, spiritual rape of the soul. I’m not sure what that means exactly but I can only imagine. I’ve read many articles on cult mind control and a few of them really stuck out. For instance a case down in Florida, where the cult leader had every victim of the group so under his control that he actually got one of his members to rip out his own eyeball and swallow it. If that’s not mind control I don’t know what is. What amazes me about these people like Charles Manson and other cult leaders, is that they are, or they are pretty close to being geniuses. They can hypnotize with there eyes, speech and actions. This to me is a pretty amazing feat, and pretty dangerous power to obtain. I believe that mind control is a part of everyday life. For instance T.V, the people who make commercials are always trying to trick our minds into buying there product. There tactics include making things look better than they actually do and subliminal messages, but I don’t want to get into that topic. I’m sorry my paper is shorter than it should be, but there is not really that much stuff out there on mind control. I personally think it’s a cover up by the government’s. Really who would want to learn about mind control unless you love to learn about stuff that you will probably never use or your a person who like to know how the mind works, then again you could just be a psycho….. Bibliography FACTnet www.factnet.com Mind Control Psychology Today, Jan/Feb95 Vol 28 Issue 1 Dr. lambeu University of Michigan (contact by Usenet) Hot plots: By: Heimich, Adam, Psychology Today Vol 38 Sins of a Paranoid Age, By: Thomas, Evan, Newsweek, 27/12/93