How you got programmed.

[Boltlady]

You don't think you are but you are. If you take just a few minutes to read this link you will be able to look over your life and recognize quite a few of the activities that created the programming. In fact, if you really explore your formative years you could probably save the cost of going to a counselor to help you deal with some of the character flaws that you would rather not have. You might even recognize some of the beliefs that you thought you derived on your own but were actually planted.

http://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/how-to-brainwash-the-sheeple-into-doing-anything-you-want/27724/

 

[NightSwimmer]

Oh, to be an initialized register array...

The joys of infinite zeros. It's Nirvana!

 

[Boltlady]

Oh, to be an initialized register array...

The joys of infinite zeros. It's Nirvana!

You barely had time to read the piece much less actually think about it. Unfortunately that is an example of what it says.

 

[N.B. Forrest]

You barely had time to read the piece much less actually think about it. Unfortunately that is an example of what it says.

You sure got him pegged. Good assessment.

Edward Bernays was exactly right, of course.

EDIT;

This comment after the article sums it up perfectly;

"Its not fear people. WAKE up. its conformity, passivity and narcissism. people are not afraid- they’re self-involved and will do whatever is demanded so as not to be inconvenienced.
its football, porn and endless entertainment that have destroyed america. its not fear of torture etc, that drives the ameri-morons, its fear of losing the flat screen TV…"

 

[NightSwimmer]

You barely had time to read the piece much less actually think about it. Unfortunately that is an example of what it says.

Slow reader, huh? We all have our shortcomings, don't we?

 

[Queen Titania]

Elementary dear 'Lady, elementary

 

[N.B. Forrest]

Slow reader, huh? We all have our shortcomings, don't we?

It's not how fast one reads..That's essentially meaningless. It's how much one actually comprehends and retains that's important.
As you say.. we all have our shortcomings, though.

 

[Boltlady]

You sure got him pegged. Good assessment.

Edward Bernays was exactly right, of course.

EDIT;

This comment after the article sums it up perfectly;

"Its not fear people. WAKE up. its conformity, passivity and narcissism. people are not afraid- they’re self-involved and will do whatever is demanded so as not to be inconvenienced.
its football, porn and endless entertainment that have destroyed america. its not fear of torture etc, that drives the ameri-morons, its fear of losing the flat screen TV…"

The reality is that the information has been widely available for a good many years. The problem is that it is widely ignored because people generally cannot admit that they've been programmed. It's an insecurity thing. People would rather believe that they came by their beliefs all by themselves because to admit otherwise it would make them appear mentally weak.

As has been said so many times, you cannot fix something until you recognize that it's broken.

 

[BobbyT]

You don't think you are but you are. If you take just a few minutes to read this link you will be able to look over your life and recognize quite a few of the activities that created the programming. In fact, if you really explore your formative years you could probably save the cost of going to a counselor to help you deal with some of the character flaws that you would rather not have. You might even recognize some of the beliefs that you thought you derived on your own but were actually planted.

http://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/how-to-brainwash-the-sheeple-into-doing-anything-you-want/27724/

Simple really. We're pre-programmed by evolution to be "brainwashed" (if you want to call it that). The ability to associate negative, or positive, experiences with the cause of the experience is a very useful trait. For example, if every single person had to experience that getting hit by a car is a bad thing, we'd have a lot more dead pedestrians. Luckily, we can infer from damage caused by cars that we would also experience damage if hit by a car. Unfortunately, as your article pointed out, that survival trait of not having to, for example, eat poisonous berries over and over if we don't learn from our - or other's - experience, can be used as a tool against us. But the ability to learn from experience is not, of itself, a bad thing. In fact it's a very good thing. Nevertheless, there are those who would exploit it, as there are people who will exploit pretty much anything. This, and your article's pointing it out, is not new or revolutionary in any way and people who think that they are better off by not learning from experience won't last very long.

 

[jammer]

That you read and actually believe this crap says a lot about you boltlady. Read the "Turner Diaries" again, it will soothe your troubled mind and make the alternate reality universe of the far rightwinger nutjobs where all was well and good before January 20,2009, more of a possiblity for you. I pity those around you.

 

[Boltlady]

Simple really. We're pre-programmed by evolution to be "brainwashed" (if you want to call it that). The ability to associate negative, or positive, experiences with the cause of the experience is a very useful trait. For example, if every single person had to experience that getting hit by a car is a bad thing, we'd have a lot more dead pedestrians. Luckily, we can infer from damage caused by cars that we would also experience damage if hit by a car. Unfortunately, as your article pointed out, that survival trait of not having to, for example, eat poisonous berries over and over if we don't learn from our - or other's - experience, can be used as a tool against us. But the ability to learn from experience is not, of itself, a bad thing. In fact it's a very good thing. Nevertheless, there are those who would exploit it, as there are people who will exploit pretty much anything. This, and your article's pointing it out, is not new or revolutionary in any way and people who think that they are better off by not learning from experience won't last very long.

Everything you've said here is true but I was looking at it more from the deliberate aspect. What you've described primarily is actually a normal learning process. You did touch on the fact that it is all too often exploited by others and that comes much closer to what I would hope that people get from it. In fact it is a real means of control.

Most people really don't realize just how controlled we are or have been. We do have free will but in many circumstances we've been taught to not use it. Some extreme cases cause people to turn into veritable puppets and they don't even seem to know it.

 

[BobbyT]

Everything you've said here is true but I was looking at it more from the deliberate aspect. What you've described primarily is actually a normal learning process. You did touch on the fact that it is all too often exploited by others and that comes much closer to what I would hope that people get from it. In fact it is a real means of control.

Most people really don't realize just how controlled we are or have been. We do have free will but in many circumstances we've been taught to not use it. Some extreme cases cause people to turn into veritable puppets and they don't even seem to know it.

Sorry, but I think that's bullshit. I think there are a lot of conditioned responses that are as a result of trauma (for lack of a better term - not necessarily 'trauma' in the dramatic sense). But I just don't think that people are by-and-large as non-thinking of their responses as you imply. For example, at 4 I was accidently pushed into an elevator before my mom had assembled my sister and brother, and the door shut. I went down several floors and got out when the door opened and didn't have a clue where I was or where my mom was. I panicked. To this day I am uncomfortable in elevators. But I know why and I know that my sense of unease is viseral, not intellectual.

This is why people who were raised in a religious household grow up and question their faith - sometimes resulting in a strengthening of faith, sometimes resulting in loss of faith. It's because as we grow and mature, we have the capicity for introspection. It isn't the "brainwashing" you allude to, its just the way we learn. Sometimes we "learn" something we later understand to be false. Every parent instills, for at least awhile, their own biases and fears into their children. Then those children grow up and keep some, lose some, and develop some of their own.

 

[Boltlady]

Sorry, but I think that's bullshit. I think there are a lot of conditioned responses that are as a result of trauma (for lack of a better term - not necessarily 'trauma' in the dramatic sense). But I just don't think that people are by-and-large as non-thinking of their responses as you imply. For example, at 4 I was accidently pushed into an elevator before my mom had assembled my sister and brother, and the door shut. I went down several floors and got out when the door opened and didn't have a clue where I was or where my mom was. I panicked. To this day I am uncomfortable in elevators. But I know why and I know that my sense of unease is viseral, not intellectual.

This is why people who were raised in a religious household grow up and question their faith - sometimes resulting in a strengthening of faith, sometimes resulting in loss of faith. It's because as we grow and mature, we have the capicity for introspection. It isn't the "brainwashing" you allude to, its just the way we learn. Sometimes we "learn" something we later understand to be false. Every parent instills, for at least awhile, their own biases and fears into their children. Then those children grow up and keep some, lose some, and develop some of their own.

Example:
Most parents take their children to a doctor at various times during their growth. The child is taught that whatever the man in the white coat tells them to take they must take because he will make them well. The vast majority of adults will go to a doctor, get a prescription(s) and take it without questioning. People rarely question what the 'man in the white coat' tells them. The information has been widely available for years that over 100,000 people die every year from prescription drugs yet very few will question what they are given because they've been programmed to believe it will make them well. Many people even get upset if they are not given a prescription.

In approximately 10 years of the Vietnam War we lost over 58,000 of our troops. People moved to Canada or resorted to all sorts of subterfuge to get out of going because they really didn't want to die. In the same time over a million people died from prescription drugs and yet hardly anyone even questions it. That's programming.

 

[BobbyT]

Example:
Most parents take their children to a doctor at various times during their growth. The child is taught that whatever the man in the white coat tells them to take they must take because he will make them well. The vast majority of adults will go to a doctor, get a prescription(s) and take it without questioning. People rarely question what the 'man in the white coat' tells them. The information has been widely available for years that over 100,000 people die every year from prescription drugs yet very few will question what they are given because they've been programmed to believe it will make them well. Many people even get upset if they are not given a prescription.

In approximately 10 years of the Vietnam War we lost over 58,000 of our troops. People moved to Canada or resorted to all sorts of subterfuge to get out of going because they really didn't want to die. In the same time over a million people died from prescription drugs and yet hardly anyone even questions it. That's programming.

I disagree. It's not programming, it's a cost/benefit analysis. For example, when I'm sick and go to the Dr and the Dr prescribes me medication to make me better, I could spend the time and money to go out and do all the research and learning possible to self-diagnose and second guess the Dr. OTOH, I could trust the Dr's training (after all, it's what I pay him/her for). It's the same as if I take my vehicle to a mechanic. If I wanted to spend the time to learn all about how to fix my own car, and the time/expense of doing so was less than it costs me to have a mechanic fix my car - even accounting for the money wasted if the mechanic lies to me or says I need a part I do not need, then I would do so. I don't have the time, inclination, or money to become a doctor, so I trust the Dr to accurately diagnose and treat me. I also have the option to get a second opinion or do my own Internet research, if I'm so inclined.

I question and would like to see a link to "over a million people died from prescription drugs" and how many of those died of accidental overdose or other cause not specifically related to the prescription drug itself but rather to misuse or misdiagnosis. And I would also like to see the statistics of the numbers of people who were saved by prescription drugs. Again, it's cost/benefit. There's not much point in having specialists of any stripe (doctors, dentists, mechanics, plumbers, etc.) if we're going to treat the taking of their advise as "programming."

Finally, I think you think you are much smarter than the average bear. I don't hold any such illusions about myself, but rather believe that most people actually can and do think for themselves.

 

[Jen]

Babies are born like a blank tape. They are programmed starting in the womb. There is no other way to look at it and there is absolutely no way to have a programmer , or programmers that are flawed since we are all the programees of flawery.

But we can sort of rewire ourselves if we get the right info and decide to ingrain ourselves with other behavior than that we were programmed to have. I know that happens because I have done it. Our family tapes/ DVR's our special shows during the week and on Sunday night, I make my special macaroni and cheese and we sit in the living room with our bowl of mac and cheese and watch the shows we have selected. For a long time, every time I saw an ad for Deep Space Nine.........I became hungry for mac and cheese. Then it was Earth 2 for a while, then (and I'm already out of order) Scrubs, Friends, Seinfeld, Lost, and now it's Big Bang and Modern Family. We (or I at least) were programmed like Pavlov's dog to think of those shows for as long (and a bit longer) than we watched them with our mac and cheese. I'm sure that if we've done this sort of programming then other sorts can be done with a little effort.

And now I'll read the article you posted. What is scary is that some of the programing isn't done for nice reasons and I'm sure something about that will be mentioned.

 

[BobbyT]

Babies are born like a blank tape. They are programmed starting in the womb. There is no other way to look at it and there is absolutely no way to have a programmer , or programmers that are flawed since we are all the programees of flawery.

But we can sort of rewire ourselves if we get the right info and decide to ingrain ourselves with other behavior than that we were programmed to have. I know that happens because I have done it. Our family tapes/ DVR's our special shows during the week and on Sunday night, I make my special macaroni and cheese and we sit in the living room with our bowl of mac and cheese and watch the shows we have selected. For a long time, every time I saw an ad for Deep Space Nine.........I became hungry for mac and cheese. Then it was Earth 2 for a while, then (and I'm already out of order) Scrubs, Friends, Seinfeld, Lost, and now it's Big Bang and Modern Family. We (or I at least) were programmed like Pavlov's dog to think of those shows for as long (and a bit longer) than we watched them with our mac and cheese. I'm sure that if we've done this sort of programming then other sorts can be done with a little effort.

And now I'll read the article you posted. What is scary is that some of the programing isn't done for nice reasons and I'm sure something about that will be mentioned.

Baby's are absolutely not born like a blank tape. They are born with instinctive drives - among them touch, and of course food/water - but they have no means to get these needs met without outside help, they instinctively cry to get attention. The reaction to their cries, the absence or presence of attention, nurturing, and sustenance, begins to form their relationship with the outside world and the people inhabiting it. This is fundmental to the nature v nurture arguments. Nurture has a large influence on development, but nature is not absent. Humans have the same access to instinctive impulses as every other animal, we are none of us born as "blank slates."

 

[Jen]

The Red Ball

It's not quite as easy to program a child like that as the author made it seem. I've raised 4 children and taught hundreds. If it were that easy my job would have been a lot easier than it was. My degree thesis was about Behavior Modification and it was an astounding paper (rolls eyes)........ unfortunately, when I got into the real world, I discovered...........it didn't work quite as nicely as I had hoped it would.

But. The idea has merit (not necessarily in a good way) and Pavlov's Dog training does work on Sheeple with enough time and patience.

One problem is that we elected people to serve us in our government and they (ALL of them, not just one side of them) have figured out how to train us to oooh and aaah about their wonderful (eye rolling again) deeds. Whoever does that the best gets elected or reelected and whoever doesn't is a loser. Period. It's not necessarily about who can keep those Red Balls from coming out to hurt us (though it is always pointed out that if we elect that "other" guy, he WANTS the Red Balls to attack), but who can keep the Green Balls of pleasure floating in our minds is the guy we want.

Now we might want to talk about Green Balls........... but first I have to touch my toes a hundred times because I thought I saw a Red Ball in my periphery.

 

[BobbyT]

It's not quite as easy to program a child like that as the author made it seem. I've raised 4 children and taught hundreds. If it were that easy my job would have been a lot easier than it was. My degree thesis was about Behavior Modification and it was an astounding paper (rolls eyes)........ unfortunately, when I got into the real world, I discovered...........it didn't work quite as nicely as I had hoped it would.

But. The idea has merit (not necessarily in a good way) and Pavlov's Dog training does work on Sheeple with enough time and patience.

One problem is that we elected people to serve us in our government and they (ALL of them, not just one side of them) have figured out how to train us to oooh and aaah about their wonderful (eye rolling again) deeds. Whoever does that the best gets elected or reelected and whoever doesn't is a loser. Period. It's not necessarily about who can keep those Red Balls from coming out to hurt us (though it is always pointed out that if we elect that "other" guy, he WANTS the Red Balls to attack), but who can keep the Green Balls of pleasure floating in our minds is the guy we want.

Now we might want to talk about Green Balls........... but first I have to touch my toes a hundred times because I thought I saw a Red Ball in my periphery.

I agree with 1) it's not as easy to brainwash people as was stated in the TP and 2) nevertheless, people can be influenced. I hate the word "sheeple" because it's so disrespectful of people's actual input and thought about their own behavior. We aren't "trained" to ooh and aah, we choose to. I think that a lot of people treat politics the same as a football game - they "root" for their team irrespective of how the "team" or any of its members is doing. That's not brainwashing though because I believe we are aware of the shortcomings of our "team," we just don't want to admit to the general audience because to do so seems disloyal and invites I TOLD YOU SO into our psyche. Everyone hates to hear I TOLD YOU SO.

 

[Jen]

The author of the article used the word "sheeple" and I tried to post in the tone she used. Sheeple is a pejorative word. I agree with you there. And.....lololol........ we may think we "choose" to do something........... and every once in a while we probably actually do think things through and choose. But any quick decision to do something is probably more a result of programming that either we or someone else has done to us. We as a society have programmed ourselves to like celebrity. Or maybe the media has programmed us to love celebrity by the types of programs we now love to watch (Honey Boo Boo; Survivor; the Kardashians). Who made people like that? Was it programmed? Oh of course it was. Why do people pay a lot to advertise their product? IT WORKS.
We like a Star and we want our leader to be a shining star. So if some fuddy duddy comes in there and runs for office, why would we vote for him? I mean...........Bob Dole vs Bill Clinton! How utterly boring to vote for Bob Dole when you can vote for Bill Clinton. We've been manipulated plain and simple. Some out there think we will still vote for substance over star-quality..............but we won't.

I agree with 1) it's not as easy to brainwash people as was stated in the TP and 2) nevertheless, people can be influenced. I hate the word "sheeple" because it's so disrespectful of people's actual input and thought about their own behavior. We aren't "trained" to ooh and aah, we choose to. I think that a lot of people treat politics the same as a football game - they "root" for their team irrespective of how the "team" or any of its members is doing. That's not brainwashing though because I believe we are aware of the shortcomings of our "team," we just don't want to admit to the general audience because to do so seems disloyal and invites I TOLD YOU SO into our psyche. Everyone hates to hear I TOLD YOU SO.

 

[Jen]

True that the "tape" has instinct, genetic coding, tendencies and certain inherited frailties and strengths. But in between all of that there is plenty of space open for filling with either good or bad. Sometimes those genetic codings can override bad nurturing. And that is what is always hoped.

Baby's are absolutely not born like a blank tape. They are born with instinctive drives - among them touch, and of course food/water - but they have no means to get these needs met without outside help, they instinctively cry to get attention. The reaction to their cries, the absence or presence of attention, nurturing, and sustenance, begins to form their relationship with the outside world and the people inhabiting it. This is fundmental to the nature v nurture arguments. Nurture has a large influence on development, but nature is not absent. Humans have the same access to instinctive impulses as every other animal, we are none of us born as "blank slates."