Demonizing as a trick to justify assault

To solve a problem, it first needs to be defined accurately; an incorrect definition tends to not enable solution of the problem.

Here is explored the process of "demonization" as a major tool of those who would prepare to assault those considered potential rivals, and thus is a key item involved in bringing grief to countless others.

"Demonizing" is a social manipulation tool. It first works in the imagination of the originator, painting a picture of an evil demon on someone or something considered by the individual as in the way of progress of some kind. The demonization needs to take the form of something intensely evocative in the minds of those to be fooled into helping in on the assault in some way, ranging from labels of "child molester", "woman torturer" and "horse thief", to "they are building a nuclear bomb to drop on us." Since "evil demons" need to be destroyed, the designation alters the social rules of interaction. When alpha-male-urge-rooted assaults are brewing, gathering others around makes one look "bigger" and "bigger" often makes the potential opposition back down, without a physical contest. Thus fooling a bunch of people by demonizing the intended target of assault, gathers supporters around and makes the alpha-male-wannabe look bigger, easy start.

When the individual uses words and actions to communicate the picture of the "demon" to other people, support is gathered for the coming assault. They will support the assaulter, instead of uniting to condemn the assaulter. Because they, too, deep inside believe demons are evil and must be destroyed before they destroy others, and they easily follow the finger pointing, to prove they belong and are one of the good-guys.

In this rational description, one may not agree on which is the real "demon" in this scenario; but in real life, it rarely is questioned, and then only at risk of being viewed as siding with the "evil demon."

What a silly game. Yet, it is incredibly powerful, a tool that can bring on family feuds and world wars to happen. Or it can be used to justify knocking down a loner who is "too smart for his own good," has seen too much and might have a loose tongue, that must be silenced or at least considered unreliable, such as by being criminalized somehow. Demonizing a loner as a "horse thief" was a great way to incite mob hysteria to join in on a posse chase like a fox hunt, after the targeted person, not too long ago. Nowadays, the complex laws provide almost infinite tools for framing a targeted person with some form of demonization as a "criminal" and thus get the free support of security or law enforcement systems.

Demonizing has its roots in the ethnocentric wiring in the brain, that which separates people out into the "us" and the "not us" categories.

Individuals instinctively like to belong to a group. The group then provides a larger and protective supportive identity beyond their mere self. The group also may be formed around a focus, such as uniting to consider those of a different group, or even a particular individual, as demonic, a ruthless foe that all members of the group must unite to corner and destroy ruthlessly before they are victimized by the demonized ones. The other group then has to similarly demonize the assaultive group and thus the game is on; if not doing this, they are at risk of being mowed down by the insane righteous violence of the assaulting group.

Yes, it is all nutty; but reality is called "consensus reality" and thus gets "reality" changed from what might otherwise be considered reality. And unfortunately those who are caught up in the momentum quickly can see nothing else but the feared one(s) and the need to help destroy the horrid one(s). Usually they have no data to go on except that provided by those leading the assault effort.

Demonizing can even get championed by religious groups composed of those who do not have much of a direct connection to the creator of the universe, but instead link to anthropomorphic versions such as leaders of their group who are skilled with one of the psychic tools such as clairvoyance, an apparent amazing link to a Higher Power if played righteously mysteriously. There is more than meets the eye in this world, we all have various levels and types of "6th sense." Alpha-male-wanabes often have an extra supply of subtle sense ability which originally was designed to hunt quarry (especially other potentially rival males of their own kind) and find fertile women at just the right time, thus increasing reproduction of those with those talents. A mysterious sense of invisible powerful supportive force can be evoked into the imaginations of those marginally involved in the impending fracas, especially useful when arranging a large struggle to send off lots of men (freeing up equal numbers of women) and maybe getting more land or other resources as a result. An ancient game, surely done even long before David and Bathsheeba. Thus the level of meanness to each other gets expanded from the level of the "high school football team rivalry" up to the "Hatfields vs McCoys" and "McDonalds vs Campbells" magnitude, to, say, Protestants vs Catholics in Ireland; and Fundamentalist Christianity vs Fundamentalist Muslims currently more widespread. Such implacable urge to assault each other believing eventually will be a fight to the death, seems very closely matched to the ancient archetype of the two males fighting to the death to be the source of breeding for the women who are watching and waiting. That the proclaimed martyrs they fight in the name of, actually taught love as the reaction to other's hate, seems to be forgotten, in they themselves being on one side of a believed-in world menace that must be utterly destroyed for their own survival: two sides demonize each other and the fracas is on, pity the bystanders in the way, and the ones who foot the bill for the romp. Each leadership would like to gather surrounding support far and wide as much as possible, readying for some glorious assault in which their invisible powerful director will righteously help them destroy the opposition; each side demonizes the other, in this kind of deadly nutty game. In places like the stricken country of Iraq currently, there are several such groups that demonize each other to the point of committing hideous assaults on each other and the other's ancient works of architectural art, a messy back-and-forth game bringing grief and ruin all around.

It is all generated by use of the process of demonization.

The ethnocentricity wiring in the brain is there, at risk of getting hooked into such meanness to others.

Here in the "melting pot" of America, we pride ourselves in the disregarding of such ethnocentric warping, for the most part. It is by growing up in exposure to classmates and friends clearly of other appearance and mannerisms, that others become known by their personal individual qualities instead of being associated with some group demonization name. There still lurks some rivalry, such as at a football game, those rooting for the other team, for example, coming from another town. Or political affiliation, there being more of interest in demonizing when getting on toward election time.

Since it is all created by the process of demonization, that then shows the only way to bring the process to a gentle peaceful halt. The only thing to attack is the demonization, instead of those who have had the "demon" bullseye target fastened on them by the process of demonization.

When a mutual demonization process is busy playing itself out as berserk activity toward each other, as is ongoing now in Iraq for one example, all participants in the foray need to be simultaneously bereft of the demonic imaginings about the others. Accurate knowledge can bring sanity (although it can bring a military strategist data for how to hurt the "enemy", too; some may be more incorrigible than others.)

Focusing attention away from demonization, toward the remembrance of our common heritage as human beings and living beings on a planetful of other kinds of living beings, and notice that we all are interdependent; it is not just the biggest and most powerful devours all the weaker... or soon the planet would be as lifeless as the Moon is currently.

The search for sanity in civilization needs to consider the process of "demonization" as the real "enemy."

This cannot be seen, however, by those who essentially are formed of a hierarchy of bullies, a mode of many who are focused intensely on achieving on just the social physical level; to them, it seems that the only way of bringing peace is to thoroughly subdue the opposition, plain and simple to them, survival of the fittest kind of thing, written deep in their psyche. If leadership is of that kind, expect a big romp instead of united constructive activity among all. Demonization will prevail, until its mode is clearly identified and eradicated by all concerned.

To solve the problem, then, the demonization tool itself needs to be spotted and eliminated before it has provoked terrible grief onto people. This hopefully will de-claw the alpha-male-bully-wannabes to some extent, bringing on a better world of healthy constructive opportunities for the rest of us, enabling us to be effective in our responsibility to tend our greater living world.

Comments stimulated by "Sicko" movie info

Having quickly read a little about the movie "Sicko" which illustrates some major failings of the existing health system, I feel an urge to make some comments from where I've been and seen and stand, which sometimes has been not the average path.

I'm looking at how to be providing maximum health for minimum cost, and how to adequately test out methods that can't get explored within the requirement of maximizing corporate profits as compared to existing product's profits.

Part of the problem is a basic specific weakness in the overall economic philosophy. For example, to produce a product that would replace existing profitable products, with products that would heal people better but bring less profit to the company, is not acceptable to corporate stockholders because it would lower their income; so some other means need be arranged to enable those better, but less profitable, health products to become available.

Our economic system, great as it is, has this kind of thing as a potentially fatal weakness; and it ought to be able to be fixed by a responsible people. The component corporate philosophy can't fix it by itself, since it does not have a wide enough responsibility and mandate to make it all work; they are there just to make a fast buck within their defined arena, and go home to spend it.

A system that only makes money off of sick people is not likely to really do something that will stop business from coming in. They will really have to hate their job to actually work themselves out of a job; they are much too well rewarded now to do any such thing.

Preventive maintenance intelligently done responsibly is what keeps things running and minimizes downtime and cost overall. Works for people, too.

Such preventive maintenance, wellness maximization focus, would need a major way to shift from a system built upon damage evaluation and emergency repair procedures. Their knowledge base can be useful, and lab testing procedures useful with their data of normal ranges, true; but a focus on the whole human being's system correct homeostasis system levels needs to be the criteria.

And, let people, including doctors, just do what they can do well; and do not demand they do something about that which they don't really know how to fix. A medical system that evolved from surgeons fixing broken bones and supporters who brewed herbs that were known to improve healing after sickness or injury, is not the same kind of wellness system that starts at the other end, that of observing what is working fine and well, and keeping it that way.

The system would be resorting to surgery and medications only when they have all goofed and an emergency happens; learning how to prevent it from happening again to all concerned, in the process. The old adage of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" does apply when the processes are considered of how to determine that it is working fine, not broke, so don't fix it.

To start at the other end of wellness, that of optimum wellness and efficiently keeping it that way by the health system, is most likely to find working processes among the "holistic practitioners" techniques, weird as they may seem to those focused on conventional emergency repairs to the body and/or the body mind. I have explored a few of these myself and found many of them a very wise investment for my wellbeing, for the most part; and also I have long followed online discussions sometimes involving these things so I know others are even better at it than I.

The key term for evaluation, is "efficiacy", the measure of how effective a protocol is at doing the job. It involves finding out if something really works by seeing if it does work. It does or it does not. Figuring out how or why is for some other kind of exercise instead of efficiacy. The testing proceses of efficiacy need be sufficiently openminded as to enable things that really work to be found working. It also means testing them for what is intended, not for some task it is not intended for and would fail at. Lots of ways to sabotage the testing, so it is important to do the job correctly. One quick way to gain pointers for what to test for efficiacy is to see what holistic materials people buy repeatedly: they will usualy only buy more of something that they have personally found works for what they want it to do.

This is different from building upon layers of scientific knowledge, all fitting together, and if something does not fit, it would be rejected in the current methodology. But lots of things got passed by in the development of science and technology, since development only went where paid for by profit seeking business concerns. Generally only exceptions were via grants for fundamental or specific approaches deemed valuable by members of governmental scientific staff, all needing an agenda to justify spending taxpayer's money. Over the years, too much has gotten bypassed or sheerly missed in the rush for profits.

Asking conventional medical allopathic practitioners to do this would be like asking those whose profession is in auto accident body shop repair work to do the preventive maintenance on your personal airplane. Probably some of them could do the job adequately, but only if they had other skills besides body shop work. Meantime, if you put them to work on your airplane without them having extraordinary non-body-shop-repair skills, your next flight is likely to be your last one. Our lives have been a little like this, enduring the existing system.

It makes everybody uncomfortable to put them in a position where they have to produce at what they don't have knowledge or other resources to do the job adequately; so avoid doing that. Start fresh; you will find there are some quite surprising skills some people already have for maintaining people's wellness, and have been in hiding due to regulations forbidding their contributions. Some have survived anyway, and they will need to be appreciated openly and fully to coax them out of the trenches, to urge them to begin exploring how to contribute to leading the way.

Meanwhile, the current esteemed and wealthy powerful experts in the current health/sickness system will understandably sometimes tend to consider this kind of thing as an invasion into their turf. An invasion to be fought back and stomped out of existence, to restore the good old days for themselves. Understandable. So the new system, if it were to be allowed to exist, would best find ways to absorb those practitioners into the newer larger viewpoint way, and let them keep their egos and good living enough for their comfort. We all deserve that kind of thing, anyway.

J E D Cline 20070628

Yes, us guys need to be told

Replying to a distant pen pal, who had commented about a new man in her life "But, he is a guy and maybe if I don't tell him what I want or expect, he won't know" I replied something that might be useful to others who are establishing intimate relationships:

"Yes, us guys need to be told (or shown interestingly by demonstration) what the gal wants or expects. We were not provided with an operating manual for you women; and besides, every model is different. (And sometimes changes with the phases of the Moon, more complications.) Also, when a page in the operating manual is being shown the guy, he needs to be alerted (maybe several times until he gets it) that the operating manual is now on screen so pay attention a little bit. The "refresh" button needs to be visible for a replay until it sinks in. He can prove his manhood by being able to make something work whenever he pushes the button; but he needs to learn how to push the buttons while also not letting on that he did not already know how to do it. From what I've seen, you gals ought to be able to manage this education while multitasking several other things at the same time, no sweat."

The trucker and the wagon-maker folk

What happens at a bazaar where many people gather to buy and sell covered wagons in a primitive country and to show their latest wagon parts and ideas for better wagon parts, and they hear of a potential rival?

A great new place to create industry and build living places has been found far and high in the mountains, but although the terrain to there is smooth, it is very far and arduous for the oxen that pull the covered wagons to and from there. There is much demand for oxen and new wagons to be provided, mostly worn out with just one use. Having heard disturbing rumors of a potential tough business rival, the people who have now gathered at bazaar once again, have said they are not an exclusive group and welcome new contributors.

Seeing the great change in the whole set of opportunities that would be made possible with his big semi truck and pair of trailers, a truck designer accepts their offer and arrives to show the dog-n-pony-show folk the diagrams of his big semi truck, and shows how much it can haul and how quickly. Millions of times the transportation capacity of the oxen-drawn covered wagon system. He believes it could really help all of them get the far place in the high country quickly into a booming industrious place, instead of the dismal lonely struggling outpost it now is as supplied by the covered wagons. He believes they will all drop what they have been doing, having seen how it will help them finally realize their dreams of bringing the far high country to life; and all eagerly pitch in on the new potentials his big truck offers. He rests awhile savoring anticipated relief from the great cost of attending here has taken from him, and he eagerly looks forward to the friendly companionship of all these highly competent people in the great fun as they all together build and use his trucking system and industries to build in the high country, at long last.

What really happens? The bazaar buy-n-sell wagon company folk for a moment of anguish see their companies, their lifetime luxurious livelihoods, all going down in ruin in an instant. But, before they are wagon maker company folk, they are shrewd haggler businessmen; so their next thought is to size the trucker up, and they see the kind of person that is quickly separated from his gold. Never give a sucker an even break, is what they were taught when they were knee high to a duck. Especially one that sits in on their game and has four aces in his hand. That their wagon making companies are on their way out, can be delayed indefinitely if they play the game well; and they can wait out the trucker's resources leaving him destitute, turning the tables on him. And then his truck system will be abandoned for them to seize and use if and when they see fit, and for their great power and wealth on into the future. Instead of losers, they will become the greatest winners of all.

So they rather boredly advise the trucker to put the diagrams and specs and potential uses for the supply of the distant high valley into their set of specs to be offered the customers. He provides them with all it takes to even acquire more such trucks to assure they will have an endless supply of them, and sits back to wait for them to welcome him into their group and get going on the thus expanded effort to bring the far place to life very profitably for all.

The trucker eventually discovers that his information is not among the data sheets being provided customers at the ensuing bazaar; and later discover the bazaar folk act as if they don't even know him. He barely gets out of there alive, and holes up to live out his days in destitution.

While the wagon-maker folk continue busily hawk their wares as always, year after year. And they hire some gang folk to keep an eye out on the holed-up trucker, spreading the word among those he is among, that he is a robber, a dangerous and despicable man, and make sure he has no woman ever.

Ah, the wagon-maker folk exclaim as they munch grapes in luxurious comfort with women, life is good. And it is going to be very very much better as soon as the trucker is put away, that robber.

That is the kind of thing that happened. It is the measure of the people involved.

Expect them to continue that way. Because they consider the wagon making business, and the far high country potentials, as mere farmland for them to squeeze the best living out of; and neither wagons nor high country industry have any intrinsic value to them otherwise. Theirs is a different kind of dream.

The fun-n-games of others

When decisions are made mostly by others, it is a complex mix of many motives that motivate decisions, and not all motives are visible on the table or even all completely visible to the individuals being motivated.

Figuring out what caused people to do what they do or did or didn't is mostly a sideliner's position for an Asperger like me. Yet unlike the true Autistic who has the good sense to not try to do the social things he/she cannot do, an Asperger is characterized by the strong urge to join in on the endless fun-n-games that other people seem to be enjoying endlessly doing. So it must be really fun, since they are doing it all the time, it seems to an Asperger person. And yet, I keep missing out on all the fun.

The Asperger person's frequent attempts to join in on the fun-n-games of others, occasionally gets the irritation of others at the social ineptness of the Asperger person; and sometimes the "clueless" apparent aspect of the Asperger person gets used to "set him up" to "take the fall" when other's motivation is mischief activity; such as when given the role of "being left holding the bag" to take the blame for the mischief. The Asperger gets into the activity solely to finally have the relief of being accepted by the group, and finally getting assigned a role in the wonderful fun-n-games others are now playing as they endlessly are always doing ... altho the saying "are we having fun yet?" is often the Asperger person's puzzle after awhile.

Girls seemed to have a special genius for coming up with new kinds of things we could do together. Not all of them reflected good sense, however, and sometimes got me into trouble (but it usually was an unintended trouble; unlike that which some of the guys would do to apparently deliberately get me into trouble, the guys seemingly considering me a rival or a nuisance.) Nonetheless I craved the companionship of a girl so as to make my life much more fun and stimulating. And in adolescence the girls started being even more interesting for new reasons, even greater fun potential.

However, despite my eagerness to play with her, the girl would usually get frustrated at my social ineptness and inability to well play the fun-n-games with her, and then she would be gone, when I was no longer useful to her. This problem continued throughout my life and persists even now this moment as a senior aged man. Life would be so much more fun for me if a woman would find me and utilize my great skills at making her happy, and so she would quickly jump into my life (or better yet quickly jump into my bed with me.) But I dimly know, though a lifetime of Asperger's experiences, that that is not the way others play the game. It frazzles me, why they would make so important a thing a game.

Maybe eventually I will conclude that the non-Aspergers endlessly play of their fun-n-games is not by choice, but because it is the way they tick, a compulsion. And that it is usually not "fun-n-games" to them, but rather "business as usual."

Or something like that. Maybe not always so much fun for them, after all. A knee-jerk kind of thing.

Maybe a compulsion to join in activities with others, like I an Asperger also have; but they have an additional magical capacity to actually play the games, which I don't seem to have. And apparently the skill at playing the games is something strongly esteemed among people. Was the term once called "moxie" even a bit before my time?

The motives involved in making decisions are probably huge in number and mostly out of sight. And the motives translated into action are what I see happening.

The decision to some particular action, probably is the result of some process analogous to the path of a ball in a pinball machine. Just how much effort am I willing to spend to figure out what the path of the pinball was, and why the path was that way?

Unlike the pinball machine, a person's real life has some adjustability in the motivational factors the pinball bounces off of in their life. People can adjust their motivations. Not easily, and not always to the optimum end result of the pinball's path, so is a bit risky.

The pinball-machine-like path of the pinball in the writing of this blog post, is but one more example of the process. Why bother doing it? My cup of coffee is growing cold waiting for me to finish.

It may be "business as usual" to others; but for me, I still seek the fun-n-games that must be in there somewhere; and hopefully some gal will soon come into my life and show me the way for the fun in the games with her.

Am lots older but not so much wiser.

Negative psychological effect deleting junk email

A psychological effect of the "junk email" is getting noticable now. It does not look like a healthy effect; and is likely other people are experiencing it too.

In the morning when activating computer for start of day, typically a dozen or so junk emails have made it through the computer's junk mail filter, which took out many dozens more junk email already. So I have to go through and "delete", or send to "junk mail" those dozen junk emails, which involves reading their sender and subject line to determine if it is junk.

So my mind gets filled first thing in morning with statements like "Avoid enhancement pills" "paternoster averred vampire", "Unfinished transfer of fund", "RESPONSE NEEDED", "WINNING NOTIFICATION !!!" and "Be the "biggest" out of all your friends." And selecting "delete delete delete" is not a positive start for day either.

Checking email is necessary so as to be advised of something that needs attention right away in the morning ... as well as throughout the day too.

Deleting the junk email does not just take time out of my day's productivity, but it also appears to add a negative influence on my responses ... not a strong effect, but is on the wrong side of the scales for one's optimum performance.

Monkeybrain playing dress-up

The Monkeybrain does so enjoy playing dress-up wearing the human body, while underneath it is still at the same kinds of monkeybusiness that have propelled it for a million years.

Does that bruise the ego? Live with it, get over it. The above statement explains so perfectly that which is on the front page of the newspaper, the responses the neighbor actually gives, and one's own actual choices at the forks of the road. So perfectly!

A more interesting question is, why did we expect anything different? That question's answer may lead to some very interesting insights.

Maybe playing dress-up wearing the human body has real value. It built the worlds' great bridges, the huge airliners, the pictures of the Rover's view of the Martian landscape, the internet page web of computers showing far away places and pathways of knowledge, the place one calls home. Consider that one's dress-up made home is lots more fun than a nest of branches in a jungle tree.

So, enjoy.