As I read that article today, the light came on in my mind. It occurred to me just why it is that the virus narrative is so intractable, why it is that those who support it give that thousand-mile stare whenever someone tries to reason with them about it. The essence of it, like propaganda in all its forms, is that it is not meant to be either factual or fictional - so reasoning the accuracy or error of it is totally pointless. What it is meant to be is a stimulus to elicit a desired response from the general population, in the same way that ringing a bell got Mr. Pavlov's dogs drooling. If governments really are trying to manage countries on a stimulus-response basis, they've gotten more out of touch - and out of control - than we ever imagined.
And also explains why Mr. Trump is so hated by one faction and so loved by another: his efforts were directed at actually solving practical problems in feasible ways rather than simply herding the people like they were cattle. And though they tinkled and tinkled and tinkled at that bell, he never once drooled...
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2023-08-29 09:11 pm (UTC)https://www.thepsmiths.com/p/review-scaling-people-by-claire-hughes
As I read that article today, the light came on in my mind. It occurred to me just why it is that the virus narrative is so intractable, why it is that those who support it give that thousand-mile stare whenever someone tries to reason with them about it. The essence of it, like propaganda in all its forms, is that it is not meant to be either factual or fictional - so reasoning the accuracy or error of it is totally pointless. What it is meant to be is a stimulus to elicit a desired response from the general population, in the same way that ringing a bell got Mr. Pavlov's dogs drooling. If governments really are trying to manage countries on a stimulus-response basis, they've gotten more out of touch - and out of control - than we ever imagined.
And also explains why Mr. Trump is so hated by one faction and so loved by another: his efforts were directed at actually solving practical problems in feasible ways rather than simply herding the people like they were cattle. And though they tinkled and tinkled and tinkled at that bell, he never once drooled...
Old Steve