Weaponized psychology has become a thing we’ve all had to come to terms with in the past few years, as the tools of propaganda have infiltrated every aspect of our daily lives.  Unfortunately for us, most of us have been through this loop a few times now, so consequently most of us have become quite aware of some of the weaponized psychological tactics being used against us.
 
Take nudging, for example.  “Nudge means covert psychological manipulation of thought,” explained Dr. John Campbell as he and Ros Nealon-Cook sat talking about the Covid psychological manipulations on a recent podcast. (“COVID Psychological Manipulation: Unpacked”).  Ros Nealon-Cook is an Australian Psychologist who had her license suspended for sounding the alarm regarding the harmful policies during the pandemic.
 
Sadly, we have all felt these covert nudges since we first turned on a TV set or opened a magazine.  From Clinton’s ‘WAR ON CRIME’ to Trump’s ‘DRAIN THE SWAMP’, we have all witnessed first-hand the use of nudging in politics.  Subtle and not-so-subtle nudges used intentionally in order to get folks to go along with whatever their hearts (or pocketbooks) desire. 
 
For example, former president Bill Clinton’s constant campaign nudges regarding the prevalence and impact of ‘crime upon society’ allowed him to double the US prison population during his presidency.  Which of course put billions of dollars into private prison contractor hands.
 
 “People think they’re immune, Oh, I’ll never fall for marketing, I’ll never fall for advertising and nudges, people think they are too smart.”  (“COVID Psychological Manipulation: Unpacked”) 
 
And yet, scarily enough, Nudge Units actually exist, from Silicon Valley, to gambling and marketing firms, to political campaign, to you name it, there are entire groups of people dedicated to providing certain folks with very specific nudges and micronudges.

He knew I thought it was him.  All along.  We all did.  Every one of us attached to that account.
 
I mean, come on, ALL of his messages seemed clear enough. 
 
Regardless, after a while I started suspecting ALL he wanted from me (us) was to praise him. 
 
And praise him. 
 
And advise him as he talked about his troubles. 
 
He wanted to bitch about his family and friends, but make it seem justified – you know, like it was coming from an objective 3rd party.
 
All the while deflecting all of the blame, like only a narcissist could. 
 

Incompetent & Cruel
 
 
The amount of incompetence and outright cruelty I saw while working for SITE Santa Fe, a multi-million-dollar, non-collecting, non-profit museum located in Santa Fe, New Mexico positively blew my mind.  In fact, so many things about it contradicted my original impressions of ‘nonprofits’ and ‘museums’ it literally didn’t fully sink in until nearly a year after being terminated under very suspicious circumstances.
 
I was originally taken on as an outside contractor and worked there as such over Christmas of 2021.
 
It was only after Christmas I received word I would be getting the full-time permanent job.
 
My direct supervisor, Clara Samayoa, a woman who could never bother to put a comb through her hair or wipe down her filthy office, couldn’t manage to let me know before she went on her long holiday vacation.
 
That should have been the second tip-off to the kind of folks I was working for and with at SITE Santa FE. 
 

 When I start to forget why - I recall who.


Brian, who died Christmas 2022.  An extremely shy quantum chemist, lifeguard, and amazing friend to my son.  He buried his 27-year-old girlfriend, who died for no apparent reason, just a year before - at the same age he was when he died.  I wasn’t there.  I didn’t know.  I should have tried harder.

Sean, who died when he was 21 from drinking too much while in so much emotional pain.  I wasn’t there when he died, back when I was still a kid too, I had to hear about it a few months later from some friends.  His parents abandoned him when he was 12 and he never got over the betrayal.

Joe, who died when we were both 19.  His child was still months from being born.  His girlfriend never fully got over his violent death.  He flew through the windshield of the van he collided with while riding his motorcycle at top speed.  I wish his son could have known him.

Steven, who shot himself in the head just before he turned 19.  We should have known when he started giving away all of his things.  His father had it ruled an ‘accident while cleaning a gun’ – his father always had the power to make unpleasant things seemingly disappear.

Janet, who died at 15, from an overdose, just because she wanted the abuse to end.

Amy, who killed herself at school at age 16, because someone needed to pay attention.

Jenny, who hung herself in the garage at age 17, on Father’s Day.

Seth, who was charged with rape at 18 and then went home and shot himself with a rifle.  He was autistic.

Tim, who crashed his car after a night of heavy drinking, and then went home and shot himself with a rifle – rather than face either of his parents.  They held separate funerals.

Shawn, who always said he’d rather die happy, and so he did.  He too shot himself, just after he turned 21.  

Lars, who didn’t even lie about it.  He shot himself like everyone expected him to, before he’d made his 20th birthday.

Lance, who drowned at Lake Ann, they said he tried to cross while he was drunk, but most of us knew he never intended to make it across.  His sister and mother never understood why. He was barely 23.

Joe, who worked full time while going to high school just to make ends meet.  He was always so tired.  I guess that’s why he fell asleep on the way home from that concert in Wisconsin, killing himself and 3 other 18-year-olds.  Not a lick of drugs or alcohol in their systems, just bloody bad luck.

Rick, who died of leukemia before I even really understood what cancer is.

Cory, who left behind a pain-filled childhood, and 3 small kids of his own, at the age of 31.  The brain tumor was fast, at least.

Tom, who gassed himself in the garage with his ailing dog, because he hadn’t gotten straight As that semester in college, because he couldn’t face what his parents would say.  Both were realtors with an image to maintain, so the pressure was always on.

Gary, who died of a heart condition at 26.

Alice, who died of Melanoma at 28.

Lisa, who was abused at home as a kid, and then abused and murdered by a husband who also sexually abused their infant son.  She died before she was 27.

Ryan, who crashed his car at 18 and got up and walked away.  Only to fall into a persistent vegetative state for the next 12 years, before he finally died.  His parents never missed a single day.

The kid Albert killed with his car when he was drunk, and how he got out on parole before the kid’s headstone had even been placed.

Jason, who drowned himself in the same lake his father killed himself in 3 years prior.  I can’t tell you how much his friendship meant to me back in High School.  Unfortunately he never felt accepted by his family or society because he was gay.

There were others of course, too many to ever recall in one sitting.

But these are some of the people who run through my head, as I wonder how I will ever live up to the telling of their stories. 

Stories of isolation, violence, intolerance, and self-hatred.  Stories of searching for community and finding only the empty echo of our sickened society.

All of them the story of social stratification, and what it has done to our children… so many children, who will never get to tell their stories.  

So many voices relying on me to never ever give up.

I may not know the way through, but I do know through is the only way ahead.



With light and love,

The Storyteller



*Only the names have changed.

You told us to be strong, then never allowed us to be soft.
You told us to be sexual, virginal, pure, and full-time working mothers while we're at it.

You bade us do it - while walking on our hands...

Only love saw us through.

We asked you to love and protect us, and to understand, while at the same time blaming you for our enemy's tactics.

But we understand now.  We see why it has all gone so very very wrong.

You see, THEY stole you from us. 

THEY drove you into the military where they broke you and rebuilt you, to serve without asking why. 

When the WHY is the very beating of your blood. 

THEY drove you into businesses where your only product became a bottom line, an insignificant figure, then told you the real measure of your happiness is in what you can buy.

So buy you did.

Increment by increment THEY stole your reason, spoon feeding you instead violence as your only means of solution.

At the same time stealing your primordial song. 

In courtrooms, boardrooms, and meeting rooms across the the world THEY turned you into jesters, fighting for made-up causes, based on made up science and rhetoric.

THEY turned you into puppets, distorting your learning into catch phrases and cliches misused and misaligned.

THEY sold you ideas of acceptance based on an industry of lies - so they could distort your bodies with steroids and weight loss drugs - to support a predatory industry worth trillions. 

Then made your captors your idols, and then showed you how to worship them.  Scolding you whenever you got it wrong.

THEY spoon fed you porn, and hate, and apathy, and never ending violence.  Then blamed you and imprisoned you when you acted out that intentionally administered rage. 

THEY KILLED YOUR SONS WITH GUNS - BY MAKING GUNS THEIR FAVORITE IDOL.

It is psychological warfare, and THEY have been waging it upon you since before you were born. 

We women have also paid the price.

But know this now, love will see you through.  Love will see us all through.

For the veil is lifting, and though we're all collectively shaking our heads, wondering how it got so far askew,

We instinctively know that the way back is shorter than we can imagine. 

Because it is our basic nature WE are returning to - instinctual drift will do most of the work.

Back home.  That's where we're all headed.  Collectively.  Back to a time and place where we don't have to be afraid, where what we say and do matters, where our lives are meant for creative pursuits and love.

Hold fast, my brothers, hold fast.

Love is breathing life back into us all.


X
03/06/2024

© Raena Exe 2024
*All rights reserved.