G
Guest
Guest
What Rense is NOT Talking About
Out of over 500 articles on the Rense main web page, I counted three or four related to global warming. Most of the articles (if you include Birdflu) are about the PTB and how it is messing up the world in one way or another, but aside for some articles on pollution environmental issues are rarely described. Even earthquake watch articles have decreased in frequency in the past few months, although tremors due to volcanism and tectonic movements are occuring constantly all over the globe.
Basically, it's all about how the PTB is overpowering the people in one way or another, slowly but surely. I observed something similar in the Alex Jones affiliated sites. I suspect the PTB were wary about this direction at first, but later realized it served them. I also noticed that the NASA site www.space.com had a large variety of articles regarding potential comet and asteroid threats, peaking around 1999-2000, and afterward dwindling. While even last year they were still promoting asteroid watch programs, this year there has not been one article on the topic.
Maybe what is most promoted is what is LEAST likely to happen, at least in the immediate future. Birdflu for example has been advertized for over a year, and is expected to hit the West coast of the US by this summer. Is the hype just that or will something be released after the virus allegedly covers the US? Or is it another experiment to see how long the public can be kept intimidated about something?
The message seems obviously to be focused on "we're taking over and there is nothing you can do about it". Perhaps the PTB has noted a different response to different kinds of threats and is honing their presentation to those that are most effective for its purposes.
Right now the populace is rapidly losing faith in the rulers, and if the complex and fragile social network does collapse, why should a disillusioned populace come running back to them? And how will those rulers re-impose order when everything outside their bunkers is in chaos? They would have to house some pretty large armies in their underground cities to do so, and have the undamaged equipement to implement those armies globally. And they would have to have underground bases all over the world, not just the US. Perhaps they do.
Control is, furthermore, maintained through the existing communications network. If this collapses, how can they keep tabs on everything?
The argument is presented that if people knew a comet was coming they would stop working. Aside from the fact that 2009 is a long way off for most people who think paycheck to paycheck, and that they still need to make ends meet, to really get people mobilized the rulers would have to run a constant information campaign on the subject, much more even than the Birdflu promotions IMO. Denial comes very easy unless danger is right there in front of your face.
There is already a lot going on and aside from being on the discussion level, most people are far from making any serious changes in their lives. Unless sirens start blaring every day and disaster threats are blared out constantly by the mass media, people are probably going to be reluctant to leave their routines, however enslaving, unless they do so gradually through the non-linar effects of networking. We already have this impending pandemic threat looming over the world, and aside from brief panics here or there people are more or less desensitized to it.
As far as comet impact is concerned, what could the populous do? Where could they go unless they knew exactly where this would hit? From what I understand there is no absolute definite date for such an impact, which would make planning difficult even for the PTB. Asteroid Apophis, for example, is scheduled to come close April 13, 2029 and maybe might strike in 2036, but even that final encounter is not a definite.
I would gather the PTB wants to get the NWO rulership going within the next decade, given the increasing rate at which people are starting to question the status quo. Can they absolutely depend on a comet striking, and doing just the right amount of damage to make takeover feasable under those circumstances? I have come to believe that these people do not like to take risks.
Of course if they knew such an event would happen, they would try to protect themselves and damn everyone else, but what about afterward? And what meaning would all their wealth have after such an event? Sure they might take every bank record with them underground, but if all was lost above ground, what meaning would that have? That all depends of course on the degree of devastation, so one would need to assess how much devastation could the PTB tolerate and come out on top.
They might assume people would rally to their cause after they crawled out of their bunkers/cities, but it is just as likely that populations would come together in mutual solidarity bolstered by crisis and decide to replace them, especially after being saturated by their own mass media regarding their corrupt record.
If I was the PTB and knew that if a definite impact was forthcoming, I would restrain myself and make everything in the world as peachy as possible, and THEN take over a trusting populace when it was down and out.
On the other hand, building extensive underground facilities might be for other reasons such as planned war, planned pandemic, food storage for planned famine etc. As I already mentioned, the fact that a popular alternative site such as rense.com focuses primarily on a certain range of topics, may indicate that these have the most psychological impact in terms of intimidation and demoralization.
That's just my own opinion, however.
Out of over 500 articles on the Rense main web page, I counted three or four related to global warming. Most of the articles (if you include Birdflu) are about the PTB and how it is messing up the world in one way or another, but aside for some articles on pollution environmental issues are rarely described. Even earthquake watch articles have decreased in frequency in the past few months, although tremors due to volcanism and tectonic movements are occuring constantly all over the globe.
Basically, it's all about how the PTB is overpowering the people in one way or another, slowly but surely. I observed something similar in the Alex Jones affiliated sites. I suspect the PTB were wary about this direction at first, but later realized it served them. I also noticed that the NASA site www.space.com had a large variety of articles regarding potential comet and asteroid threats, peaking around 1999-2000, and afterward dwindling. While even last year they were still promoting asteroid watch programs, this year there has not been one article on the topic.
Maybe what is most promoted is what is LEAST likely to happen, at least in the immediate future. Birdflu for example has been advertized for over a year, and is expected to hit the West coast of the US by this summer. Is the hype just that or will something be released after the virus allegedly covers the US? Or is it another experiment to see how long the public can be kept intimidated about something?
The message seems obviously to be focused on "we're taking over and there is nothing you can do about it". Perhaps the PTB has noted a different response to different kinds of threats and is honing their presentation to those that are most effective for its purposes.
The above is a logical argument, and probably how the PTB would think. I would gather, however, that no matter what their plans ANY power structure would hide an impending natural disaster from the populace. Even though the PTB like to claim they RUN the world, they cannot really do so without compliance from the populace.Anders said:
Right now the populace is rapidly losing faith in the rulers, and if the complex and fragile social network does collapse, why should a disillusioned populace come running back to them? And how will those rulers re-impose order when everything outside their bunkers is in chaos? They would have to house some pretty large armies in their underground cities to do so, and have the undamaged equipement to implement those armies globally. And they would have to have underground bases all over the world, not just the US. Perhaps they do.
Control is, furthermore, maintained through the existing communications network. If this collapses, how can they keep tabs on everything?
The argument is presented that if people knew a comet was coming they would stop working. Aside from the fact that 2009 is a long way off for most people who think paycheck to paycheck, and that they still need to make ends meet, to really get people mobilized the rulers would have to run a constant information campaign on the subject, much more even than the Birdflu promotions IMO. Denial comes very easy unless danger is right there in front of your face.
There is already a lot going on and aside from being on the discussion level, most people are far from making any serious changes in their lives. Unless sirens start blaring every day and disaster threats are blared out constantly by the mass media, people are probably going to be reluctant to leave their routines, however enslaving, unless they do so gradually through the non-linar effects of networking. We already have this impending pandemic threat looming over the world, and aside from brief panics here or there people are more or less desensitized to it.
As far as comet impact is concerned, what could the populous do? Where could they go unless they knew exactly where this would hit? From what I understand there is no absolute definite date for such an impact, which would make planning difficult even for the PTB. Asteroid Apophis, for example, is scheduled to come close April 13, 2029 and maybe might strike in 2036, but even that final encounter is not a definite.
I would gather the PTB wants to get the NWO rulership going within the next decade, given the increasing rate at which people are starting to question the status quo. Can they absolutely depend on a comet striking, and doing just the right amount of damage to make takeover feasable under those circumstances? I have come to believe that these people do not like to take risks.
Of course if they knew such an event would happen, they would try to protect themselves and damn everyone else, but what about afterward? And what meaning would all their wealth have after such an event? Sure they might take every bank record with them underground, but if all was lost above ground, what meaning would that have? That all depends of course on the degree of devastation, so one would need to assess how much devastation could the PTB tolerate and come out on top.
They might assume people would rally to their cause after they crawled out of their bunkers/cities, but it is just as likely that populations would come together in mutual solidarity bolstered by crisis and decide to replace them, especially after being saturated by their own mass media regarding their corrupt record.
If I was the PTB and knew that if a definite impact was forthcoming, I would restrain myself and make everything in the world as peachy as possible, and THEN take over a trusting populace when it was down and out.
On the other hand, building extensive underground facilities might be for other reasons such as planned war, planned pandemic, food storage for planned famine etc. As I already mentioned, the fact that a popular alternative site such as rense.com focuses primarily on a certain range of topics, may indicate that these have the most psychological impact in terms of intimidation and demoralization.
That's just my own opinion, however.
D
Dimitris
Guest
What Rense.com is not talking about
Because I would urge Laura to tell us whether this has anything to do with her self-styled effort to 'build a bridge of understanding, of agreement upon the goal, and acceptance of the different paths to the top of the mountain'?
I have no intention, of course, to defend Rense.com against allegations that its creator Jeff Rense is an 'asset of Cointelpro', because, frankly, NOBODY (at least since the days of my compatriot, Socrates) should need to defend his PUBLIC utterances or posted articles against such ridiculous slander - even if it was secretly true!
But when this slur is lashed out NOT on grounds of what Jeff Rense and his associates say or publish but on the basis what they ostensibly OMIT, then I'm afraid I will have to throw the accusation back at this insolent transgressor and his friends as best I can:
There is a sort of moral, discoursive and philosophical illiterary (if not outright imbecility) that goes hand-in-hand with the compartmentalised Over-information prevailing in our contemporary Western culture - particularly in the United States - which is itself the predominant mechanism of Disinformation that needs no 'Cointelpro' to serve the 'PTB' perfectly!
If you don't know the ABC of constructive Dialogue and Debate, you should not be surprised if your viewpoints - whatever their intrinsic value - will sooner or later become marginalised and discredited, together with whichever 'authority' (Cassiopaeans, Lobaczewski, Gurdjief, Muravief etc) they carry with them.
And this is a very, very unfair thing to do to yourselves, your children and your real friends, Laura et al, let alone your intellectual patrons - who may of may not be 'assets of Cointelpro, MK-Ultra or Monarch'.
Note that you are neither the first nor the last ones to be 'omitted' by Rense and all the major 'portals' and blogs of alternative media - indeed, for the same lingering suspicion:
That your handlers may have drilled you as 'disposable assets' for this ONE act of sectarian provocation - a fact which can be substantiated, not with your 'omissions', but with an 'editorial' you have refused to denounce before it had the chance to reach the Public Domain. After that, Cointelpro knows it must look for a new recruit.
Anders said:
Dimitris said:
Laura said:
This exchange was followed by a week of rewarding and informative discussion with Laura and her colleagues on another thread (Editorial 'Crisis of the republic') about the merits and shortcomings of Ponerology as a means to elucidate the 911 Event - and others. But then came the following 'Editorial' that virtually killed my interest in such high-minded Dialogue.Dimitris said:
Because I would urge Laura to tell us whether this has anything to do with her self-styled effort to 'build a bridge of understanding, of agreement upon the goal, and acceptance of the different paths to the top of the mountain'?
Personally, I find these remarks repugnant, preposterous and downright sectarian - an assured killer of open debate in the American Truth Movement IMHO - especially if they arise within a framework which supposedly embraces a healthy diversity of non-dogmatic, non-entrenched and non-mainstream ('alternative') critical opinion, and even claims to 'build bridges' rather than barracks.Anders said:
I have no intention, of course, to defend Rense.com against allegations that its creator Jeff Rense is an 'asset of Cointelpro', because, frankly, NOBODY (at least since the days of my compatriot, Socrates) should need to defend his PUBLIC utterances or posted articles against such ridiculous slander - even if it was secretly true!
But when this slur is lashed out NOT on grounds of what Jeff Rense and his associates say or publish but on the basis what they ostensibly OMIT, then I'm afraid I will have to throw the accusation back at this insolent transgressor and his friends as best I can:
There is a sort of moral, discoursive and philosophical illiterary (if not outright imbecility) that goes hand-in-hand with the compartmentalised Over-information prevailing in our contemporary Western culture - particularly in the United States - which is itself the predominant mechanism of Disinformation that needs no 'Cointelpro' to serve the 'PTB' perfectly!
If you don't know the ABC of constructive Dialogue and Debate, you should not be surprised if your viewpoints - whatever their intrinsic value - will sooner or later become marginalised and discredited, together with whichever 'authority' (Cassiopaeans, Lobaczewski, Gurdjief, Muravief etc) they carry with them.
And this is a very, very unfair thing to do to yourselves, your children and your real friends, Laura et al, let alone your intellectual patrons - who may of may not be 'assets of Cointelpro, MK-Ultra or Monarch'.
Note that you are neither the first nor the last ones to be 'omitted' by Rense and all the major 'portals' and blogs of alternative media - indeed, for the same lingering suspicion:
That your handlers may have drilled you as 'disposable assets' for this ONE act of sectarian provocation - a fact which can be substantiated, not with your 'omissions', but with an 'editorial' you have refused to denounce before it had the chance to reach the Public Domain. After that, Cointelpro knows it must look for a new recruit.
What Rense.com is not talking about
But on the other hand, it reveals a lot to us.
I could have said the same about your entry:Dimitris said:
You see, when you say that something is "preposterous", and if you wish to be taken "seriously", then you should justify your statement by clear and well grounded arguments. Otherwise what you write can be considered as "downright sectarian" and an "assured killer of the debate"Dimitris said:
Now, again, you are using statements that are blatantly ignoring all the evidence. Therefore, even if you say that you have no intention to defend Rense, you are, de facto, defending him, and you are doing it, again, without giving any rational analysis, based on data. I do not think that Socrates would do anything like that. I am rather convinced that he would take your post apart, much in the way I am doing it now.;)Dimitris said:
Here is a logical error that, again, I think, Socrates would not applaud. When something is consistently being omitted, that fact constitutes a "datum" that a thoroughtful analysis not only CAN, but MUST take into account. If you are a lawyer, then such twisting of the reality is part of your professional skills. But there are some good jokes about lawyers, and here we are seeking the truth, not winning in front of a jury that can be influenced by words that carry emotions rather than information. Lawyers use NLP. We are good at spotting NLP.Dimitris said:
Another logical error: the fact that gravitation is not needed for positive and negative charges to attract each other, does not imply that gravity does not exists or that it is not important. In fact, gravity may well be a decisive factor, as electromagnetism may well be a function of the (extended) gravity. The same with the above: the fact that United States is crazy in no way implies that COINTELPRO is not important. In fact, like with gravity, there are data suggesting that COINTELPRO is behind all the disinformation, and in particular, has the United States as its main incubator.Dimitris said:
Another error. We do not have "authorities" other than "knowledge" and "truth". It seems that, willingly or not, again you are using applied NLP programming methodsDimitris said:
Now you are mixing "children" into it. That reminds me of a certain Vincent Bridges who was trying to use the same trick. What do "children" have to do with COINTELPRO and Rense? Nothing. Again "lawyer type" argument to attempt to manipulatively influence the jury/audience.Dimitris said:
Another logical error: we are not making our "working hypothesis" about Rense solely on the basis that Rense omits us. We are relying on the "totality of the available data" - most of these data we have published. Some are not yet published. But those that have been published are enough to support our hypothesis to a degree that justifies our position.
Now this statement is so unclear, so "veiled" that again Socrates, I think, is turning in his grave.Dimitris said:
But on the other hand, it reveals a lot to us.
A
atreides
Guest
What Rense.com is not talking about
Dude, do you actually talk like that irl?
It's utterly incomprehensible, the point of speaking is to make one's self understood by all parties.
Somebody has been reading too much Cialdini if you ask me, try and post something a little more concise.
Just in case:
con
Dude, do you actually talk like that irl?
It's utterly incomprehensible, the point of speaking is to make one's self understood by all parties.
Somebody has been reading too much Cialdini if you ask me, try and post something a little more concise.
Just in case:
con
j0da
Jedi Council Member
What Rense.com is not talking about
Oh boy, if it isn't just the beggining of an "alternative approach", than maybe I wasn't here long enough. First Durand, and now this. Artful trolls or individuals carrying lots of misunderstoods? Hard to tell, but look at the outcome. How do we feel reading this?
Revising our intelectual approach regarding matters at hand provides the certainty of proper discernment. But emotionally - don't we feel somehow uneasy?
I sense there will be more of this kind of incidents, as many standard modes of attack on Cassiopaea have failed. Obviously Laura and the core of the group have become quite invulnerable to such insidious attempts, but how about our new readers? How about those less knowledgable and vigilant people who only begin to digest the material? With outside slander attacks discovered and disclosed here comes another wave of "internal discord". Hang on!
Oh boy, if it isn't just the beggining of an "alternative approach", than maybe I wasn't here long enough. First Durand, and now this. Artful trolls or individuals carrying lots of misunderstoods? Hard to tell, but look at the outcome. How do we feel reading this?
Revising our intelectual approach regarding matters at hand provides the certainty of proper discernment. But emotionally - don't we feel somehow uneasy?
I sense there will be more of this kind of incidents, as many standard modes of attack on Cassiopaea have failed. Obviously Laura and the core of the group have become quite invulnerable to such insidious attempts, but how about our new readers? How about those less knowledgable and vigilant people who only begin to digest the material? With outside slander attacks discovered and disclosed here comes another wave of "internal discord". Hang on!
What Rense.com is not talking about
Just FYI (and for new readers) here is some of what Lobaczewski has written about this type of discourse:
You are right, we are used to it by now. And that is part of our work with our groups, with the signs page: to inoculate ourselves against pathological material from deviant minds.j0da said:
As it happens, I've just finished the almost final round of editing of Lobaczewski's book, and going through a book as an editor is one way to really grok the whole thing in a way that you don't if you just read it. I really do think that it is the handbook for survival in the coming dark days of tragedy that face all of us here on Planet Earth.Miyamoto Musashi said:
Just FYI (and for new readers) here is some of what Lobaczewski has written about this type of discourse:
Lobaczewski said:
Fifth Way
Jedi Council Member
What Rense.com is not talking about
You guys are good.
Even-though I often do not feel competent enough to post some quality comments I do get what you are saying.
And I did see it coming; this 'dialog" with Dimitris shaping up the way it did today.
I take it, there also has been some 'scratching" going on that now seems to have resulted in this weird language of his. Amazing!
What's also strange is that it took Dimitris apparently 10 years of studying Laura's work before he finally decided to opened his mouth in a forum...
Funny enough I was (again!) the first to be spellbound. Just as amazing. Another lesson. Maybe one day I'll learn something from it.
You guys are good.
Even-though I often do not feel competent enough to post some quality comments I do get what you are saying.
And I did see it coming; this 'dialog" with Dimitris shaping up the way it did today.
I take it, there also has been some 'scratching" going on that now seems to have resulted in this weird language of his. Amazing!
What's also strange is that it took Dimitris apparently 10 years of studying Laura's work before he finally decided to opened his mouth in a forum...
...only to be so be deeply offended one short week later.Dimitiris said:
That's where my BS-alarm goes off. Is that bipolar or manic depressive?Dimitiris said:
Funny enough I was (again!) the first to be spellbound. Just as amazing. Another lesson. Maybe one day I'll learn something from it.
anart
A Disturbance in the Force
What Rense.com is not talking about
A lesson indeed, and what strikes me as so interesting is that there is literally a never-ending pool of people displaying this type of behavior. It is as if they are little plastic war-men all lined up on some psychopath's (or 4D STS entity's) tabletop - when one gets knocked down, in marches another. There is an endless supply, so the commander sending in his plastic troops could care less what actually happens to the plastic war-man after he falls - the plastic war-men are oh so disposable. Since they all think, act and look alike, like all good plastic war-men, their true nature always shows through the words they try to hide behind. It is all so incredibly mechanical.
A lesson indeed, and what strikes me as so interesting is that there is literally a never-ending pool of people displaying this type of behavior. It is as if they are little plastic war-men all lined up on some psychopath's (or 4D STS entity's) tabletop - when one gets knocked down, in marches another. There is an endless supply, so the commander sending in his plastic troops could care less what actually happens to the plastic war-man after he falls - the plastic war-men are oh so disposable. Since they all think, act and look alike, like all good plastic war-men, their true nature always shows through the words they try to hide behind. It is all so incredibly mechanical.
A
Anders
Guest
What Rense.com is not talking about
This has been very instructive indeed and I thank Ark for replying so completely. When I posted the initial article on Tuesday the 4/4, I had no idea that it would be an editorial.
I figured that it could have touched a spot as I all of a sudden had difficulty connecting to the internet and had to speak to the server and also started to receive about 5 phonecalls a day with noone on the other end. Could be coincidence...hmm...who knows?
Encouraging indeed!
This has been very instructive indeed and I thank Ark for replying so completely. When I posted the initial article on Tuesday the 4/4, I had no idea that it would be an editorial.
I figured that it could have touched a spot as I all of a sudden had difficulty connecting to the internet and had to speak to the server and also started to receive about 5 phonecalls a day with noone on the other end. Could be coincidence...hmm...who knows?
Encouraging indeed!
G
Guest
Guest
What Rense.com is not talking about
This person placed an extraordinary high value on Rense. This person evidently wore their "expertise" and "superiority" in conspiracy type matters on their sleeve, and may be professionally involved in such research and may even publish his views openly. This person seems to have vested interest in overdramatizing the conspiracy zone as some Cryptocratic Opera.
I don't think psychopaths come out and attack just out of the blue. They do so when they perceive something to strike at their existential edifice and take it very very personally. Even Durand was a sort of "competitor" in drawing attention to esoteric matters, and his site was empty of any contributions last time I looked. In short, the psychopath cannot differentiate his or her self-aggrandizing views from their paper-thin sense of identity. So if anyone questions their views, they question their identity, and thus threaten to reveal the hollow nothing that is their sense of self. The superiority complex of this person was evident from the start, but when someone dared doubt the great Rense, it was perceived as nothing less than a grab for their own mask. And psychopaths do not like people touching their mask.
I am curious to see if this person will respond to all this, and if so which among the predictable responses will be chosen? One is almost tempted to make a few wagers. ;)
I could hear it coming like the whistling sound before a bomb falls. And it bothers me how some of my countrymen view the ancient Greek past as if its greatness automatically rubs off on them, as if Socrates is their great uncle twice removed. I did like Ark's observations regarding the NLP and "laywer" nature of this person's discourse. Unforntunately, most of the intellectuals I know here only evoke the names of certain philosophers when it suits them, while they are avid practitioners of sophistry and demagogy.Fifth Way said:
Wikipedia said:
That seems to be the method from one perspective, although Dimitris may actually believe his own rationalizations. What's the motive? For what it's worth, I think this kind of ourburst usually occurs when personal interests are at stake, or there is a relationship of the "scratch" topic with personal interests.Merriam-Webster Online said:
This person placed an extraordinary high value on Rense. This person evidently wore their "expertise" and "superiority" in conspiracy type matters on their sleeve, and may be professionally involved in such research and may even publish his views openly. This person seems to have vested interest in overdramatizing the conspiracy zone as some Cryptocratic Opera.
I don't think psychopaths come out and attack just out of the blue. They do so when they perceive something to strike at their existential edifice and take it very very personally. Even Durand was a sort of "competitor" in drawing attention to esoteric matters, and his site was empty of any contributions last time I looked. In short, the psychopath cannot differentiate his or her self-aggrandizing views from their paper-thin sense of identity. So if anyone questions their views, they question their identity, and thus threaten to reveal the hollow nothing that is their sense of self. The superiority complex of this person was evident from the start, but when someone dared doubt the great Rense, it was perceived as nothing less than a grab for their own mask. And psychopaths do not like people touching their mask.
I am curious to see if this person will respond to all this, and if so which among the predictable responses will be chosen? One is almost tempted to make a few wagers. ;)
What Rense.com is not talking about
Your analysis of what is behind the Mask suggests a Vinnie Bridges type person. Funny thing is, for the longest time I was convinced that the guy was a psychopath. Certainly, there was a lot to suggest that. But after reading Lobaczewski, I begin to wonder if the better description is as follows:
Had a good chuckle over that one!EQ said:
Your analysis of what is behind the Mask suggests a Vinnie Bridges type person. Funny thing is, for the longest time I was convinced that the guy was a psychopath. Certainly, there was a lot to suggest that. But after reading Lobaczewski, I begin to wonder if the better description is as follows:
Lobaczewski said:
G
Guest
Guest
What Rense.com is not talking about
But I completely agree with the Vincent Bridges/Dimitris connection. I tend to think the causes are environmental and rooted in this culture, and an old world attitude in general. Basically, argumentation and intellectual persuation are viewed here as a means to an end, and if you are beaten in an argument you are "weak" and other attacks my follow.
Intelligence is associated with cleverness (which in Greek is Poneros), and being sincere, compassionate and willing to give slack to others is often viewed as a sign of "stupidity". The truth is beside the point. It's the twisting of the truth and what you can get out of it that matters. Parents actually indoctrinate their children in this manner. Parental apporoval is important in this culture and in many old world cultures, and children want to prove they they are not patsies, stupid, naive, weak or otherwise unworthy.
I have never really associated the word "paranoia" with this tendency until now, but that is undoubtedly what it is. There is a paranoia not to be taken in, not to be stupid or naive and the result is a fierce competitiveness and one-upmanship in many areas of life personal and professional. Greece is still a pretty homogenous society with definitive traditions, a strong sense of heritage and strong social and family bonds. When you are, in the eyes of your peers, dominated intellectually the result is similar to the feelings a traditional Japanese or Chinese may have when "losing face".
You become the last rung in the pecking order, like the nice guy getting nowhere on the corporate ladder. It's an acute and tangible sense of dissonance conditioned from a very younge age, kind of like the American attitude that one has to be "tough" to get anywhere in life.
It's a sad state of affairs because it acts as a kind of natural or social selection process weeding out the empathic, compassionate and ensouled from the gene pool. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some kind of 4D stimulus behind it.
I'll have to take a closer look at my comb. It's a funky one, that folds with a mirror on the hand and a curved surface out of which spring rather long bristles with tiny bulbs on the end. Who knows what that means? :)Laura said:
But I completely agree with the Vincent Bridges/Dimitris connection. I tend to think the causes are environmental and rooted in this culture, and an old world attitude in general. Basically, argumentation and intellectual persuation are viewed here as a means to an end, and if you are beaten in an argument you are "weak" and other attacks my follow.
Intelligence is associated with cleverness (which in Greek is Poneros), and being sincere, compassionate and willing to give slack to others is often viewed as a sign of "stupidity". The truth is beside the point. It's the twisting of the truth and what you can get out of it that matters. Parents actually indoctrinate their children in this manner. Parental apporoval is important in this culture and in many old world cultures, and children want to prove they they are not patsies, stupid, naive, weak or otherwise unworthy.
I have never really associated the word "paranoia" with this tendency until now, but that is undoubtedly what it is. There is a paranoia not to be taken in, not to be stupid or naive and the result is a fierce competitiveness and one-upmanship in many areas of life personal and professional. Greece is still a pretty homogenous society with definitive traditions, a strong sense of heritage and strong social and family bonds. When you are, in the eyes of your peers, dominated intellectually the result is similar to the feelings a traditional Japanese or Chinese may have when "losing face".
You become the last rung in the pecking order, like the nice guy getting nowhere on the corporate ladder. It's an acute and tangible sense of dissonance conditioned from a very younge age, kind of like the American attitude that one has to be "tough" to get anywhere in life.
It's a sad state of affairs because it acts as a kind of natural or social selection process weeding out the empathic, compassionate and ensouled from the gene pool. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some kind of 4D stimulus behind it.
