How a psychopath spots a victim

[judyanderson12]

I've had lots of different thoughts (and related personal experience as well as professional personal experience). and very recently I watched a video about a new little invention (at least new to me) and am including one of the websites I found for the "Profilax" which purports to gently coax the Atlas back into its proper position.

http://www.visionmagazine.com/archives/0807/mind_atlas.html

 

[Aaron r]

I agree that posture and a persons bearing fairly well telegraphs their inner confidence and likelihood of being a victim. A little technique I used when I worked in petrol stations was to look everyone in the eye and say hello. There seems to be an instant when eyes lock that there is a sizing up of each other. It is during this instant that you cannot falter. My intention in this moment was not that I am trying to overpower you but that you will not overpower me. The idea behind it is there are easier targets to pick on than me. It seemed to serve me well. Never had much trouble. In my job I work with many people who have addiction and mental illness issues and the odd full-blown spooky psychopath. This technique seems to work their too.

 

[Buddy]

I agree that posture and a persons bearing fairly well telegraphs their inner confidence and likelihood of being a victim.

I agree and speaking of that, check this out: I found a four page article on the online Boston Globe that may be relevant to this thread because it definitely talks about the relationship between cognition and the body's physical expression.

The concept is "embodied Cognition".

Here's an excerpt from the first page:

[quote author=Drake Bennett]
Don't just stand there, think
New research suggests that we think not just with our brains, but with our bodies
By Drake Bennett, January 13, 2008


WHEN YOU READ something confusing, or work a crossword puzzle, or try to remember where you put your keys, what do you do with your body? Do you sit? Do you stand? Do you pace? Do you do anything with your hands? Do you move your eyes in a particular pattern?
Do you use movement to think better?

How you answer questions like these, it turns out, may determine how long it will take for you to decipher what you're reading, solve your puzzle, or get your keys back.

The brain is often envisioned as something like a computer, and the body as its all-purpose tool. But a growing body of new research suggests that something more collaborative is going on - that we think not just with our brains, but with our bodies. A series of studies, the latest published in November, has shown that children can solve math problems better if they are told to use their hands while thinking. Another recent study suggested that stage actors remember their lines better when they are moving. And in one study published last year, subjects asked to move their eyes in a specific pattern while puzzling through a brainteaser were twice as likely to solve it.

The term most often used to describe this new model of mind is "embodied cognition," and its champions believe it will open up entire new avenues for understanding - and enhancing - the abilities of the human mind. Some educators see in it a new paradigm for teaching children, one that privileges movement and simulation over reading, writing, and reciting. Specialists in rehabilitative medicine could potentially use the emerging findings to help patients recover lost skills after a stroke or other brain injury. The greatest impact, however, has been in the field of neuroscience itself, where embodied cognition threatens age-old distinctions - not only between brain and body, but between perceiving and thinking, thinking and acting, even between reason and instinct - on which the traditional idea of the mind has been built.

"It's a revolutionary idea," says Shaun Gallagher, the director of the cognitive science program at the University of Central Florida.[/quote]

Source: _http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/01/13/dont_just_stand_there_think/?page=1

 

[Buddy]

Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Hi everyone. My internet connection was just recently re-established after being accidentally cut off for over a week. During this time I occupied myself researching a variety of subjects at the local library and planning articles and things.

I thought I'd post this here to see what ya'll think and encourage feedback to strengthen it for a general audience with very short attention spans.
This is the way it reads at the moment:
------------------------------------------------


The state of Georgia recently relaxed some restrictions on convicted sexual predators. This is now allowing them the right to take up residence just about wherever they want to. I've been hearing the discussions and debates on the issue from a lot of folks in my neck of the woods. I've also noticed something a bit disturbing about these discussions. People are talking about it in the same way that the media has framed the issue.

A glaring omission here, is any talk about how to raise awareness of predation in general and how to prevent these crimes BEFORE they happen.

This is my little contribution to the effort to raise the level of individual awareness and responsibility.


Catch Me If You Can

"Catch Me If You Can" was a 2002 film based on the real-life story of 60's con man Frank Abagnale, Jr. Even with no knowledge of the occupations, Abagnale passed himself off as a Pan Am pilot, a hospital physician and an attorney.

Abagnale knew, instinctively, what psychologists study formerly: "There is a deep-seated sense of duty to authority within us all".

According to Dr. Robert B. Cialdini: "Respect for authority is a shortcut through life that allows us to function more efficiently. Without a universal deference to our 'superiors' and to the experts, it would not be possible to construct a functional society." Also according to Cialdini: "A multi-layered and widely accepted system of authority confers an immense advantage upon society."

And "...the alternative, anarchy, is hardly known for its beneficial effects on cultural groups and one that the social philosopher Thomas Hobbes assumes would render life 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." Consequently, we are trained from birth that obedience to proper authority is right and disobedience is wrong."

Abagnale and other shrewd operators can use this as a weapon of influence, exploiting


The Three Main Elements of Authority: "Title, Clothes and Trappings."

As one particular exploit, Abagnale chose the profession of attorney (Title), wore expensive, conservative suits (Clothes) and with fake diplomas on the wall (Trappings) was able to fool unsuspecting people into trusting him.


Symbols Of Authority

From the example above, we can understand why Dr. Cialdini also asserts: "We are often as vulnerable to the symbols of authority as to the substance." This had to be true for Abagnale because there was no real substance behind his impersonations at all.


Respect My A*thor*a*tie! Eric Cartman

We've all been children. And as parents, we want our children to be safe. We teach them to respect our authority for many reasons. When our kids love and respect us, they will listen to what we have to say. At least, we hope. From our child's point of view, most of us as parents, have 'been there, done that' and we can offer the benefit of our experience. There may even be times when our foresight prompts us to intervene when we see that our kids are inclined, pre-disposed or otherwise attempting to do something dangerous or potentially dangerous. The situation might call for some instruction now in order to get them out of harm's way until we can explain things more fully later.

So we all have been individually conditioned, for one reason or another, with deep down inclinations to respect authority. A survey of the news can show us that there are people who take advantage of this to hurt us and our children, but is there a little bit more we can explore? Aren't we safe in groups? Aren't the children safer when they're in groups? Well, the answer to that can be yes and no.


GroupThink As Authority

Writing in The Emotional Life of Nations, Lloyd deMause expands on Stanley Milgram's famous Obedience to Authority experiments and, in the process, shines a bit of light on why the individual can still be vulnerable, even in a group:

"Social scientists have been puzzled by Milgram's experiments, wondering why people were so easily talked into inflicting pain so gratuitously. The real explanation is that, by joining a group-the "university experiment"-they switched into their social alters and merged with their own sadistic internalized persecutor, which was quite willing to take responsibility for ordering pain inflicted upon others. Their 'struggle with themselves' over whether to obey was really a struggle between their social alters and their main selves.

The crucial element of the experiments was the existence of the group-as-terrifying-parent, the all-powerful university. Not surprisingly, when the experiment was repeated using children-who go into trance and switch into traumatized content more easily than adults-they were even more obedient in inflicting the maximum shock."

Although deMause is explaining how we can justify doing harm to others, his work is also valuable for explaining WHY we follow instructions to do so, even to the point of causing a fatality. And this harmful aspect of obedience to authority is what we're talking about here.


At this point, it might also be useful to mention something Dr. Cialdini stated while explaining the principle of social proof:

"In general, when we are unsure of ourselves; when the situation is unclear or ambiguous; when uncertainty reins, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct." And it might also be useful to add that if a specific situation calls us to action and there is no other to look to for guidance in that situation, we tend to defer to that authority. Without a doubt, predators know that.

Now that we have some understanding of our previous conditioning and tendencies (early setup) we can take a look at how we can be set up for specific situations regardless of context.


The example I've picked to further clarify the Setup or "preframe" comes from the book "The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less" by Mark Joyner:


The Greatest Persuasion Secret in the World

"If you understand this one secret, you can dispense with just about every other book on the topic of persuasion and still get some great results in your life.

Keep in mind that I have been a lifelong student of persuasion, have written respected books on the topic, and have seen how persuasion plays out in many various contexts and battlefields. I can tell you, without question, that the following concept is the Holy Trump Card of all persuasion principles:

The Frame.

The Frame is not your message—it’s the message that precedes your message.

Huh? Stay with me . . .

Imagine for a moment that you are looking at a piece of art in a museum. What kind of assumptions would you make about it? The underlying presupposition is that the art is worthy of being in a museum. It must be good.
What if you saw the same piece of art being peddled by a street artist? Do you think your perception of it would be different? I mean, if he’s any good, what is he doing selling art on the street, right?

I heard possibly one of the best explanations of this principle from the most unlikely place once: a chick flick entitled Never Been Kissed.

Drew Barrymore played an undercover reporter who was sent back to high school to write about what life is like for teenagers these days. Barrymore’s character was a real dork in high school, and she discovered that she was still just as much of a dork when she went back undercover.

Her brother (played by David Arquette), an otherwise unsuccessful guy who was a popular baseball jock in high school, decided to enroll in the school and help her out. He quickly became the most popular kid in school and began his campaign to save his sister’s self-esteem. He told everyone that she used to be his girlfriend and that she dumped him. He spoke reverently about how great she was and within the matter of a day, she was quickly accepted as one of the cool kids.

He summed this up with one line: “Josey, if you want to be cool, all you have to do is get one other cool kid to like you.” When the other cool kid likes you, this preframes everyone else’s opinion of you.

Their contention was that even the cool kids were absolutely terrified of everyone finding out their secret: that they are just as dorky as you. The other cool kids give something acceptance and the green light: It’s safe to like it now without being found out.

I think it’s a pretty valid analysis."

When this stuff sinks in you can also start noticing how the preframe info affects the opinion of others.


Joyner continues with:

"For a fun experiment some time, try this with the wing man of your choice.

1. Go to an area far away from where you live.
2. Go to a bar or a club with your wing man five minutes behind you and strike up a conversation with someone.
3. Half the time, before your friend enters the bar, tell the person to whom you’re talking that your friend is a famous movie producer. The other half of the time, tell them that he just got out of prison for assault.
4. See how that affects how they react to him.

Wait a minute. Maybe you already know how this is going to play out without going through the trouble.
Do you now see the power of the Frame?
With the proper preframe, do you really think you’ll need any other persuasion tricks to attain your objective?
This is why Word of Mouth is the most powerful form of marketing in the world.

Warning: some people who first learn this principle use it to deceive people. When people find out you were lying, not only will you lose your Second Glass, but Word of Mouth will start to have the exact opposite effect on your life."

I suspect that the Frame is so powerful because it is very subtle and almost unconscious. It is also because we have associated the preframe information with something in our minds that we have already allowed to enter unfiltered. That is, if we develop trust with someone, information we get from them bypasses our mental filter and penetrates deep into the core of our beliefs.

If you don’t yet understand the power of this, I highly recommend paying close attention to your own mind.

Turning back to the issue at the beginning of this article, what is more important: determining whether or not a known predator is near and who they may be and how to keep them away, or how to protect ourselves from becoming victims? While we debate and argue that issue are we getting distracted from the real danger?

Despite the various ways of tracking convicted predators, victimization still happens. What about the next predator that comes along? The only thing that will prevent victimization in the first place is awareness of the potential danger.

The problem is that we’re so tuned in to our own radio station so much that sometimes we are totally out of sync with the most important things. One of those important things is learning the tricks that are used to shape our thoughts and keep us focused on the magician's right hand so we don't notice what his left hand is doing. The media is good for that. Just read on and see.


In The Beginning Man Created Paradox

Any category can become partially or wholly identified with the attributes which go into or are excluded in making up said category and vice-versa. Confusing? (Think about the Symbols-As-Authority discussion above).

For example, causing the death of your own child is excluded from the arbitrary category "parent", so it is not a subject that occupies our mind. If it does cross our mind we tend to avoid recognizing it. It is not paradoxical if a parent kills it's child. Why? Being a parent first requires that you are a human being which, unfortunately, includes the attribute of killing other human beings.

In other words, the category "parent" doesn't exclude the reality of first being human. The same holds true for other paradoxes. The mistake of allowing a lower order category on the knowledge tree (parent) from erasing an earlier or more primal category (human) creates paradoxes.

So, what am I trying to say? It's simple really:


Do not be taken in by Paradoxes.

Don't let paradoxes be a blind spot! Only newscasters and other criminals make their living on paradoxes. Think about it. How many stories are created, sensationalized, dramatized and reported on the basis of a paradox?

How could a good Christian cheat us on the used car?
How could the chief of police be taking bribes?
How could a good American betray his country?
He is a minister, how could he beat his wife?
He is a priest. How could he sexually molest a child?
How could the Sunday School teacher have sex with his daughter?
If he loves animals how could he be a research scientist?
How can a doctor cheat his patients?
And on and on.


And we just eat it up don't we?

Well, I guess there's no law that says we have to. So maybe it's time to try something different. Maybe with the ideas in this article we can come to some visceral realizations that can shake us out of some complacency. Maybe if we spend less time in our self-absorbed pursuits we will have more awareness of our environment - it's beauty and it's potential dangers and what can be done to coexist in a network of mutual support. Maybe if we recognize our mutual interdependence, we can do a better job looking out for ourselves and the ones who mean a lot to us. Maybe if we all did that then everyone would be safer, feel safer and predators might not even have a chance to start anything with anyone.


That's a lot of maybe. But then, what was it that Mr. Deming said during the effort to rebuild Japan's economy after the atomic devastation?

"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory."
W. Edwards Deming

It's a choice.



*************
References:
*************
Robert B. Cialdini was the Regents' Professor of Psychology and W.P. Carey Distinguished Professor of Marketing at Arizona State University where he has also been named Distinguished Graduate Research Professor. He retired from academia in May 2009. He is best known for his popular book on persuasion and marketing, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (ISBN 0-688-12816-5).
Influence has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into twenty-six languages. It has been listed on the New York Times Business Best Seller List. Fortune Magazine lists Influence in their "75 Smartest Business Books."
Also, "Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive" (ISBN 978-184668-016-8)
_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini

-------------------------------------
Irving I. Janus, Victims of Groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982, p. 70. 169 Stanley Milgram, Obedience to Authority. New York: Harper & Row, 1974, p. 143.
A. C. Elms and Stanley Milgram, "Personality Characteristics Associated With Obedience and Defiance Toward Authoritative Command." Journal of Experimental Research in Personality 1(1966): 282-89.

Also:
Chapter 5, The Emotional Life of Nations by Lloyd deMause
_http://www.psychohistory.com/htm/eln05_psychogenic.html
-------------------------------------
The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less
Mark Joyner
_http://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Offer-Product-Service-Seconds/dp/0471738948
-------------------------------------
Category (contextual definition):
Nothing but an arbitrary label to group specific attributes of objects and actions regarded as similar or different by selecting and ignoring attributes: qualities and quantities of the objects or actions being classed.



Edit: Spelling and/or other enhancements

 

[Stevie Argyl]

Re: Why Predators Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Bud
Cialdinis: Influence is a very interesting book, if you haven't read the full thing I would recomend it.

 

[LQB]

Re: Why Predators Victimize Us And How To Stop It

The Three Main Elements of Authority: "Title, Clothes and Trappings."

As one particular exploit Abagnale chose the profession of attorney (Title), expensive, conservative suits (Clothes) and with fake diplomas on the wall (Trappings) was able to fool unsuspecting people into trusting him.


Symbols Of Authority

From the example above, we can understand why Dr. Cialdini also asserts: "We are often as vulnerable to the symbols of authority as to the substance." This had to be true for Abagnale because there was no real substance behind his impersonations at all.

Absolutely Bud - to me, the premise/function is very valid and very important - I suspect Gurdjieff would have a few good things to say about this.

It was brought home to me in an experience back in the early '70s. My brother and I were working hard labor at one of the phosphate plants in central Fla and decided to stop in and see a friend at his place in the area. We had long hair back then and at the time, I happened to be wearing my dad's WW II top jacket which was in excellent condition with decorations. Our friend wasn't back yet so we decided on a couple of beers at a bar nearby. This was one REDNECK hangout. We visibly perturbed that crowded pool room but had a couple of beers and left. When we mentioned the bar stop to our friend, he was amazed that we made it out without serious injury - the kind of place where any "long-hair" deserved a beating. The only thing that saved us was apparently the military jacket (Viet Nam association). I did notice quite a few glances at the jacket and nods of respect. FWIW

But these symbols of authority are very effectively used against us today to support the image of competence behind which there is very often, nothing but greed.

 

[Vulcan59]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Great reminder of what Allen Funt, host of Candid Camera, once said;

"The worst thing, and I see it over and over, is how easily people can be led by any kind of authority figure, or even the most minimal kinds of authority. A well-dressed man walks up the down escalator and most people will turn around and try desperately to go up also... We put up a sign on the road, 'Delaware Closed Today'. Motorists didn't even question it. Instead they asked: 'Is Jersey open?'"

 

[mada85]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Very interesting article, Bud, thanks for sharing it with us. You're describing a program which is very deeply implanted in just about everyone. I've seen it in myself often enough. Catch Me If You Can I found very entertaining but rather suspect too, mainly because Abagnale is redeemed at the end by working for the FBI, which gives the message to the audience that predators only need to see the error of their ways and they'll use their 'talents' for the common good. And we know who wants us to believe that!

"In general, when we are unsure of ourselves; when the situation is unclear or ambiguous; when uncertainty reins, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct." And it might also be useful to add that if a specific situation calls us to action and there is no other to look to for guidance in that situation, we tend to defer to that authority. Without a doubt, predators know that.

And this is the basis of the 'shock doctrine'.

My inner proofreader :P noticed a couple of things:

Abagnale knew, instinctively, what psychologists study formerly

'Formerly' should be 'formally'.

The problem is that we’re so tuned in to our own radio station so much that sometimes we are totally out of sync with the most important things.

Consider either removing 'so much' after 'station', or remove 'so' before 'tuned'.

Maybe if we spend less time in our self-absorbed pursuits we will have more awareness of our environment - it's beauty and it's potential dangers

'it's' should be 'its' in both cases in the above sentence.

 

[rrraven]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Posted by: Endymion
Very interesting article, Bud, thanks for sharing it with us. You're describing a program which is very deeply implanted in just about everyone. I've seen it in myself often enough. Catch Me If You Can I found very entertaining but rather suspect too, mainly because Abagnale is redeemed at the end by working for the FBI, which gives the message to the audience that predators only need to see the error of their ways and they'll use their 'talents' for the common good. And we know who wants us to believe that!

or the film is a subtle recruitment drive for the FBI and other assorted agencies for the predators in the audience ;) ;)
Very interesting article, Bud, thanks for sharing .

 

[Buddy]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Thanks for the comments so far, everyone. I'll leave the original post intact, but I've decided that I can do a much better job with this. :)

 

[Stevie Argyl]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Bud

I have been thinking a bit more about this and another example that comes to mind where one can be conned 'on the spot' is what is referred to in hypnotis as the technique of pattern interrupt.
Basically what happens is that your thinking is interrupted, you are in a state of confusion looking for a way out and the 'con' offers a 'suggestion' and in confusion the suggestion is accepted as the way out of confusion as it offers a known action which is more acceptable than staying in a 'whoa, whats that?' state and action proceeds down the route of suggestion. this is how people are conned on their doorstep. In these type of situations, forewarned isn't necesarily forearmed unless one has a habit of mentally rehearsing scenarios or cultivate a habit of reflection prior to action.
Jest some thoughts

 

[piranah]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

This post me think of my Narcisstic adopted daughter. I have posted before on her exploits but essentially she is a character much Like the guy from the film. Able to read from young age who can be manipulated. Its uncanny and something she developed i believe as a security against being rejected left without . She was so hurt by abandonment age four that she became hyper aware she user the power to keep close those she needs and destroy the ones shefeels threatened by. I have no contact now i realised that she was manipulating my life and had been for years. She user the basic fact that we all do respond in a certain way to authority or victim situations. I had a chance to watch the development of her personality over 20 years. Even as a child she KNEW what your weakness was or how to hide her true self. I began to feel she was waiting and she was for a time she could really be powerful. Adolescence wow imagine a normal teen sneaky times ten. It was Like an alien observing us.

 

[piranah]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Just to add apologies for mistakes in post. My only internet access via this small phone keyboard and some functions not available to edit. And it only allows so much text to post ! I would add also that these predators are only visible to few who some how see through. They use charm and our gulibility to seek up in. I have learned to not trust what people present whether they be authority or not i teach my youngest children the same . Just because the adult says get in the car doesnt mean you should! Being kind and forgiving of my daughter and allowing her back into our lives many times was the mistake. Any info you give her is used to hurt or manipulate. I do wistfully wish Like frank she could channel her wonderful terrible skills of social manipulation into positive. She would be an asset to the government but alas its not Like the movies!

 

[obyvatel]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

When this stuff sinks in you can also start noticing how the preframe info affects the opinion of others.


Joyner continues with:

"For a fun experiment some time, try this with the wing man of your choice.

1. Go to an area far away from where you live.
2. Go to a bar or a club with your wing man five minutes behind you and strike up a conversation with someone.
3. Half the time, before your friend enters the bar, tell the person to whom you’re talking that your friend is a famous movie producer. The other half of the time, tell them that he just got out of prison for assault.
4. See how that affects how they react to him.

Wait a minute. Maybe you already know how this is going to play out without going through the trouble.
Do you now see the power of the Frame?
With the proper preframe, do you really think you’ll need any other persuasion tricks to attain your objective?
This is why Word of Mouth is the most powerful form of marketing in the world.

Warning: some people who first learn this principle use it to deceive people. When people find out you were lying, not only will you lose your Second Glass, but Word of Mouth will start to have the exact opposite effect on your life."

I suspect that the Frame is so powerful because it is very subtle and almost unconscious. It is also because we have associated the preframe information with something in our minds that we have already allowed to enter unfiltered. That is, if we develop trust with someone, information we get from them bypasses our mental filter and penetrates deep into the core of our beliefs.

It seems that this Frame as well as the paradoxes, and group think mentality that you listed are related to the innate human tendency to trust others. Even in the evolutionary sense, as human beings fought non-human predators, natural calamities and built a society, trusting others who are part of his network would have been a necessity. It is this deeply ingrained sense of trust that is ruthlessly exploited by pathologicals. Refusing to trust someone unless they have proved themselves to be trust-worthy through their actions (and not their social positions or their authoritative bearings) seems to be one way to protect oneself from being victimized. The default assumption becomes that the other is a liar unless he turns out otherwise. Starting with that assumption, one needs to be aware in the moment and look for clues which point to the direction of proving or disproving this assumption. It is a tragedy that such a strategy is needed due to a small percentage of pathological people in the whole of humanity - but such is the reality we inhabit.

 

[Nawd]

Re: Why Predators Are Able To Victimize Us And How To Stop It

Thanks for writing this Bud very interesting!

I've heard of a lot of situations where someone posing as a maintenance person(s) from the city conning their way into someones residence, just by using a clipboard and a badge of some sort. They then have pretty full access to whatever is nearby to steal. If they come in with a tool bag, they may leave with more than just a bit of cash or a credit card.

Always check people who come to your house, their ID, and if that doesn't look right (and maybe one should anyway) call the city or the cable company, or whomever they claim to be employed with. Better yet, set an appointment, even if they say "oh this will only take a minute or so." Many times con artists come in twos. One to distract while the other one 'works.'

Speaking of being victimized, people have been spraying for mosquitoes here down our road about once a week sometimes less sometimes more. It's a sprayer on the back of a white truck that sprays this obnoxious crap that smells like lemon flavored mothballs. The first time they came down the road, they drove so fast I couldn't see what their sign said on the side of the truck. The second time I heard the sprayer and stopped the truck (luckily he turned off the sprayer when he saw me - which is the law I found out later). I asked what chemicals they were spraying, he said it's for mosquitoes and shrugged. I asked him who he was employed with, he said the health department. I asked him for a business card, he gave me one. I called the health department and was told it was up to the land owner to opt out of the spraying. He won't. So the next step is getting the other people in this neighborhood to sign a petition, but that doesn't do any good because they all think it's great what they are doing. Even with the science to back up the fact that spraying only hurts human and animal health, and does little but make mosquitoes more resilient to the spray.

So sadly, I can't do much about that scenario, except educate the neighbors.