tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post7543565552563670524..comments2023-09-26T16:01:59.345+02:00Comments on A life in juxtaposition: Brainwashing the flockEugenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17722877695054410613noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post-21483300303626291352008-10-19T22:44:00.000+02:002008-10-19T22:44:00.000+02:00Or put another way - in itself there is nothing wr...Or put another way - in itself there is nothing wrong with the need to belong, to fitting in and to get along with a group. We are social creatures after all and these things allow us to co-exist peacefully. The real problem is the <I>perversion</I> of these natural needs. It is when they are turned against us that retaining the ability to think critically becomes vital.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17722877695054410613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post-71006133939756448492008-10-13T13:48:00.000+02:002008-10-13T13:48:00.000+02:00Tania - Advertisers sure love to use all of these ...Tania - Advertisers sure love to use all of these on us! Yet somehow being brainwashed doesn't seem so bad when its only about laundry detergent!<BR/><BR/>Diga - I absolutely agree, you can take anything too far. I see both believing everything and disbelieving everything as pretty much equally bad. There is a time for focusing your thoughts, there are times when things are black and white and there are times we should pick a side. All I'm saying is we should never do any of these things at the cost of the ability to continue thinking critically. To me the most important thing is that we don't lose the ability to ask ourselves why we are doing things a certain way.<BR/><BR/>For instance: picking a side because you agree with it is fine. Staying with that side long after you stopped agreeing with it, simply because that is now "your" side is not fine.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17722877695054410613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post-1938517427526227112008-10-13T07:55:00.000+02:002008-10-13T07:55:00.000+02:00very good blog. it's very good to be an actual cr...very good blog. it's very good to be an actual critical thinker, but overanalyzing can be a barrier to the realization of truth as well.<BR/><BR/>for instance, is an us vs. them mentality necessarily bad when it's true? the giants were 14 point underdogs in the superbowl. the only thing anyone wondered was how much the patriots would win by. it's overused, but in this case it was true. there was actually all of about 5 people that believed in them. that's good motivation.<BR/><BR/>i guess my point is that it's great to be mindful of being manipulated, but you can't live your life in defensive mode all the time. most of life is more black and white than people want to admit, for instance. gray areas make us feel good, but are less necessary than people with no concept of truth would have us believe. <BR/><BR/>cart blanche rejection of anything that might resemble a manipulative method is just as controlling and subversive as anything in that list.digapigmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13799706304353850475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post-2011255113523280212008-10-09T07:29:00.000+02:002008-10-09T07:29:00.000+02:00In the end it's about marketing: chanting are...In the end it's about marketing: chanting are taglines; "black & white" as well as "us & them" can be linked to comparative advertising... And like all marketing (and I am a marketing scientist), often not the whole truth. But still, you have to admire good marketing! :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post-25386511447558798082008-10-04T08:59:00.000+02:002008-10-04T08:59:00.000+02:00Sue - the more I hear about your church the more I...Sue - the more I hear about your church the more I wish I could attend it! The "repeat after me" thing is really spreading through the church like wildfire and you see pastors all over pick up on it. I wonder who started it? I'm thinking TD Jakes, he does it all the time and it always looks fun when he does it. Guess many preachers just view it as a way to make the sermon interactive and fun so I guess I shouldn't be <I>too</I> hard on those who use it.<BR/><BR/>Gumby - I don't think you are being too cynical actually. While most of the preachers out there may be doing this innocently, there are some guys out there who run their mega services like a well oiled machine - a fact that becomes painfully obvious every time one of those fake "faith healers" are exposed (Peter Popoff is a great example). Their meetings are carefully planned and orchestrated to get the desired response from the crowd, they <I>clearly</I> know exactly what they are doing!Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17722877695054410613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post-57127313966105574002008-10-04T00:35:00.000+02:002008-10-04T00:35:00.000+02:00I think the more successful a televangelist is, th...I think the more successful a televangelist is, the more they know they are actually using brainwashing techniques.<BR/><BR/>Cynical, I know, but these guys know what works, and practice it endlessly to hone their skills. I am skeptical that these uber-successful televangelists don't know exactly what they're doing.<BR/><BR/>It's why Pat Robertson wears a Rolex paid for by little old ladies who live on a fixed income and barely have enough to eat. OK, I don't actually know if that is true or not. But you get my point.GumbyTheCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02696861259954817600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2064729025510181487.post-54420676849560805322008-10-03T23:29:00.000+02:002008-10-03T23:29:00.000+02:00I would have to really look hard to find my Pastor...I would have to really look hard to find my Pastor doing any of this. However, I grew up with all of this. After a signifacant amount of time away from all of this, I have become hypersensitive to these things. when I visit other churches I find this stuff almost comical. Especially the one I grew up in! <BR/><BR/>We had a visiting Pastor come and speak at our church a few months ago and his use of chant ie. "repeat after me" or "say this" was so over the top for the duration of his entire speech, I felt exhausted by the end. I didn't participate so I have know idea what he spoke about that day. I just know it felt like control and it drove me freakin crazy! It wasn't just me either. we are not use to these methods in our church so many people were looking around at each other like, "what the hell is this"?RandomSuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00266089487669591255noreply@blogger.com