Authoritarians unite a segment of obedient useful fools, but are divisive by nature to anybody who would not follow their misguided views. Learn to defeat them.
We are easily defeated when divided.
When I wrote Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools and Woke and Proud the Charlatans’ Inconvenience, I was transmitting an important larger message. We are more similar than different. But that is inconvenient to those who want to rule over our lives and turn us into obedient fools who feel vindicated in hurting others.
Let’s start by understanding that all humans have the same range of emotions, we cry, we laugh, we love, we hate, we get angry, we get sad, we get elated, and any other emotion you can think of. How do we respond to these factors will depend on the environment in which we live. The culture surrounding a person can very well give different perceptions as far as how the people in that group respond to any or all of these actual natural human responses.
Lately we’ve seen a new trend of toxic masculinity and gender roles that are regressive at the very least, but are also an indirect and often direct attack on other groups of people. Particularly there has been an exacerbated growth of hate speech and dehumanization against the LGBTQ segments of the population.
And even between the heterosexual groups there is a skewing of reality that makes misconception akin to a 90’s high-school-like perceptions of gender roles as the expected reality in 2024. In other words, we are regressing. The 90’s were actually a pretty messed up time. Add this to the isolation between people who live behind computer and smart-phone screens – and the correct perception of how to interact with other human beings is eroding exponentially.
The division starts from within.
To divide people, the first step is to convince them that they (themselves) are different – in a bad way, although this is paradoxically nonsensical. What does that mean? It means they will make them feel “superior to everybody else” but that they (the same group) are “not good enough, unless they are part of this group that is recruiting them.” Soon enough, anybody who is not inside this circle of “accepted” people will be an “outsider.”
When these “us against them” situations galvanize, it is very easy to segregate people. One group, the oppressors, will feel vindicated by victimizing the other group, because they will assert that the actual opposite group that they are victimizing is somehow more powerful than they (the victimizers group) are – although they are weaker. Yes, it is that incoherent. And sadly, it works to mobilize obedient fools – and it has been working for centuries.
I’ve spoken about this before, and yes it remains true. By identifying a person’s bias, this can be exploited. But if we understand our biases and learn the full context, then we are able to diffuse the power of those who want to divide us and are gaining traction over us. If you ever encounter divisive rhetoric, always stop to think: Who benefits when we are divided?
In the current geopolitical situation, there are regimes who want to destroy the west, to include the USA from the inside out. What does the “inside means” – it means by dividing the people in ways they will be convinced they are enemies. The real enemy is the one who is dividing us.
If you’ve been bamboozled to carry water for an authoritarian, it is as easy as stopping and learning the full context. There is nothing an authoritarian enjoys more than a useful fool to do their dirty work for them. And many useful fools are doing so by dividing us, and dehumanizing us in spectacular fashion. HLC