Kony Baloney Invisible Indoctrination 2012

[Peter]

J.S. McGowan wrote:

I seem to remember reading in the Virtue of Selfishness that Ayn Rand saw the invasion of countries under a dictatorship by a free countries is morally justifiable . . . . I disagree with the whole thing. It all seems like Hipster Socialist jibber jabber, but under what specific circumstance is American military interference justified?

end quote

She was against Imperialism and a new, global fascism of intervention, which was sometimes for profit by some American businessmen. She was for peaceful coexistence, free markets, and free minds. I have Chris Sciabara’s Liberty & Power: Group Blog. Peter Schwartz and the Abandonment of Rand’s Radical Legacy if anyone wants to read it or you can search for it online.

That being said – from the Ayn Rand Playboy Magazine interview:

PLAYBOY: What about force in foreign policy? You have said that any free nation had the right to invade Nazi Germany during World War II.

RAND: Certainly.

PLAYBOY: . . . And that any free nation today has the moral right -- though not the duty -- to invade Soviet Russia, Cuba, or any other "slave pen." Correct?

RAND: Correct. A dictatorship -- a country that violates the rights of its own citizens -- is an outlaw and can claim no rights.

end quote

In essence, Rand’s code for America’s foreign policy required the answering of some basic questions: Is it in our interest? If it is not in our direct interest, would it cost American lives? Would it cost American money? If we could depose a murdering dictator, with little or no cost, should we? Ayn Rand would say yes. However, she was in no way an interventionist like John McCain or an “isolationist, blame America Firster” like Ron Paul.

Peter Taylor

[Brant Gaede]

Her views on interventionism got somewhat muddled because of her basic affinity for Israel and hatred for the Soviet Union. When it came to them, she was quite able to force a square peg into a round hole. When her philosophy got into practicalities things got difficult--on all levels, ethical and political.

--Brant

[Peter]

For a change of pace and the artistic sublime, check this out. Subscribe and get updates once a month.

http://www.cordair.com

edit I can't tell if this will work or not. it is taking too long.

Peter

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Peter,

I fixed your link.

Michael

[Peter]

Thanks Michael !

It may be my evolutionary nature at work, but I love those paintings of women, all beautiful in their own way.

That Kony director is psychotic but did anyone see that coming from what he did in the video? And why would a huge success trigger an attack?

Peter

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

That Kony director is psychotic but did anyone see that coming from what he did in the video? And why would a huge success trigger an attack?

Peter,

I lean toward the publicity stunt angle. At other times my organ of insufficient paranoia becomes sufficient enough to think he might have received some "private advice" from people who would rather not be known to the public and this scared the holy crap out of him. But there is something else I can think of that would trigger such a breakdown.

I'll start from an oblique angle as I am sometimes wont to do.

Let's start with a real estate and Internet marketer named Robert Allen (who currently likes to spam people to death with sleazy get rich quick stuff). He did a jaw-dropping live presentation once that I have heard talked about, but have not yet seen since I can't locate the video. But I know it's out there so someday I will see it.

In the video, Allen had just read Cialdini's book on persuasion and decided to try some of it on a live audience. There are six major techniques of covert persuasion that Cialdini covers in depth: reciprocity, consistency (from commitment), liking, authority, social proof, and scarcity.

Allen was at one of those conventions where a person gives an inspirational talk and sells stuff at the end (sometimes called a "pitch fest"). He peppered his presentation with the Cialdini six. The result was that he had the audience getting out of their seats and rushing to the table in the back of the room to get his products, then rushing back to their seats, then rushing to the back of the room again and so on for several times. He was flabbergasted at how well it worked. (But, as time has shown, somehow he got over his surprise... )

btw - As an aside, I have heard the rush to the back called "buyer's rush" not only because of the stampede, but because of the euphoria and urgency in the prospect's mind. It's quite a rush--I know, I've felt it...

* * *

So what does this have to do with Kony 2012?

Well, let's make a supposition for the sake of argument. Let's suppose that Jason Russell, the director, is actually a touchy-feely liberal type, or as in his bio, an evangelical Christian. Or both.

I don't believe he's a hardcore evangelical Christian because nothing like that was evident in Kony 2012. Lukewarm seems more like it. He may have mentioned God in the film, but I don't recall a single mention from the one time I saw it in its entirety (I have started my analysis, but I am only deeply familiar with the beginning right now).

But let's suppose--on a soul level--he thinks the world at large is lollipops and roses with some very specific bad guys in it, and once you take those villains out there will be peace on earth good will toward all humans for ever and ever amen. We shall live freely among the sheep and the lions and the serpents and the doves and evil shall be no more.

Now let us suppose he decided to experiment with covert persuasion just like Robert Allen did, but in addition to using Cialdini, he also got his hands on some other persuasion stuff. Suppose he was like me in studying this field and has a collection of interesting material--from the CIA interrogation stuff to NLP conversational hypnosis to crowd control to propaganda to direct response copywriting and so on.

And suppose he made a list of some of the different techniques that caught his fancy and came up with ways to include them in his film project, to wed them to his material--and did just that. (In fact, this is so plausible, I believe this is what he actually did.)

Now suppose he put his turbo-charged video on YouTube thinking it would help generate some publicity for his touchy-feely campaign and get some sign-ups--to help the good honest kumbaya folks rid the earth of a dirty rotten bad guy.

* * *

Then the thing went through the roof, not like a blockbuster, but like a rocket on its way to outer space. About 70 million views or so at the time of his meltdown.

In the beginning he thought, "Holy shit! It worked!"

Then after it kept going, he thought, "Wait a minute... Is this the way the world is? Really? All these people aren't on board because I raised their awareness of an evil. I manipulated them--millions of them. Where did all the kumbaya go? I could have easily done it to them for a bad cause and they would have complied... Wait... That's exactly what others are doing..."

He saw oodles of critics popping up accusing him of several things that were not part of his covert manipulation elements. "Don't you get it?" he thought. "What you are saying didn't even occur to me--and you missed what I really did!"

And then he looked around at the world through the eyes of someone who now knows how it's done--and he saw it. Clear as daylight. No way to rationalize it. Everything from advertising to politics to war to entertainment to religion to everything. The major events in modern society were all driven by manipulation techniques used intentionally and they worked.

God flew out the window. The touchy-feely stuff withered into an illusion.

He looked at the millions of children who quickly jumped on board. His new Lord of the Flies army. He had recruited them with trickery to champion his crusade and fight his war. He was twisting their souls. He was an evil man--a Kony of the mind.

His whole life and moral compass got shot to hell and he saw the world turning in a cynical game of who can lie and deceive the best. And he, through the cause he had believed in for years and the project he loved so dearly, had become a master of deception.

So he snapped. He disrobed in the street. He got naked trying desperately to take the mask off and screamed at the world in terror and rage.

* * *

I believe that is a good possibility: the guy played with fire and got burned. But I still favor the publicity stunt until I know more. Maybe it's a mix of all this stuff.

Whatever it is, you can bet your money--and win--that intentional covert manipulation is involved.

Michael

[Peter]

Michael wrote:

I believe that is a good possibility: the guy played with fire and got burned. But I still favor the publicity stunt until I know more. Maybe it's a mix of all this stuff.

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I saw him disrobed in public from behind and he seemed to be playing with his penis but though not shown on TV they said he was overtly masturbating in public and smashing his fists on the pavement. If true I can’t believe this is a publicity stunt. The antics just go too far.

Of course this also sounds like LSD intoxication. I once drove to work in California and saw a guy on the edge of a busy highway overpass. After a double take I slowed my car to get a good look. From thirty feet away he looked at me with eyes that were totally insane. I cannot remember if he was talked down or jumped, since that same sort of incident happened a half a dozen times when I lived there. I remember thinking, “asshole,” but his insanity haunted me.

Your mix of marketing techniques, propaganda, psychological manipulation combined with a fragile psyche or predisposition to reality breaks is very plausible. Or perhaps, combined with a fragile psyche and incipient psychosis, like many would be vigilantes, the Kony director felt overwhelming remorse.

Peter Taylor

[Dglgmut]

Evangelic Christian? Damn it that someone convinced him to bump GAYS 2012 to 2013 and do the Kony thing first... or else he wouldn't have gotten so much support.

[J.S. McGowan]

I really enjoyed reading the piece you wrote Micheal, very plausible.