It’s heartening to see C J Hopkins attacking Desmet’s Mass Formation Psychosis explanation of the Covid madness of the last two years, which he ignored at first but now believes is becoming dangerous because of its increasing popularity with those people who generally did not succumb to the Mass Formation Psychosis and who opposed lockdowns, masks, testing etc. I have argued from the very beginning that there is clear evidence of malign intent, which necessarily precludes certain people from conveniently being let off the hook for crimes against humanity on the grounds of a claimed diminished responsibility due to them being ‘hypnotised’ by an emergent mass formation psychological ‘thingy’, which affected lots of people.
I'm reading Desmet's book at the moment and I believe he is on to something although I can't agree with his attribution of its origins to the Enlightenment and subsequent 'mechanistic' thinking. I think that we are all subject to ideologies of varying degrees of reach and severity. For example, we tend to take on the same political opinions as our parents. (Some of us never grow out of that!); we adopt the 'culture' of our workplace, even if it may grate on us, for a more peaceful and successful working life, and so on.
I don't think that our elites 'hypnotised themselves' but they did believe their own propaganda - which is sort of the same thing. This seems to be the way elites work: via a sort of cognitive dissonance - they're capable, for example, of believing in total lockdown while at the same time believing it doesn't apply to them. I think this is a necessary attribute of political elites. Just as you make progress through the echelons of a big corporation by not making waves, so you make political progress by 'going along'.
It seems to me that what we should address is the propensity for people to be influenced by ideologies small and large, benign and fatal. I think that is what the Enlightenment was about. Pity it didn't take off!
Great article. I like your questioning mindset. I have one too.
Apparently groupthink pits are a very easy trap for us all to fall into, and we as individuals need to be on guard against it constantly. It looks like divisions are forming amongst all who should be in it together, standing as one against the real enemies of humanity, as a result. I’ve now read 4 articles in one evening about the Desmit issue. Why is it reaching a sort of critical mass (stating to dislike that word, lol) at this exact moment? Same thing with the virus vs terrain theory arguments, which are also popping up all over the place and getting contentious.
The divisions now occurring make the most sense to me, if I consider the idea that they are not organic, but are being deliberately seeded to derail the fight against the true tyrants. (Not in ANY way accusing you of doing that). I am beginning to find the timing of it all rather suspicious. We must avoid the divide and conquer trap. The only ones who ultimately benefit off that are the evil monsters who continue to seek to destroy us all. Stopping the evil plans being implemented is the number one priority right now.
The marxists are the ones who love ideological purity tests. I can almost feel the idea of that, as a result of these hot-button topics, waiting in the shadows ahead to derail the momentum needed to take the bastards down. My views on many things are strong and deeply held. But I reject the notion that all must think exactly like I do on every point and at all points in time. It reminds me strongly of some of the things Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians. Unite on the great core truth. Don’t get sucked into or derailed by “I am of Paul, I am of Apollo” arguments. Do you eat meat sacrificed to idols or not, heretic?
Thanks for letting me wax on about all this. I appreciate learning the new information about a facet of Desmit’s view that prior to this evening I was unaware of. Those divergent viewpoints, God willing, can be addressed down the road once we stop the madness. My heart and gut are telling me now is not the time to get caught up in that controversy.
I'm reading Desmet's book at the moment and I believe he is on to something although I can't agree with his attribution of its origins to the Enlightenment and subsequent 'mechanistic' thinking. I think that we are all subject to ideologies of varying degrees of reach and severity. For example, we tend to take on the same political opinions as our parents. (Some of us never grow out of that!); we adopt the 'culture' of our workplace, even if it may grate on us, for a more peaceful and successful working life, and so on.
I don't think that our elites 'hypnotised themselves' but they did believe their own propaganda - which is sort of the same thing. This seems to be the way elites work: via a sort of cognitive dissonance - they're capable, for example, of believing in total lockdown while at the same time believing it doesn't apply to them. I think this is a necessary attribute of political elites. Just as you make progress through the echelons of a big corporation by not making waves, so you make political progress by 'going along'.
It seems to me that what we should address is the propensity for people to be influenced by ideologies small and large, benign and fatal. I think that is what the Enlightenment was about. Pity it didn't take off!
Great article. I like your questioning mindset. I have one too.
Apparently groupthink pits are a very easy trap for us all to fall into, and we as individuals need to be on guard against it constantly. It looks like divisions are forming amongst all who should be in it together, standing as one against the real enemies of humanity, as a result. I’ve now read 4 articles in one evening about the Desmit issue. Why is it reaching a sort of critical mass (stating to dislike that word, lol) at this exact moment? Same thing with the virus vs terrain theory arguments, which are also popping up all over the place and getting contentious.
The divisions now occurring make the most sense to me, if I consider the idea that they are not organic, but are being deliberately seeded to derail the fight against the true tyrants. (Not in ANY way accusing you of doing that). I am beginning to find the timing of it all rather suspicious. We must avoid the divide and conquer trap. The only ones who ultimately benefit off that are the evil monsters who continue to seek to destroy us all. Stopping the evil plans being implemented is the number one priority right now.
The marxists are the ones who love ideological purity tests. I can almost feel the idea of that, as a result of these hot-button topics, waiting in the shadows ahead to derail the momentum needed to take the bastards down. My views on many things are strong and deeply held. But I reject the notion that all must think exactly like I do on every point and at all points in time. It reminds me strongly of some of the things Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians. Unite on the great core truth. Don’t get sucked into or derailed by “I am of Paul, I am of Apollo” arguments. Do you eat meat sacrificed to idols or not, heretic?
Thanks for letting me wax on about all this. I appreciate learning the new information about a facet of Desmit’s view that prior to this evening I was unaware of. Those divergent viewpoints, God willing, can be addressed down the road once we stop the madness. My heart and gut are telling me now is not the time to get caught up in that controversy.