#Indoctrination

[creature-wizard]

"How do people fall for irrational cult beliefs or conspiracy theories if they aren't mentally ill?"

Easy, most of them had an emotional or material vulnerability that the cult/conspiracy theory was able to exploit. They were so desperate that they were willing to let down their guard and believe whatever anyone who seemed to have the answers told them.

You - yes, you - have such a vulnerability yourself. Somewhere out there is a cult or conspiracy theory that could take advantage of you.

[liberalsarecool]

Like all MAGA/Republican accusations, the fact that there is no evidence is proof that they were correct and need not repent/atone.

The fact that it is NOT happening is proof that it IS happening.

DOGE was immediately accepted and never questioned by groomed MAGA.

[reality-detective]

The education system actually has no education in it, but it's an indoctrination system to follow orders. 🤔

[nemfrog]

As the great armies of the US and the USSR converge on Germanay, page 1 of a pamphlet educating American soldiers about their new comrades, soldiers of the Red Army.

Our Red Army Ally. April 23, 1945.

Internet Archive

[plummy-squish]

I just finished the book Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell. It’s about the language that cults will use to essentially brain wash their members (not in the typical brainwash way that you think about). It’s “the technical terms, the redefined words, the shorthand, the clichés, the euphemisms, logical distortions, and so on set members apart from and above their pedestrian neighbors, families, and coworkers". Montell does not necessarily view "cultish" – the "language" she identifies as the set of linguistic tricks cult leaders use to coerce and manipulate members – negatively, but she believes that people should at least be able to recognize it.”

Anyways fucked me up! In the past two days I’m seeing it everywhere, in marketing, in the slogans in my job, in popular work out groups, cliche phrases we all say…… and then i watched the latest episode of severance! I don’t think I’ll watch this show, and more specifically Mr Milchick and other unsevered employees the same.

In this last episode i wanna talk about that acronym ORTBO that they introduced because it’s the most obvious tactic that they used.

“Thought terminating clichés squash independent thinking” -Amanda montell

Episode 4 Spoilers ahead:

O- outdoor

R-retreat

T- team

B- building

O- occurrence

Wtf when have you ever heard this weirdly stated acronym? Well the innies do all the time! So this is normal for them to hear, i mean they are from the MDR department! Macrodata refinement, even with that longer version of the word it still doesn’t feel like a full explanation as to what their job does. But to them because they are introduced to it and taught to not question their bosses for fear of punishment and so they just go with it. Which now mdr has become part of their everyday vocabulary they don’t even question the meaning.

Cut to this episode, our innies are unconesntionally ripped out of their regular office space and put into this isolating harsh environment phrased as a reward. They are told they have been good enough to earn this trip and give it a title, the ORTBO, and they are very lucky to be experiencing this.

Later when they have been walking for a lot time, feeling lost and hungry are a considering eating a literal frozen dead seal because this “reward” isn’t feeling like a reward. Dylan reminds them, they are on an ORTBO and he repeats its vague meaning trying to convince them not to doubt the company. Almost trying to convince himself as well. This is the same Dylan that’s been getting fed incentives of seeing his family on the side and have been told he’s extra special. He has more to loose than anyone else right now and by repeating it is trying to stop everyone from doubting. Aka the orbto is working.

“Creating special language to influence people’s behavior and beliefs is so effective in part simply because speech is the first thing we’re willing to change about ourselves . . . and also the last thing we let go” -Amanda montell

Cults will make up words and introduce them in this way to make a group of people feel connected. Like they have been let into this new group of special workers allowed out side and given a term phrased as a reward to squash any train of thought leading to doubt or questioning. The further they go on this team building occurrence they will understand the reward.

They also use this new group language to make the group feel superior and anyone on the outside intrigued into what people are talking about. Making learning the language feel connecting with others and like you are understanding the deeper meaning. They feel superior and anyone on the outside feels like they are missing something.

Cross fit does this well! They have new work out terms like dms (delayed muscle soreness) so if a CrossFit gym bro is talking to a regular gym bro and uses the term DMS, the regular gym bro feels dumb for not knowing what this is and not keeping track of it. And is now curious as to what CrossFit has that he is missing before he knows it he’s sucked in. (I bet you they will bring back this term later if they can to alienate other employees in other departments)

Um hello even in the way they advertised this episode is using this tactic! They didn’t give us the meaning or context they gave us the word and now we wanna know what this new acronym is in the next episode.

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Severance universe has literally created a whole new language to keep certain people in the know and others confused. Watch for it!

It’s not always in acronym form; Sometimes it’s a saying, sometimes it’s just a common word given a double meaning to those in the group and out of the group.

Another day another dollar- something we hear all the time to make us just go to work and endure shit we shouldn’t

Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith- something we would hear all the time growing up as Mormon to stop people from questioning and like it’s bad to have critical thought

Endowment- to people out side Mormonism it means gift people inside it’s a whole secret ritual that you are sworn to secrecy or off yourself before telling another soul

lol my work calls its self a village

Its everywhere! It’s in our marketing! It’s in our gyms! It’s at work! We don’t even notice because it’s working.

“Words are the medium through which belief systems are manufactured, nurtured, and reinforced, their fanaticism fundamentally could not exist without them.”-Amanda Montell

Anyways this book has fucked me up and has made severance even better for me

[theconcealedweapon]

There's a tip line to report "divisive ideologies and indoctrination" in schools.

Please do not flood them with reports of corporal punishment in schools or other actual harmful practices.

[creature-wizard]

I think we need to talk about how this thing a lot of Christians do, where they tell you to pray for God to show you the truth when you read the Bible, is basically a thing that puts you into a state of mind where you start projecting what they want you to see onto its texts and filter out anything that doesn't fit their narrative.

If their beliefs were really so evident in the texts, it would not be necessary to get people to shift themselves into this frame of mind.

This isn't just a trick that Christians do. New Agers also do it when they tell people that ancient texts and mythologies are actually about aliens and you just have to open your mind to cosmic wisdom to see it.

You can get people to see nearly anything in a text and feel convinced that the really says it by teaching them to read this way, which means that it's not just dishonest, but also dangerous.

[jackass-democrats]

Keep the woke democrats safe.

[fuck-u-maga]

[notstokey]

evil amepan on ur feed +do yall fw my brush ٩(^‿^)۶

[liberalsarecool]

Crime is dropping. Post-Covid crime rates are dropping. Conservative paranoia is up.

Republicans/Trump/MAGA are running scared.

The people who feel unsafe are the ones who existentially fear change.

Republicans are cowards who cling to anti-immigration dog whistles and fear as they are told. FOX can convince them up is down.

[reality-detective]

Truth Behind Women's Lib...

Wouldn’t you know it—a year and a half later, he allegedly died of cancer. If you choose to believe that narrative. 🤔

[janisred13]

the whole "everyone hungers for something" tagline is so incredibly stupid

the fact is, they took a pretty good tagline, which would actually be hilarious in the right context, and just completely warped the message. the whole fucking point of the book was to show how dr. gaul manipulated him, using his desperation and literal hunger to her advantage. even though he hated her the whole time, she still made him need her attention and praise. she made him feel smart and talented when he was struggling and needed to feel confident in his ability to fix all his family's problems. she made him feel chosen by singling him out in the way that she did. she made him painfully aware that she could take that away at any moment, and with her attention, any chance at a future for him and his family.

she took a teenager in a horrible situation and made him rely completely on her so that she could mold his brain into whatever she wanted. she could convince him of anything; even things that he never agreed with in the beginning. and all because he was afraid. she could make him think anything; do anything. and once she'd indoctrinated him enough, she was comfortable that he would carry on the legacy she'd left on panem. this was the true downfall of his morals; not the events of tbosas, which was more a breakdown of his sanity. the movie just accelerated that process by putting in both. I would have loved to read a book with the events immediately after tbosas that shows this second part happening separately.

indoctrination is a powerful thing. we've seen it happen in cults of all shapes and sizes. I'd like to point out how suzanne collins gives a nod to the most noteworthy of cults at present, which is not exclusively religious or related to self-help. the MAGA cult is entirely based in fear that america is losing its "greatness" as a result of "wokeness". however, that is a completely irrational fear. coriolanus's fears of living in poverty are very real. yet the manipulation is still the same: a figure of authority telling a vulnerable party to adopt a certain ideology to save themselves from whatever they're afraid of, either explicitly or implicitly since dr. gaul never addresses his financial status. once the authority figure gains their trust, they can make the vulnerable party do virtually anything. it's incredibly dangerous, but highly effective.

so yes, coriolanus did hunger for something. you could call it power, but it absolutely loses the original message when you put it in the wrong context. because it was never about power and control over others. I will not deny that the feeling comforted him, but that was never something he strived for. not without dr. gaul convincing him it was the only way he could ever get what he truly wanted: personal safety, financial security, and most importantly, FOOD.

he did indeed hunger for something. i'll settle for personal power, but not the kind they imply in the movie poster. that something was sustenance. it was literal hunger all along. hence, why the tagline would be kinda funny if it was used correctly. but I don't think funny was what they were going for.

[the-nosferatu-library]

Alright folks, remember the red scare? Lavender scare? All those trans tip lines you helped take down? We need you again. Tip line here if you want to skip the background. More info below

The absolutely wonderful usa government has put up a tip line. A tip line by the department of education for anyone to report… well let me use their words

“The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination... report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.”

Which, let me turn on my government translator over here, means that the you can report if a school or teacher is teaching whole story of history. Cause I guess getting rid of DEI isn’t enough, they must ask for people to sell out their neighbors now.

Also the irony of the indoctrination word being in there considering we have multiple states wanting to bring the Bible into school.

If you are out of the USA, vpns do exist. Feel free to google *state* counties. Then pick a county. Then google county school district wiki. Then a wonderful Wikipedia page with ALL schools in that county will be listed if you want some half coherent spamming. Or do the bee movie. Whatever is floats your boat

Tip line

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alex Cooper at The Advocate:

President Donald Trump signed a new executive order Wednesday, banning schools that receive federal funding from allowing students to identify with the name and pronouns that best match their gender identity. It also bars the use of bathrooms and lockers by trans kids that best fit their gender identity and bans them from playing on the most appropriate sports team. Advocates say the order forces schools to deny the existence of transgender people. The order specifically calls out social transitioning of transgender students in public schools. Social transitioning may include things like coming out as trans or nonbinary, going by a different name, dressing in a way that aligns better with a person's gender identity, using a different type of voice, and using pronouns that better reflect a person's identity. Trump's latest attack on transgender youth also targets the schools, teachers, counselors, and staff who support them. It requires parents of students to be notified if students request to use a different name or pronoun, potentially outing the student. Trans rights activists note this could put these students at risk of harm.

On Wednesday, anti-trans bully Tyrant 47 signs a hateful executive order attacking LGBTQ+ (esp. trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming) students, teachers, and staff, and LGBTQ+/trans-inclusive school policies by threatening to pull funding from schools that protect LGBTQ+ students.

The EO mandates student safety-harming forced outing policies, bars trans students from playing on sports teams and using bathrooms and locker rooms congruent with their gender identity, mandating nationwide don’t say gay or trans policies, and disallows social transition (by mandating arrests of trans-friendly teachers and school staff).

Getting less attention, but equally concerning, is the reinstation of the 1776 Commission that seeks to end racial equity programs on the false basis of "promoting ‘critical race theory’” as “anti-White.”

See Also:

HuffPost: Trump Signs Sweeping Executive Order Targeting ‘Gender Ideology’ In Schools

LGBTQ Nation: Donald Trump bans trans-inclusive school policies in executive order

Mother Jones: Trump Tells DOJ to Prosecute Teachers Who “Unlawfully” Support Trans or Nonbinary Students

Axios: Trump threatens funding for schools that accommodate transgender children

[king-k-ripple]

I knew well in advance that Gen Z men were going to politically stab us in the back (and this is coming from a Gen Z man myself who hasn’t been radicalized). This made me realize, Gen Z men’s fall to the right was almost EXACTLY like how Anakin from Star Wars Revenge of the Sith turned to the dark side despite nobody, not even Anakin himself, would have even thought of doing so, and Palpatine was the gender war “red pill” anti-feminist social media this entire time:

Anakin’s indoctrination, much like Gen Z’s, directly determined the rise of the alt right trifecta in the American government in 2024:

Radicalized Gen Z men fighting the Gen Z men who haven’t been radicalized:

And of course, when the consequences of radicalized Gen Z men’s actions come to haunt them forever:

I can’t believe the people who originally were supportive of me on every level are now the very people responsible for likely no longer allowing me to post anything LGBTQ-related ever again. I feel betrayed, because I was.

Don’t say Revenge of the Sith didn’t warn us.