#indoctrination theory

[slayerdurge]

(but the war won)

A Mass Effect playlist for an indoctrinated Commander Shepard.

"As your friends, relatives, and acquaintances perish in catastrophe, just think of it as the best movie you'll ever hope to see."

[sachyriel]

This post contains minor and major spoilers, minor about Conrad, major about TIM. Viewer discretion is advised.

Conrad Verner is obsessed with Commander Shepard. That's not the spoiler, that's like the main pillar of the character everyone knows. Conrad seeks your approval, wants to be like you, even as far as recruiting for Cerberus in ME3 (that's a spoiler but not the spoiler I mean). He's recruiting for Cerberus in 3 cause you were working for them in 2, he uhhh, didn't get the memo.

The Illusive Man is also obsessed with Shepard. He literally moves mountains of cash to bring you back from the dead. He also seeks your approval, especially [MAJOR SPOILER] at the end of ME3 on the Citadel when he's trying to argue for controlling the Reapers. That's what drives him, he wants to control the Reapers, sure, but if you're a Goody-two shoes he ends up giving up, Saren style *cough cough*.

Now you maybe thinking Conrad Verner and The illusive Man are so different in position that they could not be further apart. Conrad Verner is a bum trying to impress people with his Shepard Fandom, TIM is the head of a galactic underground terrorist organization with enough sway to bend the law when they need to (or break it if it they can't). How can they be so similar? TIM got to be the head of Cerberus by his cunning and ruthlessness, but in his drive to bring Shepard back, you think Conrad wouldn't have done the same thing in TIM's place?

TIM is very smart, you don't get to be head terrorist of a galactic underground org without having a good head on your shoulders.

[MINOR SPOILER] Doctor Conrad Verner is a doctor. "A doctor honey" - Turanga Leela, wait wrong series. But I feel people underestimate Conrad. He's gota good head on his shoulders, he's a Doctor in Xenotechnology and Dark Energy Integration. If TIM knew this guy he'd hire him on the spot, instead Conrad likely got recruited by some local schmuck who didn't care about his education. TIM would have looked at that resume and locked Conrad into some outpost where he could do Dark Matter stuff and Xenotechnology research, to be fed as many pictures of Shepard as he wants.

But I think Conrad Verner and The Illusive Man are more alike than people used to think. Now that I've said my piece, you will tell me I am correct because you are INDOCTRINATED.

[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.

[contemplatingoutlander]

Patel is a very dangerous conspiracy theorist. Putting him in charge of the FBI will destroy the independence of that institution. Patel will likely turn FBI agents into 'enforcers' for the Trump agenda that will be used to investigate and intimidate his critics.

“We will go out and find the conspirators — not just in government, but in the media — yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. “We’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out. But yeah, we’re putting you all on notice, and Steve, this is why they hate us. This is why we’re tyrannical. This is why we’re dictators.... Because we’re actually going to use the Constitution to prosecute them for crimes they said we have always been guilty of but never have.” Kash Patel (Dec. 2023) on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast

Indoctrinating Children Into MAGA Beliefs

I don't know if Patel is just corrupt or he actually believes the conspiracy theories about the 2020 election having been rigged, or that "federal bureaucrats in the 'deep state' tried to overthrow the former president."

Regardless, Patel actually wrote a series of children's books whose purpose was to indoctrinate children into the belief that the Democrats had created terrible "plots" to prevent Trump from becoming and remaining president

Here are the book series titles: The Plot Against the King (April 1, 2022),The Plot Against the King 2000 Mules (Aug. 29, 2022), The Plot Against the King 3: The Return of the King (Sept. 9, 2024).

Furthermore, the article above claims the book series features Patel "as a 'wizard' defending “King Donald.'”

Below is the cover from the third book. You can see Patel as the "wizard" on the left:

I'm sorry, but anyone who stoops to indoctrinating children regarding MAGA conspiracies should NOT be in charge of the FBI.

For a humorous take on the second book in the series, by a left- leaning TikToker SnoozeAlarmMom, see this POST.

[Below the cut are some excerpts from the article. It's one of the more thorough articles out there about Kash Patel, so I highly recommend reading it.]

President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he would pick Kashyap "Kash" Patel, a 44-year-old loyalist with little significant experience in federal law enforcement, to serve as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [...] A former senior law enforcement official who interacted with Patel in the past said he was not qualified for the position.

"It’s ridiculous. He’s arguably the least qualified person ever nominated for a senior position in federal law enforcement," said the former official, who asked not to be named citing fears of retaliation from Trump. "I don’t know anything significant that he achieved at the DOJ. He was not well regarded as a prosecutor." [...] Patel has promoted the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump as well as the baseless conspiracy theory that federal bureaucrats in the “deep state” tried to overthrow the former president.

Patel has called for replacing “anti-democratic” civil servants in law enforcement and intelligence with “patriots” who he says will work for the American people. In his memoir, "Government Gangsters," he described the current political moment as “a battle between the people and a corrupt ruling class." [...] Patel has also echoed Trump’s rhetoric labeling journalists as traitors and calling for “cleaning out” of allegedly disloyal federal civil servants. In an interview last year with longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon, Patel vowed to go after “conspirators” who he claimed had abused their positions in government.  “The one thing we learned in the Trump administration the first go-around is that we have to put in all-American patriots top to bottom,” Patel told Bannon. 

“And the one thing that we will do that they never will do is that we will follow the facts and the law and go to courts of law," he said. "And correct these justices and lawyers who have been prosecuting these cases based on politics."  “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media — yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections," Patel said. "Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’re going to figure that out — but yeah, we’re putting you all on notice."

A “wizard” defending “King Donald”

Patel joined Trump on the 2024 campaign trail and has promoted his memoir, a film adaptation of the memoir and a line of children’s books featuring him as a “wizard” defending “King Donald.” [...]  A former senior federal law enforcement official who served under Trump during his first term said that the Patel and Gaetz nominations were signs of Trump's disdain for the DOJ and FBI and both agencies' efforts to not be used to settle political scores.

"He's just going to run roughshod over them," predicted the former official, who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation by Trump. "He’s thumbing his nose at the DOJ and FBI with these nominations. He’s going to effect his will regardless of our norms."

[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

[triple-pupil]

Random thought.

I think Manny will never truly understand Diego and Sid's issues with blood family. The three unite in the loss of it but Manny's mate and cub loved him for who he was and apparently never doubted that.

Diego's pack did not see his worth as a member but as a tool and weapon, their "love" was conditional, manipulative and fake

And Sid's family, from my understanding, simply hated his guts SO much they just prefered to abandon him and possibly leave that social creature to die in the wild.

Something I would've loved to see would be the trio bonding and seeing these things about each other. Manny loves and protects and connects with the boys but Sid and Diego can have an intimate connection bonding over hateful/abusive families and their struggle accepting that.

But maybe too could Diego and Manny understand each other by their serious masks formed by need and their need to protect their herd, as well as maybe issues of self-worth if said mission to protect their loved ones fail. Idk. (I think they had something a bit like that in the third movie? But focusing a lot on their masculinity and, not gonna lie, their fragile view of it- Idk, I'm not a born man, I don't get it-)

[sapphim]

I do think it's rather funny how modern articles about bioware-of-the-past-decade have a tendency to represent ME3 as a beloved finale to a beloved franchise, as if mass effect fans didn't throw such an enormous fucking bitchbaby shitfit on its release that the developers had to be dragged immediately back into the studio to redo the ending to shut them up

[sole-e-acqua]

No you guys the hamas supporters are exercising their academic freedom, it's all just a mccarthyist red scare 🤡

[cafeleningrad]

Repeated symbolism: Predatory cats and coniving mices (unsorted notes)

EP 10 Nanami's precious one; The shadow play showcasing how Nanami partly can't name and partly won't take repsonsibility for naming her relationship with Touga. By the time it has been given a cute description, their relationship has actually turned out monsterous. (Note: Touga likes cats, and is Akio's apprentice)

➸

Episode 14 Landscape framed by Kozue; Anthy imitating mouse noises while getting (routinely) assaulted by Akio.

➸

Episode 16 Cowbell of happiness; Shadowplay about the logical trap to think that cozying up to an oppressive power would make them the individual exception from systematic abuse. Applies to multiple chracters, in multiple forms.

[nellasbookplanet]

Every time i replay mass effect I go a little bit bonkers thinking about the endings and how they almost work and how they are, in a vacuum, interesting. It really makes apparent the fact that in a narrative for an ending to work, it isn't so much the ending itself that’s important but rather how you set it up.

Destroy/control/synthesis are all interesting, and they all force you to think about what you are willing to sacrifice in the ultimate choice. But they are all on a narrative level completely non-reliant on the character you’ve built throughout the game and the paragon-renegade system which has been essential throughout. If synthesis had been presented as the paragon choice of saving as many as possible (at the cost of your own life and agency of the galaxy), destroy as a ruthless renegade choice of victory no matter the cost, and control as they outright evil renegade choice where you value power more than anything, there would've been weight, agency and character to the choice. Instead they're all presented as sort of morally neutral, with equally happy epilogues with no real time spent reflecting on the darker consequences.

But even had the consequences been accounted for, the endings are all presented as the enemy's solution, what the reapers/catalyst think will fix things, not what you think will do so. Honestly it would've been really cool if the catalyst presented you with control and synthesis and you could choose them, but there was also an option to tell it to fuck off and then yourself find a destroy button sort of as a secret ending.

[fagtainsparklez]

thinking about milgram again and how overwhelmingly literal specifically the first mvs actually are in relation to the murder (the fireworks in haruka’s, the stairs in yuno’s) which like. what the hell does that mean for the television aspect of amane’s. because atp there’s no way all of that was just metaphorical

[creature-wizard]

tbh as someone who was "programmed" by my abusers all this cult conspiracy stuff really annoys me. you don't need elaborate sets with actors dressed like actors in wonderland, you just need to tell a kid something like "your friends actually don't like you, and it's because you gossip about me. no one likes little girls who talk bad about their mothers. when you have friends over i'll point out when i can tell they don't like you." or "i'm a great parent and you're just pathologically sensitive" every day of their life. that's it. it's THAT easy. you can make an adult who's 100% incapable of talking about their abuse without blacking out for the low price of free.99!!!!

Yep. Literally all it takes is sustained indoctrination. That's it.

[key0-m0ve-al0ng]

How indoctrination theory ppl view Amane:

What she (likely) actually is:

(he's saying "HI GOD" btw 😭)

IDs in alt text!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Pamela Garfield-Jaeger

Published: May 13, 2024

The following is an excerpt from my new book, "A Practical Response to Gender Distress, Tips and Tools for Families”, available on Amazon.

New personal pronouns can seem harmless and fun, and they are considered inclusive by many people, such as teachers and medical professionals. However, it can be dangerous to tell young children that they can use any pronoun they want. As a seasoned mental health professional, let me explain some reasons why the use of new personal pronouns is harmful for developing children.

1. It’s the first step of being pulled into an ideology that can lead to dangerous and irreversible medical interventions. If a child is given praise for identifying as a different gender and called by a different pronoun or name from an early age, it’s more difficult to reverse that course as the child gets older and deeper into the ideology. The stakes get higher.

2. Alternate pronouns instruct children not to accept who they are, but to seek attention for being something they aren’t. This message is the exact opposite of what traditional feminists have been trying to give to little girls for years, which is to love and embrace themselves as girls. This is a harmful message to all young people during an impressionable time while they are forming their sense of self.

3. This practice is harmful to the small percentage of children who struggle with genuine gender dysphoria and need appropriate attention. If large numbers of children are using alternative pronouns for fun, leverage, or power, how can we know who needs the appropriate support? Many of these dysphoric children have sexual or other trauma in their histories, and they need to be addressed.

4. The introduction of a new pronoun is the first step in dividing children from their families. Families who don’t agree, or who simply have questions, often get torn apart over this ideology. Even families who initially agree with the premise of different gender identities later learn that their children are being groomed to view their own family as an enemy.

In the Substack “Parents With Inconvenient Truths About Trans,” a mom drafted an essay titled “How it Started: How Gender Ideology Has Ruined Our Right to a Family Life.”

Specifically, the mother writes: “Don’t get me wrong, it started off fun and interesting. Pride marches, badges, posters, music, and flags. So many flags! Then the lockdown happened. I started intensely researching and I, a lifelong, radical, alternative woman and feminist did not like what I was learning. ... I am not denying anyone’s existence, we are still loving supportive parents, but I regret not realizing sooner what was going on. ... It became clear, despite all the support and information and discussions, that things were not improving, and we compromised and permitted them to use their new names at school.”

Using a new pronoun and new name divides children from their most important support system—their families—and aligns them instead with adults (such as teachers and therapists) who do not care about them in the same way.

5. Changing pronouns prevents children from forming authentic social connections. If they are pretending to be something they aren’t just to fit in or get attention, children can’t form healthy relationships.

6. Unchecked self-identification gives the message that anyone can enter private, vulnerable spaces. At best, allowing people to arbitrarily choose gender, or reinforce the concept that gender is fluid, makes many girls uncomfortable when they have to share their private spaces with people they wouldn’t otherwise. At worst, this opens a window for predatory boys and men who may take advantage. Unfortunately, these incidents have indeed happened. There was a publicized case in 2021 in Loudoun County, Virginia, where a high school boy who identified as a girl raped two girls in school bathrooms. The school attempted to cover up the incident.

7. Choosing new pronouns provides an incredible sense of power. Under these new rules, not only can the child not be questioned about their choice, but they can also then wield that power over anyone whom they choose. This is especially enticing for a child who has a trauma history and already feels very powerless. Unfortunately, this type of power is not good for a floundering teen who needs guidance and structure.

8. The notion of gender fluidity divorces children from reality, which is the goal in any “critical” theory. If a child can choose to be an obvious “wrong” gender, what reality do they have to accept? “Neopronouns” (or made-up words) are becoming more popular among young people and are blurring the lines between imagination and reality. The New York Times validated neopronouns in an article dated Aug. 12, 2023, titled “A Guide to Neopronouns, From ae to ze.” The article states that neopronouns include terms such as “xe” and “em,” and some of them even date back several centuries, when they were introduced by writers as a solution for referring to subjects without referring to gender. Other fictitious pronouns such as “frog/frog-self,” “peach/peach-self,” “ghost/ghost-self,” and other whimsical identities are being acknowledged as serious in certain circles.

9. Changing pronouns encourages narcissism. This gives a message to the child that the world revolves around them, that their perspective is more important than everyone else’s, and that the child can dictate their own terms.

10. Pronouns create social anxiety. Children feel pressured to choose a new pronoun, making them feel locked into an impulsive choice. In addition, with peers changing identities often, this is also a source of anxiety. The policing of the pronouns creates tremendous social pressure and division among youth.

Many people often think, “It’s just a pronoun.” But consider how chaotic and confusing it is for children who are growing up in a world where reality is being changed at every moment, teachers and friends are demanding speech, girls don’t feel safe, the people they care about are being divided, and they are being led to a path to a lifetime of medicalization.

As George Orwell said, “There is no swifter route to the corruption of thought than through the corruption of language.” Children need structure, and they look to adults to provide that for them.

==

"it's just a prayer. What could it hurt to participate?"

It's not rude or impolite to not participate in a ritual for a belief you don't hold. It is rude and impolite, not to mention authoritarian, to demand others participate in a ritual for a belief they don't hold.

And once again, you don't have pronouns. The language has pronouns for you. You don't get your own pronouns any more than you get your own verbs or your own conjugations.

[slayerdurge]

Every time I play through the ending to Mass Effect, I become more and more convinced that indoctrination theory should have been canon.

[feathers-little-nest]

once again I came to realization that having friends fucking rules