There’s a well known technique to manipulate the gullible masses that has been in use time and again throughout history and in all cultures. The technique can really be used in any type of group setting, it need not be a whole nation. An online community forum will easily do.
Let me explain by using an example: Nazi Germany.
You’ve heard about it, it was Hitler’s Third Reich where a minority was demonized, hunted and persecuted by mobs of angry, drama hungering commoners, Jews were accused of all kinds of silly absurdities that the gullible and naive common people believed. It seems almost unbelievable, but the common beliefs were brought about by the use of a very simple, but very effective, technique:
The Nazi had stealthy moles infiltrate the masses, where they from their stealthy position fed the people seemingly proven “facts”, thereby turning them into a mob and deadly tool against the Jews. It didn’t take much: Find some bits of data which, when presented in the right way, could look as if they proved the Jews were evil and plotted the elimination of the Aryan Race. Find a number of highly motivated citizens who for their own reasons hated Jews and subtly enroll these as soldiers in your army. There were soon a visible group who were eager to spread the so called facts about the Jews and their “real” nature, the group was called: ‘National Socialist German Workers’ Party’.
More “proof” were added to the old and then repeated relentlessly.
There’s another well known technique in all human manipulation.
- Find a few simple claims, put them forth with conviction, and then repeat them, over and over, preferably in more than one part of town – or more than one forum on the Internet.
- Make it impossible, or at least hardly attainable, for the minority you’re targeting to defend themselves by giving them the option to do so only under unreasonable or offensive, humiliating i.e., circumstances. – Here’s an example: Accuse your neighbor of having raped your wife. Then break in his door, walk into his home – bring along a number of complete strangers – and demand that he explain, not his innocence, but why he isn’t guilty of your accusations. Your neighbor is most likely to refuse and at least demand that you approach him in a respectful manner. Since nothing has been proven yet he is in his right to do so. Of course you refuse to grant him this, sticking with your apparent certainty that you’re right, he raped your wife and ignoring everything he says if it doesn’t back up your claims.
- If the accused refuses to submit and stand in court to his accusers, use this as “proof” that he’s lying: “See? He won’t explain because he CAN’T explain, he KNOWS we have proven his guilt!”. If he chooses to defend himself and explain on the demand of an accusing mob, he’ll already have lost because who’ll believe someone who has no self respect or dignity is guiltless in every other way? And even if he is, he doesn’t deserve your respect, does he? Of course not!
And voila, you have created the perfect victory. However, you did so only because the gullible commoners’ mob helped you do it!
Now all you normal people don’t tell me: “We didn’t know!”, because that just won’t suffice. You don’t get off just by showing up in court and say: “Your honor, I’m guiltless, because I didn’t know it was illegal or wrong to torture my 3 children to death and feed them to the neighbor’s dogs!”. Yet, this has always been your ‘defense’.
A bit into the process even people who have been year-long friends with their neighboring Jewish family turned against them, because they would believe some outlandish lie about their neighbors, claimed by someone they didn’t even know. “But they seemed so nationalistic, so patriotic and German!”. Yeah, I know. They look so much like you, don’t they? But they’re really not human at all, they’re evil! They’re psychopaths!
At the end of the process the Jews had been judged, convicted and condemned, and the Socio wannabe AsPD kids – I mean, the Germans… actually saw what was clearly not a psychopath – I mean, clearly not a human being… and they killed the Jews with true certainty that they did the right thing.
Okay… not all really REALLY believed the Jews weren’t human and that they were evil. But it was so exciting! So exhilarating, it felt so good, the drama! To put others through torture and see them take all the blame for all the evil that has ever existed. Such euphoria! You felt you had been cleansed! Didn’t you?
Yes, you did…
Yes, you do!
