Hit ‘Em Until They Turn into Suckers

Posted on May 24, 2006 in PTSD

Ever wonder people in red states can be completely robbed of their family farms and their dignity yet vote Republican even though it goes straight against their interests? Or how about the folks who think that everyone can become rich in this country? Or what about those who think a good beating grows character? Or why people give their money to televangelists and the pastors of mega-churches? A recent study performed at the University of Leceister found that “while some people may indeed become more ‘hard-nosed’ through adversity, the majority become less trusting of their own judgement.”:

“The majority of people may learn through repeated exposure to adversity to distrust their own judgment; a person might believe something to be true, but when they, for example, read something in a newspaper that contradicts their opinion, or they talk to someone with a different view-point, that individual is more likely to take on that other person’s view.

“This is because the person may have learned to distrust their actions, judgements and decisions due to the fact that the majority of the time their actions have been perceived to invite negative consequences.

“Another example is in relationships. Women, as well as men, can become “brainwashed”, and end up changing in their personality, their views and beliefs and in some extreme cases, they may even take on their views and ideas of the world and come to feel incompetent (in their partner’s eyes)….

“If positive life events predate the negative life events then individuals may be more resilient in terms of, not being so badly affected, psychologically, by the subsequent adverse events. However, issues may arise if the reverse is the case; if the adverse life events precede the positive, those individuals may become, as a result, more susceptible to suggestion and misleading information. Nevertheless, future research will still have to examine this. The order of life events experienced, however, is seemingly important….

“However, the notion of suggestibility falls far beyond that of forensic psychology. People may find they are more easily influenced by the media, by TV adverts and so may make life choices as a result that they otherwise would not e.g. they may choose not to vaccinate their children, ”

Get the picture? While I would not call it a conspiracy or posit a direct correlation, I cannot help but think that this aids the cause of the rich and the powerful very nicely. How else could they put over the “you make the bread, we take it, and we sell it back to you” scam that is capitalistic exploitation? Child abuse within the working class works to the advantage of the industrialists and investors.

A kick in the ass and humiliation, it seems, works against you. It’s the pampered and the mollycoddled who develop the thick skin to stand true to their own opinions and observations.

Here’s the Science Daily article.