Confronting Mass Psychosis
What I watched: Mass Psychosis - How an Entire Population Becomes Mentally Ill by After Skool in collaboration with Academy of Ideas. Posted August 3, 2021.
Anyone who follows my writings or social media knows my politics skew left. I fully supported President Biden in 2020 after Elizabeth Warren dropped out. I marched with Black Lives Matter. I stood shoulder to shoulder in the Women’s March protests. I’ve been a longtime LGBTQ rights activist as well as a member of that community. I believe people of all genders, colors, origins, orientations, and faiths or non-faith deserve equal rights and the freedom to the full expression of who they are. Full stop.
While I have no choice but to write from the bias of my left-leaning sensibilities because that’s who I am, I’m also a pragmatist. Doing what’s right politically is sometimes best achieved by doing what works best at the time. Every election is usually a choice of who or what most closely syncs with your own worldview, identity, and situation. Rarely does someone or a ballot measure align perfectly with how we see the world. That’s just how it is.
At the same time, I am attempting with varying degrees of success to practice kindness, empathy, and compassion as much as I can. Included among those people I try to feel these things for are those who are diametrically opposite to my own politics.
This is not easy. During the four years prior to President Biden taking office, I went to bed every night and woke up every morning with an underlying sense of dread. Our nation was on fire, and it seemed like there were too many people ready to pour on more gasoline to burn our democracy to the ground. January 6th, 2021 was perhaps the ultimate demonstration of how far some in our nation would go to overthrow our democracy and attempt to oust an unquestionably elected President. That was a dark day. I hope we can fully recover from that fall into near fascism.
All that said, it’s clear our nation is, and perhaps always was, divided. Apart from the Democrat and Republican, Left and Right chasm, we currently see evidence of people willing to sacrifice countless lives to stick to an anti-vaxx perspective. Even science and facts have been hotly politicized.
What I believe has occurred in our country is a relatively small but vocal movement of people who do not believe in facts, do not believe in truth, and have retreated into what the video describes as a mass psychosis.
Let me state clearly that this post is not a claim that all former guy supporters, anti-vaxxers, or right-leaning people are clinically mentally ill. That’s a broad brush I’m not willing to paint with. But we do have a problem and we must face it.
The video offers two examples from history of mass psychosis, the American and European witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries and the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th century.
A mass psychosis is an epidemic of madness and it occurs when a large portion of society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions.
During the witch hunts thousands of people, mostly women, were killed, but not because they committed any crime. Rather, they were simply the scapegoats of a society that had gone mad.
Today it’s totalitarianism that is most immediately dangerous.
Psychologist Carl Jung felt that people who are infected within a mad society “become morally and spiritually inferior.” They become “more unreasonable, irresponsible, emotional, erratic, and unreliable.” Sadly, worst of all, “crimes the individual alone could never stand are freely committed by the group smitten by madness.” Again, January 6th is a stark example.
While there can be biological or behavioral causes of an individual’s psychosis, the root cause most concerning to me are certain psychogenic triggers that are sadly on clear display the past few years spawning varying levels of mass psychosis in our country.
One cause is an incoming flood of negative emotions such a fear or anxiety that results in some people manifesting a dire state of panic. Then the panicked person seeks relief to tamp down their charged emotional state.
People with a healthy mindset can adapt to and eventually conquer the fearful state. But some people unfortunately reach for an alternative means of escape which can go so far as to generate a psychotic break. A psychotic break is dealt with by blending facts and fiction, delusion and reality, in a manner that somehow accomplishes the squelching of the negative, panicked feelings.
First, there is panic. Next there is psychotic insight, an internal pathological construction that allows the person to interpret reality in ways that somehow explain the abnormal experience they are feeling by losing touch with reality.
Of course, I am describing unhealthy ways that someone deals with fear-induced panic or anxiety. Most people do not succumb to the pathological methods for dealing with negative emotions.
As is the case for a person who does not have the emotional and mental safeguards in place to properly deal with anxiety and panic, a large portion of society can be driven into a state of panic by threats real, imagined, or entirely fabricated (for example, the big lie that falsely claims President Biden did not win the 2020 election).
Each society and culture will manifest mass psychosis within its weaker members in different ways. Today it appears that totalitarianism is the greatest threat. The way the most recent former occupant of the White House concocted an ongoing string of fear-based messages doled out to his dutiful followers created a type of mass psychosis. The big lie is the culmination of that string of lies that lured his followers with the meat of blaming others for what is clearly a falsehood, a falsehood that has within it the power to rally the mesmerized right-wing masses to his whims.
The social transformation that unfolds under totalitarianism is built upon, and sustained by, delusions.
The video goes deeper into how corrupt and delusional politicians and leaders adopt a totalitarian strategy and infect the masses in various ways to control them, menticide being the main one.
Fear is stoked. Perhaps it’s racism, xenophobia, homophobia, or some manner of othering or terror inducement that allows a segment of the population to place the answers to their fears and anxiety in the suppression and ostracizing of those people. This is the crux of propaganda, a tool used by totalitarian rulers and legislators to sway their loyal base. I recommend you watch the video. It’s fascinating.
Psychoanalyst Joost Meerlo said this in Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing.
Logic can be met with logic, while illogic cannot. It confuses those who think straight, The big lie and monotonously repeated nonsense have more of an emotional appeal than logic or reason. While the people are still searching for a reasonable counterargument to the first lie, the totalitarians can assault them with another.
The modern era is replete with smart phones, social media, and a host of other ways to infect minds with misinformation and lies. This landscape is ripe for creating the underpinnings of a segment of society ready to accept falsehoods to quell their collective apprehensions and fears.
But the real question I find most interesting and useful is how do we combat the mass psychosis and collective delusions of the loud deluded minority of our American population?
As mentioned in the video, a tactic of totalitarians to deepen their grip on the misguided masses is to is isolate them from normal social interactions. This has happened a lot during the past few years. Families, friendships, and social networks have been split and divided into political factions. While this is comforting on some level, it is also dangerous.
I was among the people who isolated away from those who voted for and believed in the former President. At first it was for my own peace of mind. The happenings beginning in 2016 and escalating over the subsequent years were so disheartening that I needed to separate myself from those who supported what I saw as chaos and a middle finger to democracy. I have rethought that stance.
Engaging with the enemy (bad word, but you get the point) is exactly what we need right now. Isolation of right-wing followers is exactly what the fascist-leaning leaders within that movement want to happen. Religious cults have used the same tactics to indoctrinate their most devout followers. We must stay engaged. We must talk to them. We must continuously and repeatedly present facts to counter their fictions.
In a TED Talk, What happened when we paired up thousands of strangers to talk politics, Jochen Wegne discussed an experiment conducted first by his publication and then a network of media outlets. In that experiment they brought together people with totally opposite political views for private one-on-one discussions. The results were heartening. Minds did change. Charged emotions were wrangled. There was hope for mutual understanding.
Without ongoing engagement with people who disagree with them, the deluded lose the corrective force in their lives that might make them change their minds in line with facts rather than lies, truth rather than propaganda.
Totalitarians also know that by isolating their followers the constant repetition of their lies and propaganda is more effective. When foisted upon an isolated population lies stick better. So, stay engaged. Even with the far right-wing family member or friend you’re tempted to never talk to again.
Carl Jung suggested that to “help return sanity to an insane world, the first step is to bring order to our own minds, and to live in a way that provides inspiration for others to follow.” Be the solution you want others to see. Teach by example.
We must incessantly feed facts and truth into the information streams, those bits of reality that counter propaganda. Be vigilant. Be determined. If someone doesn’t hear your message of truth the 100th time you say it, say it the 101st time. Never give up. Pervasive, factual information is one of the cures for collective delusions. If the free flow of information is censored or suppressed, figure out ways to remove the logjam. Truth must prevail if totalitarianism is to be avoided or reversed.
Another tactic that seems to work to counter totalitarian leadership is humor and ridicule. This delegitimizes them. Demagogues are universally almost incapable of humor themselves. Treating them with humor and ridicule can lead to their collapse and a loosening of their grip on their followers. It’s no surprise that an array of artists and humorists have poked harsh fun at right-wing and totalitarian forces to weaken their power. It works.
Vaclav Havel, a political dissident under Soviet communist rule (he later became President of Czechoslovakia), offers this tactic. Create parallel structures.
A parallel structure is any form of organization, business, institution, technology, or creative pursuit that exists physically within a totalitarian society, yet morally outside of it.
Havel noted that in communist Czechoslovakia such parallel structures were more effective against totalitarianism than political action.
Over time, enough of these parallel structures form to create a second culture within the totalitarian culture and serve as a safe place where freedom and sanity can be experienced. From this safe culture large numbers of the sane can work to change the non-sane culture and save them from their delusionary mental prison.
Finally, numbers matter. Actions by as many people as possible are necessary to counter totalitarianism. This is clearly demonstrated by the 3.5% Rule. In The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world by David Robson, it’s explained that if about 3.5% of the population actively participates in protests, it ensures serious political change.
Think about it. The adult population of the United States is about 250 million. 3.5% of that is roughly 9 million. If 9 million people rise up and take to the streets in persistent protest of any totalitarian or fascist leadership, the people will win. The regime will collapse. This is also likely true for any cause for which the people feel strongly. Voting rights. Civil rights. Anything. The old phrase of “power to the people” is indeed true if enough of them band together and act in unison.
Never forget what psychologist Gustave Le Bon said.
The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.
Or what Carl Jung said.
It is not famine, not earthquakes, not microbes, not cancer, but man himself who is man’s greatest danger to man, for the simple reason that there is no adequate protection against psychic epidemics, which are infinitely more devastating than the worst of natural catastrophes.
So, to combat all that delusional negativity, in summary:
Bring order to your own mind. Educate yourself on the facts. Hold true to your beliefs founded in those facts. Teach by example.
Do not isolate from those who disagree with you. Stay engaged. Do not disconnect because if you do their chance of correction and sanity is lessened.
Participate in one-on-one discussions with people you disagree with to understand their point of view and to sway them to yours if yours is the one based on facts and reality.
Keep telling the truth. Keep sharing the truth. Verifiable information is your friend and the enemy of delusion. Stick to it. Do not stop telling the truth. In person. Online. Everywhere.
If there is a lightning rod figure around whom falsehoods and lies live, ridicule them. Poke fun at them. Make them the brunt of jokes. Don’t do this with individuals who disagree with you. That’s a recipe for a kneejerk pullback by them, retreating into their delusion. But a political figure or movement leader who peddles lies and deception? Have at it.
Create parallel structures, collections of people who share commonalities and deal in realities. Imagine if the American Civil Liberties Union or Southern Poverty Law Center did not exist. Imagine if there were no LGBTQ rights organizations. Do we think justice will be done unless movements like Black Lives Matter continue to speak the truth? Organize. Network. Grow in numbers.
Speaking of numbers, remember that when enough people want change to happen and actively participate in bringing about that change, it will happen. Be part of those numbers. Make your voice heard. Of course, it goes without saying to vote in every election. Every single one.
May we have a world empowered and ruled by truth and decency where everyone can thrive and be happy. Let’s all get to work together to make that happen.
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