Downing Street's PSY-OP against February 15
Duppy Conqueror | 11.02.2003 14:22
The tanks at Heathrow, the military presence in and around London, the threats of terrorism, the rumours of confrontation on Saturday (the end of Eid) are all part of a Psy-Op against the antiwar movement in general, and February 15 in particular
The tanks at Heathrow, the military presence, the threats of terrorism, the rumours of confrontation on Saturday (the end of Eid) are all part of a Psy-Op against the antiwar movement in general, and February 15 in particular.
Downing Street, like the corrupt junta that it is, wants to use fear (a) to keep numbers down on Saturday, and (b) more generally to manufacture consent.
The appearance of tanks betrays the whole theatricality of the affair. Any terrorist threat would be dealt with efficiently with a few discretely concealed bodies of well-trained armed men. The very public nature of this mobilization is obvious overkill, which is aimed to introduce fear and identification in the nation. This is the state taking off its shirt and showing off its muscles. They want to upset us, not to reassure us. It is part of a psy-op, and it will be interesting to see what the next move of their game will be.
But in its typical cack-handed way, I think Downing Street may have gotten the game wrong. For a British public that increasingly feels that Downing Street is under the control of people who do not represent its wishes, there is a sleazy authoritarian feel to this. Almost as if there had been a coup d'etat, which in the sense that real democracy has been shortcircuited by the British constitution is virtually true. What it looks like is that our quisling Prime Minister has turned his troops out into the streets.
It is part of a psy-op, and it will be interesting to see what the next move of their game will be.
Downing Street, like the corrupt junta that it is, wants to use fear (a) to keep numbers down on Saturday, and (b) more generally to manufacture consent.
The appearance of tanks betrays the whole theatricality of the affair. Any terrorist threat would be dealt with efficiently with a few discretely concealed bodies of well-trained armed men. The very public nature of this mobilization is obvious overkill, which is aimed to introduce fear and identification in the nation. This is the state taking off its shirt and showing off its muscles. They want to upset us, not to reassure us. It is part of a psy-op, and it will be interesting to see what the next move of their game will be.
But in its typical cack-handed way, I think Downing Street may have gotten the game wrong. For a British public that increasingly feels that Downing Street is under the control of people who do not represent its wishes, there is a sleazy authoritarian feel to this. Almost as if there had been a coup d'etat, which in the sense that real democracy has been shortcircuited by the British constitution is virtually true. What it looks like is that our quisling Prime Minister has turned his troops out into the streets.
It is part of a psy-op, and it will be interesting to see what the next move of their game will be.
Duppy Conqueror
Comments
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Fear and Identification (further to the above
11.02.2003 15:41
Freud in GROUP PSYCHOLOGY AND THE ANALYSIS OF THE EGO explored what what going on when people chose to identify with Great Men or the State or Tyrants. What he argued is that there is a process of identification of whoever is in authority, with the authority of the father in childhood. The tyrant is literally the "big daddy" with the power to use force (as "Protector", and frankly simply because he is the 800 pound gorilla in the situation), and with the right to loyalty.
What the theorists of psy-ops believe is that for many who assume a position of dissent towards the state, what they are acting out is an unresolved oedipus complex, and are asserting the 'love' and 'hate' of its immature stages. The dramatic expression of the capacity for Violence, as it mobilizes fear, then becomes the key for tipping the equilibrium into the direction of consent and loyalty.
This may all sound like mumbo jumbo to you, but the manipulation of the primitive childish emotions is a central object of both advertising and state propaganda. It might be argued that the ultimate purpose for this attack on Iraq is the business of generating "fear and awe" for its own sake.
What is the way to respond to this? Laughter is one powerful tool, as one makes fun of the absurdity of their manipulation. Another is the cultivation of respect for ones own moral instincts, and spreading the word of peace and love.
Bring your family and friends to February 15, let us make it a festival of love.
Duppy Conqueror
yeah right
11.02.2003 20:22
kyro
Psy-ops
11.02.2003 22:00
unfortunately