by biaothanatoi » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:26 pm
There is a fairly broad definition of M/C, I think - thought reform, programming, classical and operant conditioning, drugs, etc. Happens in a variety of contexts - govt experimentation, but also in theatres of war, in 'reeducation' camps, fascist regimes, etc. <br><br>"Programming" (to my mind) relates specifically to the use of techniques that manipulate dissociation, trauma and hypnoid states to alter the cognitive function of another person.<br><br>In RA "programming", perps induce these states and then exploit them. However, those states are natural defences against harm, and they are evident in all situations of abuse. <br><br>This doesn't meant that every perp (RA or not) is a "programmer" - far from it. We all know how to hurt other people. If we put our minds to it, we know how to hurt other people pretty badly. <br><br>Many of the cognitive distortions that we see in RA victims (I am bad, I deserve it, they do it because they love me, I am ashamed, I am dirty, I should kill myself) are the inevitable result of early childhood trauma. They may be reinforced by programming, but they don't come from programming. <br><br>And, yeah, I do think that the distinction comes down to the perps deliberate use of techniques. <br><br>But I think we also have to wonder where these "techniques" come from - and I don't think it's a trickle-down from Project Monarch - I think they get their "techniques" from the same place that the abusive spouse or incestuous grandfather get their "techniques" from - which is the profoundly sadistic sexual impulse that is in all of us. <br><br>In RA groups, much of what they do comes from those universal cognitive trauma distortions that I listed above. The abused child internalises those thoughts, but the RA group embraces them, systematises them, articulates them and inflicts them over and over again. It looks like a belief system, but I think it's just a lot of f-ed up people getting together and making a big f-ed up hive mind. <p></p><i></i>