Alice Miller also articulates beautifully this fundamental knowledge in her wonderful books.
The conversation about the effects of childhood repression in our society needs to start happening in the stage of the world, sooner rather than later, if we want to save ourselves and humanity from falling off the cliff and committing mass suicide.
All of my life, people tried to make me feel my perceptions were wrong and that I was crazy, so they could go on with their lies and illusions, as usual, to keep their own repression intact -- and I doubted myself most of my life, but I no longer doubt myself. I will not allow anyone to change my perceptions and my reality, so people can be comfortable and go on with their illusions as usual. Also, if you like and have time, you can read Truth or Illusion?
Donald Trump Voters Are Stuck in the Diaper Stage -- chasing for the pacifier of “money” to keep repressing childhood pain, most of them voted for Trump, because they think he will protect their money and make them more money! Yes, in the short term, they might put some extra money in their pockets, but in the long term, Trump, just like George Bush, will take it all back and more, and will be really bad for the economy and destroy many lives! Money alone, without facing our childhood repression, is just another illusion. We live in an Upside Down World
The words below by Alice Miller explain beautifully why so many "intelligent" and "talented" people fall for politicians like Donald Trump, the capacity to resist a totalitarian state has nothing to do with intelligence, but with the degree of access to our true self.
"Just as in the symbiosis of the "diaper stage," there is no separation here of subject and object. If the child learns to view corporal punishment as "a necessary measure" against "wrongdoers," then as an adult, he will attempt to protect himself from punishment by being obedient and will not hesitate to cooperate with the penal system. In a totalitarian state, which is a mirror of his upbringing, this citizen can also carry out any form of torture or persecution without having a guilty conscience. His "will" is completely identical to that of the government.
Now that we have seen how easy it is for intellectuals in a dictatorship to be corrupted, it would be a vestige of aristocratic snobbery to think that only "the uneducated masses" are susceptible to propaganda. Both Hitler and Stalin had a surprisingly large number of enthusiastic followers among intellectuals. Our capacity to resist has nothing to do with our intelligence but with the degree of access to our true self. Indeed, intelligence is capable of innumerable rationalizations when it comes to the matter of adaptation. Educators have always known this and have exploited it for their own purposes, as the following proverb suggests: "The clever person gives in, the stupid one balks." For example, we read in a work on child raising by Grünwald (1899): "I have never yet found willfulness in an intellectually advanced or exceptionally gifted child" (quoted in Rutschky). Such a child can, in later life, exhibit extraordinary acuity in criticizing the ideologies of his opponents--and in puberty, even the views of his own parents-- because, in these cases, his intellectual powers can function without impairment. Only within a group--such as one consisting of adherents of an ideology or a theoretical school--that represents the early family situation will this person, on occasion, still display a naïve submissiveness and uncritical attitude that completely belie his brilliance in other situations. Here, tragically, his early dependence upon tyrannical parents is preserved, a dependence that--in keeping with the program of "poisonous pedagogy"--goes undetected. This explains why Martin Heidegger, for example, who had no trouble in breaking with traditional philosophy and leaving behind the teachers of his adolescence, was not able to see the contradictions in Hitler's ideology that should have been obvious to someone of his intelligence. He responded to this ideology with an infantile fascination and devotion that brooked no criticism.”
From the book For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-rearing and the Roots of Violence, pages 42 and 43
When people try to silence you, it can often mean they feel threatened by your voice or perspective, which could be interpreted as a fear of your potential influence or the truth you might speak; therefore, there is some validity to the idea that silencing someone is sometimes motivated by fear.
If someone is voicing opinions that contradict a dominant narrative or power structure, those in power may try to silence them to maintain control.
Speaking out against wrongdoing or highlighting issues can make those in positions of power feel vulnerable and exposed, leading them to try to shut down the criticism.
New ideas or perspectives can be unsettling, and those resistant to change might attempt to silence dissenters to maintain the status quo.
People with less power might be silenced more easily, making it crucial to analyze the power imbalance in a situation.
Beyond direct censorship, silencing can also happen through subtle means like gaslighting, ignoring, or discrediting someone's opinions.
These words by Alice Miller go right to the heart! Yes, the amnesia of politicians or leaders of sects does afflict countless people. As we are witnessing how Donald Trump's amnesia of his childhood repression is hurting many! "Kafka was hardly aware of the fact that the main sources of his imagination were deeply hidden in his early childhood. Most writers aren't. But the amnesia of an artist or writer, though sometimes a burden for their body, doesn't have any negative consequences for society. The readers simply admire the work and are rarely interested in the writers' infancy. However, the amnesia of politicians or leaders of sects does afflict countless people, and will continue to do so, as long as society remains blind to the important connections between the denial of traumatic experiences in early childhood and the destructive, criminal actions of individuals.”
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