Think You Can Defend Your Mind From Attack? 900 People Thought They Could
Now that's something I'd never do! How could they be such idiots? Well, there's one born every minute! How often have we said, or thought, such things? Why? Oh, because we're immune to the mind-benders.
We'd never fall for any form of mental manipulation.
Well? Would we? Yes, old friend, we most certainly would! Not only that, but the more immune you think you are to being 'taken,' the more likely it is to happen, generally speaking.
The more likely it is that you can't defend your mind from attack.
I've written about my own idiocy in falling for a couple of Internet cons.
I look back on this now, and truly can't believe my own stupidity and gullibility.
As I say, it didn't just happen once, but twice.
If it were someone other than myself to whom this had happened, I'd have said they were nuts! The reasons behind human manipulation are complex, but basically it's because we all share innate characteristics that make us all susceptible in one way or another.
Some people are a lot harder to manipulate than others, but then again, if you find their 'hot button,' they'll fall to persuasion just like the rest of us.
Now then.
To any person reading this, I want you to take a gun a shoot yourself! You won't? Oh! Well, let's put it this way.
1978 Guyana You're a proud and grateful member of The People's Temple, led by the 'prophet' Jim Jones.
He's just told you to drink a poison which will kill you.
Will you do it? Of course you won't.
Who the heck does he think he is anyway, telling you to end it all? You're not some poor, docile animal to be led by the nose.
But 900 others did precisely that.
They drank the poison because he told them to do so.
People who didn't want to lose their lives, who didn't want their spouses and children to die.
Why did they go ahead and drink that stuff? What in the world possessed them? There are more questions.
Why did they allow themselves, their spouses and children to be sexually molested by this madman? Why did they allow themselves to be persuaded to sell their homes and possessions and give all the money to this People's Temple?' I expect they were all of very low intelligence.
No, that can't be right.
Some were professional people, for God's sake.
People with a darned sight more intelligence than I have, certainly.
Perhaps they'd been completely brainwashed by all the twaddle they'd listened to from Jones over the months? Or maybe they were all insane.
The brainwashing bit holds a little bit of water, but the most likely reason was that Jones was a brilliant manipulator of people's emotions.
So brilliant, so skilled, that he was able to persuade mothers and fathers to poison their own children before taking their own lives
We'd never fall for any form of mental manipulation.
Well? Would we? Yes, old friend, we most certainly would! Not only that, but the more immune you think you are to being 'taken,' the more likely it is to happen, generally speaking.
The more likely it is that you can't defend your mind from attack.
I've written about my own idiocy in falling for a couple of Internet cons.
I look back on this now, and truly can't believe my own stupidity and gullibility.
As I say, it didn't just happen once, but twice.
If it were someone other than myself to whom this had happened, I'd have said they were nuts! The reasons behind human manipulation are complex, but basically it's because we all share innate characteristics that make us all susceptible in one way or another.
Some people are a lot harder to manipulate than others, but then again, if you find their 'hot button,' they'll fall to persuasion just like the rest of us.
Now then.
To any person reading this, I want you to take a gun a shoot yourself! You won't? Oh! Well, let's put it this way.
1978 Guyana You're a proud and grateful member of The People's Temple, led by the 'prophet' Jim Jones.
He's just told you to drink a poison which will kill you.
Will you do it? Of course you won't.
Who the heck does he think he is anyway, telling you to end it all? You're not some poor, docile animal to be led by the nose.
But 900 others did precisely that.
They drank the poison because he told them to do so.
People who didn't want to lose their lives, who didn't want their spouses and children to die.
Why did they go ahead and drink that stuff? What in the world possessed them? There are more questions.
Why did they allow themselves, their spouses and children to be sexually molested by this madman? Why did they allow themselves to be persuaded to sell their homes and possessions and give all the money to this People's Temple?' I expect they were all of very low intelligence.
No, that can't be right.
Some were professional people, for God's sake.
People with a darned sight more intelligence than I have, certainly.
Perhaps they'd been completely brainwashed by all the twaddle they'd listened to from Jones over the months? Or maybe they were all insane.
The brainwashing bit holds a little bit of water, but the most likely reason was that Jones was a brilliant manipulator of people's emotions.
So brilliant, so skilled, that he was able to persuade mothers and fathers to poison their own children before taking their own lives
