How stressed people can turn on one another

[Bill Ryan]

Dear Friends, some of you may remember this excellent video by Chris Martenson, published in July 2021. (And that already feels like 10 years ago. :) )

As always, he cites good published research. In this case, it's about how rats in a cage, given electric shocks by the experimenters, just turn on one another.

Chris points out that people (of course) tend to do the same thing. Do please watch the video, which is only 25 minutes long. It's instructive. :flower:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqjIfwCYS1g
Some of you may already have noticed that I've posted this under General Forum Information. (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/forumdisplay.php?62-General-Forum-Information) There's a good reason for that.

No-one in the community here is immune from being under stress, especially now. And stress is amplified considerably when it feels that there's a great deal at stake, even (in some cases) matters literally of life and death.

So, in many ways, we're all just a little bit like those unfortunate shocked animals. All of us, without exception — though for reasons none of us can control easily, some of us are having a tougher time in real life than others.

The remedy is very very difficult. (But humans can do very difficult things.) Rats cannot feel empathy for another rat that is suffering, in whatever way. But humans have that ability.

A very active thread was recently closed, and just now I've soft-deleted the entire thing because it was becoming quite a bloodbath. But none of us, not one Avalon member, deserves to be have been hurt in such an online massacre. It's not what we do here. Not any more.

When someone's hurt or upset (like a shocked laboratory animal: the same principles apply), because humans are so marvelously complex and individual, they may respond in very individual ways. Some express themselves loudly and actively. Others take themselves away and may not sleep very well. Some are hurt and bewildered. Others lash out. And no-one ever wins.

But humans in their magnificence can also reflect, empathize, imagine what it's like to be that other person, maybe apologize (if needed), and reach out privately in all kinds of ways. Wars rarely resolve anything.

So this thread is an invitation to discuss and share how we respond when we feel shocked, stressed, hurt, offended, or worse. And how we might possibly reach inside ourselves to do just a little bit better than we did yesterday, in matters like that. It may also be an opportunity to consider what's really important, what really matters, and who (if anyone) our real enemies might truly be.

:grouphug:

[Bill Ryan]

Mod note from Bill:

A previous thread (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?117391-How-stressed-people-can-turn-on-one-another), with the identical title, was closed on 10 January. But the subject matter is so valuable and pertinent that I've re-opened the thread topic, starting once again, with the original post copied over.

With that, here's an update from Chris Martenson himself, published just a couple days ago. Highly recommended.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kSBdMXQkPI

[RunningDeer]

Mod note from Bill:

A previous thread (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?117391-How-stressed-people-can-turn-on-one-another), with the identical title, was closed on 10 January. But the subject matter is so valuable and pertinent that I've re-opened the thread topic, starting once again, with the original post copied over.

With that, here's an update from Chris Martenson himself, published just a couple days ago. Highly recommended.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kSBdMXQkPI


Rats in a Cage (29 min)





Chris - PeakProsperity.com (www.PeakProsperity.com)

We are all rats in a cage - being shocked. Learn how to spot it. With knowledge comes freedom.

We are all rats in a cage who are being shocked. A very well-studied form of psychological warfare is being waged against us, and it's designed to encourage us to overlook where the shocks are originating and fight amongst each other.

Knowing that this is running is your first step towards freedom.

Police fighting people is an example of "rats in a cage."

People fighting over relatively meaningless things is an example of acting like rats in a cage.

People arguing over Joe Rogan’s prior podcast series (while having practically no objections to zero “Johns” being named in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial) is an example of rats in a cage.

The shocks being administered are anything but accidental:

Student debt growing a trillion dollars in the past decade, while being the only non-dischargeable form of debt in bankruptcy court, is shocking.

The Federal Reserve printing up and expanding the nation’s money supply by 300% in the past 2 years is shocking.

Inflation exploding to levels not seen since the 1970’s is shocking.

The wealthy becoming grotesquely more wealthy and powerful as a result of the Fed’s reckless printing is shocking.

Insects disappearing so comprehensively and suddenly is shocking.

The list of shocks is a mile long and ten feet deep. Given that, it’s not at all surprising that people are turning on each other. But it’s a shame.

Their ire really ought to be directed at the architects of the shocks. There are people in power who are both conscious of this dynamic and actively engineering more shocks simply so that people remain befuddled and harmlessly fighting amongst each other. Well, harmless to the powerful, that is.

If we do not recognize this and turn the righteous anger towards the rightful targets, our lives will continue to erode and, eventually, this all devolves into a major social, political, economic, and ecological storm.

[mizo]

Very timely thread thank you!

I'll watch these and try not to be too niggly- as I know I was earlier today.

[Metalaane]

Timely indeed. You know, I feel a tiny bit guilty of something. I haven't had any hostile words with anyone here yet, but I've not been a daily poster like I said I would be on my application! The reason, though, is that I fear this forum may be falling for the trap that most other communities seem to be falling into; hyper fixation on the stressful Current Commotions.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/620054862587101185/941766692458090576/unknown.png

This is the New Posts search function, right under the Home tab, and what I usually use. Now maybe I'm projecting here to a degree, but at least how it is for me is that I'm the kind of person who isn't put at peace merely because I know the truth of things -- due in part to this forum! -- but even if the truth shall set you free...freedom isn't always comfortable. I suspect, though, I'm not alone. Read a new article, watch a new video, and then what? Feel like raging against the machine even more with a higher blood pressure? And then a lot of posts on these topics aren't really discussion but simply links, embeds, and transcriptions of articles. I'm not insulting anyone; I've still been lurking and learning at my own pace. But like, by this point, I don't know what else there is to say on these matters that I haven't already said or someone else already hasn't said, and I don't like being redundant. If I might be so bold as to say this; I don't think I'm alone in having my Priority 1 being knowing how to live a better life in the trying times ahead. All else falls to the wayside. Current Commotions included. We know what's going on with that already. Do we know as much as we should about, say, self-sufficiency? Well, I don't.

But there's still very smart and kind people here, so I think what I'm going to do moving forward is post on the things actually stimulating. I want to contribute too! Given the current climate, though, don't be surprised if I revive some pretty old and dead threads if they catch my eye.

[Bill Ryan]

But there's still very smart and kind people here, so I think what I'm going to do moving forward is post on the things actually stimulating. I want to contribute too! Given the current climate, though, don't be surprised if I revive some pretty old and dead threads if they catch my eye.Many thanks, a very warm welcome to the community, and we support that fully. :highfive:

We have nearly 100,000 threads on practically every conceivable topic under the sun and beyond — and I'm always mindful myself of the value of posting interesting updates and personal observations on all manner of subjects, simply to remind us all that life on this abundant and remarkable planet is about many, many, many things.

Posts of mine just in the last couple of weeks have included the Tunguska Event, Ice skating, Bigfoot, Mountaineering, Cricket, UFOs, the Future of the Human Race, the Alec Baldwin fiasco, and my dog. :)

:focus: