Wired’s Rusty Ward has put together this awesome video that covers the science of how to brainwash someone. Why is it important to us as liberals? Because many people (myself included) believe that people on the extreme right wing end of the political spectrum have been brainwashed, either deliberately or just by sheer repetition of right wing propaganda.
Brainwashing occurs when people condition other people in a way “to cause them to drastically change their attitudes and beliefs.” The term “brainwashing” was first used by journalist Edward Hunter in 1950 after American POWs falsely confessed to committing biological warfare on behalf of the U.S. government. Psychologist Jay Lifton interviewed the POWs to examine the step-by-step process of brainwashing and he later detailed his findings in the book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism.
Disclaimer: Liberal Americans, please understand that I’m sharing this information so that we can understand right-wing-think and hopefully try to take steps to undo some of the damage that’s been done, or at least know what we’re dealing with as we move forward. Please don’t try use this information for ill. Seriously.
Rusty Ward uses the example of “ice cream” to bring this issue down to a level where we can all process it. Here are the 10 steps to brainwashing someone.
1. Assault on identity
“You do not like ice cream.”
2. Guilt
“Do you know how many cows were hurt trying to give you your ice cream?”
3. Self-betrayal
“Agree with me that you don’t like ice cream.”
4. Breaking point
“Hello, are you really sad? Or are you pretending to be sad?”
5. Leniency
“Are they giving you enough pillows?”
6. Compulsion to confession
“Are you ready to talk about how horrible you are for eating the ice cream?”
7. Channeling of guilt
“I know you’re feeling really down on yourself, but it’s not your fault. Do you know whose fault it is? Ben and Jerry’s.”
Steps 8-10
“I’m going to turn on the camera. This is going to make you feel a lot better. I want you to read this statement denouncing Ben and Jerry. Then I’m going to give you a sniper rifle and I want you to shoot Jerry. Don’t worry about Ben. We’ve got a guy one cell over who will take care of Ben.”
8. Releasing of guilt
9. Progress and harmony
10. Rebirth
To be successful, the oppressor must have absolute control of the subject and be able to disrupt sleep, restrict diet, and physically punish the subjects. As Rust says, conducting these kinds of experiments is “ethically impossible. You can’t replicate these conditions without causing great injury to your subjects.”
The video:
Brainwashers are essentially changing and strengthening neural pathways with repetition, which is why repetition is important in brainwashing. Our brains aren’t as static as once believed. We now know that multiple factors can change the shape, size, and structure of our brains. I believe that many Americans have undergone a brainwashing of sorts (intentional or otherwise) by being exposed to repetition of right wing rhetoric. From the film The Brainwashing of My Dad:
I was inspired to make this film after watching my father a non-political Democrat turn into a right wing fanatic after a change in his car commute exposed him to the reactionary shows on talk radio. The changes in his behavior caused me to research the changes in the media over the last 30 years and the effect of those changes on the country was indisputable. As the media have been co-opted more and more by special interests, documentarians have become the new journalists. My hope is that after seeing my film, people will question what the media tells them, and hold them accountable.
You can learn more about the science behind brainwashing at 4:08 in the video.
To the shock of almost no one, the CIA took it upon themselves to do a little experiment of their own in the 1950s. The project was called MKUltra and it is outlined in the document below and discussed in the video above. The CIA did some really bad things, of course, which is what happens when you don’t have oversight. Their experimental subjects were the vulnerable and those “least likely to put up a fight.” You know — kids, disabled people, the elderly, mentally ill people, etc…
Sen. Teddy Kennedy tackled this issue in a quest to uncover the truth about how the CIA “drugged American citizens without their knowledge or consent.” How did he even stay alive, stirring up so much stuff? An American hero.
I don’t want to dive too deeply into MKUltra here. It would take over this article. I do encourage you to study up independently, however. We need to know exactly what researchers — and our government — are capable of doing without oversight. People in power who don’t practice ethics and who aren’t monitored have the capability of doing great evil and calling it “important research.”
The fact is, in the MKUltra project, the CIA learned absolutely nothing because the CIA operatives weren’t trained as scientists. And predictably, they lost or destroyed most of the records of MKUltra. And guess what? Zero Accountability. Two lawsuits by victims made it to the Supreme Court, but in both cases, the government was protected over citizen’s rights.
You can read more about MKUltra on the web. ABC is also making a miniseries about the project.
Could this happen again? Yes. See 5:13 in the video. I generally don’t entertain conspiracies, but when there is background and evidence to support the “conspiracy theories,” I think we need to pay attention. Vigilance, Liberal Americans. We must, as always, remain vigilant.
Here is another question: are liberals suffering the same thing? Is our media influencing us in a way that we need to question? Maybe. I don’t know. I believe in always questioning. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
