Traditionally, young people have energized democratic movements. So it is a major coup for the ruling elite to have created societal institutions that have subdued young Americans and broken their spirit of resistance to domination. — FILMS FOR ACTION
In the darkness of the passive and compliant society we are living in, the article by Bruce E. Levine offers some clues to why it is like this. Are we now "WHATEVER PEOPLE?"
23 Comments
As if there was a conspiracy? Give kids what they want and this what you get. When it comes to population control a Purdue chicken house is ideal, especially if the chickens don't know any better. Now go run for office and screw something up.
Its funny how some stupidly fall for a conspiracy while dismissing others of being conspiracy theorists. Like looking at a wall you're heading away from only to bang into a wall that was so obviously in front of you had you been looking.
From source:
For example, just this week – after Tony Blair was confronted by the Iraq Inquiry with evidence that he had used lies to sell the Iraq war – Blair dismissed the entire Iraq Inquiry as simply being part of Britain’s “obsession with conspiracy theories“. (Not only did Blair know that Saddam possessed no WMDs, but the French this week accused Blair of using of ‘Soviet-style’ propaganda in run-up to the Iraq war).
Of course, the American government has been busted in the last couple of years in numerous conspiracies. For example, William K. Black – professor of economics and law, and the senior regulator during the S & L crisis – says that that the government’s entire strategy now – as during the S&L crisis – is to cover up how bad things are (“the entire strategy is to keep people from getting the facts”).Similarly , 7 out of the 8 giant, money center banks went bankrupt in the 1980′s during the “Latin American Crisis”, and the government’s response was to cover up their insolvency.
And the government spied on American citizens (even before 9/11 … confirmed here and here), while saying “we don’t spy”. The government tortured prisoners in Iraq, but said “we don’t torture”.
Its about time to end this idiotic trend of dismissing a "theory" because it strikes one as being too grand, too diabolical, too uncomfortable to accept...and perhaps too indicative of the offense one takes at having been oblivious to it (a question of ignorance and arrogance). Conspiracies have always existed, in war, in the control of people, in business ventures...conspiracies are indeed normal -especially for those who gravitate towards the sociopathic pole- wherever deception serves the purpose.
No. 2 was certainly used against women especially, to accuse them of hysterics, "put them in their place", to enable men to abuse them without recourse to justice...etc.
No.3 is certainly used when teaching history, the history of the Native American genocide that enabled the US to take shape. The true history of US involvement abroad, its engineering of bloody coups, assassinations, you name it...all left out from the books. There are of course many examples not just in the US. All this forms citizens who will be oblivious and acquiescent to the hegemony of their leadership - history has been interpreted to them in order to conform to the plans and envisagement of their elites.
No. 5 is certainly related to 3. An example is what we experienced lately here, on Archinect. The uproar over discussing a controversial "political" (for some) issue within the confines of site that caters to a specific profession (or alliance of professions if you prefer) is very surprising. This "line-production" thinking, cookie cutter thinking that wants to rule out political and intellectual engagement that are broader than the profession, that touch on a general awareness of what goes on in the world highlghts this disparity between "schooling" ( a stingy reduction of knowledge, a technician by another name) and education (a general, wholesome curiosity). This encourages this fusion of ignorance and arrogance (techniciens who claim to know everything because they finished university) makes them blind soldiers, following the orders of their masters.
6 and 7 are just the most obvious items on the list. 6 is so pertinent what with NSA. and 7 is just your average goebbels/murdoch brainwashing propoganda stuff.
8. i can say that amongst all points, the fundamentalist consumerist and religious section is the Achilles heels. its the invisible yet incredibly strong spider net that enslaves the very souls of its victims. it is so strong because its internalized; it not just about an external agent.
tammuz I don't think you fully understood my mockery of this post with my conspiracy comment and moreover the absurd manner in which this news post by Archinect presents itself.
I'm not denying any of those 8 points, nor any of your points on singular items the governments may have wanted to cover their ass on.
I think there is a blind faith in a magical union between sociopaths who may meet in basements in their spare time between running corporate companies and state policies. As if the question "How exactly has American society subdued young Americans?" means their actually is an American Society club with card carrying members who can be counted who adjourn on Monday nights deciding policy for screwing young people over.
There isn't. Think about this practically speaking and think about how most people allow emotional life to take over intellectual and how not everyone even if attending the same Church ultimately agree on everything. It's absurd to think anyone is that organized and community driven (rich people screwing poor people community) and that smart - especially government employees. you deal with your local building department lately or try to get a driver's license renewed?
There are beliefs and policies that many agree on and more importantly a simple method for population control for anyone interested in controlling population for whatever reason - for example getting people to join Facebook or think about their society differently. Every American knows this very American ideal - Give people what they want, and if you can't give it to them exactly, give and bargain with them hope that they can get what they want- Join the Army so you can go to college. This is not sold to you in Europe as convincingly, but they are getting there.
Purdue chicken manufacturing - fat chickens falling over dead for us to consume - best way to feed many people efficiently. I stick to my analogy.
and now I hope since I didn't check "notify"...archinectt will now not notify me when someone posts - or wait - it was the Archinect meeting in dark basements to ensure I get emails I don't want....
come on man!
Have some time to kill.......12 step program.............................step1: blame yourself for your life, step2: turn down free hugs, step3: do not except a medal or trophy at a competitive event if you do not come in 1,2, 3rd place, step4: understand school grades mean nothing, step5 : understand you are entitled to nothing not even existence, step6: ask yourself is it really about the pursuit of happiness?, step7: ask yourself does getting everything I want satisfy me, step8: realize you can't take care of everyone if you can't take care of yourself, step9: take care of yourself, get some, step10: take care of your family, get them some, step11: take care of your community, share some, step12: go run for office and screw something up.....
“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”
if you let yourself become consumed by your fear, hate, and desire for revenge, you're going to be uncritical, weak, and easy to manipulate. you'll just look for people to confirm what you already want to believe and try to build an isolated community that fuels your rage. you'll close off any thoughts or discussions that don't add fuel to the anger.
have you considered the possibility that there is a conspiracy to help you? maybe the UN and ban ki-moon really do want to reduce suffering in the world. it's too late for tammuz to become a decent person; i just hope orahan doesn't become so consumed by tammuz's attempts to build his community of fear that he loses his sense of humor and critical eye.
curtkram is a die hard supporter of child murderers (Israel) ...that makes her or him a very decent person. Since I'm opposed to murdering innocents and occupying and oppressing people around the world, irrespective of race and religion, I am - in her or his eyes- indecent.
I don't think anyone needs advice from the likes of a brainwashed - or hateful zionist/racist- individual who obviously wants to drag issue with my archinect person all over archinect.
Olaf, I see your point...but I'm not sure there is not a (card carrying) party who clearly benefits and encourages from these tactics. Its a case by case scenario, of course and greed or ignorance sometimes pulls in unexpected parties into sharing a common cause.
For example, know of the George Soros connection to Occupy Wall Street, right? You cannot get more establishment than that - Soros supported Obama in his presidential campaigns. Anti-establishment being puppeteered by the establishment. Let me give you other examples - colour revolutions around the world, orchestrated with the help of think tanks, technology companies and politically interested parties in the US in cooperation with local corrupt, power hungry anti-democratic groups who mobilize the people using clever PR tactics (choose a nice flower colourful name, the logo of a hand or a fist, win over the police...etc, refer to the Gene Sharp manual).
I don't think that the point of the article is to point that there is a singular party responsible for the deployment of all these tactics. But these tactics were sure used by one or another of the powerful elites who also have a shared interest in maintaining their hegemony. Shared interest of an elite few, to the detriment of the powerless majority, can do amazing things.
Of course, its not just the case in the US of course (although many of the points made are US-centric). I can say, for instance, that in the Middle East, point no. 8 - the use of religion- has been used in the most cynical manner by corrupt leadership (religious or otherwise). I don't vilify religion itself but rather the political abuse of it. This is of course not just in the Middle East: Quebec's theophobia owes itself to the pre-"tranquil reviolution" abuse of the catholic clergy over its people and that has pushed it to an extreme that is- in my opinion- a bit pathological (wanting to ban people from wearing religious signs). Ironically, this theophobia is now used by at least one party in electorial campaigns in order to increase its share in governing the people (they didn't win, commercial fundamentalism won i.e. the Liberal Party)
So, yes, it is a case-by-case scenario and there is not one fixable hegemon throughout history and divorced from context ...although there might well be a continuity of hegemony - the elites of the British Empire banking system migrated to the US after World War 2, having plunged Europe - whether the winning side (UK for instance) or the losing side (Germany)- in great debt and poverty.
But it is certain that multiple tactics, depending on context and culture, have been used by the rich and powerful to deceive, brainwash and pacify. And the author was doubtlessly speaking from a US-centric position.
curtkram is a die hard supporter of child murderers (Israel) ...that makes her or him a very decent person
and so is hamas, because you can't fight an asymmetric war head on. you have to fight it through some other means, such as the media, and without your long lists of innocent people dieing, hamas doesn't stand a chance in destroying israel (your ultimate goal; the only question is how far you're willing to go to arrive at that end - how many innocent people have to die before you've gone too far?). there is a conspiracy there too, it just might not fit your blind prejudice. if you don't support murdering children, why would you want to see hamas grow instead of seeing them dissolved?
personally i don't support israel or hamas or the murdering of children. i hope the UN or some other international body finds a way to hold them all accountable to their actions. you'll never be able to see the world outside your simplistic blind rage anyway, so i don't think you'll ever be able understand my perspective, or most other people's for that matter. the destruction of israel, rather than just the removal of the extremists elements making bad decisions, is an impractical goal. not an emotional plea to simple minded people, but an impractical goal that is replacing the more important goal of giving the Palestinian people the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that all people everywhere should have (including the israelis).
as i said previously "if you let yourself become consumed by your fear, hate, and desire for revenge, you're going to be uncritical, weak, and easy to manipulate" - i just choose not be consumed by base emotions, and rather try to understand the complexity of the problem by trying to understand multiple perspectives, even if i disagree with them.
tell me about how support of attacks into israel will help the BDS movement (http://www.bdsmovement.net/ for anyone not aware), because i'm pretty sure you're more interested in supporting a militant palestine rather than a nonviolent one. i'm not sure what other people get out of your comments, but when you claim i support murdering children, that makes me assume you're a complete moron, or just an internet troll begging for attention. either way, your ability to support your position is limited to copying news articles and propaganda from people considerably smarter than you.
Please quit mixing it up on other threads. You've already argued with me on this issue on the Boycott Israel thread. My comments here were related to the topic. Refer to my posts there; they more than answer you ... if a response is what you're after (which I doubt) or add your nonsense there if so you wish. I might have more to say about religious fundamentalism within the US and how it was used to vilify communism.
forcing people to rely on cars for transportation is a glaring omission from this article - it restricts the mobility of youth, the poor, people who live in dense cities...
Lots of down time today - transit. Had Metalica's Justice for All album blaring in car earlier, appropriate to this thread.....curtram is that qoute you or someone else?.........................toasteroven brings up a key point and good example to tammuz's follow up. From memory, on phone, aint going to bother googling, I believe GM pushed the car onto Los Angeles and tried its best to deter the public transportation initiatives, and then you had hoods - boyz in tha hood and LA riots, without much scholarly support here that is directly related - but we would be giving the elite who had money in GM too much credit to think the outcome was planned. Outside metropolitan areas you are a 2nd class citizen without a car. You need to make money to get a car to get you to work to make money - and thus the cycle begins. In non Olaf life I walk my kids a few miles to parks for fun. The looks I get on the no sidewalk suburban lawns are hilarious, so to ensure the locals keep their stigma about the man who transports himself on foot like an illegal immigrant I wear my Mickeys malt liqour tshirt to the grocery store - if they only knew I was licensed profession with a Masters from an Ivy League institution........ I enjoy buying milk like the big lebowski late at night at the grocery store..... Another example is Ron Hubard and Scientology and its belief to essentially solve psychological issues through thought versus medications, at the time very much against the giant pharmacuetical companies agendas. By today's standards Ron probably would be considered a terrorist......................On another thread about July 17 I felt the only sensible point Graduated licensure had was "how the elite think". Some are awesome and have earned their positions others are naive and for the most part ignorant. Nearly pissed myself when I noticed a client holding a book on the Black Vote, like a how to guide/history. This was nyc rich, not your average rich...i was like - dude get on a subway if you know what that is and head up to Harlem and buy a beer in a bar. Bloomberg rode the subway. By the way coming from Brooklyn once I was 6 feet from De Blasio, he had just become mayor, one tall guy, he had 2 body guards and was with a lady so no one approached him......back to my point about Purdue chicken manufacturering and the youth of America and my disdain for this archinect news post - blaming a system or policies pushed by a few powerful for all your woes is weak and irresponsible. The system isn't perfect but it allows manuevering and opportunity for those who want it bad enough. It appears our always happy and too much empathy policies have just compounded the crushing blow of intentionally bad policies - vindictive or not intelligent. A little more henry rollins a little more black flag
i did not come up with that quote olaf. i would have attributed it to someone, but my google efforts could not find a solid source. i'm fairly certain it is a very old quote.
before you get too hung up over the illuminati trying to get you and such, take a few minutes to watch a sunset, or smell a rose, or play with a kid, or pet a dog, or something to ground you back to what's important in life. if you get too focused on people trying to hurt you, you might not notice the people trying to help you anymore.
I may not agree with curtkram on much, but I do agree with him on what's important in life.
...
and hug a doric column
olaf - of everything listed in the article - car-centric transportation policy and development patterns is probably the ONLY thing where we have an actual record of "the elite" actively engaging in large-scale social engineering and discrimination. the federal highway program was never meant to go into cities - but politicians and other powerful interests used it to cordon of sections of the city and destroy non-white neighborhoods (geesh - it was ACTUAL FEDERAL POLICY to redline neighborhoods using highways as boundaries). all of these things are still codified into zoning laws, parking minimums, etc ... we architecture people actually deal with this shit every day - how many projects have you worked on where parking requirements starts overwhelming the building and site? We're all acutely aware of how much space these things take up - and how cars and car-centric policies can ruin street life.
the grand irony is that the policies that were meant to keep the non-white person down have created more of a burden for everyone. it's now become an act of defiance/ resistance to simply walk or bike places - gosh - could you imagine if you let your kids walk down the block UNSUPERVISED? you'd be thrown in jail!
If the authorities were to challenge my free range child control, like free range chickens....Toasteroven I would quickly put on a suit and tie and show the cops my wall of achievements and call a lawyer. I'd slow down my speech to a very slight southern draw and discuss college football with the cops. The discussion would then be useful for me to make analogies between college football and unsupervised kids. I would inform them of what I was benching these days and then we'd be like - brother, yeah fuck the rat race man, you know what health insurance is costing me these days and talk about getting shitfaced in Mexico at some prison resort..I'd put the kids in the cars and drive away on elevated highways avoiding eye contact with locals until I was at a safe exit...............I will give you this -toasteroven, I read an article once that explained how the engineers of the federal program would pray to the lord before work or sessions and were very 'driven' individuals with purpose -yada yada........anyway this is my point and why it was silly to post two cops who surely did the army to pay for college who are youthful enough to hate on the old farts of the illuminati government running cult.... the correct image would have been a teenage girl txting her bff in a shopping mall eating herself into diabetes...purdue chick manufacturering......some random henry rollins (an old man by now) - "If you hate your parents, the man, or the establishment, don't show them up by getting wasted and wrapping your car around a tree. If you really want to rebel against your parents: outearn them, outlive them, and know more than they do."
i propose this image related to this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nwXHQeKR20
to replace the news image above
heard it about here first https://soundcloud.com/poorboyrich/omglolwtfbff
GL - I'm putting my students loans into settlement, that's what the elite would do.
As an architect you may not hang with the Joneses but you can learn from the Joneses.
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"The Marques de Sade wrote a curious pamphlet called Frenchman, one more effort if you want to be Republican, in which he told his countrymen that they should follow their execution of the king with the execution of God. And he took in one stride the step that has taken other European thinkers a century and a half of nervous edging forward: the idea that values are relative, and that therefore all men should adopt Rabelais’s motto: ‘Do what you will’. In a sense, De Sade’s pamphlet might be regarded as the true assault on the Bastille. it was the first great gesture of romanticism: the formulation of the question: ‘Why is man not a God?’" - Colin Wilson
"To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worth while. The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned chatter."' - Aleister Crowley
i thought about it GL, it could be Wisconsin?
minnesota
um. is bringing in aleister crowley the persona of olaf, or the real olaf? that's worse than bringing in Machiavelli
olaf is schizophrenic...i'll post under my real name if i really mean it...
Crowley was for Graduated Licensure - occult...and in tune with t a m m u z...
this is the only Machiavelli I believe in, he's still alive probably chillin' in caymen islands as a bar tender
Curtkram, I am interested in the Mr. Crowley (ozzy \m/) and Machiavelli connection, though, do go on?
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." is not a very good morality system for an architect. we, as a profession, serve others. not just our clients, but we have a responsibility to public and health and safety. as such, crowley's influence might be fine for students who design parametric blobs isolated from the larger community, but should be disregarded when said student grows up and becomes a real architect.
an architect who follows 'do what thou wilt' is just not going to be a very good architect. for example, peter eisenmann. he sucks as an architect, because he often lacks the sort of humility required to respond to his client's needs. he probably doesn't even know how to follow building codes even if wanted to. i'm pretty sure he just dumps that on his junior staff, not giving a shit whether his buildings are safe or are capable of standing any longer than necessary for him to get a big glossy picture in a magazine.
machiavelli was, of course, a politician. 'the prince' could certainly be relevant to this thread as well as tammuz's, since it has a focus on how one government is able to subdue another, while maintaining enough loyalty from the occupied territory for them to not revolt. machiavelli tends to be rather immoral at times too. in his character's quest for power, the ends justify the means. do what thou wilt, society be damned. not good for a profession that builds and relies on a developed society.
I agree and agree...but you have to admit the Crowley quote applies nicely to this shite journalism post - a photo of Minnesota's capital linked to a question on how the US might have crushed the youth resistance linked to an equally dubious media outlet...this ain't exactly Lebbeus Woods or even the Funambulist...
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