IS SOCIETY FEEDING YOUR FEAR?

Bad News

Shock Doctrine you say? Most definitely. The systems in place to distract and placate us from the real horrors being slipped under the table, are nothing short of diabolical. Isn’t it strange that every time there’s a disaster; a terrorist attack, fire at an international monument, a war started in the Middle East, some law sacrificing our global human rights is passed?

It may sound like paranoia, but it’s not difficult to see the strings in the media nowadays, even when we still fall for the rush of adrenaline that shock precedes.

Materialism

You need it, you really do. You won’t be whole until you get it. Look how shiny and new it is. You’ll be laughed at if you don’t have it. You’ll be hated. In fact, you’ll be in danger, because everyone knows that when you’re rejected from the tribe, you perish.

And if you don’t perish, then you won’t be loved. Everyone wants love don’t they? But if you don’t have it, you’re ugly. You’re repugnant. You’re dull. You could always look to the celebrities for role models. They have learnt to follow the code of conduct and have reached the top of the food chain of materialism (under the 1% of course). They will show you how to act, how to dress, and how to talk yourself out of exposure when someone blackmails you.

So buy it, buy all of them, keep going, don’t stop! Buy, buy, buy!!

Desensitization

There are plenty of scary images around, usually pumped into us on a daily basis. But maybe it’s not just the scary images we need to be aware of.

Placing two images next to each other, such a charity poster depicting refugees… or starving children… or dusty Syrians clutching each other, with a glossy, photoshopped image of some models wearing bikinis, will create a de-sensitization in the onlooker. They will not relate the two images, but instead think they’re entirely separate.

Couple that with the materialism of Method Number Two, and we have fear. Refugees come to a country, seeking help, and rather than being perceived as human beings, they are seen as a threat. They belong somewhere framed and far off, hidden behind the veneer of the media, and encased in a television on the six o’clock news.

Poison

No! Don’t eat the stuff that feels good! Eat the junk in the shiny supermarket. You think you know how to grow your own food?! Think again. Seeds are next to impossible to harvest, and the time it takes! Wouldn’t you rather spend that precious time trying to get laid? Or better yet, shopping? Growing your own food is messy, and unnecessary. And look, we’ve already packaged it all up for you in convenient shiny bags made sure to light the supermarket with anesthetizing hues and will play upbeat music, to help you dissociate while you shop. Enjoy!

Accusation

Following on from materialism, not being accepted is the number one fear of us all. Why? Because we’ll lose our love and our livelihoods. Better to shut up and fit in. And doesn’t disaster Capitalism know it.

Fearing isolation leads to fearing the other, which leads to fear of accusations of being perverted or insane. If we keep our integrity, we’re usually accused of something. Society goes after our weaknesses, such as having made a mistake, which, by the way, is a very human thing to do.

The accusation of insanity (think any Whistleblower or Woman on the face of this earth), or perversion (think any Whistleblower or man on the face of this earth), lives within us. Fear is cultivated in secret, and shame is a public affair, but we all know it could happen to any of us. And so we keep in line.