Michael emailed us, sounds like they are brainwashing the troops

[Mari333]

he said "I have been very sick for the last couple of days, and Im sick of watching a video they keep showing us of Saddam's statue falling..they keep showing us this video from a year ago of Saddam's statue falling and Im sick of it...like its supposed to make us want to stay here"
So he has been really sick for a few days, and the military is making them watch lame videos of the saddam statue falling to give them some damn reason to be there.
Michaels words in his email:

" I am sick of seeing saddam's statue fall every day, it's like they are
clinging to a year ago, and won't deal with what's going on. it's more like
a ploy to curb any dislike for the war by showing the statue falling. i'm
sick of seeing it."

bring the troops home now.

[NMDemDist2]

1. mari thank goodness he's Ok

i will continue to pray for him and all his comrades and all of us. crap this sux so so so bad

[Arkana]

6. Hope your son feels better, Mari...

But tell him to keep fighting the brainwashing!

[Mari333]

9. Im glad he sees thru the bullshit

and Im glad his mind is still functioning, intact.
bring the troops home now

[Melodybe]

2. My heart is with them

[Eric J in MN]

3. interesting. keep us informed about this stuff (nt)

nt

[Mari333]

4. I will...I find it sickening that the latest ploy to keep the troops there

is to show that some lame video of saddams statue falling..Michael doesnt buy it, he knows it horseshit, and I doubt many of the guys in his unit buy it..they just want to come home.
they know its bullshit.

[sangha]

5. If it's any comfort, I don't think it's brainwashing, Mari.

it sounds like a way to reinforce the idea that they are there to liberate Iraq, and to squash dissent amongst troops with nothing to do who have the time to talk to each other and share complaints. I think your son was pretty close. It's a ploy.

[billbuckhead]

8. And the statue falling was a bunch of street theatre and camera angles

There was about a 150 people at the statue, most bused in by Chalabi.

[Mari333]

12. right! and we told him that before he went

he knows its bullshit. Im glad to see his mind still knows its bullshit.

[0007]

25. Your right, a lot of the propaganda film and photos were

of Ahmad Chalabi's army that were cheering and shilling the invasion.

When the tables turn, which I believe it will, we'll have photos and film of Chalabi's army showing nothing but bare ass as they leave Iraq.

[NJCher]

13. Oh it's brainwashing, all right

Repetition. Repeat repeat repeat.

Here's a dictionary definition:

The application of a concentrated means of persuasion, such as an advertising campaign or repeated suggestion, in order to develop a specific belief or motivation.

You think a crew that selects a brain dead brand name and calls him "The Package" isn't doing a little (or a lot) of brainwashing? The same crowd that put "The Package" in a flight suit and had him prancing across the deck of an aircraft carrier? The same hucksters who design backdrops for their sock puppet that say "jobs" and "responsibility," when The Package has never held a job nor has he ever demonstrated any responsibility?

Hey, Mari, I am glad you heard from him. I caught your earlier post saying you'd not heard from him in a week and was concerned for you.


Cher

[Mari333]

15. thanks I guess hes been sick

I emailed him back and asked him how sick was he? why? I hope he lets me know. with all the Depleted Uranium over there I want to know
I know Michael, he wont fall for the lies. No matter how many times they show him some lame video. We told him about the lies, and the horseshit of the saddam fake video before he left. I guess they are showing them this crap over and over to make them think they are there for a reason..that means the troops must be questioning the whole damned thing! time for these kids to come HOME

[Arianrhod]

20. My oldest came back last month

and has been completely disillusioned about his military career. They forced him to re-up so he could take his new wife to Germany, but he fooled them by extending instead, which means he might not have to return to Iraq with his unit in December. I'm hoping, anyway.

When he was home for Thanksgiving, I told him he had just missed *. He said that was a good thing, because if he had had the opportunity, he would have said some things that would've landed him in jail. haha

My second is still in the Green Zone. He's supposed to leave 1 May, and I'm hoping that they allow him to do that. But the 1AD is going back, and the 1ID is not permitted to leave. Not good indications.

[duhneece]

26. I am so sorry to hear of your oldest's disillusion

and your other child in the Green Zone. In trying to look on the bright side (so very hard right now), I'm glad your oldest is aware enough to be disillusioned and not simply 'buying' into their lies. Know our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and all of our children caught up in the B* administration's lies.
I'm sending hugs.

[Arianrhod]

32. Thank you. n/t

[Mari333]

34. ((((((arianrhod))))))))

join us at www.mfso.org

I am so afraid, so angry, so tired, so beaten up about this. I know you are too. '
The military mothers and fathers and loved ones have been treated like shit. Total shit, and our kids and loved ones over there are nothing, just nothing to the people who sent them over.
((((hugs))) for what its worth in these dark and horrible times of our lives.

[suegeo]

31. Resistence to brainwashing

I read somewhere that people with a sense of humor are better able to resist brainwashing. This conclusion was reached in some study about the guys coming back from Korea, when brainwashing was being practiced on them.

Brainwashing techniques include use of slogans (complex ideas reduced to a couple of words), good/cop bad cop (tension & release) and I think repetition.

Anyway, the guys they couldn't get brainwashed were the ones who found humor in what the brainwashers were trying to do.

This is just what I read, so take it for what it is worth. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv.

[radwriter0555]

29. it is actually. The military is considered "institutionalized" the same

way that (sorry) mental patients and convicts are.

They are subjected to specific mental conditioning designed to break down all resistance to authority; to create absolute mental dependence, and destroy all independent thought.

MK ultra is not a fantasy and is applied to the troops.

I'm sorry.

[aquart]

7. Sounds like the brainwashing is unsuccessful, though.

Glad he's ...well, he didn't say he was okay, but he's breathing and definitely in his right mind.

[ngGale]

10. He's fighting the brainwashing, but..

it's sick that we put our soldiers in that position. Bush is disconnected from reality. Tell him to hang in, we will get them home.

[napi21]

11. Troops are always brainwashed!

This particular kind of stuff is just stupid! But I believe all of our military are braidwashed. That's one of the ways they keep them in line.

My son was in the Navy for 17 years, and I've told him many times that's one of the ways the military works. He's really never disagreed with me either.

I don't necsessarily disagree with that method to keep order and control within the ranks, but I also don't think this re-running the Sadaam tape is going to work. Guess it's the only thing Rummy knows...

[keopeli]

14. Mari, take hope, and tell Michael the same

We all know that the situation is not good in Iraq right now. We know more about this war than a public has ever known about so serious an endeavor. We can see the flaws, as plain as day.

But, we, the U.S., will persevere, and it will be because of the sacrifice that Michael is making right now. That's right...Michael is part of the best military on the planet ever. It's leathal, yes, and it also takes care of its soldiers. In spite of the harsh conditions and the short supplies, I believe with all my heart that the military leaders are doing everything they can to protect the troops. I know a few leaders (fairly high up), and they are exactly the people I would want doing the impossible job they've been given.

Encourage Michael with patience and remind him that his country and its citizens stand behind him and his presence in Iraq.

Thanks for sharing, Mari. We will persevere and emerge in a better world!

Keo

[deepcover]

16. timber

i wonder what they will topple when we leave

[Qanisqineq]

17. Mari - I hope he starts feeling better soon!

My husband came back almost 4 weeks ago and he is still sick. He coughs constantly. He was sick for months while he was in Iraq and he is still sick. Yet, he still hasn't been able to see a doctor.

Hang in there! (hugs)

[Mari333]

18. Hugs to you Tolania

Im going to throw Michael into a specialist the day he gets back..Im not kidding..I am really worried about his health, and the day he gets back, wham, hes going to the doctor..
and he better come back
not only that, hes going to see a shrink also..I am going to have them waiting for him
and
a
lawyer
all waiting.
Im serious.
Hugs to you and your husband Tolania.

[Pinko Commie]

19. Glad he's OK

I saw some of your posts from before, and I felt so bad. Didn't know how to help you.

Just relieved he's OK. Hope he comes home soon.

[G_j]

21. yes good to hear he's 'ok'

I wonder if they included this part in the video?

[9215]

22. I'm glad to hear he's OK Mari.

Best wishes.

[peekaloo]

23. Wait, they can show endless propaganda loops but not

the video on the dangers of DU (depleted uranium) poisioning??????

Hope your son gets to feeling better Mari333.

Stay strong.

[DrBB]

24. "Punitive village-burning expeditions"

They're gearing us all up for it--soldiers and public alike. This looks like another example--drive that "we are liberators" message deep into their minds before sending them in to do, well, 'what needs to be done.'

More here.

[FreakinDJ]

27. Drill Sargent school is psychological training

Little known fact about the Army

Drill Sargent school is 52 weeks of psychology. The purpose of controlling the troops is there primary goal.

We had a 5 ft nothing Cuban drill Sargent that used to walk around with this one black glove on. Kinda like the Army version of Michal Jackson. But he used to slam 6 ft guys up against the wall and have them shacking in their boots because he had them so psyched out

[jean]

28. Mari, I'm so happy he was able to email you finally - he sounds like

a strong, very bright young man. I bet he's talking to his buddies about this "ploy" and enlightening more than a few people over there.

My energy is streaming out to protect and nurture Michael and his mother.

[watercolors]

30. He's right,

Charles e-mailed us, our grandson, and said save all the clippings on Iraq. I'll tell you the real stories when I get home. Some kind of flu bug going around, many troops feeling sick, nausea and weak. He had a bout of it.
They are not closing his base of operation now, they will remain there. We now know he is still at Bagdad internation AP. They are busy getting ready for more troops comming. At least we can now get mail to him. Charles knows this war is wrong, as he said I have do do this, but I did not expect to be here when I joined the air force to get the schooling I wanted. He had to sign for 6 yrs to get it. Its a bitter reality for him.

Pray for your Micheal along with Charles and all our troops in harm's way. I want them home soon!

[Mari333]

36. ((((Charles))) holding him in the light

when these kids come back (and Michael better come back), the truth will one two punch a great deal of the US public, who have been lying to themselves for a long long time.

[Toots]

33. Brainwashing begins day one in boot-camp and continues

until the day one is discharged. "What is the Spirit of the Bayonet?"
"TO KILL"

[JohnyCanuck]

35. It goes beyond the indoctrination in Boot camp.

Brainwashing America
by Dr. Norman Livergood.

The puppet Bush regime is using new, aggressive forms of brainwashing to change the very way Americans think and feel. This is the psychological dimension of the "High Cabal's" general onslaught against American workers, just as the "war on terrorism" is the military dimension and corporate crime and tax cuts for the rich comprise the economic dimension.

We are living under the beginning stages of a military dictatorship in precisely the same way that 1930s Germans suffered under the Nazi regime. As in the case of Nazi Germany, state-sponsored propaganda (brainwashing) is a vital part of the Bush regime's strategy.


New propaganda slogans are being overtly and subliminally implanted by Bush and his gang through their speeches and actions:

dissent is treason

Constitutional liberties are less important than security

the "war on terrorism" excuses any attack on civil liberties

the Bush administration has the right and the duty to bring about "regime change" in any nation it chooses

the economy is basically sound

only a few bad apples are found in the corporate barrel, which requires no new oversight laws

if Bush and Cheney say they're not guilty of corporate crimes, then believe it and shut up

Brainwashing America

[BeetRed]

37. Sickening

God Bless your son and you. I have a cousin over there now. what unit is your son with?

Good luck

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

38. The daily Two Minute Hate?

Doubleplus ungood.

[KittyWampus]

39. Glad Your Son Wrote, Finally

I wonder if any of the soldiers over there keep a journal.

[spt5]

40. sure

Oh sure they do...I hope.

[IkeWarnedUs]

41. This reminds me of Will Pitt's article, "Four Lights"

Will Pitt posted "Four Lights" to a DU thread on October 15, 2002. I'm not sure if it is ok to post the whole article here, so I'll just post a clip. Will, if you see this, it might be a good time to post the whole piece again.

Will's piece starts out talking about an episode of 'Star Trek - The Next Generation' where the captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard, is kidnapped. The kidnappers put Picard in front of 5 lights and try to get him to say there are only four lights, not five, by repetition and torture. Will also talks about George Orwell's '1984' where, through repetition and torture, the main character finally says his torturer is holding up four fingers rather than the five he is realing showing. While we are not necessarily subjected to torture, Will's point was about the constant barage of "news" telling us what we know is not true.

Now, to Will's writing:

<snip>

There is a gulf between the reporting of economic realities and the truth felt by the American people. There is also a gulf between the stridently patriotic war talk proffered by the television news, and the feelings within the citizenry regarding this impending conflict. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Americans have taken to the streets in cities all across the nation. Bush arrived in Boston some weeks ago and was greeted with 500 protesters at one spot, and several thousand more at another. A recent anti-war rally in Chicago drew 3,000 protesters. An anti-war rally in Central Park drew between 20,000 and 30,000 people. This pattern has been repeated over and over, and will reach a peak on October 26th, when a massive anti-war rally is planned in Washington, D.C.

Again, however, there are five lights. The thousands of protesters in Boston were reported to number "a couple dozen" by the local CBS affiliate. The thousands in Chicago were reduced in the reporting to a couple hundred people. The huge rally in Central park was reported nationally not at all. Hundreds of thousands of letters, phone calls and emails sent to Congressional representatives on the eve of the Iraq resolution vote received a similar blackout treatment. C-SPAN is planning to cover the October 26th rally, but it will be wildly out of character if the national media covers the event. An American unconnected with the vigorous and growing network of anti-Iraq war activism across the country would have no idea of the vast opposition being raised against the Bush administration in this matter. As far as the news media is concerned, that opposition does not exist.

The media may report otherwise, but the American people know something has gone terribly wrong. An economy that had been so robust only two short years ago has become a wasteland. A war is about to begin in Iraq that will set a precedent for pre-emptive violence and destabilize the planet, that will enflame the Middle East and guarantee retaliatory terrorism at home, that will kill tens of thousands of civilians along with many American soldiers. The potentially dire ramifications of these two looming disasters can not be quantified. This does not appear on the nightly news, but it is there, huge and raw and terrifying, all the same.

The end of the Star Trek episode found Picard sitting with the ship's counselor. His head was bowed. He admitted, in halting voice, that just before he was rescued, he could actually see five lights. The power of the lie had overmastered him.

I see four lights.

<end>

I don't know if "Four Lights" was ever on TruthOut. The link I saved was from the DU thread Will posted it to.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/du...