I want to thank The .01%

[99th_Monkey]

For being such over-weened over-reaching inhumane cowards ....
otherwise, humanity may have muddled along for another decade or
two like lemmings over proverbial cliff into oblivion i.e. causing such
irreparable destruction of the planet's ecosystem that there could be
no hope of salvaging anything like a livable planet unless you were
holed up in some "doomsday" bunker indefinitely.

Thank you, thank you for being SO greedy, callous & stupid, as to
overplay your hand, so much and in so many all-too-obvious ways
that nearly EVERYone pretty much gets it by now, the Labor Movement
is awakening from their long slumber, and is aligning their forces
with OWS everywhere.

Next: The American Spring. Stay tuned.

*** PLEASE NOTE 'FASTEN SEAT BELTS' ADVISORY ****

[sabrina 1]

1. History repeats itself.

thank you for being SO greedy, callous & stupid, as to overplay your hand, so much and in so many all-too-obvious ways that nearly EVERYone pretty much gets it by now

Power hungry, greedy warmongers have always done that throughout history. They are like addicts. If they could just be satisfied with achieving some wealth, some power while keeping the population happy, they would have held on to it for so much longer. This is what has caused most of the revolutions throughout history.

I think it is a mental illness and maybe the only way to stop this cycle of abuse is to seriously analyze those who are afflicted.

[99th_Monkey]

2. Wetiko

http://www.awakeninthedream.com/wetiko/

I'm one of Paul's editors. He's got a 2nd edition coming out
Jan '13. Is a pretty good read, about this very thing; about
an epidemic of psychic cannibalism basically, and calling it out.

[sabrina 1]

6. It looks interesting. Does it go into the reasons why throughout history, most of the

horrors inflicted on the masses were perpetrated by so few?

I've wondered about this for a long time. It seems to me that most people are not motivated towards grabbing vast amounts of money and/or power and control over people's lives and generally just want to have enough to live a reasonably comfortable life for themselves and their families.

And if they achieve those things, they are satisfied. And imo, most people are pretty decent.

And they FAR outnumber the psychopaths who cause most of the world's problems and always have.

The relatively few who scheme and cheat and lie to gain control over whole populations are relatively few yet they succeed. Mainly because they are also deceptive, at first. And many decent people end up following their lead, which enables them.

I wonder why, since they are so outnumbered, they manage to gain so much control over the lives of so many.

So in a way there are two major reasons why the psycopaths succeed, their own mental makeup, and the gullibility of a large part of the masses.

But everyone knows these facts, so my question is that since this happens over and over again, why have we not learned to see the signs? Some do, but they are generally shouted down and called paranoid, or exaggerators etc.

I guess I can understand the sociopaths, what I don't understand are the people who over and over again follow them. Because if everyone was alert to the signs, they could not succeed. The problem is decent people probably are stronger, but they do not strive to take over countries, so there is really nothing to stop them until it's too late.

So what can be done? It's the 21st Century and we are no closer to resolving this historic problem than ever? Why, eg, were no studies done on Hitler, how it happened, the psyche of a people who did not see how crazy he was etc. Not that he was the first or the only one even during the 20th Century.

We seem to just move on each disaster without trying to find out the causes of the madness and maybe preventing it by treating it. I think there should be studies made, and when there are findings and solutions, they should be taught in every school so potential dictators etc can be neutralized before they ever get near any position of power.

Anyhow, sorry, but this fascinates me. I will check out the book, thanks for the link.

[99th_Monkey]

9. The questions you raise are THE questions we need to be asking, and answering.

Actually I do think the WWII Nazi / Holocaust phenomenon has been extensively studied and pontificated about,
both in Academia and perhaps to a somewhat lesser extent by popular media & Hollywood (Sophie's Choice, et. al.);
yet it somehow either was not enough, or it just simply failed to penetrate the "All American Hurray for USA!" psychic
bubble that has been so carefully put into place and maintained by the US Corporatist Overlords.

Another person who responded to my post provided a link to a short movie I had been intending to watch, but had
not yet actually double clicked on yet; which I'll share here (in case you didn't see the other post). it's 23 minutes
long, yet very sweeping and clear in it's message: "Let your life be a friction to stop the machine" (also the title).

I just watched this movie and was moved by it's boldness and how it pulled together so many strands of truth into one
coherent message .. a message that everyone asking these questions needs to hear about now, as our upcoming
Occupy American Spring is fast approaching.

As far as Paul Levy's work goes, he doesn't so much deal with this subject from a historical analysis point of view,
but rather delves into the inner working of the human psyche, borrowing heavily from Jung, Tibetan Buddhism, and
another writer named Forbes, who recently died but authored great book called Columbus and other Cannibals.
Paul's perspective is that if/when enough people become viscerally aware and conscious of how this psychic virus
called wetiko works and inoculate themselves, at some point the collective tide will shift irrevocably towards a
global awakening. He's also all about the Occupy phenomenon as being in phase with this coming shift.

If you have more questions about Paul's work, etc. and want to discuss further feel free to message me anytime.
also his website has many of articles on the subject (I think, I haven't been there in awhile) as these articles ended
up getting edited into chapters of his book. He also wrote a book about Bush called "The Madness of George W. Bush:
A Reflection of our Collective Psychosis.

So thanks for your thoughtful and thought provoking reply .. and take good care. ~me

[sabrina 1]

12. Thanks for your response, I will definitely watch the video, I just saw Snagglepuss' OP

in the Occupy forum and read the excerpts which are so succinct and clear. So I'm looking forward to seeing the whole video.

Re the studies on the Nazi era, yes, it has been studied, and I have not read all that much about the findings. I have read some and from what I have read, very successful propaganda was mostly responsible, fear being a major tool they used. And that is what happened here regarding the Iraq War which eventually got the support of a majority of the American people.

What that shows is that all the studies failed to prevent the same tools from being used again. I could not understand the fear frankly and I never believed the lies, because of WHO was telling them. And I lived in NY at the time and one of my neighbors died on that day.

I guess all the studies done may have come up with explanations of how so many people were influenced, surface facts, but did they come up with solutions?

I think fear is a tool that works, but along with that is a selfishness, a self-preservation instinct that causes people to ignore the ramifications to other human beings. A 'me first' attitude, which in the end, does not benefit them anyhow.

Some of the rightwingers who fully supported the war that I tried to talk to at the time, dismissed any appeal to them to consider all the innocent people who would die. They just didn't care, it was all about THEM. THEY had to right to be safe, regardless of what happened to anyone who was not American. It was a sense of superiority. Prejudice, the same thing really that motivated the German people.

I will definitely check out Paul Levi's book, and his website. He is obviously a thinker, what we need way more of in this country.

Paul's perspective is that if/when enough people become viscerally aware and conscious of how this psychic virus called wetiko works and inoculate themselves, at some point the collective tide will shift irrevocably towards a global awakening.

It does seem to work that way. First the 'tide' goes against all that is good, then eventually, it turns but it does have to reach a critical point to have that happen. I agree with you, even if we in America have not quite reached that point, Globally it is very close to the point. Eg, what is happening here and in Europe, already happened in Third World countries, and even in more developed countries, S. America eg, but we thought it could never happen here, and paid little attention to it.

But the Global Capitalists were busy and it was inevitable really that they would move on to first world countries. It HAD to happen to First World countries in order to stop them, imo. Now, the people are becoming Global. When we were isolated from other countries, they had nothing to fear. I used to wish there was a way for the people of the world to unite but never saw a way it could happen. That is what this movement has accomplished, starting in Europe.

Thank YOU for your thoughts and information on Paul Levi. I am hopeful that real change can happen, because it has to.

[lunatica]

15. I've been reading Paul Levy's writings for years

Hopefully the mass psychosis is being torn asunder by Truth.

[99th_Monkey]

17. Agreed for sure..

Just an FYI .. Paul's complete mailing list of thousands of contacts he's gathered over the past 11 years
just got trashed by an online company that was storing it for him that "went out of business" and sent
out ONE little email notice for subscribers to claim their lists or they'd be deleted and Paul missed seeing
that because he gets so many email in a given day.

So you may want to email him at <[email protected]> and let him know you want to stay
in touch, and still be on his contact list. I don't if you were on it already or not, but just in case you were
I thought I'd mention it.

cheers.

[lunatica]

18. When I try to sign up for the email list I get an error message

On the Paul Levy site.

[99th_Monkey]

19. Thanks lunatica for letting me know.

I'm going to volunteer some time to assist Paul in getting this all sorted out,
and will let him know about your experience. take care. ~99%Monkey

[snagglepuss]

3. Have you watched the video "Let your life be a friction to stop the machine"

If you haven't, you must.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101713368

[99th_Monkey]

4. Wow .. now that was some great timing

as I was just perusing Netflix for something to watch.

I'd seen this posted on Occupy Portland's FB page I think, but
hadn't actually seen it, so thanks a bunch.

[snagglepuss]

5. If you watch it, i'd be interested knowing your opinion of it.

[99th_Monkey]

7. Just finished watching it.

I think it is brilliantly done, concise, to the point, graphic but not gratuitiously so.

So now I want to help it go even more "viral" than it already is. Like I said, I've
seen it posted on FB but just didn't double click for whatever reason.

I like it's length. Not to short, not too long (like Thrive is WAY too long - which I'm
still not sure what I think about that film, though I watched it months ago.)

So thanks again for the link.

Maybe perchance our paths might cross during The American Spring.

[snagglepuss]

14. It impressed me for the same reasons and I too want to make it go even

more viral than it is so I have found a link which also includes the transcript. I too had seen it elsewhere but hadn't viewed it because I assumed it would be similar to other videos. Had some quotes from the video been posted, I wouldn't have ignored it - quotes like

"This is where we are. The great question now is whether we as a nation can awaken from this long historic nightmare and face the terrifying and exhilarating prospect of living in the full light of reality without the false props and dishonest constructs of a hoodwinked, herded and dishonored people or, whether we have internalized the falsity and disease to such an extent that it has become an organic, overmastering form of insanity?"




http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/Let-Your-Life-Be-a-Frictio-by-Press-Release-120224-99.html











As for paths crossing in the American Spring? If not physically, definitely in spirit.

[Selatius]

8. I don't believe an "American Spring" will happen unless things are twice or three times as bad.

This is the worst recession since the Great Depression, but I really don't think people will wake up until easily 30% of the population is unemployed. Desperation can shake loose a lot of good and bad things, depending upon who is holding the reigns of power at the time.

If you have a reactionary, close-minded leader at the helm during another severe depression--we'll call it the Second Depression--you could end up living in a country that adopts a path not too different than the one Germany adopted under Adolf Hitler. If, on the other hand, you have a leader who is open to change and new ideas at the helm at the onset of the Second Depression, you could find yourself in a country that took a path not too different than the United States under Franklin Roosevelt when he pioneered the New Deal programs.

I'm not saying that I actually want the US to fall into the Second Depression, but I'm saying this from my own understanding of US and world history over the last couple hundred years. We need another New Deal to answer our problems. We do not need another France, 1789.

[99th_Monkey]

10. It would be nice if we had the time to just wait around for a 30% unemployment rate

then sit on our asses and just let nature take it's course, but we don't anymore.

We just don't.

Also according to many observers, the ACTUAL unemployment rate NOW may not be
that far off the 30% mark.
http://blogs.smartmoney.com/advice/2011/12/08/is-the-real-unemployment-rate-22-6/

In any case, in my Universe, EVERYthing points to this Spring Summer and Fall as USA's
last best hope of EVER turning this thing around; and I know that many many people
agree with me, and I take great comfort and courage from that knowledge.

You may also want to check out this film, Sabrina (above) shared with me in response
to my post. Is only 28 minutes long and kind of underscores where I'm coming from
as well.

Let me know what you think of it, if you like.

[Selatius]

11. We don't have the time to wait, I agree with that notion.

I think the best policy is one of preventing an even worse catastrophe. This country could benefit from a second New Deal, but it must come now, not later, if we're to believe the true unemployment situation.

To rebuild manufacturing in the US, we need a policy of fair trade instead of free trade. If free trade is to be the norm, then at the very least corporations that build objects in the US instead of overseas for sale in American markets should receive an advantageous tax break from the government, and corporations that out-source manufacturing abroad should rightly be hit with an import duty when they try to bring the object into the US. It's pretty tone deaf to be saying on television that we need jobs and then go ahead and sign multiple free trade agreements with countries that don't even give a damn for their workers or human rights or even minimum labor protections.

If we diverted even a fifth of the money spent on war and war preparation towards public education, we'd likely have enough money to prevent cuts to K-12 education across the nation and probably even enough to increase the size of Pell grants to college students. Hell, the 700 billion dollar bailout to the banks as well as another 90 billion that went to AIG probably would've helped the US more if the amount was used towards a massive jobs program and relief to distressed homeowners.

These are think-big proposals that are urgently needed to reverse course, but I just don't see the political system really responding to this crisis anymore than it currently has, and the response has been lackluster and half-hearted at best. There is so much money arrayed against doing the right thing inside the halls of Congress where the laws and the changes are enacted. Now, they're screaming about cutting spending and cutting deficits at a time when the government should be deficit spending to fix the economy.

While 22.6% is the most pessimistic reading I've seen of unemployment, being unemployed today is a far cry from being unemployed in 1929. There were no safety net programs at all in those days, no food stamps, no public housing, no unemployment insurance, no Medicaid or Medicare, no Social Security, nothing. People literally starved to death on the streets, and food rioting was common in the 1930s as well as violent confrontations between workers and their bosses. People got killed or injured for challenging the power of their employers. That type of atmosphere woke up people and energized them, and the United States was fortunate to have elected a Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Democrats to channel that energy towards something positive.

We need change.

[99th_Monkey]

13. Your point is well taken

and I agree with your assessment that we have not yet reached that same level of
deprivaty and desperation as they did during Great Depression.

I guess my point is that there are OTHER differences, that bode well for huge change
sooner rather than later ... the social media thing is a two-edged sword for sure, esp.
in that it allows unprecedented levels of surveillance and monitoring of anything that
smells like "resistance" .. but we get advantages from these developments as well.

At some point for me, I guess I had to make a choice to begin focusing in the 1/2
full glass and just build from there with Occupy or whatever else gets us there.

I've been watching this shit come down ever since the 60's .. worked for RFK in his
campaigns in Oregon and California, peace marched, etc. Trust me there is something
resonant and unstoppable about Occupy that needs to be watered, tended to, cared
for, respected. and I intend to show up for that.

[lunatica]

16. Thanks for posting this video too

It's happening now. And yes, it's good to be a friction against the Wetiko. I'm glad to have a name for it.