Psychological resistance to facing election fraud. Must- read article.

[Amaryllis]

Amazing article that addresses a lot of questions we've been exploring about people's resistance to facing the fraud issue.

Diane Perlman: 'Psychological resistance to facing election fraud'
Contributed by FayWray on Saturday, April 16 @ 08:36:34 EDT
This article has been read 3287 times.

The Silence of the Scams

By Diane Perlman, Newtopia Magazine

Few Americans know about the historic event that happened on January 6, 2005, the official date for counting electoral votes. For the first time since 1877, congressmembers challenged the electoral count. Representative Stephanie Tubbs-Jones of Ohio, accompanied by the lone senator, Barbara Boxer of California, led the challenge of the Ohio vote count. Although massive fraud was reported around the country, only Ohio was officially cited.

It is curious that an issue so profound and consequential is barely on the radar screens of most Americans, especially those who voted for Kerry.

Though we are not certain of the actual outcome, statistically impossible discrepancies exist between results of exit polls and official counts in counties without paper trails. Also documented are patterns of anecdotes about corrupted procedures and accounts of strange behaviors, phenomena and illegal interventions in Ohio as well as other places. Many say there is fraud in every election, but there was far more in 2004 than in any previous year, and if the errors were random, about half would go in Kerry's favor. Virtually all went in Bush's favor.

But rather than demanding a thorough investigation, the American people seem eager to forget the incidents and put the election behind them, thus implicitly supporting such corruption.

A Political Psychological Puzzlement

Under what conditions do millions of allegedly "free" people knowingly acquiesce to being deceived, dominated and deprived of their own political will? How is it that even those who were politically engaged for the first time resign themselves to an unjust fate, refusing even to consider what happened to our country? Why do progressive citizens actively dismiss and even malign a small group of courageous, devoted people working day and night on their behalf to uncover, calculate, analyze, and evaluate the extensive, varied forms of criminal sabotage that undermined their democracy? How are Americans becoming complacent with escalating fraudulent activity? In other words, how do so many people live with the knowledge that they have been tricked before, were just tricked again--and then submit to life under the power of those who tricked them?

Much more:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=20738&mode=nested&order=0

[rumpel]

1. thanks. i also thought of posting this. we should send it on to the

Carter-Baker commission.

:evilgrin:

[On the Road]

2. What Kills Me is That Historical Election Fraud is Readily Accepted

Tammany Hall and other American political machines are infamous. Elections are routinely stolen around the world. Everyone accepts that these things have happenned and no one bats an eye.

But when anyone claims that fraud may have been committed in an American election in the several years, people just can't process the possibility.

[tex-wyo-dem]

3. I think it's a case of "couldn't happen here" syndrome...

I mean, election fraud only happens in far away, former soviet states like the Ukraine and third world countries in Africa...could never happen here in the good ole U.S of A.

Another problem is that in order to understand the scope of the problem, it takes a fair amount of investigation by any individual. Many people just don't have the inclination or motivation to look into it.

However, the fact that our country's media has completely ignored the issue is the main problem. People are just simply unaware.

[mongo]

4. An alogogy to all of DU

I'm in Ohio and worked as an election protection volunteer on Nov 2nd. I say some of the dirty tricks (dispropotional election machines in minority polling places) with my own eyes.

I was devestated and depressed after the election. I kept up on reading about the fraud but did nothing - attended no protests, wrote no letters, etc.

I was very depressed for a couple of months after the election. I knew I should get involved - but I couldn't find the heart or the energy.

I'm sorry.

[Helga Scow Stern]

6. You are forgiven. A lot of us were knocked senseless.

Just try to speak up now and do everything you can.

:grouphug:

[Bellamia]

7. People don't speak up

when they are feeling"what's the use;" as in Learned Helplessness.

Learned Helplessness

Psychologist Martin Seligman's theory of learned helplessness explains how when one's repeated actions have no effect, people learn that what they do doesn't make a difference and give up, even in situations where they can potentially make a difference. People worked hard on this election and believe that they lost. They are burned out. They feel all their hard work, time, energy and money didn't help so they don't want to deal with it. Learned helplessness is also associated with elevation of levels of cortisol and immune suppression--suggesting it is ultimately not adaptive or healthy to give up. Conversely, taking action in the face of injustice is a sign of health, enhanced immune response and can be an antidote to depression.

Above is from the article, the first thing I identified with. I am certain I am not alone in this.

[mongo]

10. You are not alone

I think that when I got to that part of the article was when I decided to make the mia culpa post above.

It does seem like there isn't much we can do about it anymore. And most of my energy gets spent trying to protect my livelyhood - from BOTH the right and the left.

[Kip Humphrey]

8. You are not alone...

There are 64 million of us who came out to get rid of Bush. The feeling of being alone, betrayed, and powerless descended on all of us, helped along by the silence of the lambs (press) and the callous indifference of the Democratic Party.

Have heart. Remember, those 64 million are still out there and still want Bush gone. We have a growing movement with thousands of dedicated patriots who will not give up or give in. Last year we all worked to bring out those 64 million without the press. We know how to do it and can do it again. Only this time, we do it to regain our democracy and \for our children and future generations.

Our elections were stolen and our Democracy was lost. WE WILL NOT LET THIS STAND!

[Blue Shark]

14. That is why it was so important...

...for OUR GUY to stick around longer than twelve hours. Once JFK II walked away...so did America.

[Amaryllis]

15. Apology not needed, but accepted anyway. Many felt the same way. It

helps tremendously to be associated with a group. I am most fortunate to live in a very liberal city where many know the election was stolen, and to have hooked up with a very active reform group. When I first found out about e-voting last summer, I knew no one else I could talk to, and didn't know about DU. I went into a huge depression and tremendous anxiety which lasted a long time. It really does knock you for a loop when you first realize the staggering implications.

[Fly by night]

5. See similar thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x357380

[FtWayneBlue]

9. Sheeple just can not wrap their minds around

the idea that the vote was stolen. Or that the Bush Junta orchestrated 9/11 from the top down.

[Griffy]

11. YES.. read, print and distribute! ..this line gets my friends...

"...exit polls in counties with a paper trail matched the official vote count, and in counties where there was no paper trail and evidence of computer irregularities, the official count was different than the exit polls and always favored Bush."

.. I say.. duh, wake up! ...

Oh.. and I personally felt this section...


"These techniques combine to form something like a collective hypnotic induction, which creates an illusion of a consensus that cannot be challenged. Few have the insight, training or tools to see through the manipulation. Even fewer have the courage to take on the challenge. For many, responses to domination may include learned helplessness, psychic numbing, fear, cowardice, conformity, denial, cognitive laziness, disbelief, avoidance, and submission to authority. These items are inter-related and the lists are not exhaustive."

I'm sure some of you know the feeling... someday everyone will know..

[marions ghost]

12. Resistance to seeing the SYSTEMIC ABUSES...

nobody wants to see this as a national problem, they only want to see election fraud and "irregularities" in terms of isolated incidents. Much easier to grasp. There is resistance to realizing the sheer magnitude of it. According to this writer, most Americans do not recognize the new forms of election tampering occurring now...

Posted on Thu, Feb. 03, 2005
MIAMI HERALD
ELECTIONS
Ukraine vote yields important lessons for U.S. democracy

BY LANCE DEHAVEN-SMITH
[email protected]
(excerpt)
"However, unlike this year's presidential election in Ukraine, the 2004 presidential election in the United States was left intact despite legal challenges and protests. In large part this was because U.S. election laws and political culture fail to take into account the potential for systematic bias in election administration. U.S. laws and public opinion focus, instead, on the possibility that unscrupulous candidates might arrange for votes to be cast illegally by individuals using false identifications, forged absentee ballots, or other ruses.

These kinds of election shenanigans were common in the 19th Century and in much of the 20th, but in recent years they have been eclipsed by scattered mischief that is carried out or abetted by public officials responsible for election administration. One factor that has contributed to this shift from the conspiratorial tampering of the past to the massive fraud that is so prevalent today is the poorly conceived effort to remake government in the image of the private sector. In recent years, civil-service protections for government employees have been greatly weakened, and many governmental functions have been contracted out to private corporations.

These changes in American public administration have created a new spoils system that makes massive fraud likely in today's elections because it effectively ties public employment and government contracts to election outcomes. In Florida and Ohio, for example, many corporations, public officials and government workers had a vested interest in the reelection of President Bush. No conspiracy was needed to orchestrate their activities. Multiple biases with cumulative effects could be (and were) introduced into the election system through the independent efforts of numerous individuals acting on their own initiative in the pursuit of the same objective.

Until U.S. election laws are reformed to guard against massive fraud, our elections will remain vulnerable to systemic abuses. To be sure, bias in election administration could probably be prosecuted today under existing laws. Certainly, officials in Florida and Ohio appear to have violated their official oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of their states. They may have also broken federal civil-rights laws by intentionally weakening the voting power of African Americans. However, these acts of massive fraud have gone unpunished -- and, indeed, uninvestigated -- because most Americans have yet to recognize the new form of election tampering that is undermining our democracy."

Lance deHaven-Smith is professor of public administration and policy at Florida State University.

[roseBudd]

13. It needs to be easy to understand and presented in a way that doesn't

make the math impaired feel deficient.

Please help spread http://bushcheated04.com

While it may seem childish and not necessarily funny to those of us who think a stolen election is serious business this is our best chance to reach the masses. Snarkliy entertaining and yada yada length with a song for all the Beck fans and this could spread like wild fire, inform the Daily Show and fark.com types AND piss off the freepers.

edited to add, bushcheated04.com shows means, motive, opportunity AND bad behavior onthe part of GOP operatives. In other words prior bad acts.

Thanks to DU member bleever for help with lyrics, slide guitar, cowbell and vocals on "loser"

Brainstorm for ideas on how to publicize this in a way that preserves the street credibility

graffiti, freeway blogging, written on $1 bills...