How hate speech can alter the mind

[Satchel 6908]

Putin, Trump and Orban are used as examples in this study:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/30/the-connection-between-political-lies-and-conspiracy-theories-00108378

My research analyzes real speeches made by politicians past and present, including those of Trump, Orbán and Putin, using cognitive linguistics — a branch of linguistics that examines the relationship between language and the mind. What I have found is that throughout history, speeches by dictators and autocrats have one thing in common: they use dehumanizing metaphors to instill and propagate hatred of others.

It is well-documented that for example words like “reptiles” and “parasites” were used by the Nazi regime to compare outsiders and minorities to animals. Strongmen throughout history have referred to targeted social groups as “rats” or “pests” or “a plague.” And it’s effective regardless of whether the people who hear this language are predisposed to jump to extreme conclusions. Once someone is tuned into these metaphors, their brain actually changes in ways that make them more likely to believe bigger lies, even conspiracy theories.

These metaphors are part of a cognitive process that entraps some people in this kind of thinking while others are unaffected. Here’s how it works.

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The first step to manipulating the minds of the public, or really the precondition, is that listeners need to be in the right emotional state.

In order to hack into the minds of the public, people need to feel fear or uncertainty. That could be caused by economic instability or pre-existing cultural prejudices, but the emotional basis is fear. The brain is designed to respond to fear in various ways, with its own in-built defense mechanisms which produce chemicals in the response pattern, such as cortisol and adrenaline. These chemical responses, which zip straight past our logical brains to our fight-or-flight reactions, are also activated by forms of language that instill fear, either directly (as in a vocal threat) or, more insidiously, by twisted facts which allay fears through lies and deceptive statements.

[nbmishoid 941]

Fake news, mofo.   Actually, will inform those already with a certain mindset, curiosity for the truth, a group absent in the maga world.

Where and how do/should the Dem side use these methods?  Are they useful and appropriate for lovers of democracy?

[safe sex 11684]

4 hours ago, nbmishoid said:

Where and how do/should the Dem side use these methods?  Are they useful and appropriate for lovers of democracy?

No

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

the death of classic unbiased journalism, tabloidism, has destroyed the lazy American mind. 

[Biff Tannen 45499]

6 hours ago, Satchel said:

In order to hack into the minds of the public, people need to feel fear or uncertainty. That could be caused by economic instability or pre-existing cultural prejudices, but the emotional basis is fear. The brain is designed to respond to fear in various ways, with its own in-built defense mechanisms which produce chemicals in the response pattern, such as cortisol and adrenaline. These chemical responses, which zip straight past our logical brains to our fight-or-flight reactions, are also activated by forms of language that instill fear, either directly (as in a vocal threat) or, more insidiously, by twisted facts which allay fears through lies and deceptive statements.

I have a problem with this.

I have most certainly felt fear and/or uncertainty.  That doesn't mean I'm going to immediately be a moron when someone tells me they can alleviate that fear and/or uncertainty.  This doesn't take into account critical thinking, which makes sense when looking at the deplorables that are susceptible to this.  But that is a minority of people.  So far.

[bolverk 29405]

5 minutes ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

the death of classic unbiased journalism, tabloidism, has destroyed the lazy American mind. 

You can blame the Reagan administration for getting rid of the fairness doctrine.

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

19 minutes ago, bolverk said:

You can blame the Reagan administration for getting rid of the fairness doctrine.

true to a degree, but the almighty dollar is God. Exploit the ignorant, get them riled up, profit! 

[Js1 85114]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

I have a problem with this.

I have most certainly felt fear and/or uncertainty.  That doesn't mean I'm going to immediately be a moron when someone tells me they can alleviate that fear and/or uncertainty.  This doesn't take into account critical thinking, which makes sense when looking at the deplorables that are susceptible to this.  But that is a minority of people.  So far.

You mean every time you get scared or anxious, you don’t immediately become racist?

[Biff Tannen 45499]

1 hour ago, Js1 said:

You mean every time you get scared or anxious, you don’t immediately become racist?

This is what I mean.  Maybe I'm the broken one.  Not sure.

[Satchel 6908]

2 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

I have a problem with this.

I have most certainly felt fear and/or uncertainty.  That doesn't mean I'm going to immediately be a moron when someone tells me they can alleviate that fear and/or uncertainty.  This doesn't take into account critical thinking, which makes sense when looking at the deplorables that are susceptible to this.  But that is a minority of people.  So far.

A quarter of voters in the much talked NYT poll said they believed Trump committed crimes but intended to vote for him anyway. The lack of cognitive dissonance is hard to ignore. Republicans made Hillary an enemy of the state. They never stopped repeating just how loathsome she was. Enough people bought it and Trump won.

[Hermanator 6945]

On 8/1/2023 at 8:07 PM, Biff Tannen said:

I have a problem with this.

I have most certainly felt fear and/or uncertainty.  That doesn't mean I'm going to immediately be a moron when someone tells me they can alleviate that fear and/or uncertainty.  This doesn't take into account critical thinking, which makes sense when looking at the deplorables that are susceptible to this.  But that is a minority of people.  So far.

Well it's a similar mechanism to what causes people to be trapped by cults. It's not simply being scared or uncertain it's combining that with a mind open to hate and anger that's unwilling to evaluate the self. So many people make stupid decisions and get themselves in bad enough situations where their lives are shitty. At this point a percentage will be able to reflect on what they did that caused this but the others who will not or cannot use self reflection will build up anger and resentment towards their situation and subconsciously look for an outlet for this blame. That's where these monsters step in.

Trumpers had mostly likely gone years in a deep mess of anger and resentment before Trump came along and gave them a location to point it. Now, just like the Nazis, they will only stop if they are defeated and forcefully pushed into the shadows by harsh punitive measures. The longer we let this mindset go unpunished the worse it will get. 

[Satchel 6908]

The most familiar example of this phenomenon is seen in those who look for ways to rationalize hatred of the other that competes with something inside of them that tells them it’s wrong.  Zimmerman supporters used a teenager’s weed use to justify Zimmerman shooting Trayvon Martin in the heart. Eric Garner illegally sold cigarettes so his murder was justified…