How Do You Explain This? Part II

 

How Do You Explain This? Part II

By L. Reichard White

September 7, 2024

 

 

 

Part I of this three-part series set the stage like this – – –

Our distant ancestors would all have been diagnosed with O.D.D. (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). For example, Utku Inuits (Eskimos) resisted standing on cue for church services. To the !Kung of the Kalihari, even just the arrogance of leadership amounts to a crime. This makes both groups egualitarian and thus seriously resistant to hierarchy and being told what to do.

On the other hand, they would co-operate when appropriate.  The Pentagon’s B... Jacobsen, Annie Best Price: $6.79 Buy New $9.99 (as of 03:15 UTC - Details)

Further, such egalitarian “acephalous” groups — that is, groups without hierarchical heads “…were found in a bewildering array of ecological niches, so environmental influences did not seem to be a major determinant: egalitarians foraged, farmed, and herded animals. They also used many different residence and descent rules and a variety of kin terms.” (Boehm 1999:30)

And to nail it down, this acephalous condition existed for several million years and “…Indeed the bulk of ethnographic descriptions on record today are of tribal societies whose egalitarianism extends back to the acquisition of domestication, and farther back into the Paleolithic era.” (Boehm 1999:90&91)

Barbara tells of her daughter, Karen, who put “don’t tell me what to do” into practice as a baby. Asserting her independence at the age of four months, her first words weren’t “Mama” or “Dada,” but, resisting being fed by her mother and insisting on feeding herself by reaching for the spoon, her first words were “Me. Ido. Self.”

So keep in mind that our instincts for freedom such as drapetomania/O.D.D. — and particularly our resistance to hierarchy and being told what to do, as proven by Karen and several million years of successful egalitarianism — is genetic and so was built-in as a natural — and essential — part of human culture. And it’s still in force today – – –

Do you like to be told what to do?

But the question posed in Part I is how do we explain that folks who wouldn’t even stand on cue for a church service have been converted into Milgram experiment authoritarian follower lemmings, 6 out of 10 of whom will electrocute you on command, commit war atrocities such as the Dresden fire-bombing, gratuitous torture at Guantanimo Bay, Abu Grabe etc, the disgrace of Falujah, needlessly nuking Hiroshima — and three days later, Nagasaki — the on-going (2024A.D.) Gaza genocide and so forth? And perhaps most shocking, allow themselves to be “locked down” and inoculated with an inadaquately tested mRNA vaccine at the direction of elected liars, bureaucrats, and white-coated authority figures?

These sorts of things are really big deals because despite news, movies, video games and modern warfare, Mother Nature wisely designed us with O.D.D. and not to kill our own kind.

SHE went so far as to give us instincts and the drives we call “altruism” to keep each other alive — because for our ancestors, their reference libraries and internet existed only in the brains and minds of those around them.

Madrigal knew which herbs helped heal wounds, where to find them and how to use them. Gaud could always find that hidden water hole on the semi-annual desert crossing. Etc. If anything happened to them or any of their mates, it could spell doom for the whole group.

As a result, for most people, Mother Nature made sure that killing another human is one of the most difficult things anyone can do. Getting someone else to kill is at least equivalently difficult – – –

So the Milgram Experiment is quite surprising — as is today’s prevalence of authoritarian followers. Why would we humans, who are conditioned not to kill — and are genetically opposed to being told what to do — obey a white-coated authority figure, believing we may be killing another human as a result?

On the other hand, a closer look at the Milgram Experiment shows that the instincts and drives Mother Nature wisely gave us are still in force. Like this – – –

“They may have a great many qualms about it, and exhibit a tremendous inner resistance to it -the traumatizing effects on the participants was the excuse given for declaring such [Milgram] experiments ‘unethical’…” nonetheless 6 of 10 will follow orders and electrocute you. — –Hank Parnell, Forbidden Fruits of the Tree of Knowledge

It’s their “great many qualms” and “tremendous inner resistance” that shows our O.D.D. and Mother’s no-kill gift are still intact and it isn’t easy to overcome them. It isn’t easy to convert most of us into authoritarian follower lemmings, six of ten of whom will even turn into murderers at the direction of authority figures. How do they do it?

In fact even before the pretend voltage reached the kill zone, the true victims resisted applying it to the faux “student” who was good at feigning electrocution — and four of ten refused to do it.

Military training — and its less than perfect results — are one way they do it – – –

As the above clip reveals,

“Most people have a deep seated resistance to killing another human being….During WWII, the U.S. Army began worrying that American soldiers wouldn’t kill the enemy. Army researchers discovered that only 15% to 20% of soldiers actually fired their weapons. …Many feigned firing, many fired in directions which were not the directions of the enemy but they attempted not to hit anyone.”

Finally the clip notes, “…all this helps the warrior kill, but can the warrior cope?”

And even if you won’t fire your weapon in combat, we still end up military authoritarian follower lemmings like this – – –

I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. …Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service. — Major General Smedley Butler, USMC, Common Sense, November, 1935.

So military training is one obvious way governments overcome our innate resistance to taking orders and being told what to do — and the necessity of it proves our O.D.D. is still intact.

But as revealed in the video above, despite the military brainwashing, in WWII “only 15% to 20% of soldiers actually fired their weapons in combat.” How does the “Deep State” overcome that?

So, in addition to training folks so that, as Major Gen. Butler put it, “My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups,” quite perversely, the military co-operates and cons our altruistic instincts into situations where we will “fight to defend our brother soldier and thus the state.” 10-Minute Strength Tra... Deboo PT, Ed Buy New $13.49 (as of 12:44 UTC - Details)

Quite perversely, to overcome Mother’s design, it invokes altruistic loyalty to the small group, the clan, the tribe in service to the huge, cold, impersonal, murderous state apparatus.

But how about those of us who haven’t undergone military brainwashing? Despite our intact O.D.D., why have nearly all of us become “authoritarian followers” to one degree or another even without that military training and without the constant necessity of defending our brother soldier?

I’ll take a shot at answering that in Part III of How Do You Explain This? Maybe you’ve already figured it out?

But first, would-be warriors should be aware that they’re risking more than just their lives. The clue is, as the first video above asks “…but can the warrior cope?” Here’s what the “warrior” has to cope with – – –

and, a little more personal – – –

So Mother Nature is harsh and persistent in punishing those who do kill — which is likely why recidivism among those convicted of murder is the lowest of any crime.

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