The term “brainwashing” was first used in the 1950s by American journalist Edward Hunter, reporting on the treatment of American soldiers in Chinese prison camps during the Korean War. Brainwashing techniques have been documented as far back as the Egyptian Book of the Dead and used by abusive spouses and parents, self-proclaimed psychics, cult leaders, secret societies, revolutionaries, and dictators to bring others under their thumbs and manipulate them seemingly willingly. These techniques don’t involve fantastic weapo...
The term “brainwashing” was first used in the 1950s by American journalist Edward Hunter, reporting on the treatment of American soldiers in Chinese prison camps during the Korean War. Brainwashing techniques have been documented as far back as the Egyptian Book of the Dead and used by abusive spouses and parents, self-proclaimed psychics, cult leaders, secret societies, revolutionaries, and dictators to bring others under their thumbs and manipulate them seemingly willingly. These techniques don’t involve fantastic weapons or exotic powers, but they do involve an understanding of the human psyche and a desire to exploit it. By understanding these techniques better, you can learn how to protect yourself and others from them.
Possible candidates include:
People who have lost their jobs and fear for their future.
Recently divorced people, particularly in a bitter divorce where children feel vulnerable.
Those suffering from lingering illness, especially one they don’t understand.
People who have lost a loved one, particularly if they were very close to that person and had few other friends.
Young people away from home for the first time. These are particular favorites of religious cult leaders.
People who are regarded as socially awkward by their mainstream peers. They frequently tend to be loners but seek like minded people who might be few and far between.
One particular predatory tactic is to find out enough information about the person and his or her belief system to explain the tragedy the person has experienced in a manner consistent with that belief system. This can later be expanded to explain history in general through that belief system, while subtly modifying it to the brainwasher’s interpretation.
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Brainwashing is used to describe an abrupt, induced attitudinal change. Methods used to induce this change include isolation, monopolization, debilitation and exhaustion, drugs, torture, enforcement of routine, and hypnosis.
It can also include news coverage, government manipulation, scare tactics, product marketing, advertising campaigns, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and of course Twitter. Another heavily used source of Brainwashing is Social Media influencers and of course, peer pressure.
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1: Understand that those who attempt to brainwash others tend to prey upon the weak and vulnerable. Not everyone is a target for mind control, but certain people are more susceptible to forms of it at different times. A skillful manipulator knows what to look for and targets people who are going through a difficult period in their life or a change that may or may not be of their own making.
2: Be aware of people who try to isolate you or someone you know from outside influences. As people who are experiencing a personal tragedy or other major life change are inclined to feel lonely, a skillful brain-washer works to amplify those feelings of loneliness. This isolation can take several forms.
For young people in a cult, it may be preventing them from contacting their friends and family members.
For a significant other in an abusive relationship, it may mean never letting the victim out of the abuser’s sight or permitting contact with family and friends.
For prisoners in an enemy prison camp, it may involve isolating prisoners from one another while subjecting them to subtle or overt forms of torture.
3: Watch for attacks on the victim’s self-esteem. Brainwashing only works when the brainwasher is in a superior position to the victim. This means that the victim has to be broken down, so the brainwasher can rebuild the victim in his or her image. This can be done through mental, emotional, or ultimately physical means for long enough to physical and emotionally wear down the target.
Mental tortures may begin with lying to the victim and then progress to embarrassing or intimidating the victim. This form of torture can be done with words or gestures ranging from an expression of disapproval to invading the victim’s personal space.
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Emotional tortures are not kind, of course, but may begin with verbal insults, then progress to badgering, spitting, or more dehumanizing things such as stripping the victim to be photographed or just looked at. The goal of these activities is to break down your natural instinct to fight back so that you become placid.
Physical tortures may include starvation, freezing, sleep deprivation, beatings, mutilations, and others, none are acceptable in society. Physical torture is commonly used by abusive parents and spouses, as well as in prison and “re-education” camps.
The Legal Argument
Although brainwashing can produce profound alterations in character, values, and disposition, it cannot easily be accommodated by such current criminal defenses as mental incapacity, automatism, or coercion. A justification for making brainwashing an excusing condition can be found in each of three major approaches to excusing criminal liability: (1) that punishment should be withheld where it is incapable of having a deterrent effect, (2) that a moral license to punish should not extend to cases where the defendant's actions could not be regarded as voluntary, and (3) that excusing conditions are those that preclude an inference from the act to the actor's character. Although several criticisms might be advanced against the proposed defense, psychological evidence exists to establish beyond doubt the brainwashing phenomenon and its causal link with illegal acts. There are valid moral arguments that brainwashing should afford an excuse to all crimes. They are based on the idea that a person acting when brainwashed is not properly regarded as the same person who reverts to normal behavior after deprogramming. A total of 52 footnotes are provided.
