Mind Control: Pro Palestinians and MAGA Republicans

Over the last several years there has been a dramatic increase of hate crimes committed against individuals who are not White Christian Nationalists or connected to the Pro Hamas movements. Those being victimized include people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, Asians Jews and or anyone having a connection to Israel.  The hate crimes repeatedly come from individuals connected to HAMAS, Pro Palestinian’s and MAGA Republicans, along with White Christian Nationalists movements.

We all are asking how have we gotten to this point that so many people globally have gotten connected to hate groups. The answer is both simple and complex.  The easy answer is there’s been a resurgence of peer pressure into conforming in hopes of feeling that one belongs.  

Sadly, when an individual conforms to per pressure, they can be very easily manipulated into believing falsehoods — which can lead to groups of people no longer able to utilize their own personal ability to critically think.  Under the right circumstances, everyone including well educated, mentally stable, rational, well-adjusted individuals can be deceived and persuaded into believing the most outrageous things, as well as, having blind faith in the leader(s) of their group.

Back in the 1920’s a similar phenomenon occurred to what’s happening today.   Looking back a hundred years ago from a psycho-social perspective we have to look at how the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) developed a stronghold politically in the United States. A hundred years ago the KKK became a dangerous force in the United States, especially in the northern, midwestern, and western states.  The state of Indiana became the capital of the KKK with more than 250,000 Klan members who resided in the state.

Just as we are today with COVID, back in 1918 – 1920 the world was coming out of a deadly pandemic.  The Spanish Flu was responsible for the death of around 675,000 Americans.  The Spanish Flu killed over 50 million people globally.  During this same time period women were fighting for and won the right to vote.  The far right was outraged that women were allowed to vote, which meant they were loosing their ability to control women.  At the time the conservative world viewed women as being subservient, second class citizens, and subhuman.

Prohibition also help fuel angry and frustrated citizens to join to the KKK. At the time the KKK began terrorizing Catholic immigrants in the name of Prohibition, blaming the Irish for the increase in the number of alcoholics in our nation.  Various temperance societies like the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), saw the correlation between alcohol, domestic violence, child abuse and sexual crimes, which is why they fought so hard to make alcohol illegal.

Beside people of color, the Klan also targeted Asians, Latinos, Jews, along with immigrants from eastern and southern European countries.  The methods utilized by the KKK is very similar to how MAGA Republicans are targeting women’s rights, LGBTQ communities, non Christian’s, and the migrant population.  Their goal is to “instill fear of the other”.  Hoping the mass majority will see these groups as being subhuman.

In the 1920s “It was really a battle for cultural supremacy in country that was changing,”says Thomas R. Pegram, a history professor at Loyola University Maryland and the author of One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth and Decline of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. The use of Prohibition laws became a way in which law enforcement could control local communities.  This is very similar to what MAGA Republicans are doing with their attempts at remove the civil rights of women, the LGBT community and migrants.  Border patrol in states like Florida and Texas are trying to take over the roles of federal law enforcement officials in an attempt to bypass federal laws.  The vast majority people doing this are involved with White Christian Nationalist (Klansmen) groups.

Pro Palestinian groups (which appear to be individuals being manipulated by HAMAS) are attempting to do similar things as White Christian Nationalists. Both groups are categorizing groups of people as being evil. Every time pro Palestinian members chant “From the river to the sea”, they are naively calling for the genocide of Jews globally (inside and outside of Israel).  

There have been a multitude of recordings of Pro Palestinians during protest rally’s being interviewed, knowing very little about the real issues.  They are clueless of which river and sea the chant is about.  It appears obvious they have been manipulated by peer pressure into doing and saying things they normally would not.  Believing what they’ve been told without researching the issues from independent and reliable sources.  When this occurs one must be concerned that a form of mind control has taken place. 

According to the American Psychological Association, mind control can be described as “an extreme form of social influence used to indoctrinate an individual in the attitudes and beliefs of a group, usually one that is religious or political in nature.”  One must wonder if this is exactly what has occurred with those connected to both the MAGA Republican and Pro Hamas movements.

Today many corporations, political groups, religious institutions, and universities utilize  Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) as a tool that if used inappropriately can manipulate individuals and groups of people’s ability to critically think — along with changing their behaviors. It is a known fact that when people who have been inappropriately subject to NLP they might say things they normally wouldn’t say along with take actions they normally wouldn’t take —  prior to being targeted by cult like manipulations.

Groupthink is a term developed by social psychologist Irving Janis in 1972 to describe inferior decisions made by a group members due to group social pressures. It’s a phenomenon in which the ways of approaching issues are dealt with by the consensus of a group — rather than by individuals acting independently. Essentially, groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty or ineffective decisions just for the sake of reaching an agreement.  In a cult like setting the leader can dangerously manipulate their followers.

So what can be done to help a family member or friend?  According to cult expert, Steven Hassan and author of the book ”The Cult of Trump”:

Be patient and respectful when asking questions.

• Teach by sharing similar examples and experiences.
• Learn about mind control techniques.
• Work to establish a relationship and connect with your friend or family member, which help to build trust.

Making changes is not easy.  It is vitally important you do your homework.  Learn as much as you can about the cult your friend and or family member became involved with. Research cults and coercive control. Learn as much as you can about mind control techniques and which communication strategies are most effective.  Two excellent resources include the books  “Combating Cult Mind Control” and “Freedom of Mind”, both written by Steven Hassan.

An example of how “Group Think” works