Brainwashing on ATS...

Originally posted by Amuk

Originally posted by American Mad Man
5)Was Abe Lincoln gay?

I started this thread and it was not intended as an insult to anyone, unless of course you think saying someone is gay is an insult. It is just some info I picked on the net and wanted to discuss.

If it will make you happy I will try to find some info on Gay Democrats

As a Libertarian my values lean more toward what the Republicans CLAIM to stand for.

Now if they just DID stand for them I might vote for them

[edit on 19-11-2004 by Amuk]

Oh - i don't find it insulting - not in the slightest. I actually *gasp* have a few friends who are gay. Like I said, you can't live in New Orleans for 5 years and not know a few

But come now - you are a politically astute person. Surely you know that homosexuality is political suicide (regardless of wheather it should be or not). You also know that the more conservative part of the Republican party will take this as an insult.

Originally posted by Cassie Clay
I don't see it as "brainwashing" --

I see it as people expressing their opinions --

i completly agree, no one is forcing belifes on anyone here, at least they shouldent be, i think that if you are ignorant enough to just belive what some else says or claims without looking at the whole picture then you dont have your own opinion, you have someone elses. i just think that (most) ats members are fairly liberal and have similar views. i think it all boils down to how and where you grew up. (my opinion, of course!) because my parents are liberal and i think they sublimlinaly(spelling?) passed a lot of those feelings on to me.(during this last election, my mother and i had almost exactly the same views on the cantidates and their strengths and weaknesses, without even talking to her about it beforehand) everyone is entitled to their opinions, thats what america was built on.. first amendment rights to everyone!

Originally posted by Thomas Crowne
Ah, I see the question, now.

Reagan didn't fear the people, he had no reason. Bush has no reason to fear the people, either. Clinton din't fear the people at all, either. Do you think George Washington feared the people?

Freedom isn't at risk of being lost because of Either the likes of Bill Clinton or George Bush, and not even had John Kerry won. They are not the threats. The mindsets of the people, the conspiracy to degenerate the Americans and the Americans falling for it, is the threat.

You might want to take a gander at my siggy, sir.

Now, if you will excuse me, I haven't the time to waste my considerable mental powers on this, I must go and sniff out the possible conspiracy among the board elite to brainwash our fair community!

Well, after the first WTC bombing in '93 Clinton tried to pass the Omnibus Security Act, which is essentially the Patriot Act today. It failed. After the second WTC bombing it flew through.

If you remember, Carter for sure, and I think Reagan, walked from the Capitol to the White House after the inaugaration with their wives. I was serving at Clinton's second inaugaration and he blasted by both times in a bulletproof limo. At Bush's first inaugaration he blasted by both times in an RPG-proof limo. All the way up to the OK City bombing Penn Ave ran right by the White House with traffic. Then it was closed (for which right-wing pundits called Clinton a coward) and now the security cordon has been extended and fortified permanantly.

The White House is definitely becoming more paranoid with time.

Brainwashing occurs when one has no thoughts of their own, but relies on other people for their information without looking at facts and forming their own opinions. I think you see a bias on the forums. Perhaps you just read things that disagree with what you think - and in the process conclude that all you have read is brainwashing because you haven't read things on these forums agreeing with what you think. Anyone who has been told to think for themselves has no excuse to be brainwashed. People who don't heed to this advice deserve to have their mind played like a toy. What I see in society, generally, is that people live by faith in what they believe in - whether it is beneficial or not. They usually go by what they are told because that is how they have been taught for a long time. If you think your ideals are correct, then start flooding the world with your knowledge and let everyone be brainwashed to your standards. Just my thoughts...............

[edit on 20-11-2004 by ben91069]

[edit on 20-11-2004 by ben91069]

Here is my take on the issue; for what it is worth.

Maybe there are more Anti-Conservative threads than Anti-Liberal. The problem is that 75% of Americans are neither far right or far left, but in the middle. Most people in this section will not reply if the direction of the thread from the start begins with arrogance, blanket statements about one group or another, or calling someone a war monger or traitor.

As someone in this group; and who believes that both sides of the "political spectrum" have some good points as well as bad ones, I personally wont even bother reading past the intro. To me it is a waste of time to do so, especially if it starts out as an insult.

Some people will wade through that garbage just for the chance to "burn" someone regardless of whether or not it makes sense. These are the people you need to worry about because they will not try to learn or understand new ideas. They have their minds made up and only push their agenda to tick someone off or get points, whichever is easiest. Both sides do this.

it doesn't matter WHAT your political beliefs are. the world's power elite have been the same for generations and THEY are the ones who decide your fate. the money, people. the MAKERS of the money. the banks. there is no reason the world can't have peace and plenty except for one thing. PRIVATE control of the monetary system. and SECRECY.
there is no more anything. you've all disappeared. fools.
you're brainwashed from birth and you have to do your history homework if you wish to get out of your sorry state.
it's called 'usury', it's EVIL and it rules the world.

...if the subject can be tricked into believing in absolutes.

There is no one source of propaganda or "brainwashing". The techniques are used by nearly everyone, and are notably rampant right here on ATS.

The signs of indoctrination are unflagging faith in the righteousness of one's own beliefs and unyielding condemnation of any who may disagree with them.

Absolute certainty is a sign of absolute blindness.

Denying ignorance requires rejecting self-deception.

American Mad Man,

I can give you my opinion on this.

I am a conservative and I get sick of the bashing that goes on here too.

I think there are probably a lot more conservatives on this site than we realize.

The difference between us and them is we are above the kind of rude, disrespectful behavior.

I know that they only want to hear what they want to hear, so I don't bother responding to their irrational rantings.

There, I've said it.

I feel much better now, lol.

Rokgodes

Originally posted by Majic
...if the subject can be tricked into believing in absolutes.

There is no one source of propaganda or "brainwashing". The techniques are used by nearly everyone, and are notably rampant right here on ATS.

The signs of indoctrination are unflagging faith in the righteousness of one's own beliefs and unyielding condemnation of any who may disagree with them.

Absolute certainty is a sign of absolute blindness.

Denying ignorance requires rejecting self-deception.

This is where I dissagree:

"There is no one source of propaganda or "brainwashing". "

There is a near monopoly on the source of propaganda - it is almost completely liberal.

That is the point of this thread.

Originally posted by American Mad Man
There is a near monopoly on the source of propaganda - it is almost completely liberal.

If you are unable to accept the possibility that you could be wrong about this, then you are illustrating my point.

An open mind cannot be brainwashed.

Originally posted by American Mad Man
There is a near monopoly on the source of propaganda - it is almost completely liberal.

You may want to have a look at this survey.

Originally posted by American Mad Man
There is some brainwashing, and it is happening right here on ATS.

It comes in two forms...

1) The US is always wrong. The US government is EVIL.

2) Conservatives are always wrong. Conservatives are all Evil.

Go ahead - prove me wrong

All is Fair.........
But honestly... you choose nothing for yourself.. not even the candy bar you eat... sure you have your "freewill"..... but ... your being given the choices, not making the choices or deciding for yourselves.. if you follow me...
and correct me if I'm wrong.

Don't feed the troll now. His point bar sure is looking more promising everyday. It's obvious now this thread is a joke.

Ok, I have researched the possibility of liberal brainwashing here at ATS, and I have found evidence of such activity. It is William One Sac's dog; she is the manipulator of the left at this board. One Sac isn't even aware of the dog's control.

I have to go into hiding, now, as I fear for my life. At this point I'm concerned that my dog, Gog, may be a double agent.

If I don't return, warn the others.

Originally posted by Thomas Crowne
I have to go into hiding, now, as I fear for my life. At this point I'm concerned that my dog, Gog, may be a double agent.

Good work TC! We knew we could count on you to find the true roots of this vast conspiracy.

Oh My GAWD! did you notice that Gog spelled backwards spells...goG! its a sign.
*gasp* I just realized that my beloved dog bubba might also be in on the plot. His name backwards is abbub, now that's a suspect name if I ever heard one. Probably an Islamic Fundamentalist of German descent!

I have been brainwashed by my dog! Hey, wait a minute...dog spelled backwards is...


BG


edit- raza frazin brickin brackin spell check grumble grumble

[edit on 20-11-2004 by beergoggles]

We think they are EVIL because the NWO is evil and the USA is the more influent country so that evilness is speard everywhere...the "elite" use the USA to create chaos! They are some kind of puppets of the EVIL...the dark forces who want to enslave us, they use the USA and it's power to do it and destroy the world to take the control and implant micro-chips to the whole world!

THAT is the big conspiracy....the NWO!!!!!! The one world governement! To achieve that, they have to scare people and control them...the all seeing eye! The USA have a big part in that plan, so they are kind of evil...but conservatist people are more likely to fall for the NWO project because they beleive the president is like the big boss but he's not!

Ameliaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

this thread is attempting to brainwash the good denizens of ATS to be further polarised against their brothers and sisters. how about a little love for a change?

how about the idea that left or right extremists don't make up the whole of the body politic. extreme left wing and right wing FREAK, NUT JOBS together only make up maybe 10 or fifteen percent of the population. the VAST MAJORITY is moderate, and despite general leanings, will vote either way depending on campaign issues, and not because they are a hardcore 'liberal' or 'conservative'. those terms don't even mean the same thing to different people.

i'm a neutral observer and the republicans are the ones i see making the most vile comments. always calling the kettle black, too. it only makes sense that the prowarforoil, prototalitarianism types are the ones who are going to promote violence against their fellow man. when a 'liberal' starts talking about using his gun for something besides hunting, then you KNOW that they've been pushed to the limit of their tolerance(which is obviously a liberal helping, that's why they're 'liberal'. of course, one of the latest real brainwashing memes here is to label all democrats, 'socialist, lefties, whiner crybabies'. these same people who would rather buy infrastructure at home than rip it apart in iraq, are NOT the aggressive, warmongering, vengeful, hateful american elitists that are ruling the world.)

and here's a little sidenote about brainwashing. the word was first coined by pavlov. he was doing his famous CONDITIONING experiments, where dogs would be programmed through repetition to repeat certain behaviours automatically in response to outside stimulae. the bell and the saliva is the most famous, and i'm sure most of you have heard of it.
well, one day there was a flood and pavlov's lab was buried in water. when all the dogs were retrieved and the experiments resumed, it was found that their brains had been 'washed' of the programming by the flood. so, really 'brainwashing' has been bastardised to mean the exact opposite of what it really is. wash out your brains, everybody. clear out that PARTISAN PROGRAM, and realise that we are all one.

Perhaps I missed something while reading through here, but the comment of "This is a conspiracy site, not a political site" is exactly why you see so many threads about conspiracies or evil plots by Republicans and other conservatives. Before you say I'm claiming they're evil, hear out the reasoning.....

The idea of looking at the cover-ups and conspiracies generally starts with the presumption that someone has done wrong. When the people who are at the center of the controversy, real or imagined, are liberals (Democrats here in the US) then you go after them. If they're conservatives (Republicans here in the US) then you look into their activities.

Now look at the current makeup of the US federal government, where party lines are concerned. Last time I checked, the federal government is now largely Republican-controlled, thanks in part to the results of the last election. Who do we investigate when there's some kind of dispute or rumor? The people who aren't "running the show" so to speak?

That's like looking for evidence of the alleged Roswell crash in the Alps. You go where to where the information is.

In the case of recent voting scandals, with election results alleged to be incorrect or inaccurate, who do you begin to investigate if you can find evidence to support the notion that a problem may exist? The parties that lost the elections in question? Once again, that's like looking for Jack the Ripper in Cairo, Egypt.

I'm not going to say every Republican (or every Democrat, Libertarian, etc) is evil. Evil comes in all forms, from all colors, all creeds, and all beliefs. There are no absolutes, but the perception of impropriety will taint the reputations of the most honest person.

And sometimes those perceptions are cast on a person because of the affiliations they have. So if it's believed that some Republicans, for example, may have had a hand in a conspiracy, doesn't it make sense to look at the people they associate with in searching for more information on the topic at hand?

If there's a controversy in a matter handled by the federal government today, who do you think we need to look at?

The charter of ATS is to Deny Ignorance. The only way to do so is to seek the truth, unfiltered by one's own personal political, religious,or philosphical beliefs. Look for the information wherever it is, not just on the side of one party (not intended to mean political party) or one angle.

I believe that American Mad Man does present a valid point that many people are rabidly anti-conservative, but I'd like to point out that an equal amount are probably anti-liberal. That's true of society as a whole, not just the makeup of the ATS Community. It just so happens that our paranoia for current conspiracy theories and rumors is focused on who is in power today.

So after all that has been said and done, let's just agree to put this to rest and look at the events themselves where mysteries and conspiracies are concerned. It doesn't have to be personal on either side of the arguments.

Just look for the facts. Seek the information. Find the truth.

Deny Ingnorance.

Originally posted by American Mad Man

But come now - you are a politically astute person. Surely you know that homosexuality is political suicide

I dont think Lincoln is going to be reelected no matter if the stories are true or false

You have to admit though he would make one ugly drag queen

Thanks, Amuk. It's gonna take a LOT of beer to get that visual out of my head.