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Atomization, if we must call it that, is absolutely reality. It’s found everywhere, and has been infused throughout our lives, even before Covid. It is a fundamental aspect of dehumanization and a strategy for disempowering human beings. Solitary confinement is perhaps the most stark example of this.

Humanity achieves incredible resonance when we bond. Our physical selves, and touching, is fundamental. The science is fine, but we don’t need it to know the truth of it. We can *feel* it, if we still remember how to. So much effort goes into justifying and attempting to prove things we know by feeling.

The atomization fuels the disconnect from our native intuition that leaves us naked to the impulses of propaganda. That disconnect is the driest of tinder, the small shavings at the base of the fire, that fuels what comes after. Even deprived of touch, that faith in our human-ness can sustain one through deprivation for a long time. But when that connection is beaten down, setting a flame is just a match throw away.

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Wow! This is a lot so I'm digging in

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Thank you UB. Well articulated and thought provoking. It connects well to my own look at the relationship between obedience to authority and mass formation. I came to the conclusion that mass formation is actually a subset of obedience to authority because mass formation cannot be constellated without the preconditioned reflex to obey authority. The analogy of the fire is a good one. In my look, I concluded that the pre-condition "obedience to authority" is a kind of toxoplasmosis parasite that gets triggered under the right conditions. I eventually link the "parasitical infection" to the development of agriculture and with it the separation between the haves and the have nots which quickly become the deserving and the undeserving. I include the lobster's hierarchical dna lodged in us humans too. For those curious about that angle see "Obedience to Authority: An Exploration On Obedience to Authority, Mass Formation, Woke and Corporatist News: Saviour from What?" (in 7 parts). Part 1: https://gduperreault.substack.com/p/obedience-to-authority-a-rumination.

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Thanks Guy, I will check out your series.

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It's really nice to hear other folks take parts and pieces of arguments to find the commonality rather than define rigid lines where it's either Desmet or CJ Hopkins or any other single answer to a Gordian knot of problems and power players.

Really like the dry tinder analogy which struck a chord from Chris Hedges Occupy era speeches about revolutions he covered as a war correspondent and described the time preceding revolt as feeling dry tinder waiting for a spark. By many measures the psyops are a battlefield.

There's a lot here to chew on and some fab lessons to draw. A biggie for me is flexibility and openness to working theory, engaging debate and encouraging collective learning is a gift that my favorite voices share and you highlight here. JJ Couey & Jessica Rose both capture the best of teaching and learning as a process more like gathering bouquets of wildflowers rather than mono-culture anything.

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Thanks Pamela. Yes, we need to get the best bits, truths and likely truths, wherever we can find them (to hell with ad hominem) and hold our working theory lightly, as it develops.

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A brilliant and thorough analysis of Desmet’s book in the current context:

https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/11/investigative-reports/covid-19-mass-formation-or-mass-atrocity/

I agree about the atomization problem - it’s something I’ve been aware of and working to address for years. However it is not happening by magic!

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Thanks Karen. Yes, that is an amazing analysis, with so much valuable research in it. It's primary shortcoming is that it doesn't mention atomization once, and I don't think you can do a fair and honest assessment of Desmet's work without discussing it.

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That’s interesting - I didn’t notice that (I guess I inferred it was there).

Of course, atomization can be (and probably is) part of the plan…but what I can’t get my head around is why people are so unaware of what’s happening to them, or feel incapable of doing something about it. The disease is self-reinforcing, I think.

I was trying to address this through small-group discussions on another topic (similar to a book club) pre-Covid, but people were “too busy” to take care of themselves.

When the “lockdowns” arrived I reacted very strongly against the concept. It didn’t matter that I had been highly respected previously; my analysis was rejected out of hand and few seemed to understand how powerful are the negative consequences of solitary confinement. Watching a movie (Zoom) cannot be a substitute for real human contact.

People STILL don’t see and it’s heartbreaking - like watching the blindfolded head to the slaughter

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It's interesting that Malone is starting to write about 5th generation warfare, which is psychological. I'm glad he is, because that is what they are doing, they are using the most advanced military grade psychological operations against civilians, and the majority of people are helpless and powerless against it.

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Jan 5, 2023
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Good one, thanks Allan.

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Jan 5, 2023
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Perfectly said, thank you!

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