Social Mechanisms Used to Stiffle Dissent
47 2018-03-07 by WarSanchez
I want to share with you the four proven social mechanisms used by many entities to stiffle dissent.
Resource Depletion:
The most common (and effective) tactic used is to deplete the resources of the dissenting force.
Be it as big picture as keeping the masses poor and uneducated to as simple as de-monetization of YouTube videos and the closing of subreddits.
Those who control the resources, control the narrative. If you control the narrative, you can easily silence those who dissent because of their lack of resources to be able to spread their message.
Ever notice the sheer volume of distracting material that floods when some damaging facts come to light?
Stigmatization:
This one is rather simple, brand anyone and everyone who dissents as an outcast, crazy, or associate them with some uncomfortable taboo.
People want to be included, what easier way to make them fall back into the herd than with the threat to be stigmatized.
This is why you frequently see people disassociate themselves with dissenting opinions when they think they will be labeled something negative.
What better way to discourage questioning things if they fear being labeled a bot/shill.
Divisive Disruption:
This goes by many names, but the intent is the same. To disrupt peaceful discussion with the shoehorning of a divissive topic to derail.
"But what about" and "It's better than" are often the way these comments start.
They serve no purpose but to distract from the conversation and provoke arguments.
What better way to control the group than by having them argue over petty shit instead of focusing on the issues.
Intimidation:
Threats of bans, threats of violence, threats to dox, all of these are frequently used by bad actors to stop dissent.
Go into any of the political/religious echo chambers and express a small amout of dissent. All you will get is insults and bans. Many have reported PMs of a threatening nature, those are made to dissuade one fron participating in meaningful conversations.
I hope you guys find this somewhat useful and make yourselves aware that we should encourage civil and productive discussion.
Please don't turn the comments section into a shit show of finger pointing.
5 comments
1 bradok 2018-03-07
And what are some of the main distributive arms of these social mechanisms? Hollywood, the Media, and the Recording Industry.
1 Shibbian 2018-03-07
Please pin this post,mods!!
1 Vigte 2018-03-07
Don't forget divide and conquer - works just as well with topics of research as it does for race/gender/religion etc.
They just have to keep pumping out more fake research than people can consume in an average day (say 4 hours of research) and bam: you pretty much win.
1 claytonee 2018-03-07
You're right. I've spent probably thousands of hours over the years looking in to stuff but most people don't have the time or more likely the will to do this. The rest of your life may take a hit if you do.
1 accountingisboring 2018-03-07
The abundant use of calling people a Nazi is a perfect example of what we see everyday here on Reddit.