I think that's absolutely the problem. It's abstracted and dehumanized and politicized until no one knows what's real and surely they don't understand it as happening to real people.
I had been writing a little series on my other Substack about this sort of thing, the psychology, I mean. The fact that when people see stuff on a screen they can initiate the brain process which tells them that it's not real, that it's a story, or like a movie or whatever. This sort of conditioning has been going on for a long time, of course.
During my researches I came across quite a few psychology papers about it. I'll have to revisit it at some point. I take on too many projects at once, that's my problem.
The people responsible for this atrocity exhibition, of course, on the one paw they know perfectly well the victims are human and real people, but on the other paw they are not capable of caring. It's not that psychopaths lack empathy, it's that they do have empathy, just that their brains are wired differently such that they take pleasure out of seeing other people suffer, and probably get depressed when they see people being happy and liberated. Left and right amygdala wired the wrong way round, that is.
I think a lot about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I think about screens. Pirsig talked about how windshields removed us from the world, turned it into a TV show, allowed us to dehumanize others. I think you're absolutely right, our screens only amplify this.
It is, without a doubt, but unfortunately the Empire controls the so-called 'international community' and its organisations (or simply ignores them when it wishes), so no one will be prosecuted for it. This has, in fact, been the worst single mass murder event of children for quite a long time, I believe.
One of the ironies of the dehumanisation being that if these were 'Ukrainian' children, or 'Israeli' children, then we would never hear the end of it. As it happens, the western media are entirely complicit, and so will not hold anyone to account.
Starting the war on Iran was, as it will turn out, a very stupid thing to do on the part of the American Empire and their Zionist ally - neither of them have the manufacturing capability to keep this war going for very long, whereas Iran has been fully preparing for something like this for years. Of course there is an effective media blackout about the scale of the damage being inflicted on Israel and the American forces/bases in the region, but I believe Iran knows that it needs to finish this once and for all - especially after the enemy murdered her children and their leader - which is like murdering the pope on the steps of St. Peter's during holy week then bombing the crap out of innocent Roman children - except you hardly hear anyone speaking like that - which reveals an inherent islamophobia of course. But I do think that this will become an endgame situation - this of course is where it gets dangerous, because the Empire has nuclear weapons.
If only the American people could rise up and remove their leaders, the ones responsible for all this, then start being friendly with the rest of the world instead of pathologically trying to dominate it all, then the world could become a better place for everyone. Chances of that happening, however? <1%. That's the real problem. The pathological psychopaths in power are a very small minority, but the majority don't seem to want to do anything about it (perhaps because they've been told that this might seem too much like 'socialism').
It is a heartbreaking tragedy. Especially for those of us in a minority who can see what's wrong and would unhesitatingly rise up and stop it, but we don't have the numbers. Until this problem is resolved, the tragedy will continue.
Thank you for writing this piece, Ian - it needed to be said. Well, it needs to be shouted out all over the place.
Thank you Evelyn for reading and giving such depth of response. I agree, completely. I would love to see the US change, certainly there's momentum growing in the populace to do so, but it's a huge place with a diversity of opinion. I worry for what it looks like in ten years, after this is all normalized.
I don't ever want it to stop hurting this badly. I don't ever want things to feel normal. I want life to stop and be inconvenient and painful and dismal until we stop doing this to each other.
There are days I would feel much better if the world didn't continue, but just stopped and acknowledged the loss it's experienced. It's horrible there have been so many of them recently
This is also really heartbreaking. It's incredible how quickly politics and nationalism can rob someone of seeing the other as human. I got in an argument with family this week that had me livid.
It’s times like this that make me glad that I don’t live in the same state as my family, because while they might give lip service to grief at the tragedy, they wholeheartedly support the regime that’s bombing school children. Thoughts and prayers for the dead and dying. Fuck that.
I don't think they see the Iranians as people. How can they? This is heartbreaking and surely a war crime.
I think that's absolutely the problem. It's abstracted and dehumanized and politicized until no one knows what's real and surely they don't understand it as happening to real people.
I had been writing a little series on my other Substack about this sort of thing, the psychology, I mean. The fact that when people see stuff on a screen they can initiate the brain process which tells them that it's not real, that it's a story, or like a movie or whatever. This sort of conditioning has been going on for a long time, of course.
During my researches I came across quite a few psychology papers about it. I'll have to revisit it at some point. I take on too many projects at once, that's my problem.
The people responsible for this atrocity exhibition, of course, on the one paw they know perfectly well the victims are human and real people, but on the other paw they are not capable of caring. It's not that psychopaths lack empathy, it's that they do have empathy, just that their brains are wired differently such that they take pleasure out of seeing other people suffer, and probably get depressed when they see people being happy and liberated. Left and right amygdala wired the wrong way round, that is.
I think a lot about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I think about screens. Pirsig talked about how windshields removed us from the world, turned it into a TV show, allowed us to dehumanize others. I think you're absolutely right, our screens only amplify this.
It is, without a doubt, but unfortunately the Empire controls the so-called 'international community' and its organisations (or simply ignores them when it wishes), so no one will be prosecuted for it. This has, in fact, been the worst single mass murder event of children for quite a long time, I believe.
One of the ironies of the dehumanisation being that if these were 'Ukrainian' children, or 'Israeli' children, then we would never hear the end of it. As it happens, the western media are entirely complicit, and so will not hold anyone to account.
Starting the war on Iran was, as it will turn out, a very stupid thing to do on the part of the American Empire and their Zionist ally - neither of them have the manufacturing capability to keep this war going for very long, whereas Iran has been fully preparing for something like this for years. Of course there is an effective media blackout about the scale of the damage being inflicted on Israel and the American forces/bases in the region, but I believe Iran knows that it needs to finish this once and for all - especially after the enemy murdered her children and their leader - which is like murdering the pope on the steps of St. Peter's during holy week then bombing the crap out of innocent Roman children - except you hardly hear anyone speaking like that - which reveals an inherent islamophobia of course. But I do think that this will become an endgame situation - this of course is where it gets dangerous, because the Empire has nuclear weapons.
If only the American people could rise up and remove their leaders, the ones responsible for all this, then start being friendly with the rest of the world instead of pathologically trying to dominate it all, then the world could become a better place for everyone. Chances of that happening, however? <1%. That's the real problem. The pathological psychopaths in power are a very small minority, but the majority don't seem to want to do anything about it (perhaps because they've been told that this might seem too much like 'socialism').
It is a heartbreaking tragedy. Especially for those of us in a minority who can see what's wrong and would unhesitatingly rise up and stop it, but we don't have the numbers. Until this problem is resolved, the tragedy will continue.
Thank you for writing this piece, Ian - it needed to be said. Well, it needs to be shouted out all over the place.
Thank you Evelyn for reading and giving such depth of response. I agree, completely. I would love to see the US change, certainly there's momentum growing in the populace to do so, but it's a huge place with a diversity of opinion. I worry for what it looks like in ten years, after this is all normalized.
Beautifully written. Thank you.
Thanks Owen 🙏
I don't ever want it to stop hurting this badly. I don't ever want things to feel normal. I want life to stop and be inconvenient and painful and dismal until we stop doing this to each other.
Devastating writing.
There are days I would feel much better if the world didn't continue, but just stopped and acknowledged the loss it's experienced. It's horrible there have been so many of them recently
Beautifully put. I’m just drowning in grief and rage over all this madness.
Thanks 🙏, and same. It's been a parade of atrocities.
I think it is twisted for people to say Iran deserved to be bombed. This whole thing is terribly wrong.
It's fucking heartbreaking, man. And then to see people you know, who you grew up with, cheering the destruction on...
This is also really heartbreaking. It's incredible how quickly politics and nationalism can rob someone of seeing the other as human. I got in an argument with family this week that had me livid.
It’s times like this that make me glad that I don’t live in the same state as my family, because while they might give lip service to grief at the tragedy, they wholeheartedly support the regime that’s bombing school children. Thoughts and prayers for the dead and dying. Fuck that.
Right! Or worse, the tragedies are seen as a regrettable requirement to “freedom”.
Yep. Although I know some folks who don't even see it as regrettable, really. Just some abstract cost to be paid.
Religion, and Politics. Power, and dominance. Violence, and compliance. Question either in the wrong country, and the sentence is death.