"Who is Brainwashed?"
by Todd Hayen
"Everyone, you might say. But I don’t think so. Them? Us? A little of both, I’m sure. So what’s the point? If you can determine who is brainwashed, you know who to keep your mouth shut around. Completely shut. Not only is it pointless to try to teach them anything, you put yourself in a rather bad spot if you say much of anything that contradicts their brainwashing. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with them to stay safe. You just can’t let them see that you don’t.
This is weird, I know, but trust me when I say we need to stay out of touchy conversations with brainwashed people - especially if they have any influence over you: family, close friends, bosses, employees, and the like. We have reached a point where conversations with people who already think you are a conservative, Right-thinking conspiracy theorist are not only unpleasant; they can do you irreparable harm. You may be pegged as a super-extremist, not worth giving the time of day.
I have not yet experienced physical harm from any of these types, but it is probably coming. They are so devoid of sensible thinking that you may as well be a hard-core disciple of Adolf Hitler. Once you get pegged, that’s it. And it doesn’t take much at all.
Speaking of Hitler, this situation now may very much be like it was during the Hitler regime in Nazi Germany. From the history I know, it didn’t take much for your neighbour, friend, or even loved one to call the Gestapo on you if you so much as hinted that ol’ Schicklgruber was out to lunch. Chop, chop, Nazi hater. No one had a nuanced viewpoint; it was either black or white - black was pure Nazi, white was pure Nazi-hater. No in-between. Chop, chop.
Today it is more like you are either decent, like they are, or you are a racist, a misogynist, a transphobe, a Christian Nationalist nutcase, a Trump lover, a gay-killer, on and on. Nothing in between or nuanced is recognized as “okay.” Once you are not 100% on board with them, you are dust. Worse than dust: shit.
Now, don’t I sound hateful? If someone you suspect is brainwashed in this Leftist/Liberal way, it doesn’t mean you have to cast them out, be mean to them, or stop talking to them altogether. You just can’t risk letting them pin the label on you. So, you stay clear of any conversation more meaningful than a deep discussion of the historical significance of modern-day pickleball. Or who won the latest ball game (any ball will do). Or whether someone’s recent manicure turned out to be a nice color.
There are, of course, a few things of mild importance you can risk. (Am I being mean-spirited here? Hopefully not. I don’t mean this is all these folks ever want to talk about. I am only giving you the warning signs: stay on the obvious surface topics. Those are the safe ones.)
If the conversation moves off one of these safe, banal topics, shut up immediately. Fake a coughing fit. Go to the washroom (remember, I am in Canada, “wash” room it is). Most likely they won’t care, won’t suspect anything, and may not even notice. Typically, these people are self-absorbed enough that they don’t really want to hear what you have to say anyway - even if you agree with them. They are just as pleased to listen to themselves and their fellow ideologues echoing one another. You dipping out, no matter how awkward, will save you.
But what if you blunder? God have mercy on you. The mildest form of recognition will be a pause in the conversation and a look of puzzlement: “Did I just see a ghost walk by, or did he really say what I thought he said?” Shut up immediately if you see this. They may decide it was a ghost after all, and go on with their conversation. If they catch you, though - if you reveal even an ambiguity in your stance on some subject - you are done.
You may not suffer the entire assault at that sitting (it depends on the size of the foot you stuck in your mouth), but you have points against you. Surely the person you shocked will go home and ask their partner, “Did you hear what (insert your name here) said tonight? What do you think that means?”
I once stupidly said, in mixed sheep/shrew-ish company (this was early on, when I still thought most people had their wits intact), “I can see the abortion issue from both sides. If someone believes a two-day-old fetus is a human being, I can see them feeling women’s rights don’t give them the right to murder a human being. But I can also see that if someone does not believe a fetus is a human being, then women have bodily autonomy.”
Can you say “stupid”? Wow. I was lucky I made it home alive. Everyone in the room pegged me, even the shrew-ish folks - probably more because I had just proved I was an idiot. You can’t be ambiguous. You certainly can’t say, “I can see this from both sides.” You have to be all in. Totally toeing the company line. That is all that is acceptable.
So what if you do get pegged? That depends on how egregious the slip was, and how thoroughly they are washed. You can usually tell when it was a bad hit. The offended party will shun you. Remember: you are now worse than shit to them. I mean really bad.
If your sheep-spouse was in the room for the falling-out, they may divorce you. At the very least they may leave you, or threaten to. There will be zero understanding. Do not try to fight it with “Can’t I have beliefs you don’t have? Can’t I have a differing opinion?” Forget it, chump. You are dust.
They experience this as a value dump. You have become worse than Satan. You cannot be redeemed for believing anything that fails to match their ideology. And as I have said a dozen times here, this is not a “sort of different” opinion. If you are not 100% in agreement, you are dust. Not 99%. Not 98%. Certainly not 50%. And if you disagree completely - run. You may literally be in a life-threatening situation. Who is brainwashed? The ones who cannot grant you a single inch. That’s how you know. Keep your mouth shut."
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