Americans could not critically analyze if their lives depended on it, they may think they can as you suggested but they have proven time and again they cannot. Think JFK, NASA, 911, Lahaina, C19 - they are total sheep!
(Sorry, no insult intended!)
I have a cat that catches small rodents and brings them back to the house in perfect condition so I end up trying to catch them in the living-room.
One time I had this shrew cornered (pygmy shrew). The little creature stood up on it's hind legs and presented its claws to me! Imagine, smaller than my thumb, threatening to scratch me!
I caught it and brought it back to the meadow and when I tried to release it it stayed in my hand - it liked the warmth, it knew we are kindred spirits!
There is one more subtle, more damaging to a society, than the sheep. I refer to them as sock-puppets. Sheep, as you say, give no thought to who or what they follow; they simply trail blindly the tail in front of them. Sock-puppets believe they think independently. They are completely unaware of the hidden hand moving their mouth & uttering their words. These people are much more damaging to society because they do not simply follow along in blissful ignorance. Theirs is a particularly dangerous form of brainwashing, causing them to become proselyte. They must win others to the cause to validate their own cultish assertions. These are the people who act cold & distant at gatherings. They are the ones easily led to vandalize businesses & burn down dealerships, thinking the entire time their motivation came from within. My feeling towards sheep is more pity than disdain. The sock-puppet however is loathed by me.
I am one who believes we are all sheep. All of us. It’s WHO we follow that makes the difference. If we follow a wolf (a liar) then that’s on us. We did not use judgment and common sense. We allowed ourselves to be deceived. But—how do we distinguish dumb sheep from discerning sheep? Guess I’ll go with sheep/shrew too for clarity.
Glad you’re still on it Dr. Todd. It’s a lonely fight.
The Apostle Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Life itself is a complex and intricate maze, and we must all find our own way through it. If we choose to follow others, we had better be certain that person or thing knows it's way through the maze; at least the part they've taken responsibility for. Otherwise, we are all destined to be trapped at some point along the way. I believe it was Jesus who said, when a blind man leads a blind man, both fall into a pit.
The sheep doesn't THINK about who to follow, we do. Yes, we tend to all follow someone, but sheep follow the tail in front of them, who may be following a leader or whatever, but the sheep doesn't need to know that, doesn't need to know the validity of who the tail in front of them is following...Shrews need to know, want to know, and do the work in finding out who they are following.
I kind of think the only language that works here is biblical language.
Sheep need shepherds. No sheep can wander around loose without one and not end up killed.
Psalm 23 is King David's psalm--he was a shepherd in his youth and knows things. He is also a prophet referring to another to come after who will identify himself as the Good Shepherd.
"My sheep hear my voice." says the shepherd. They will run away when they hear the voice of the thief and liar.
I heard that hypnosis/brainwashing/gaslighting can only happen with the voice. The poor dumbasses will trust and follow a clever deceiver right off a cliff.
Ah, Todd, where is your sense of fun? You missed a great opportunity to put them on the spot and get an honest reaction. Me being me I enjoy situations like these and go out of my way to jolly up to folks who appear to have a bug up their posteriors. Generally it’s not about me at all, perhaps an illness or death in the family I’m unaware of and then I can commiserate. But if it IS about me I get to witness them become increasingly more uncomfortable by the minute, almost like they stepped in something awful and can’t wait to scrape off their shoe. Of course in most cases they won’t say what’s bothering them, they glare at me or give abrupt answers to my chirpy conversation. Then when they frostily take their leave I comment loudly to everyone within earshot “Oh my, isn’t it SO GOOD to see everyone again?”
This often has a tendency to bring increased condemnation because you hold up the mirror to their own ignorance. They can't argue because, in their group, they are not the ones doing the thinking. So instead they walk away (if you're lucky) or lash out, spewing some manner of vulgarity or ill-wishes toward you.
Trickster is an archetypal energy, and probably the most interesting archetype out there. Lots of books have been written about it. Trickster shows up in the fairy tales and myths of nearly every culture.
OMG no! The trickster is one of the most beloved of archtypes! All shrews have a touch, or a lot, of trickster energy because we go against the grain, and love to make that clear to others!
There is no question that the trickster can get us into trouble, but so what, we can't do it any other way!
I love trickster...and I have a lot of that energy myself. Think of how much of a bore we would be if we blocked off all of that trickster energy...no way!!
Even in the worst of times we need levity, especially if it can result in better understanding of each other. Thank you for your articles, they’re all thought provoking. And I thoroughly enjoy everyone’s comments afterwards, even the ones I don’t agree with.
Since the great plandemic sheep need no excuse to act coldly towards those who are not in their corporate media camp . Shrews now are on the same level as murderers and bank robbers.
It’s sad that a decade or so ago many folks actually found us shrews a little interesting how things have changed !
Read a post on a recent Gad Saad video ( video describes his loss of a friendship after 30 years due to GS views of Trump ) the post was “ we never really loose a friend …they just show us who they are “ ……this resonated with me .
Do you have a link to that particular video about losing a 30 year friend? I just lost a 55 year friend over Trump (and I am not even a super Trump fan). I would be curious to look at it.
Thank you...got it. It has special interest to me because I experienced pretty much the same thing.
My first composition teacher in University has been a friend for 50 years. A very close friend. Although he is a tad older, and really more of a mentor, our personal bond is very strong. He knew my first wife very well as she attended school as a piano major while I was studying music composition with him. Through the 50 years since we met, we would meet about once a year (my sisters still live in the community of my school, and near his home).
When my first wife passed away, who he also had a deep fondness for, he actually dedicated a composition to her.
When I visited my sister this fall, I contacted him as I usually do, and suggested we get together for lunch...this is his response to the invitation.
"As much as I appreciate your reaching out with an invitation to have a meal together and a visit, I think it is best if I decline. I think our rather profound differences that have evolved over the past few years simply would make a get-together more difficult than we might wish for. I really would prefer that I remember the warm friendship that united us over so many years past and that I cherish."
I cannot begin to tell you how much this hurt. I don't even know what he knows of our "differences" as I have not shared anything with him. He is not on Facebook (but his wife is) so there isn't much he would know about my stance on things. He did know, because I told him, that I was not vaccinated. But that's about all I had personally shared with him.
What is happening now is unconscionable. Gad's talk was so interesting to me...I bought his book "The Parasitic Mind"...
I notice again and again, as I'm sure do you, which side is by far the most intolerant - the one most willing to abandon decades-old friendships. It's not the Shrew that's for sure.
I’ve been wondering if your family reads your stack and if it makes them mad.
Sorry.
Can’t help but picture the scene in The Truman Show when he’s a kid in school and says he wants to be an explorer. The teacher says it’s too bad there’s nothing left to find.
That’s how I see the modern western society. “No need to figure anything out! We’ve already done that for you. You can just ask us!”
As the Bible says, “and the people love to have it so”
Over the past 9 years, I have linked many articles about sheep behavior and many memes (Images For The Day) about sheep. Perhaps it's time to come up with a new term that more adequately explains this type of behavior. I'm tired of insulting the poor sheep for having simple minds.
There you go, lets just call them "Simple Minds". They were a good group back in the 80s. You know - "Don't You Forget About Me."
How about "Mentally Challenged", although that one is probably taken already in psychological studies and would probably be considered offensive in this woke age.
I'm sure we could all come up with some new terms, I would like to see some reader's responses for a new name besides Sheep.
i guess it's all perspective. everyone can be assessed on the sheep 'spectrum'. good sheep. black sheep. green-dyed sheep. you know that little cartoon? a huge flock of sheep has gathered up against a fence. there's a man with a stick on one side of them and a dog way over on the other side. one of the sheep is getting grief from the others because he won't shut up about his theory that the man and the dog are working together........i sometimes despair when i see intelligent, kind people so indoctrinated that worshiping a violent ruling class is the only option. the only way to live. actually investing time and energy to insure that your particular team of middle managers is way better than that dastardly 'other' group of middle managers. sigh. but i don't hold it against y'all.
I think it comes down to trusting the sources too much without thinking for oneself. And if challenged, they respond with, "I don't have time to think about everything that is happening". Yet they often have time to 'react' to what others think or say. I think the desire to fit in is more important to them than standing alone or what they may perceive as standing alone. Let's face it. We shrews have faced a lot of harsh reactions over the last 5 years.
There is that, but there is also what makes the sheep choose a particular source to trust. It isn't pure authority, because most sheep HATE Donald Trump. So the authority they "trust" has to meet certain criteria.
The 'sheep' largely trust the mainstream media. They hate President Trump because they hear all the reasons why on mainstream media. This period of time reminds me of the covid era (we aren't out of that era yet either). Mainstream news hammered the BS endlessly and the result was most people seemed to buy it. Now we are brainwashed into hating Trump, US, etc. We are turning on people left and right. People are so easily duped. And yes, we've all been duped in our lives at some point but this is getting monotonous.
Absolutely. I've always said it is not the authoritative person, leader, president, doctor, whatever, it is the media. The media is the true culprit in all of this.
I exchange infrequent whats apps with an old Italian friend who is often ill. When I suggested she avoid the jabs, she replied that she wasn't a sheep! I had never mentioned the word, but she was obviously aware that she could be viewed as such for continuing to be vaccinated. I reckon there's a lot of internal conflict going in sheep brains - they kind of know they are sheep.....and feel a bit 'sheepish' about it 😂
Yes, most know they fit our description of sheep. And it is common for sheep to interpret what we do as the same as what they do (blindly follow a certain narrative)...which some shrews this is indeed true. But there is a little (or big) difference what we decide is the thing to follow.
Dear Todd,
Americans could not critically analyze if their lives depended on it, they may think they can as you suggested but they have proven time and again they cannot. Think JFK, NASA, 911, Lahaina, C19 - they are total sheep!
(Sorry, no insult intended!)
I have a cat that catches small rodents and brings them back to the house in perfect condition so I end up trying to catch them in the living-room.
One time I had this shrew cornered (pygmy shrew). The little creature stood up on it's hind legs and presented its claws to me! Imagine, smaller than my thumb, threatening to scratch me!
I caught it and brought it back to the meadow and when I tried to release it it stayed in my hand - it liked the warmth, it knew we are kindred spirits!
It's interesting that mice bite, shrews don't.
As always Todd many thanks for your wisdom.
Blessings,
Owen.
WOW, this one was great! Thank You Sir.
There is one more subtle, more damaging to a society, than the sheep. I refer to them as sock-puppets. Sheep, as you say, give no thought to who or what they follow; they simply trail blindly the tail in front of them. Sock-puppets believe they think independently. They are completely unaware of the hidden hand moving their mouth & uttering their words. These people are much more damaging to society because they do not simply follow along in blissful ignorance. Theirs is a particularly dangerous form of brainwashing, causing them to become proselyte. They must win others to the cause to validate their own cultish assertions. These are the people who act cold & distant at gatherings. They are the ones easily led to vandalize businesses & burn down dealerships, thinking the entire time their motivation came from within. My feeling towards sheep is more pity than disdain. The sock-puppet however is loathed by me.
Yep
WOW!!!
I am one who believes we are all sheep. All of us. It’s WHO we follow that makes the difference. If we follow a wolf (a liar) then that’s on us. We did not use judgment and common sense. We allowed ourselves to be deceived. But—how do we distinguish dumb sheep from discerning sheep? Guess I’ll go with sheep/shrew too for clarity.
Glad you’re still on it Dr. Todd. It’s a lonely fight.
The Apostle Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Life itself is a complex and intricate maze, and we must all find our own way through it. If we choose to follow others, we had better be certain that person or thing knows it's way through the maze; at least the part they've taken responsibility for. Otherwise, we are all destined to be trapped at some point along the way. I believe it was Jesus who said, when a blind man leads a blind man, both fall into a pit.
The sheep doesn't THINK about who to follow, we do. Yes, we tend to all follow someone, but sheep follow the tail in front of them, who may be following a leader or whatever, but the sheep doesn't need to know that, doesn't need to know the validity of who the tail in front of them is following...Shrews need to know, want to know, and do the work in finding out who they are following.
I kind of think the only language that works here is biblical language.
Sheep need shepherds. No sheep can wander around loose without one and not end up killed.
Psalm 23 is King David's psalm--he was a shepherd in his youth and knows things. He is also a prophet referring to another to come after who will identify himself as the Good Shepherd.
"My sheep hear my voice." says the shepherd. They will run away when they hear the voice of the thief and liar.
I heard that hypnosis/brainwashing/gaslighting can only happen with the voice. The poor dumbasses will trust and follow a clever deceiver right off a cliff.
More bad news-
https://jonfleetwood.substack.com/p/usda-pumps-100-million-into-bird?
Good lord...
Ah, Todd, where is your sense of fun? You missed a great opportunity to put them on the spot and get an honest reaction. Me being me I enjoy situations like these and go out of my way to jolly up to folks who appear to have a bug up their posteriors. Generally it’s not about me at all, perhaps an illness or death in the family I’m unaware of and then I can commiserate. But if it IS about me I get to witness them become increasingly more uncomfortable by the minute, almost like they stepped in something awful and can’t wait to scrape off their shoe. Of course in most cases they won’t say what’s bothering them, they glare at me or give abrupt answers to my chirpy conversation. Then when they frostily take their leave I comment loudly to everyone within earshot “Oh my, isn’t it SO GOOD to see everyone again?”
This often has a tendency to bring increased condemnation because you hold up the mirror to their own ignorance. They can't argue because, in their group, they are not the ones doing the thinking. So instead they walk away (if you're lucky) or lash out, spewing some manner of vulgarity or ill-wishes toward you.
Yup! Experienced that!
Thank you...I do SOMETIMES do this...that is the trickster in me...you have a lot of trickster energy! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster
Interesting reading about trickster, thank you, I never thought my approach would have a label.
Trickster is an archetypal energy, and probably the most interesting archetype out there. Lots of books have been written about it. Trickster shows up in the fairy tales and myths of nearly every culture.
Reading what I just did about it makes me sound mentally ill. There are probably those (like ex-husbands😆) who would heartily agree. Oh well.
OMG no! The trickster is one of the most beloved of archtypes! All shrews have a touch, or a lot, of trickster energy because we go against the grain, and love to make that clear to others!
There is no question that the trickster can get us into trouble, but so what, we can't do it any other way!
I love trickster...and I have a lot of that energy myself. Think of how much of a bore we would be if we blocked off all of that trickster energy...no way!!
Even in the worst of times we need levity, especially if it can result in better understanding of each other. Thank you for your articles, they’re all thought provoking. And I thoroughly enjoy everyone’s comments afterwards, even the ones I don’t agree with.
Oh my !
Since the great plandemic sheep need no excuse to act coldly towards those who are not in their corporate media camp . Shrews now are on the same level as murderers and bank robbers.
It’s sad that a decade or so ago many folks actually found us shrews a little interesting how things have changed !
Read a post on a recent Gad Saad video ( video describes his loss of a friendship after 30 years due to GS views of Trump ) the post was “ we never really loose a friend …they just show us who they are “ ……this resonated with me .
Do you have a link to that particular video about losing a 30 year friend? I just lost a 55 year friend over Trump (and I am not even a super Trump fan). I would be curious to look at it.
Yes will try to send you can tell he is taking the high road but clearly is very hurt,
Thank you...got it. It has special interest to me because I experienced pretty much the same thing.
My first composition teacher in University has been a friend for 50 years. A very close friend. Although he is a tad older, and really more of a mentor, our personal bond is very strong. He knew my first wife very well as she attended school as a piano major while I was studying music composition with him. Through the 50 years since we met, we would meet about once a year (my sisters still live in the community of my school, and near his home).
When my first wife passed away, who he also had a deep fondness for, he actually dedicated a composition to her.
When I visited my sister this fall, I contacted him as I usually do, and suggested we get together for lunch...this is his response to the invitation.
"As much as I appreciate your reaching out with an invitation to have a meal together and a visit, I think it is best if I decline. I think our rather profound differences that have evolved over the past few years simply would make a get-together more difficult than we might wish for. I really would prefer that I remember the warm friendship that united us over so many years past and that I cherish."
I cannot begin to tell you how much this hurt. I don't even know what he knows of our "differences" as I have not shared anything with him. He is not on Facebook (but his wife is) so there isn't much he would know about my stance on things. He did know, because I told him, that I was not vaccinated. But that's about all I had personally shared with him.
What is happening now is unconscionable. Gad's talk was so interesting to me...I bought his book "The Parasitic Mind"...
These thoughts and behaviors are the genesis to civil war. First, we pick sides - then we fight to the death over them.
Sadly...
Oh my I will never understand your friend's response !
I had it happen again and again...
I notice again and again, as I'm sure do you, which side is by far the most intolerant - the one most willing to abandon decades-old friendships. It's not the Shrew that's for sure.
The "S" word... LOL!!!
I’ve been wondering if your family reads your stack and if it makes them mad.
Sorry.
Can’t help but picture the scene in The Truman Show when he’s a kid in school and says he wants to be an explorer. The teacher says it’s too bad there’s nothing left to find.
That’s how I see the modern western society. “No need to figure anything out! We’ve already done that for you. You can just ask us!”
As the Bible says, “and the people love to have it so”
Absolutely...and promissory materialism...science says, "if we don't have a materialist explanation for something, one day we certainly will"
Over the past 9 years, I have linked many articles about sheep behavior and many memes (Images For The Day) about sheep. Perhaps it's time to come up with a new term that more adequately explains this type of behavior. I'm tired of insulting the poor sheep for having simple minds.
There you go, lets just call them "Simple Minds". They were a good group back in the 80s. You know - "Don't You Forget About Me."
How about "Mentally Challenged", although that one is probably taken already in psychological studies and would probably be considered offensive in this woke age.
I'm sure we could all come up with some new terms, I would like to see some reader's responses for a new name besides Sheep.
However, by now when you speak about sheep. Everyone knows what you mean! Linking as usual @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
I've heard NPC (non-player character) or "Normies"...sheep is better than anything I've heard...
Or instead of leading to the other side of the gate how about over the cliff.
I was putting a positive spin to it...but more than likely that is where they will be led, over the cliff.
i guess it's all perspective. everyone can be assessed on the sheep 'spectrum'. good sheep. black sheep. green-dyed sheep. you know that little cartoon? a huge flock of sheep has gathered up against a fence. there's a man with a stick on one side of them and a dog way over on the other side. one of the sheep is getting grief from the others because he won't shut up about his theory that the man and the dog are working together........i sometimes despair when i see intelligent, kind people so indoctrinated that worshiping a violent ruling class is the only option. the only way to live. actually investing time and energy to insure that your particular team of middle managers is way better than that dastardly 'other' group of middle managers. sigh. but i don't hold it against y'all.
peace and love groovy babies!
oh. and a belated slainte to all!
I think it comes down to trusting the sources too much without thinking for oneself. And if challenged, they respond with, "I don't have time to think about everything that is happening". Yet they often have time to 'react' to what others think or say. I think the desire to fit in is more important to them than standing alone or what they may perceive as standing alone. Let's face it. We shrews have faced a lot of harsh reactions over the last 5 years.
There is that, but there is also what makes the sheep choose a particular source to trust. It isn't pure authority, because most sheep HATE Donald Trump. So the authority they "trust" has to meet certain criteria.
The 'sheep' largely trust the mainstream media. They hate President Trump because they hear all the reasons why on mainstream media. This period of time reminds me of the covid era (we aren't out of that era yet either). Mainstream news hammered the BS endlessly and the result was most people seemed to buy it. Now we are brainwashed into hating Trump, US, etc. We are turning on people left and right. People are so easily duped. And yes, we've all been duped in our lives at some point but this is getting monotonous.
Absolutely. I've always said it is not the authoritative person, leader, president, doctor, whatever, it is the media. The media is the true culprit in all of this.
When your intentions are honourable, their response is not your problem.
Very true...
I love this article, it started my day giggling.
Great!!
I exchange infrequent whats apps with an old Italian friend who is often ill. When I suggested she avoid the jabs, she replied that she wasn't a sheep! I had never mentioned the word, but she was obviously aware that she could be viewed as such for continuing to be vaccinated. I reckon there's a lot of internal conflict going in sheep brains - they kind of know they are sheep.....and feel a bit 'sheepish' about it 😂
Yes, most know they fit our description of sheep. And it is common for sheep to interpret what we do as the same as what they do (blindly follow a certain narrative)...which some shrews this is indeed true. But there is a little (or big) difference what we decide is the thing to follow.