Anytime you get an eye roll from a sheep after you have made some comment that smacks of conspiracy, “Shut the #$%@ up” is what they are silently trying to tell you—or maybe not silently at all.
What if...all of us Foxes and Shrews never shut the #$%@ up and the sheep heard what they didn't want to hear from even more of us? Instead of us trying to be polite and avoid confrontation, conflict, upsetting others with our crazy conspiracy notions we were more open with them, knowing that our not shutting the #$%@ up is the only thing standing between us and a hellish dystopia that would make life in Nazi Germany seem like the best of times? So we spoke up over and over and over and over and over about what's really happening?
We must stop being polite and trying to not upset the sheep. A polite society is rarely free. The entire notion of "microagressions" could only gain the power to control work environments and inflict penalties by those who know the notion to be absurd being polite about it and ceding the point, so as not to offend.
No. They need to hear it. From more of us. To the extent that they realize we are much more in number than they could possibly fathom. Allowing ourselves to be silenced, usually by our own politeness has brought us to this precipice. We will never polite our way out of this fix hoping the sheep wake up.
Now, some ways to help the sheep to awaken are more effective than others. Hyper aggressive, emotional, angry comments will fail to hit the desired mark. I know. I've tried it, still try it from time to time and it meets the same failed result. But there are ways to reach people that will hit the mark. ReachingPeople.net is a good resource of videos and workshops to help with this.
But we can't give up or just shut the #$%@ up. Those days are long gone, and we probably never should have just shut the #$%@ up about any of the attacks on our minds and freedoms when they first began. Should've been stopped out of the gate by lots of people not shutting the #$%@ up about it. We were caught flat-footed, used to being polite. No more. Let's change that paradigm and let the sheep know we have grown our pack, our herd. And aren't shutting the #$%@ up any more!
You are 100% correct and I am embarrassed, and ashamed, to say that I am one that does indeed shut the #$%@ up. And you are right, I should not be. But I would have to give up my marriage to speak up everytime the opportunity arises, or so I believe, and I become a chicken shit.
I speak out here on Shrew Views, and in other efficient ways. And I have also come to believe that yelling into deaf years is pointless. But it absolutely may not be. If we all spoke out. Many of us would not survive the retaliation...but enough would that the word would get out....just maybe.
I have taken this odd, but understandable, stance that this game is already over and we need to keep fighting, but only as an underground force unless we are relatively certain to have some positive effect (working in the underground it does not matter if we win every battle, because while underground we will live to fight another day.) I choose my battles....and none of the ones I choose are with sheep. They are a waste of energy. So I shut the #$%@ up...
I agree in part with a lot of what you said here. I have always spoken my mind and often with severe consequences, losing my job of 27 years being the hardest. And no, I wouldn’t have done any different if I were to do it over again. But I do feel there reaches a point when for your own safety and well being you need to avoid the people who will only attack or ridicule you, especially in social settings. You don’t need to seek out those who will agree with you on everything but instead those who are interested in open discussions and welcome different points of view. Maybe if I were younger I’d agree with you 100% but I’m old now and choose my battles a bit differently.
I don’t think anyone here would ever consider you a chickenshit, Todd. You’re choosing your battles which is prudent in my opinion, not cowardly. And just speaking for myself I very much appreciate everything you write and the opportunity to read everyone else’s opinions that your shrewviews encourages. Glad to have found you and thanks!
You are a sweetheart, thank you, that means a lot to hear...but I do think we all have moments of not meeting our own bars...I am just no different than anyone else in that regard. But I try, and yes, it is difficult because of my situation...so I do forgive myself for that. Thank you again.
Interesting website... though I notice it recommends "Open and Honest Conversations", taking into account "Honesty with kindness", "Active listening", etc., which, I think, overall means being polite! Moreover, it is presupposing that we are having a conversation; my experience is the sheeple's ears are closed and discussion is dead in the water before it has a chance to start
It's a little dry, classroom-ish. But it actually does have some videos on how to get started and avoid the dead in the water traps. And how to avoid the defensiveness antenna others have.
It's a skill that needs practice. And watching a the video series once won't do it, gotta watch multiple times, practice with a like-minded friend playing sheep role. Our impulses to force a conversation prematurely are strong.
My sister tells me there was some seminar she went to years ago where evidence was presented that people do not interpret 80% of what is said as it was intended.
Which is why one of the most important things to remember as we're trying to reach people is to connect with them emotionally, with a story, from caring and love. People remember the "vibe" they get, the emotion they take away from a presentation. The facts and hard information becomes a blur.
This is the tactic the propagandists and behavioral science/psychology sophisticated manipulators have been very skilled at incorporating in their brainwashing strategies. We must raise our game. Which is hard when we're so frustrated and easy to anger at the lack of progress we wish to make.
So it comes back to leading with our love for our fellow man. True love involves saying hard things. But lovingly. We love others enough to say the hard things that fair-weather friends won't.
Your words remind me of how important it is for shrews to connect with like minded souls.
I took the step yesterday, to talk freely and challenge a friends fear, relating to alarmist CC propaganda. And although i felt somewhat listened too, their eyes kind of glazed over.....I realised that they were for the most part anesthetized to hearing an alternative view of the CC narrative.
If by "CC" you mean "Climate Change"...I have found that one to be one of the toughest of all. My sister, who is a certified sheep, wrangles with all of my "conspiracy theories" about Covid, the vaccine, 9-11, etc. But if I mention CC to her she blows a gasket, "you mean you don't believe in CLIMATE CHANGE????" In some ways CC is even more charged than the Flat/Round earth controversy.
Possibly because there are grounds to believe that something funky is going on with the weather (geo engineering perhaps?) pollution is rather obvious, wanton disregard for the release of toxins, etc. The problem is that all these things are conflated and blamed on humans to the point of irrationality...but the sheep don't see that.
This easter, in church they made us meditate quotes from... Greta Thunberg! During the Way of the Cross, in our local dying Catholic church, where the average age is about 80. Thunberg the atheist rather than Saint Alphonsus Liguori? or Saint Francis of Assisi? Or ANY saint, for that matter?
And then we were made to pray this: "may you continue to help us carry our crosses, the burdens and consequences of our actions that cause climate change."
I remembered Solzenitsyne "Live not by lies" and walked out as quietly as possible. I prayed a rosary, crying alone in my room instead. The domestic church is turning into a necessity.
A few days later a (usually kind) fellow parishioner asked me what made me leave. I said something as benign as i could... I got the shut the #$%@ eyes glazing over reaction.
Last night my cousin tried to tell me about the massacre in Russia, paraphrasing what she thought they said on tv, which was an interesting version of “putin did it and arrested all of them” Now I normally don’t say much because she’s a confused mix of sheep and shrew (believes in every vx and med but knows that biden is senile and someone else is running the country) and she just gets annoyed. But last night I interrupted to give her my readers digest version of what happened and ended with “and they were headed for Ukraine. I think they were CIA. The CIA has bases and biolabs in Ukraine”, and on and on about Ukraine being the most corrupt country in the world and the US overthrowing their gov’t to install the comedian, etc. She laughed and said whatever and went on telling me everything I miss by not watching the news. It doesn’t make a difference in how she thinks, but it felt good to say it to someone Lol
I have studied Russia, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine for decades...way before it was "in" to do so. And I have drawn all the same conclusions that you just stated here. Our conclusions about Ukraine and Russia are not based on "conspiracy theory fads"...like their conclusions are. It is based on informed research, study, and information. Ironic that these people are more guilty of what they claim we are guilty of, than we are.
Spot-on as always Todd ... Regarding the ant - in my defence before brushing it (or any creepy crawly) off, I think of it as a living entity, so I try to be as gentle as possible, whilst asking its forgiveness; of course, probably of no good to the ant...
Nooooo - I'm still searching... it's a VERY long story, the crux of which is that, as a child I lived very much outdoors in Nature, to which I felt/feel closer than to humans; as a teenager, I was banished to a Roman Catholic (nuns) boarding school and was religious to the point of almost becoming a nun. However, being the questioning type, I first went to the seat of Roman Catholicism, only to be appalled by the Vatican and so promptly lost my religion, though I did retain a deep spirituality and sense of the Divine. In your book Ancient Egypt and Modern Psychotherapy, the ancient Egyptians singularity, with no separation between religion and them, resonates with me; your Hidden Energy article also spoke to me and Jung's psychology/philosophy, which is permeated in spirituality, is sound guidance.
Very nice. It is too bad that the organized Catholic Church made a muck of Jesus' teachings...There are a lot of beautiful things about that church if you can look past the "management"...
Thank you for your words about my book and ancient Egypt. I am sure the "people of Egypt" had their share of issues, but the religion and their spiritual concepts are pretty amazing...check this out if you are interested...they have a lot of wonderful retreats they offer, particularly for women...
I didn't throw everything out the window of my RC upbringing (indoctrination!), but it has made me wary of organised religions, the basic tenets of which are worthy, but are then hijacked by people to their own nefarious ends. Jesus is a great role model and I often ask myself what He would do, when I am faced with difficult decisions.
Many thanks for House of Life information; I love Gregorian Chant and the Hathor Healing Voice Retreat sounds (no pun intended) amazing though, unfortunately at 80, my solo adventure trips are over 😪
You nailed it again! It seems we don’t have to say a word anymore to get “the look”, almost like a whole conversation goes on telepathically with certain people.
Do you think we’ll ever get to the point of not having to walk on eggshells?
Wow, Todd! I think you need to hang out with new friends. Your comment would have opened the door for a very lively conversation here at my house where all opinions (and especially “conspiracy theories”) are welcome.
You may have to initiate a Zoom shrews-only wine party, Todd. We’ll all be shouting our conspiracy favorites over each other with such glee, it will be glorious!
I have a friend. This friend was a keen ayahuasca taker. he travelled to Brazil a lot of times to take the magic brew. And then he fell sick, mentally sick. he is better now.
I naively thought that the magic brew opened his mind a bit. I hoped that he would become an open-minded person. I was wrong. he became even more mainstream than before. Every time I opened my mouth about the plandemic, the elite's corruption and so on, I was met with, "It's not that simple, Darius".
I gave up. What is the point? As the saying goes- a horse can be taken to the water but it can't be forced to drink it.
Interesting story...maybe his comment "it's not that simple" means he has seen the deeper meaning bethind all of this...the "spiritual war" we are engaged with...hmmm. Who knows...?
Todd, you nailed it yet again! I chuckled at your comment re the dinner party you were part of. I have done that myself and immediately I think - "Oh shit" - but it's too late. Isn't it terrible that we have to censor our own comments/opinions/thoughts because we know they will put us in the conspiracy category or hot seat. Yes, gone are the days when you could have a lively discussion. Thankfully most of my friends are like minded and the odd one or two that aren't I try to steer away from those topics that will cause them to use the intended expression of "Shut the $&ck up". And when it comes to family - I definitely steer clear. There is no room for my opinions there. It makes me sad to think it has come to this but they are truly indoctrinated to mainstream BS.
Such a great description of this strange time. And great comments. Thanks Everybody!
What if...all of us Foxes and Shrews never shut the #$%@ up and the sheep heard what they didn't want to hear from even more of us? Instead of us trying to be polite and avoid confrontation, conflict, upsetting others with our crazy conspiracy notions we were more open with them, knowing that our not shutting the #$%@ up is the only thing standing between us and a hellish dystopia that would make life in Nazi Germany seem like the best of times? So we spoke up over and over and over and over and over about what's really happening?
We must stop being polite and trying to not upset the sheep. A polite society is rarely free. The entire notion of "microagressions" could only gain the power to control work environments and inflict penalties by those who know the notion to be absurd being polite about it and ceding the point, so as not to offend.
No. They need to hear it. From more of us. To the extent that they realize we are much more in number than they could possibly fathom. Allowing ourselves to be silenced, usually by our own politeness has brought us to this precipice. We will never polite our way out of this fix hoping the sheep wake up.
Now, some ways to help the sheep to awaken are more effective than others. Hyper aggressive, emotional, angry comments will fail to hit the desired mark. I know. I've tried it, still try it from time to time and it meets the same failed result. But there are ways to reach people that will hit the mark. ReachingPeople.net is a good resource of videos and workshops to help with this.
But we can't give up or just shut the #$%@ up. Those days are long gone, and we probably never should have just shut the #$%@ up about any of the attacks on our minds and freedoms when they first began. Should've been stopped out of the gate by lots of people not shutting the #$%@ up about it. We were caught flat-footed, used to being polite. No more. Let's change that paradigm and let the sheep know we have grown our pack, our herd. And aren't shutting the #$%@ up any more!
You are 100% correct and I am embarrassed, and ashamed, to say that I am one that does indeed shut the #$%@ up. And you are right, I should not be. But I would have to give up my marriage to speak up everytime the opportunity arises, or so I believe, and I become a chicken shit.
I speak out here on Shrew Views, and in other efficient ways. And I have also come to believe that yelling into deaf years is pointless. But it absolutely may not be. If we all spoke out. Many of us would not survive the retaliation...but enough would that the word would get out....just maybe.
I have taken this odd, but understandable, stance that this game is already over and we need to keep fighting, but only as an underground force unless we are relatively certain to have some positive effect (working in the underground it does not matter if we win every battle, because while underground we will live to fight another day.) I choose my battles....and none of the ones I choose are with sheep. They are a waste of energy. So I shut the #$%@ up...
I agree in part with a lot of what you said here. I have always spoken my mind and often with severe consequences, losing my job of 27 years being the hardest. And no, I wouldn’t have done any different if I were to do it over again. But I do feel there reaches a point when for your own safety and well being you need to avoid the people who will only attack or ridicule you, especially in social settings. You don’t need to seek out those who will agree with you on everything but instead those who are interested in open discussions and welcome different points of view. Maybe if I were younger I’d agree with you 100% but I’m old now and choose my battles a bit differently.
OK...you said it better than I did Debra...yes...I concur.
I don’t think anyone here would ever consider you a chickenshit, Todd. You’re choosing your battles which is prudent in my opinion, not cowardly. And just speaking for myself I very much appreciate everything you write and the opportunity to read everyone else’s opinions that your shrewviews encourages. Glad to have found you and thanks!
You are a sweetheart, thank you, that means a lot to hear...but I do think we all have moments of not meeting our own bars...I am just no different than anyone else in that regard. But I try, and yes, it is difficult because of my situation...so I do forgive myself for that. Thank you again.
Interesting website... though I notice it recommends "Open and Honest Conversations", taking into account "Honesty with kindness", "Active listening", etc., which, I think, overall means being polite! Moreover, it is presupposing that we are having a conversation; my experience is the sheeple's ears are closed and discussion is dead in the water before it has a chance to start
It's a little dry, classroom-ish. But it actually does have some videos on how to get started and avoid the dead in the water traps. And how to avoid the defensiveness antenna others have.
It's a skill that needs practice. And watching a the video series once won't do it, gotta watch multiple times, practice with a like-minded friend playing sheep role. Our impulses to force a conversation prematurely are strong.
My sister tells me there was some seminar she went to years ago where evidence was presented that people do not interpret 80% of what is said as it was intended.
Which is why one of the most important things to remember as we're trying to reach people is to connect with them emotionally, with a story, from caring and love. People remember the "vibe" they get, the emotion they take away from a presentation. The facts and hard information becomes a blur.
This is the tactic the propagandists and behavioral science/psychology sophisticated manipulators have been very skilled at incorporating in their brainwashing strategies. We must raise our game. Which is hard when we're so frustrated and easy to anger at the lack of progress we wish to make.
So it comes back to leading with our love for our fellow man. True love involves saying hard things. But lovingly. We love others enough to say the hard things that fair-weather friends won't.
So, so, so true...thank you.
Brilliant.
I hear you loud and clear!
Thank you!
Thanks Tod,
Your words remind me of how important it is for shrews to connect with like minded souls.
I took the step yesterday, to talk freely and challenge a friends fear, relating to alarmist CC propaganda. And although i felt somewhat listened too, their eyes kind of glazed over.....I realised that they were for the most part anesthetized to hearing an alternative view of the CC narrative.
👍👍👍👍
If by "CC" you mean "Climate Change"...I have found that one to be one of the toughest of all. My sister, who is a certified sheep, wrangles with all of my "conspiracy theories" about Covid, the vaccine, 9-11, etc. But if I mention CC to her she blows a gasket, "you mean you don't believe in CLIMATE CHANGE????" In some ways CC is even more charged than the Flat/Round earth controversy.
Possibly because there are grounds to believe that something funky is going on with the weather (geo engineering perhaps?) pollution is rather obvious, wanton disregard for the release of toxins, etc. The problem is that all these things are conflated and blamed on humans to the point of irrationality...but the sheep don't see that.
This easter, in church they made us meditate quotes from... Greta Thunberg! During the Way of the Cross, in our local dying Catholic church, where the average age is about 80. Thunberg the atheist rather than Saint Alphonsus Liguori? or Saint Francis of Assisi? Or ANY saint, for that matter?
And then we were made to pray this: "may you continue to help us carry our crosses, the burdens and consequences of our actions that cause climate change."
https://www.devp.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023_Way_of_the_Cross_EN.pdf
I remembered Solzenitsyne "Live not by lies" and walked out as quietly as possible. I prayed a rosary, crying alone in my room instead. The domestic church is turning into a necessity.
A few days later a (usually kind) fellow parishioner asked me what made me leave. I said something as benign as i could... I got the shut the #$%@ eyes glazing over reaction.
May God have mercy on us all.
The dinner party you described is what I imagine the prequel to 1984 would be like if there was one.
Nice...
Must have been thinking of chicken when I wrote this!
An insider joke I don't get...
Lol. Very good
Last night my cousin tried to tell me about the massacre in Russia, paraphrasing what she thought they said on tv, which was an interesting version of “putin did it and arrested all of them” Now I normally don’t say much because she’s a confused mix of sheep and shrew (believes in every vx and med but knows that biden is senile and someone else is running the country) and she just gets annoyed. But last night I interrupted to give her my readers digest version of what happened and ended with “and they were headed for Ukraine. I think they were CIA. The CIA has bases and biolabs in Ukraine”, and on and on about Ukraine being the most corrupt country in the world and the US overthrowing their gov’t to install the comedian, etc. She laughed and said whatever and went on telling me everything I miss by not watching the news. It doesn’t make a difference in how she thinks, but it felt good to say it to someone Lol
I have studied Russia, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine for decades...way before it was "in" to do so. And I have drawn all the same conclusions that you just stated here. Our conclusions about Ukraine and Russia are not based on "conspiracy theory fads"...like their conclusions are. It is based on informed research, study, and information. Ironic that these people are more guilty of what they claim we are guilty of, than we are.
I felt this.
Spot-on as always Todd ... Regarding the ant - in my defence before brushing it (or any creepy crawly) off, I think of it as a living entity, so I try to be as gentle as possible, whilst asking its forgiveness; of course, probably of no good to the ant...
Are you Buddhist?
Nooooo - I'm still searching... it's a VERY long story, the crux of which is that, as a child I lived very much outdoors in Nature, to which I felt/feel closer than to humans; as a teenager, I was banished to a Roman Catholic (nuns) boarding school and was religious to the point of almost becoming a nun. However, being the questioning type, I first went to the seat of Roman Catholicism, only to be appalled by the Vatican and so promptly lost my religion, though I did retain a deep spirituality and sense of the Divine. In your book Ancient Egypt and Modern Psychotherapy, the ancient Egyptians singularity, with no separation between religion and them, resonates with me; your Hidden Energy article also spoke to me and Jung's psychology/philosophy, which is permeated in spirituality, is sound guidance.
Very nice. It is too bad that the organized Catholic Church made a muck of Jesus' teachings...There are a lot of beautiful things about that church if you can look past the "management"...
Thank you for your words about my book and ancient Egypt. I am sure the "people of Egypt" had their share of issues, but the religion and their spiritual concepts are pretty amazing...check this out if you are interested...they have a lot of wonderful retreats they offer, particularly for women...
https://www.houseoflife.info/
I didn't throw everything out the window of my RC upbringing (indoctrination!), but it has made me wary of organised religions, the basic tenets of which are worthy, but are then hijacked by people to their own nefarious ends. Jesus is a great role model and I often ask myself what He would do, when I am faced with difficult decisions.
Many thanks for House of Life information; I love Gregorian Chant and the Hathor Healing Voice Retreat sounds (no pun intended) amazing though, unfortunately at 80, my solo adventure trips are over 😪
I am quickly headed in that direction myself.
Have a wonderful trip... on your return, perhaps you will write an article about it for us???
And the phrase Conspiracy Theorist was created by the CIA after Kennedy's assignation to describe anyone who doubted the official story!!
Yep
there is a lot to explain when it comes to the recent COVID propaganda, but I believe there are *definitely* ways to pierce the conditioning... https://eccentrik.substack.com/p/5-scientific-reasons-your-vaccinated
You nailed it again! It seems we don’t have to say a word anymore to get “the look”, almost like a whole conversation goes on telepathically with certain people.
Do you think we’ll ever get to the point of not having to walk on eggshells?
No, I do not, but other things will likely change making that a moot point.
Hopefully the “cure” is not worse than the “disease”.
When I say "other things" I don't mean good things...
Likely not. 😞
It is SO difficult to be optimistic these days 😡
Wow, Todd! I think you need to hang out with new friends. Your comment would have opened the door for a very lively conversation here at my house where all opinions (and especially “conspiracy theories”) are welcome.
That is great! Yay for your family!
Finding new friends... if only it were that easy ... 🤔
I LONG for those conversations, I am DESPERATE for them...
You may have to initiate a Zoom shrews-only wine party, Todd. We’ll all be shouting our conspiracy favorites over each other with such glee, it will be glorious!
I'll bring a fleshly baked sourdough bread and home made Kombucha.
On the other hand, time will heal or kill it all.
Be happy.
We love you.
When can I come over for dinner?😹😉
Wouldn't that be fun??
🥳👏
I have a friend. This friend was a keen ayahuasca taker. he travelled to Brazil a lot of times to take the magic brew. And then he fell sick, mentally sick. he is better now.
I naively thought that the magic brew opened his mind a bit. I hoped that he would become an open-minded person. I was wrong. he became even more mainstream than before. Every time I opened my mouth about the plandemic, the elite's corruption and so on, I was met with, "It's not that simple, Darius".
I gave up. What is the point? As the saying goes- a horse can be taken to the water but it can't be forced to drink it.
It’s funny how people take mind altering drugs and “see God”. I grew up in the 80’s and I had my fair share of “fun”.
Now, at 60, I want a clear mind and body for God and Light!
Mind altering drugs didn't help me to see god. What they did do, they showed me an interconectivness of everything.
The bad, the good and the ugly.
But, people can have the interconnected (Universal Mind=God) without drugs. That’s real!
Interesting story...maybe his comment "it's not that simple" means he has seen the deeper meaning bethind all of this...the "spiritual war" we are engaged with...hmmm. Who knows...?
No Todd, "it's not that simple" stands for, "Politicians have hard jobs to do. People are never happy with their decisions".
The normies are happy with totalitarian rule as long they have warm houses and a paycheck. I treat them like a red-dressed lady from Matrix.
You said it, that is EXACTLY right...
The extinction of discernment.
Todd, you nailed it yet again! I chuckled at your comment re the dinner party you were part of. I have done that myself and immediately I think - "Oh shit" - but it's too late. Isn't it terrible that we have to censor our own comments/opinions/thoughts because we know they will put us in the conspiracy category or hot seat. Yes, gone are the days when you could have a lively discussion. Thankfully most of my friends are like minded and the odd one or two that aren't I try to steer away from those topics that will cause them to use the intended expression of "Shut the $&ck up". And when it comes to family - I definitely steer clear. There is no room for my opinions there. It makes me sad to think it has come to this but they are truly indoctrinated to mainstream BS.