Re: The Poor Masses

Hara Ra (harara@shamanics.com)
Mon, 30 Sep 1996 21:41:17 -0700

Anders Sandberg wrote:

> I have found one psychological concept very helpful here: learned
> helplessness. If you try something repeatedly, but don't succeed
> (especially if you have never experienced success in the first place), you
> "learn" that you will never succeed, and don't even try anymore.

Even more pertinent is enforced helplesness. This is typical of abusive
situations, whether in your family or police brutality. Just as a rat
will learn with ONE experience to avoid food which induces nausea, we
learn that certain situations are hopeless and respond with whatever
we came up with from the past. Freedom from this is the goal of most
forms of therapy.

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| Hara Ra <harara@shamanics.com> |
| Box 8334 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 |
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