Thursday 18 March 2010

Righteous mind games, the everyday ones.

The Righteous have few methods and those methods have changed little over the centuries. The reason they don't change is that for most people, they still work as well as they always did. That is also the reason for Righteous extermination of academics etc. as soon as they get control. All they want are the malleable.

What they can't control is that the malleable give birth to the clever, so the smart ones increase and are smart enough to keep quiet until they are numerous enough to slap down the Righteous.

The Righteous are not too smart. If they were, they'd have worked out by now where they go wrong every time. I'm not going to tell them.

I've occasionally posted Righteous methods such as the bogeyman and the creeper and a few more in the past. They don't like it and are attempting to do something about it, which I have calculated for and am dealing with. It's not difficult. I'm not exactly pitting wits against Einstein here. Those are long-game methods, but individual Righteous will play short-game methods for their own amusement, and to reinforce their illusion of actually mattering in the world.

You will see these short games in supermarket and other queues, where the person behind you takes a series of small steps forward. This is to intimidate you into hurrying up. It plays on a primal fear, the slowly approaching predator, and it works very well on anyone who doesn't know about it. The best fun you can have with this is to slow down until they are right at your shoulder when it's time to pay. Then take out your credit card, put it in the reader and then turn and look them straight in the eye. At this point, they are in the position of a shoulder-surfer looking for credit card details and it is hard not to laugh out loud when that realisation dawns on them.

It's even funnier on those rare occasions when the checkout operator notices and says 'Sorry about that' at which point you make a stage-whispered remark about 'criminals always trying to get credit card details' and then leave without once looking back. You want mind games, I have a compendium of them.

One short game that comes up over and over on forums all over the internet, and which also comes up in real life, is the 'You are evil unless you do what I say' game.

It is a pathetically simple mind game but it does work, again, as long as the subject does not realise how it works.

It also does not work on the sharp-witted such as Bella Gerens.

The trolls who won't play with me any more have visited Bella in the futile hope that they might be able to exert their petty influences there. Their game is, as always, trivial attempts at mind control by this method:

You post something on a blog or forum.

The Righteous responds with 'You have not condemned what [X] said about [Y]. I therefore have to conclude that you are as evil as them'.

You have never heard of [X] and when you look it up, you will find that what they 'said' about [Y] is taken out of context and twisted, or is entirely irrelevant to your posting.

Now you have a choice. Especially if you are one of most people, and actually care what people think of you. That is normal, I am not, I recognise that.

Do you do as the Righteous commands and decry the out-of-context or irrelevant thing, or do you point out that the Righteous is just being silly? Knowing, of course, that this apparently erudite commentator will denounce you as Racist-Nazi-Bigot-Paedo if you do not do as they say?

You think their arguments are clever, and you cannot be blamed for that. In reality, they are thicker than a very thick thing covered in thickening goo and baked in the thickening oven to maximum thickness but they don't know it. They are reading from a script but you won't know that unless you hang around and watch. Who has time? I did, for a while, and now make it a hobby to spot them. Hello, Macjuk, remember me? Oh and Ray, that short story 'Newton's Cradle' was seriously crap. You don't even understand the concept of 'mind game' and you are supposed to be training teachers?. John, I was the shadow on your tent on the Tyrebagger, you know. Mind games? Amateurs.

Those three are from Yahoo forums but they are around. I see you, Righteous, and I don't need CCTV. All of them have played this game over and over. The same thing every time.

If you agree to do as they say, if you enter into contract by bowing down and following orders, you are Owned. The Righteous chalks up another pet. You are now under their control and once in, it's hard to break out. How can you leave? If you disagree with anything you will be branded Racist-Nazi-Bigot-Paedo. That is not something you want. Especially if you are new to a forum. It is very hard to respond to an accusation of 'Racist' with 'Yeah. So what?'. It's like admitting you shag badgers.

Mind games are, at root, a game. Learn how to play them and you will find they are not hard games to win. Your opponent in this thought-chess game is not Boris Spassky, it is a ZX-81 with a power supply problem. Your opponents are not thinking this stuff up on the fly.

Your opponents are not thinking at all.

19 comments:

banned said...

I've not come across trolls or mind-gamers on my own little blog but thanks for the heads-up L-I. I've had a few spams which I mercilessly delete with no qualms about censorship, why should my readers have to wade through their rubbish?

The supermarket queue hugger rings a bell, I generally turn around sharpish hopeing that my basket catches them on the knee and, if conversation ensues, ask them whether they grew up in crowded conditions.
My favorite game is with the checkout person who inspects my proffered £5.00 note and then stares at me as though I am a terrorist counterfieter, I return the stare and similarly examine the coins given in change.

Snakey said...

Due to sheer laziness and hating supermarket shopping I have my weekly shopping delivered and no longer have to put up with queues or people standing behind me. I relish the fact that I no longer have to put up with the marketing mind games that are played in the supermarket either, such as forcing me to walk all the way to the end of the 'shed' just to get a loaf of bread ;) My stress levels have also been reduced and I save at least an hour a week in which I can do anything other than walking around a supermarket like a zombie. Whenever I enter a supermarket I can't help but think of Dawn of the Dead.

You are so right about the mind games. I've met many, many people who practice the 'You are evil unless you do what I say' game and it gets very boring, very quickly.

Letters From A Tory said...

Mind games take a nosedive when you put in place a comment moderation policy that prevents utterly pointless / off-topic comments from being posted.

subrosa said...

I had one mind-gamer called Indy. Because I hadn't deleted a comment made by OH they became very upset. They said they were going to ask every independence supporter to blank me.

So I did a post entitled WHO IS INDY? Anonymous individual with the usual threatening language. But I was newish to this at the time and didn't realise just how jealous people can become.

I am Stan said...

Very interesting post Leggy,

I dont have trouble with trolls playing mind games on my blog.

Cause no one reads it hahahaha!


Oh I tell a lie someone from France paid a visit ..but didnt say ello sadly,or should that be bonjour?!

Blooging is fun aint it? even with the trolls.....tata!

Anonymous said...

I thought people who crowded you in supermarked queues were just ignorant pigs. Does this mean that I have to stop stepping backwards sharply and crushing their toes?

Chief_Sceptic said...

Badger-shagging ... mmmm ... that's me "bang to rights" then ! ...

Anonymous said...

Foxes are better than badgers. Being ginger they're grateful of the atention

ashok to ashes said...

Even Jehovas Witnesses have stopped coming to my door as I seem to be able to wind them up into a frenzy with my deadpan putdowns. One said that she wasn't paid to come to my door so why didn't I give her a break. Seemed weird since I never asked her to visit( and her black son and various daughters and hangers on- mmm you like jigga jigga with the black man I wanted to ask.)
Wrinkled Weasel had a good plan for when you get a cold reception by a superior feeling waiter. Ask him if you would be able to inspect his fingernails before you ordered your meal.

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine had a wonderful line for haughty hotel staff. He'd ask if the hotel had a helipad.

I don't get crowded in supermarket queues, is it the soap I'm using?

Jay

Leg-iron said...

LFAT - yes, moderation stops them, but where's the fun in that?

Leg-iron said...

I am Stan - I read it. I'm not sure if you're in the sidebar. I'll check.

Leg-iron said...

Stan - you've redecorated since I last called in! The RSS won't work because of the 'adult content' warning so I'm afraid you're in the 'no RSS' list.

Anonymous said...

Marketing games at the supermarket in the US, they require cashiers to ask out loud if you care to donate to whatever fake-charity, usually anti-smoking related, at the cash register in order to make you have to say yes or no out loud, in the presence of everyone staring at you to see if you agree to donate or not. Some get so zealous they'll yell out loud, yes, I care to donate, not just one dollar but two - I'll donate two!! - like that - so they really feel righteous when exiting out the door. Sad thing, most of the money is being collected to fund fake-charities who use false-science, lies, propaganda and government interference to sedate and control the very same victims who fall prey to the traps they have setup in public supermarkets at the cashier's stations. If they haven't started doing it yet over there, be on the lookout as it's another way of taxation by way of humiliation at the checkout lines with a jury of shoppers standing over your shoulder gawking, to make sure one does the righteous thing, mindlessly, like a Stepford Wife.

PT Barnum said...

@ Anon 21:24

Well, that's a whole new monstrosity. I have now been asked 6 times if I would like to buy a Sport Relief pen/pencil/pair of socks. Is there something wrong with me that I can say No without a moment's hesitation or shame?

banned said...

Anon 21:24 "cashiers to ask out loud if you care to donate to whatever fake-charity" Thanks, I'll look out for that one.

Like the one who asked if I wanted a store loyalty card, I told her "Why would I want your company to share my shopping habits with oil companies, credit card agencies and the government?"

She retorted by rote "I don't want to get involved in that subject" to which I replied
"Well you started it".

Martin said...

Fuck store cards.

I was once issued with had an Asda loyalty card. There was hell to pay when I was spotted 3 weeks later on CCTV in Tescos.

I am Stan said...

Yo leggy,I am flattered to be in the naughty corner of your esteemed blog.

Yeah that adult content thingy,Google put that there after they recieved some complaints.

I suspect the BNP tried to nobble me as I keep getting into fights with em!

Antipholus Papps said...

I return the stare and similarly examine the coins given in change

I always bite them to make sure they're not made of chocolate. The coins that is, not the check-out girl.

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