http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=20738
Diane Perlman: 'Psychological resistance to
facing election fraud'
Date: Saturday, April 16 @ 08:36:34 EDT
Topic: Election 2004
The Silence of the Scams
By Diane Perlman, Newtopia Magazine
Few Americans know about the historic event that happened on January 6,
2005, the official date for counting electoral votes. For the first
time since 1877, congressmembers challenged the electoral count.
Representative Stephanie Tubbs-Jones of Ohio, accompanied by the lone
senator, Barbara Boxer of California, led the challenge of the Ohio
vote count. Although massive fraud was reported around the country,
only Ohio was officially cited.
It is curious that an issue so profound and consequential is barely on
the radar screens of most Americans, especially those who voted for
Kerry.
Though we are not certain of the actual outcome, statistically
impossible discrepancies exist between results of exit polls and
official counts in counties without paper trails. Also documented are
patterns of anecdotes about corrupted procedures and accounts of
strange behaviors, phenomena and illegal interventions in Ohio as well
as other places. Many say there is fraud in every election, but there
was far more in 2004 than in any previous year, and if the errors were
random, about half would go in Kerry's favor. Virtually all went in
Bush's favor.
But rather than demanding a thorough investigation, the American people
seem eager to forget the incidents and put the election behind them,
thus implicitly supporting such corruption.
A Political Psychological Puzzlement
Under what conditions do millions of allegedly "free" people knowingly
acquiesce to being deceived, dominated and deprived of their own
political will? How is it that even those who were politically engaged
for the first time resign themselves to an unjust fate, refusing even
to consider what happened to our country? Why do progressive citizens
actively dismiss and even malign a small group of courageous, devoted
people working day and night on their behalf to uncover, calculate,
analyze, and evaluate the extensive, varied forms of criminal sabotage
that undermined their democracy? How are Americans becoming complacent
with escalating fraudulent activity? In other words, how do so many
people live with the knowledge that they have been tricked before, were
just tricked again--and then submit to life under the power of those
who tricked them?
Why were hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians out for days in the
freezing cold, refusing to accept fraud, while Americans are helplessly
colluding with forces of domination? Granted, we face a conspiracy of
silence in the media, a propaganda campaign discrediting exit polls
(which are accurate in counties with paper trails and other countries),
and a dismissal of those who challenge the vote as nuts, sore losers
and "conspiracy theorists." Censorship, brainwashing and intimidation
create an environment of passivity and fear in subtle yet powerful ways
that keep the system going with the complicity of those who have been
robbed.
We must wonder what is going on in the collective psyche that allows
the systematic and progressive usurpation of power.
The Dance of Domination
The psychology of electoral domination has two parts--what is being
done to people and how they allow it.
Psychological techniques, used deliberately, allow many tricks to go
unnoticed and unchallenged. For example, "mystification" is a plausible
misrepresentation of reality in which forms of exploitation are
presented as forms of benevolence. Like magic and the use of
distraction, the issue of voting reform was manipulated and
misrepresented, so people felt calmed by the illusion that the problems
are being corrected. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Elements of
the Help America Vote Act, HAVA (a name as Orwellian as the Clear Skies
Initiative, more accurately should be called "Hide America's Voting
Anomalies"), includes intrusive identity checks, the introduction of
the "provisional ballot" most of which were not counted, and the use of
electronic voting machines. Each of these was brilliantly misused for
the opposite intention--to corrupt and deny votes to Kerry in ways
people wouldn't notice.
The subterfuge was successfully accomplished with use of censorship,
illusion, distortion, brainwashing, propaganda, misinformation,
disinformation, mystification, intimidation, shaming, and domination.
As Bush might say, it was a "catastrophic success."
These techniques combine to form something like a collective hypnotic
induction, which creates an illusion of a consensus that cannot be
challenged. Few have the insight, training or tools to see through the
manipulation. Even fewer have the courage to take on the challenge. For
many, responses to domination may include learned helplessness, psychic
numbing, fear, cowardice, conformity, denial, cognitive laziness,
disbelief, avoidance, and submission to authority. These items are
inter-related and the lists are not exhaustive.
Before the psychological explanations, it is necessary to acknowledge a
basic factor: the overwhelming ignorance of the facts that most
Americans have(though subliminal awareness and lack of desire to know
the facts can exacerbate this). Of course if the facts were accurately
reported in the mainstream media, the collective psychological climate
would be conducive to a healthier public response. People accept fraud
for reasons which may be conscious or unconscious. Some of the ways
that they do this are described below.
Confusing Outcome with Process
Many don't want to deal with the corruption because they believe that
challenging fraud won't change the outcome, so there's no point. This
might be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It represents a kind of immature,
black-and-white thinking, as the outcome is a separate issue from the
process. Even if it doesn't affect the outcome, voter suppression is
criminal.
Paradoxically, refusal to examine the process prevents discovery, which
might change the outcome. The Ohio vote challenge required two-hour
debates in the House and Senate. Most Democrats who supported the
challenge, emphatically stated that they didn't expect it to change the
outcome, as if they were intimidated into making that point first or
they would be ridiculed and dismissed. Most Republicans ignored their
actual words and made emotional, even hysterical accusations of them
not accepting the outcome, being sore losers, and worse. Republicans
ignored the issue of voter suppression and praised Kerry highly for not
making a big deal out of this.
Numbers, Imagery and Perceptions
People believe that Bush won by 3,500,000 votes--a margin too large to
challenge, compared to Gore's 500,000. They are not aware of the long
list of dirty tricks, and knowing of one or two, don't believe they can
add up to 3,500,000. To bring the popular vote to a tie, it only has to
add up to half that, 1,750,000, or an average of 35,000 votes per
state, Correcting for Ohio's fraud could change the electoral vote.
People may believe subliminally that even if Ohio went to Kerry, the
difference in the popular vote is too great. The report of the Conyers
Committee may be the best single summary that we have at this time to
suggest estimates of the numbers affected.
Discomfort with Numbers
The best evidence for fraud in the 2004 election is statistical,
according to Josh Mitteldorf of Temple University's Statistics
Department. Many are uncomfortable with numerical and statistical
science that quantifies judgments about likelihood. For example,
statistician Dr. Steve Friedman of University of Pennsylvania, and
graduate of MIT found that the discrepancy between exit polls and the
actual vote count in each of three states, Florida, Ohio and
Pennsylvania, is 1 in 1,000,000, but the likelihood of all three states
being discrepant in the same direction is 1 in 250,000,000. What people
heard in the news was a smear campaign invalidating the credibility of
exit polls, even though they are considered highly accurate, are used
in many countries as indicators of fraud, and that exit polls in
counties with a paper trail matched the official vote count, and in
counties where there was no paper trail and evidence of computer
irregularities, the official count was different than the exit polls
and always favored Bush. They even made up fake reasons for this
discrepancy regarding response bias--which did not exist where there
were paper trails.
Disbelief
Many people don't believe the allegations of fraud because they didn't
read about it in the New York Times or hear it on CNN. (The only
mainstream media to report it was Keith Olberman on Countdown, MSNBC.)
We might wonder about the media censorship on this story and intentions
to promote disbelief in the populous, in addition to ignorance.
Conformity and Herd Mentality
Because of the media blackout, ignorance, and emotional tone of
reporting, Americans have a false perception of consensus about
objective reality. The majority conforms to this misperception and most
do not have the psychological make-up to challenge the status quo. The
few that are courageously addressing this are not heard, or else they
are severely shamed, ridiculed and viciously accused of causing
problems. Thus, even the thought of questioning is suppressed.
Learned Helplessness
Psychologist Martin Seligman's theory of learned helplessness explains
how when one's repeated actions have no effect, people learn that what
they do doesn't make a difference and give up, even in situations where
they can potentially make a difference. People worked hard on this
election and believe that they lost. They are burned out. They feel all
their hard work, time, energy and money didn't help so they don't want
to deal with it. Learned helplessness is also associated with elevation
of levels of cortisol and immune suppression--suggesting it is
ultimately not adaptive or healthy to give up. Conversely, taking
action in the face of injustice is a sign of health, enhanced immune
response and can be an antidote to depression.
Cowardice
It is reasonable to fear sticking one's neck out and challenging the
powers that be. There may be legitimate reasons to be afraid of
individual action, but this becomes part of the problem and rewards
domination. As long as people remain silent and isolated from one
another, we don't realize the safety implicit in concerted collective
action. The safety in numbers can reduce fear.
Denial and Psychic Numbing
We are comforted with the belief that our leaders are good people who
are protecting us. Many decent, well-meaning people believe the best
about our system of government and democracy and can't believe that
corruption is going on. It is frightening, unsettling, and intolerable
for many Americans to question these core beliefs about our leaders and
to accept the reality of extensive fraud. Also, ignorance is bliss, but
for the moment, and knowledge implies responsibility, which may be
feared and avoided.
Denial and numbing--not knowing and not feeling--protect us from this
painful awareness in the present, but they cannot protect us from the
real effects of these hidden realities which render us vulnerable to
increasing domination and danger in the long term.
If one is in an impossible situation, these habits serve as survival
mechanisms to avoid the pain of awareness. However, if one can do
something to make a difference, then psychic numbing and denial are
maladaptive.
Submission to Authority
The thought of challenging powerful, dominating authority with the
prospect of losing is overwhelming. Increasing authoritarianism
reinforces this dynamic in gradual, subtle ways. Some may also be
afraid of challenging a president during a war and falsely believe it
will harm national security.
Political Egocentrism
Many feel that there is no action that they can personally take on this
level. It is too big for them, so they don't even seek out information
or support or value the work that others are doing on their behalf.
Avoidance and Compartmentalization
People want to retreat, to focus on their own survival, family, daily
life and pleasure, which are manageable. They are less focused on the
scary bigger picture. This is completely understandable and even
enviable. Furthermore, those struggling with high unemployment, lower
wages, and other hardships created by the Bush administration are too
preoccupied with their survival issues to pay attention to politics. In
this way, disempowerment of certain segments of the population works to
the administration's advantage.
Evolution, Adaptation and Survival
All of these reactions are understandable, but all are part of the
problem. In the short run, they may minimize pain, but in the long run
they are counterproductive and serve to magnify and multiply problems
that are not being faced. Such avoidance mechanisms are not adaptive,
as they play into the game of the destructive forces, allowing them to
dominate. The continuation of the processes of systematic domination
requires the ignorance, passivity and complicity of the majority of
decent people, including the millions who supported Kerry. These people
are colluding with their own domination.
The Courageous Minority
The reactions listed above are completely natural. Carl Jung said that
consciousness is a work against nature. To go against the collective
tide of ignorance, conformity and cowardice is a work against nature
taken on by the courageous few. This collective, archetypal drama
described by Jung was popularized by Joseph Campbell in The Hero's
Journey. The Hero is the one who is willing to take on challenges that
most people fear. According to Jung, the hero archetype represents the
progressive force in society.
The people I have witnessed working intensely to investigate and
challenge voter fraud, have a particular psychological profile. They
are courageous and willing to face pain and fear. They call up their
strength to challenge authority, as our lives, our freedom and
democracy depend on it. They are unable to deny what is going on or
remain silent. They are the heroes, in our mythical, archetypal Hero's
journey, willing to face the dragons who are guarding our "National
Treasure."
They are acknowledged in a piece by William Rivers Pitt called "Heroes"
on Truthout.org. Pitt quotes Bob Dylan: "I think of a hero as someone
who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his
freedom."
Only by facing the pain can we transcend it. Consciousness is the first
step. Action is an antidote to depression. It would be a sign of
health, freedom, and conscious evolution if more people could muster up
the courage to face the painful truth of what is happening in our
country and support the great work of those courageous souls--who are
not nuts or conspiracy theorists, but evolved, conscious, healthy
leaders taking personal risks and sacrifices to elevate our democracy,
restore our integrity and ultimately to increase our security on the
world stage ... if we let them.
*****************
Some Links for Detailed Accounts of Voter Fraud
For a proper psychological understanding of suppression, it is
necessary to recognize the quantity and quality of information being
suppressed. The extent of fraud and ignorance of it are mind-boggling.
Below are some links with detailed information.
Links for detailed information about voter fraud http://www.auditthevote.org/briefing.jsp
A Guide to Ohio and New Mexico Recounts:
Statistical Anomalies and Evidence of Voting Machine Malfunction and
Fraud in the 2004 Presidential Election January 5, 2005
By: Audit the Vote and Help America Recount
http://www.helpamericarecount.org/election.html
Analysis of 2004 Election Irregularities
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/123004B.shtml
TV Networks Officially Refuse to Release Exit
Poll Raw Data
By Gary Beckwith, The Columbus Free Press, 22 December 2004
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0103-32.htm
Thom Hartmann in "Dialing for Democracy--Now
Is Critical January 3, 2005, CommonDreams.org
http://nightweed.com/usavotefacts.html
20 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA
http://www.votersunite.org/info/mapflyer2004.htm
Partial list of incidents reported in the news
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1065
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey
Wasserman
© Newtopia Magazine
Reprinted from Newtopia Magazine:
http://www.newtopiamagazine.net/modules.php?
op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=12
Part of the USDemocrat Network.