I was quick to like your post this morning, even before thoroughly reading it, because I’ve been asking myself this for a few years also. I began to wonder this during the protests following George Floyd being killed, as I watched the actions of many law enforcement against peaceful protesters. I confess, though I know the sentiments cau…
I was quick to like your post this morning, even before thoroughly reading it, because I’ve been asking myself this for a few years also. I began to wonder this during the protests following George Floyd being killed, as I watched the actions of many law enforcement against peaceful protesters. I confess, though I know the sentiments causing this tension on both sides, I was shocked to see the brutality used against protesters and journalists. Documented by local journalists, with scant if any coverage on MSM, this got my attention and was very alarming. It’s one thing to do your duty under a command; but what I witnessed at times was clearly rageful, self-righteous zealousness to crush the dissent. And doing it with anonymity, as opposed to doing it for public attention. This was much scarier than manipulation of the ‘cult of personality’ type; this was clearly action based on the assumption that they had the right to take charge.
Over a 30 year period I’ve watched this mentality change among a veteran population, as a psychologist and trauma specialist working closely with traumatized combat veterans. I did not understand what I was seeing, hearing and feeling change in many of them, or some of the police officers who had for years been good and trusted colleagues. But as Faux News blared out of almost every television, and most of us were just keeping our noses to the ground doing the hard work, there WERE nefarious players at work actively manipulating these good and honest people. Christian Nationalists and other white supremacists were deliberately lying to them, to inflame their passions about things that weren’t even happening and win them to their side. I used to assume that the “people at the top” were smarter than me and certainly knew truth from lies, could see that a yellow journalism effort like Faux news was just that, and would do something to help their young soldiers and staff from falling victim to the propaganda. For myself, I no longer believe those things. On Jan 7, 2021 I had a family member call me to ‘thank me’ for having tried to explain this to them: I barely registered what they meant. But for years I had been alarmed at what I felt and was seeing, and had apparently tried to describe it, though I didn’t understand it yet myself.
As always, thanks for this upsetting but important writing this morning, Thom. Its clarity, thoroughness, conciseness and provocativeness are signature to your good writing and thoughtfulness. I wish you could have put these good talents to more fun use, but for our country, I’m glad you’ve been using them as you have for all these years.
Melinda, thanks for sharing this. I've been thinking a lot about the undiscussed trauma responses that are evident in our overall political scene, and not only in the veteran scene. I've got a Substack here that I intend to refocus in 2023 on, among other things, the relationship between widespread trauma (even of the "micro" type) and the rage & reactivity we see throughout our society. I wonder if you might consider connecting with me as a background or named source? If so, please reach out to me at sandy(dot)asirvatham(at)gmail.com. I would be extremely grateful! But no need to explain or apologize if you'd prefer not. ~Sandhya
Among trauma experts we’ve discussed this throughout the Trump administration. “Betrayal trauma” was clear and evident as soon as DJT candidacy became a real threat and kicked into high gear when he was astonishingly elected. The day after that election was one of the toughest of my career. Patients in high distress, having flashbacks, I had to be available to see 2 patients for extra time after clinic due to their disregulated symptoms. I’ll NEVER forget one of the most traumatized patients I’ve ever seen saying “I feel like the country just elected my (perpetrator) president”. I work with high acuity trauma (severe single incident) but mostly early developmental trauma. The dynamics of these extreme right-wing politicians lying to the public, repeatedly and deliberately, replicates perfectly the dynamics people experienced as children at the hands of brutal abuse perpetrators, whether of the overtly violent or the ‘grooming’ type.
I was quick to like your post this morning, even before thoroughly reading it, because I’ve been asking myself this for a few years also. I began to wonder this during the protests following George Floyd being killed, as I watched the actions of many law enforcement against peaceful protesters. I confess, though I know the sentiments causing this tension on both sides, I was shocked to see the brutality used against protesters and journalists. Documented by local journalists, with scant if any coverage on MSM, this got my attention and was very alarming. It’s one thing to do your duty under a command; but what I witnessed at times was clearly rageful, self-righteous zealousness to crush the dissent. And doing it with anonymity, as opposed to doing it for public attention. This was much scarier than manipulation of the ‘cult of personality’ type; this was clearly action based on the assumption that they had the right to take charge.
Over a 30 year period I’ve watched this mentality change among a veteran population, as a psychologist and trauma specialist working closely with traumatized combat veterans. I did not understand what I was seeing, hearing and feeling change in many of them, or some of the police officers who had for years been good and trusted colleagues. But as Faux News blared out of almost every television, and most of us were just keeping our noses to the ground doing the hard work, there WERE nefarious players at work actively manipulating these good and honest people. Christian Nationalists and other white supremacists were deliberately lying to them, to inflame their passions about things that weren’t even happening and win them to their side. I used to assume that the “people at the top” were smarter than me and certainly knew truth from lies, could see that a yellow journalism effort like Faux news was just that, and would do something to help their young soldiers and staff from falling victim to the propaganda. For myself, I no longer believe those things. On Jan 7, 2021 I had a family member call me to ‘thank me’ for having tried to explain this to them: I barely registered what they meant. But for years I had been alarmed at what I felt and was seeing, and had apparently tried to describe it, though I didn’t understand it yet myself.
As always, thanks for this upsetting but important writing this morning, Thom. Its clarity, thoroughness, conciseness and provocativeness are signature to your good writing and thoughtfulness. I wish you could have put these good talents to more fun use, but for our country, I’m glad you’ve been using them as you have for all these years.
Melinda, thanks for sharing this. I've been thinking a lot about the undiscussed trauma responses that are evident in our overall political scene, and not only in the veteran scene. I've got a Substack here that I intend to refocus in 2023 on, among other things, the relationship between widespread trauma (even of the "micro" type) and the rage & reactivity we see throughout our society. I wonder if you might consider connecting with me as a background or named source? If so, please reach out to me at sandy(dot)asirvatham(at)gmail.com. I would be extremely grateful! But no need to explain or apologize if you'd prefer not. ~Sandhya
Among trauma experts we’ve discussed this throughout the Trump administration. “Betrayal trauma” was clear and evident as soon as DJT candidacy became a real threat and kicked into high gear when he was astonishingly elected. The day after that election was one of the toughest of my career. Patients in high distress, having flashbacks, I had to be available to see 2 patients for extra time after clinic due to their disregulated symptoms. I’ll NEVER forget one of the most traumatized patients I’ve ever seen saying “I feel like the country just elected my (perpetrator) president”. I work with high acuity trauma (severe single incident) but mostly early developmental trauma. The dynamics of these extreme right-wing politicians lying to the public, repeatedly and deliberately, replicates perfectly the dynamics people experienced as children at the hands of brutal abuse perpetrators, whether of the overtly violent or the ‘grooming’ type.
Good post