An Experiment in Sociology

[Jeanette in FL]

Sociology is the study of society and human social action.

No one for certain can explain the “foiled” terror plot. That will by analyzed and discussed, in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

We were able however, to observe the human reaction to the event. At the flip of a switch, humans were easily coaxed into giving up their personal belongings, herded into long lines to be scrutinized further, made to wait hours after hours without complaint and watched by men with semi-automatic weapons and observed by surveillance cameras from every angle, without the bat of an eyelash.

One after one, they disposed of their personal grooming items; shampoos, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, make-up and contact lens solutions into large bins. They were made to toss their drinks, water, coffee and sodas. Mothers with babies were permitted to bring formula or bottles, but only after tasting the contents in front of the security guards.

In order to fly, they were forced to part with their lap tops, cell phones, I-pods and keys by checking them in. All communication to the outside world, severed.

Carry on baggage was forbidden. Personal effects placed into clear plastic bags, for the entire world to see. Tampons, medications, vitamins, whatever, privacy evaporated.

The subjects were permitted to keep their personal papers, wallets, passports and travel documentations. Next, they were herded on to a plane to travel to the destination.

At that point they were totally dependant on “authorities” for drink, for food and for information. Trusting that they were being taken to the destination of their choice.

Compliant groups of thousands.

“Terror plot Thwarted” “Target America: Terror in the skies” “24 Terror suspects Arrested” “Bottle Bomb” dominated the television screens for the millions of us watching, accompanied by haunting music and vivid graphics. Interviews with “terror experts”, informing us, of the dangers, that are lurking at every corner of the world. Friendly “news chats” with waiting passengers who are grateful that their government is doing all it can to protect them. Ingraining the human psyche.

Within days or weeks, we will again be able to fly with our Starbucks, travel with our laptops and listen to our I-pods. Collectively, we will all take a needed deep breath. After all, everything changed on September the Eleventh.

Experiment completed, information gathered.

[izzybeans]

1. The same thing happens to prisoners in a total surveillance situation

They are "relieved" of the material culture that forms important aspects of their personal identity and given a new bureaucratic identity, typical a numeral, etc.

The same "degradation ceremonies", as Erving Goffman called them, can be seen when entering into any context of high surveillance-total institutions, was the phrase he used. Michel Foucault used a metaphor, Panopticon, to describe the same process of self degradation that you present.

Short blast experiments like these are a form of latent conditioning. Over time a slow submission will occur and this sort of surveillance will be institutionalized to the point of being constantly present. Tragically, many will love it.

[ThomCat]

25. That type of conditioning

is exactly what I commented on earlier with the court approval of random searches on the NYC subways. This effectively allows them to search almost anyone in NYC any time they want without a warrant. If this is accepted then it will spread. People will come to accept random (and not so random) searches anywhere.

How soon until we have to show papers whenever we are found out on the street?

[izzybeans]

49. I can't speak for New Yorkers but when I lived in Jersey I gathered

after 9/11 if something like that were to happen that it would be a huge fight. Too many people from Jersey coming in on PATH and NJtransit trains for them to go quietly.

Now that I'm in the Midwest I'm fairly certain that folks around here would sit down and take it on a much larger scale. There is a very different relationship to power in Jersey, perhaps in the Tri-state; political criticism is much more mainstream...just as people accept the protester quarentine, they will accept this because that is what the authorities want. Hell Mellencamp even codified that credo in a song.

"I fight authority authority always wins" "Oh you mean in order to protest I need to get in this cage over here behind the iron curtain. Sure."

[Greyhound]

36. Bingo! And we have this happening for quite some time now.

It has become so prevalent that most don't even notice it anymore. You have to admire how skillfully this has been perpetrated.

Wake up sheep (or should I say lambs), shearing time is coming.

[Cerridwen]

2. Kicking and recommending. Well put.

Much like gas prices are raised then "lowered" (never to the previous levels) then raised again. We squeak and holler when they are raised, then breath a sigh of relief when they're "lowered" until the next time they're raised. Raising our tolerance for financial pain. And a little lesson in "learned helplessness" while they're at it.

Intentional or not, it's very effective and informative.

Edit to add: I remember when there was a big dust up about video surveillance at ATM machines and in stores. A lot of us were worried with the "Big Brother" aspect but were hushed because it was to "protect" us. Our compliance with being under surveillance has been implemented gradually over the years; they've definitely used the "post 9/11 mindset" to accelerate the conditioning.

[unblock]

3. why not just bolt everyone into their seats in flight?

better yet, put everyone in suspended animation until the plane has landed?

:sarcasm:

[neweurope]

4. k & r

----------------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[Tansy_Gold]

5. And we wonder why the Jews were so compliant and

boarded the trains without protest.

Wonder no more, folks.

[Protagoras]

8. There were some dramatic exceptions

I can't remember if it was in "Night" or "The Terrible Secret" (going back a couple decades in my mind) but I remember that in several instances the Jews did fight back and riot en mass even in some of the concentration camps...and when they did so...they were successful.

It just takes a spark...the right voice to crystalize the masses to believe they can overthrow their oppressors and suddenly the whole elaborate deception falls like a house of cards. It isn't easy...but it is possible.

[rockymountaindem]

45. There were revolts by Jews in 400 locations

Part of the reason that the Nazis were so successful was because many Jewish leaders in the east remembered the Germans from World War One as being more cultured and civilized than the leaders of their own countries (ie the Tsarist regime), and therefore they convinced a more skeptical younger generation into believing the Nazis.

[lapislzi]

22. Wow. Telling comment. n/t

[kentuck]

6. Interesting...

especially this statement:

"At that point they were totally dependant on “authorities” for drink, for food and for information. Trusting that they were being taken to the destination of their choice."

[Protagoras]

7. Check out the idea of a Panopticon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon

This is a key concept for social control among the Straussians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straussian

We are facing people who 1) Do deliberately utilize social psychology 2) Believe lying is a necessary component of governance and social control 3) Seek global dominance 4) believe that an elite group should rightfully rule the majority of lesser people 5) that such a system is BEST

It should not suprise us that we are frequently subjected to random and apparently absurd authoritarian requests. Each time we become a bit more conditioned to acceptance and they learn more about the lengths to which they can push us.

So far we aren't showing very well...but I think they forget that even the most dispirited dirt mucking peasants sometimes rise up...and when they do all that theory goes right out the window.

[IChing]

11. Straussian followers are rampent in the Neo-con cabal

It is important to read their viewpoints on social re-engineering and oligarchy rule

[izzybeans]

68. Analyzed in this book

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/disciplinepunish/section7.rhtml

[IChing]

9. New Orleans was also an experiment...good post.

This administration has done nothing constructive, they are destructive and use it for control.

[Jeanette in FL]

10. Katrina and the recent Lebanon evacuations made it all click

in my head this morning. We are all just a bunch of lab rats.

Katrina victims were told to evacuate, though, most had no means to do so. And that was known. After the hurricane hit, they were left on their roofs and in the Dome without water, food or information. Authorities were studying options while people were dying and we were watching. It went on for over a week before anything was done. When evacuations were done, families were separated and pets left behind.

In the recent Lebanon debacle, 25,000 of our citizens were left on their own, while the gov't said they were trying to figure out how they were going to evacuate all of those people. In the meanwhile, I am watching other countries with far less means than our country evacuate their people days ahead of us.

When the gov't said they found a way to evacuate, but that people could only bring one bag or luggage and must abandon their pets.

It seems that there are quite a many of experiments going on with all of us. Whether we are the subjects or the observers. Troubling to me.

[IChing]

13. Katrina also

Let them study the use of the National Guard regarding state vs Federal rules.
The use of private security forces such as Blackwell were experimented with as a substitute to the national guard.
Moving and keeping the poor out of New Orleans.

Chaos control theory is part of their philosophy from papers they have written.

[annabanana]

37. to this day there are Katrina victims living incommunicado,

afraid they'll lose what little they have if they talk to the press...

[midnight]

48. It would explain why their actions seem so incompetent.

[Sinti]

12. Experiment completed, information gathered - Open Your Eyes!

Tyranny doesn't happen overnight - it comes slow, over many individual events that, one at a time, seem meaningless. It's only when taken together that you can see the weave of the fabric the threads were creating. There have been many experiments - there will be more.

Great Post!

"What no one seemed to notice," said a colleague of mine, a philologist, "was the ever widening gap... between the government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to begin with... and it became always wider. You know it doesn't make people close to their government to be told that this is a people's government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian defense, or even to vote. All this has little, really nothing to do with knowing one is governing.


http://www.thirdreich.net/Thought_They_Were_Free.html

[seabeyond]

14. i couldnt keep my mouth shut if i tried

there is no way i could get onto a plane today. i could not follow these rules, just cause. i think this is an excellent post. it has bothered me since 9/11. i cannot grasp how we can be this. i had posted on another board, really trying to understand people willing ot do this and then i read your post. you articulate it so well. thank you for being so clear in your posting, to how i feel today. i sit in amazement that we are not bothered. that we allow.

[eallen]

15. That's not much different from existing passenger circumstance.

The fact is, when you fly commercially, you very much become a passive passenger whose delivery to your destination is entirely outside your hands. Things became a bit more stringent with 9/11, and now have become moreso, but the essential nature of commercial air travel was created before those events: marshalled in lines, required to follow a variety of silly rules, your belongings subject to inspection, packed into an aluminum can, dependent on the system for basic human needs, and then the best you can hope is that you are released at your destination.

It is my least favorite way to travel. Unfortunately, for those of us with modest means, it is the only quick way to travel long distances.

[shimmergal]

70. "Modest means" is only part of it;

we've been socialized to believe that "quick" travel is necessary in all cases. You can get most anywhere on our continent by road if you're willing to take longer. Unfortunately, the other still somewhat comfortable option (rail travel) isn't an option anymore for a lot of destinations.

As for going overseas, this is what we get for letting passenger ship transit fall into abeyance. If the airlines go down now, what choices are left?

[glitch]

16. Wonderful post and thread. K & R nt

[Javaman]

17. When giving up some of your freedoms for the sense of security,

you wind up with neither"
-Ben Franklin

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. They have no option at airports, but to submit. If they resist the

officers have a right to anally probe you if they want to.

[Zodiak]

21. And you lose your flight

Which is why you were there in the first place.

I know why they submit...I just think that the "experiment" didn't create the right conditions. When you round people up against their will to put them on a plane, then you might see an entirely different reaction.

Also, mob mentality works both ways. A small group of dissenters can cause the entire airport to turn into a riot scene if the rules are draconian enough and the suspicions are powerful. We aren;t there, yet, but may be someday soon. Over-reaching is a problem with this group of fascists.

I have to fly cross-country next Tuesday, and frankly, I am going to try VERY HARD to not pitch a fit. Everyone around me knows how much I hate this stuff, and I am shutting up for them. But I don;t like it. I just don't want to ruin my friend's wedding and wear an anal probe.

[Patiod]

23. And lose the right to fly in the future

Hello "no fly" list. Which would put me out of a job doing what I do (at ANY company)

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. Go watch the "V" movie.

To start a revolt, it takes the authoritative figures to exhibit too much arrogance, and then, when they think they have us all in line, it just takes one abuse too many to suddenly wake everybody up. But that mistake has to be public and blatant. There can be no doubt that it came from their abuse of power.

[lonestarnot]

51. HERE IS THE OPTION! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE AIRPORT

RENT A CAR AND START FUCKING DRIVING! DUGHYA! and if you live overseas well get the fuck on a boat! STOP FLYING!

[PatriotMom]

55. I stopped flying when they started all that shit after 911

It was stupid then and even dumber now. I refuse to give them my time or money, but I really don't have to fly like some people that must for their jobs. I feel bad for those that absolutely have to fly to keep working. I used to like to take the short flight from Phoenix to Las Vegas it was fun and no driving, well I have gone to Las Vegas since but I do drive now. Like having to pay taxes to these criminals, that is something that just kills me. I don't want these mass murderers to have anything of mine not my time nor my money.
Peace
Mom

[NanceGreggs]

19. Incredibly well-written piece!

K'd & R'd!

:applause:

[marions ghost]

20. kick

:kick:

[LSK]

26. K&R

[Initech]

27. Yup, it's exactly what it is.

The US government can easily be compared to the Nazi government, with the Transportation Security Administration as the new gestapo. This was one of those things that says that they can reduce our freedoms one by one and remind us that they can fuck with us at any time.

Then George Bush comes on TV to make a speech to Americans like Officer Barbrady from South Park - "Move along people, nothing to see here! Go back to your homes and continue to consume mass quantities!"

Of course the people put up with it. If they want to trade their civil liberties for security, they deserve neither.

[Jed Dilligan]

28. And if one or two were taken out of the lines

and shot in full view of everyone, the rest would have acquiesced, thanking God that the terrorists had been caught and killed.

[titoresque]

29. K&R! Bravo! n/t

[me b zola]

30. Excellent piece, Jeanette. k&r

[BluePatriot]

31. K&R

I thought to myself that it would only take one person saying, "No, I'm not giving up my lip gloss, you morons!" All the other cranky travelling folk would then stand up and agree...riot...hey, they could call it the Lip Gloss Riot...anyway...*gets idea to mail lip gloss to TSA en masse*

People trust that "authority" always knows what's best, to the point of being dangerous. WTF, seriously. I wouldn't give up the contents of my purse to anybody unless, possibly, they paid me to replace...

[Jeanette in FL]

44. I imagined myself saying the same thing.

Watching people just throwing their possessions away and not questioning authority, just floored me.

Unless, I was traveling for a funeral or an ailing family member, I would have walked away and said no more.

You are so correct all it would have taken is one person saying "No, I'm not giving up my lip gloss, you morons".

Thank you so much for truly making me LOL. "The Lip Gloss Riot".

[Cleita]

32. I wonder what would have happened if people refused?

You observation is very astute. The same happened in Germany when Jews were loaded onto rail cars. They didn't really know what was going to happen to them, but hoped it would be all right in the end.

[Junkdrawer]

33. Don't ask me why, but Vonnegut came to mind while reading the piece...

:thumbsup:

[titoresque]

34. Kick again. Everyone should read this!

[Junkdrawer]

35. .

[Pooka Fey]

38. Perfect analysis.

I can't stand this bullshit. I won't do very well in our Brave New World.

[leftofthedial]

39. right ziss vay.

ze showers are for delousing only.

[TahitiNut]

40. Witness the combined 'Force' of corporations and government.

This is an allegiance of corporate 'free' enterprise (airlines) and federal force. It's stunningly appalling.

[loudsue]

41. This is one of the best posts I've seen in ages on DU!

Thanks for posting this! So true.

K & R

:kick::kick::kick:

[Joanne98]

42. What did the Jonestown suicide tell them?

That if you use GAWD the right way, you can get hundreds of people to "drink the koolaid". I bet the PENTAGON wet it's pants over that one.

[Gregorian]

43. Corporate conditioning.

I honestly believe we have been lulled into a sense of trust by the corporate advertising campaigns. Just look at us as societies- we have given up our self sufficiency, for a trusting relationship with the corporations. Sure, gardening and farming are hard work. But we are totally vulnerable now. I sometimes think of what the day would be like when I arrive at Safeway to locked doors and a closed sign. That would be the beginning of the end.

It's no different. They were willing to give up their right to privacy, and even their safety, by trusting in those who were barking orders.

I come from a family that left everything behind. They left their mansion and put on their moneybelts and got on a ship to America. They were not body counts. But then, they had a tipoff. The night before the massive exportation, they managed to escape with their lives.

[titoresque]

46. Another kick for the evening crowd!

[TwentyFive]

47. Excellent!! Poor sheep don't know we're becoming the evil empire.

The more the poor sheep have to sacrifice, the more likely they will buy into the whole pack of neocon lies. Cognitive dissonance cannot tolerate huge sacrifices in service to the evil empire, then do something completely the opposite.

[DemReadingDU]

50. K&R

[pagandem4justice]

52. K&R n/t

:hippie:

[NotGivingUp]

53. wow... i am getting a great sinking feeling...great post

[PatriotMom]

54. Wow wonderful observation..

My daughter called me while I was at work yesterday to read this to me, I was too busy at that time but the little I did hear got my attention. I called her this morning and she just sent me the link to this thread. I have sent this out with credits given to you and link to this thread to several web sites and others on my email list. This is what is happening you have hit the nail on the head.
Thanks

[PatriotMom]

56. KIcked and tried to nominate but was too late

[LibDemAlways]

58. Me too. This post has 36 nominations. It deserves to

be on the greatest page and read by every DUer.

[Jeanette in FL]

59. I so thank you post #58 and #56

I have been truly humbled by all of the posts and all of the PMs I have received on the original post.

Originally, I wrote this for myself and decided to share it with DU. There was a part of me that said "Don't do it", but then the other part of me said "Screw it, let everyone know, we all just "lab rats" in the "experiment".

I do not like what I am seeing in America.

[LibDemAlways]

57. DUers have keen, finely honed bullshit meters

that the general public, conditioned by the corporate whores, completely lack.

The next time you are in a social situation with people you don't know well, relay an airport security horror story. Guaranteed the general reaction will be that the measures are necessary and for our own good and that anyone can be a terrorist - grandmas from Duluth and children returning from Disneyworld with their moms and dads are apparently recruited by Al Qaeda all the time.

Excellent post, by the way.

[mainer]

60. You make it sound like victims lined up at Auschwitz

Obedient till the end. Your description gave me chills.

[Jeanette in FL]

72. That is what it reminded me, as well

I have always wondered why? Why did they stay? Why did they get on those trains? I have asked relatives these questions about the Germans, some obviously left before the war as well as Jews who got out of town? When was enough, enough?

What will be enough for us?

What I watched on the television scared me.

[demodonkey]

61. Kick. And....wow

:kick:

[JohMunich99]

62. Now if people had to do this to get back into their homes...

Then their might be problems.

People don't have to fly. You can take the train if you want. If you think that having to throw away some sugared up water to board a luxury item, I've got some news for you pal.

[Jazz2006]

63. No wonder so many people think sociology

is generally associated with "basketweaving" in universities.

No offence, Jeanette, but as a sociologist (I'm assuming you are - I guess I should ask, are you?) you'd have to agree that your "experiment" is entirely unscientific, that your interim conclusions are not supported by any evidence whatsoever, that your hypothesis is based on nothing but your own assertions, and that your conclusion "experiment complete, information gathered" is not even remotely factual as any kind of legitimate result of any legitimate experiment, wouldn't you?

[Swamp Rat]

64. I associate "basketweaving" [sic] with folks who build Straw Man arguments

:D

[Jazz2006]

65. Different connotations for different folks, I guess.

"Basketweaving" (no "sic" about it in the context in which it was written and now repeated) courses may have different connotations for different people, I guess, and you are certainly entitled to your views and perceptions ~ which may or may not agree with mine, but from your post, I can't tell whether they do or not.

Edit to replace the square brackets with round brackets since the square brackets made everything within them disappear on the screen.

[Jeanette in FL]

67. No, I am not a sociologist

I am just a person who woke up one morning to see millions of fellow human beings acquiescing to "new" rules to the latest "terror" threat.

It was alarming to me.

I have no idea what the experiment was for, but I am sure that multitudes of people were observing how much we will take.

[NMMNG]

66. Why don't they just sedate everyone pre-flight,

then keep them in their seats via four-point restraints. They sure won't be committing any terrorist acts then. :sarcasm:



I will no longer fly unless I have absolutely no choice. I'm sick of this insane BS.

[seabeyond]

71. i said gas em or restrain them. you on the other hands suggest

both. that is funny. i was suggest sleeping gas as they settled into seats. or the four point restraint. lol lol

i think yours is best, a strong sedative and restraint. then wont have as many heart attacks from sleeping gas. wink

i say them, cause no way in hell am i using airports anymore. this lateest did it for me. has been happening since 9/11 now i am done

[converted_democrat]

69. Kick.. Tried to give it an "R" but it's past the 24 hour period..

Very well written.. Thank you for posting this..