Thank you Sabrina, for speaking clearly and unambiguously about a subject so many avoid. Trump and his network have been setting fires whenever and wherever - forever. Tired of people playacting surprise when any of these arsonists get a burn.
Thank you for adding some dimension to this conundrum.
The human side of me strives to "rescue" these people from the their self-destructive entrapment. However, the stone cold logical side of me fully understands that this is a fools errand. You can't reason with Trump supporters. They have surrendered their ability for independent thought to the MAGA cult. I once described this disconnect as one side broadcasting in FM and the other side having nothing but AM radios. But it is actually much deeper than that. As a fan of the animated series "Futurama", I thought this cartoon best illustrated the mentality of these voters: https://i.imgflip.com/90hm54.jpg
A great effort, Sabrina. But, you are not a neuroscientist, or a psychiatrist, or an addicitionist, or stress expert ("fight-flight response"). I am all of those things, and author of the 623 pg. online free PDF, "Stress R Us", thanks to Stanford and MAHB. I have written often about the addictive nature of hate and violence, and the deep seated addiction to both in our culture. We live in a highly stressful "modern" physical environment filled with mostly unconscious triggers of our long evolved stress response, the "fight-flight" response first described by my hero Walter B. Cannon in his 1929 book, "Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear, and Rage". The stress response is known for the release of adrenalin, but not for its release of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and cortisol, as well as activation of the entire sympathetic nervous system. Any psychiatrist should be familiar with the neurophysiological consequences of chronic stress, but I've never met another one. Simply put, we wear out our bodies' ability to produce these feel-good neurochemicals and, after a long period of anxiety, we experience "Major Depression", so, guess what, physicians reach for the ubiquitous prescription pad and write for "anti-depressant" drugs to temporarily support the brain's production of the depleted feel-good chemicals: dopamine and serotonin. You will never see this in print anywhere else, but any school kid left to his/her own devices could figure it out.
So, yes, hatred is addictive, as you point out, but our entire Western culture is filled with violence and hatred. Most of it is the result of early life emotional deprivation due to lack of parental love and support, if not outright physical/emotional/spiritual abuse/abandonment. Such is the case with DJT, who was abandoned by his dying mother (and sibs?) when he was but 2yo, for which he has blamed himself, filling him with self-loathing, which he infamously "projects" away onto others, thus saving himself from self-destruction. Hitler had the same childhood trauma watching his mother beaten by her second husband. I have treated thousands of such poor souls over my 42 yr. psychiatry practice, now drawn to a close, thank God, only to discover my own history of early childhood abuse in these later years. Self hatred is the source, the hardest to eradicate, and most toxic to self/others. Only self compassion for our inner child/unconscious memories can salve it. I always remember the old Native American saying: "don't judge me until you have walked a mile in my moccasins".
Thank you for your fine effort, and have a blessed day! Gregg
"Hatred, like many untreated addictions, can consume its host in the end. Meanwhile, the nation’s addicts will keep marching toward rock bottom, from where, eventually, they will begin the ascent back toward sanity."
Unfortunately I think this is aspirational. In many ways when drug addicts and alcoholics hit rock bottom when they do many of them are able to struggle their way to break the addiction. The same goes for other addictions like gambling. I think when it comes to individuals reaching rock bottom in the addiction to hate and seeing the errors of their ways this only happens in rare instances. You can call it redemption. It can involve a spiritual awakening or a personal loss or a number of other experiences. I do think that a society can reach this rock bottom but it may take one or two generations for the ascent to sanity (meaning morality and ethics) to occur with the majority.
Vitriol and violence indeed seem to go hand in hand. In this case hooked to mass delusion that belies logic. This was less an assassination "attempt" (as no shots were fired at the supposed target), but an assassination "idea". Mr. Routh had a lot of ideas formed in the shape of hate. That hate eventually could not be contained and he was ultimately drawn to make some kind of statement. Which it seems is where his compatriots (other haters) are clearly headed. Each nail of fear the Trump/Vance team hammer into the psyche of their mob, results in more dangerous threats. Eventually, all of that fear converts to hate which eventually cooks itself into action. And once that action begins, the recipients also experience fear. At which point, they win. Their goal is to scare all sides into submission. As once we are attacking each other, we won't notice that they are subjugating us all. If at least half of us are willing to resist and instead choose to love thy neighbor (in spite of their collective delusions), we will circumvent their aim to create a real-world Hunger Games. Thank you Sabrina for continuing to shine a light.
Excellent essay, Sobrina! My wife and I watched episode one of The Sopranos last night, for the very first time. (She recently read that Aaron Sorkin, creator of West Wing, identifies Sopranos as "a masterpiece".) The after-effect kept me awake much of the night. Too much violence and hate! (I'll not continue watching.) It got me wondering about our appetite for the addictions you've described so well. And about Hollywood's role in poisoning our polity. Hey, I went to art school, and am a big believer in First Amendment. But I also studied ethics in grad school, and recognize toxicity when it injures and kills consumers. (Glad to see that you've read Tolle, Sobrina. Good stuff!) ~eric. MeridaGOround dot com.
I studied ethics at Harvard Divinity School, but not for ministry — eventually dropping out. If you'd care to unpack this Tolle-related topic further, I would keep it very private. (We both might learn something of value.) You know how to reach me privately. ~e.
Can you provide a reference so I can read more about hatred as a group addiction? What a scary thought. It explains so much about all the anti-everything groups. Thank you
Your paragraph "Hatred triggers the addiction center of the brain . . ." sings Truth to me and points to answers I've been seeking on why this MAGA/white power/subdue females has such a grip.
Thank you Sabrina, for speaking clearly and unambiguously about a subject so many avoid. Trump and his network have been setting fires whenever and wherever - forever. Tired of people playacting surprise when any of these arsonists get a burn.
agreed. that half the country doesn't connect the dots is soooo disturbing.
We can only hope they will make the ascent to sanity.
Good one; very well stated! Thank you.
Rock bottom -- so very elusive.
Thank you for adding some dimension to this conundrum.
The human side of me strives to "rescue" these people from the their self-destructive entrapment. However, the stone cold logical side of me fully understands that this is a fools errand. You can't reason with Trump supporters. They have surrendered their ability for independent thought to the MAGA cult. I once described this disconnect as one side broadcasting in FM and the other side having nothing but AM radios. But it is actually much deeper than that. As a fan of the animated series "Futurama", I thought this cartoon best illustrated the mentality of these voters: https://i.imgflip.com/90hm54.jpg
love it!
A great effort, Sabrina. But, you are not a neuroscientist, or a psychiatrist, or an addicitionist, or stress expert ("fight-flight response"). I am all of those things, and author of the 623 pg. online free PDF, "Stress R Us", thanks to Stanford and MAHB. I have written often about the addictive nature of hate and violence, and the deep seated addiction to both in our culture. We live in a highly stressful "modern" physical environment filled with mostly unconscious triggers of our long evolved stress response, the "fight-flight" response first described by my hero Walter B. Cannon in his 1929 book, "Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear, and Rage". The stress response is known for the release of adrenalin, but not for its release of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and cortisol, as well as activation of the entire sympathetic nervous system. Any psychiatrist should be familiar with the neurophysiological consequences of chronic stress, but I've never met another one. Simply put, we wear out our bodies' ability to produce these feel-good neurochemicals and, after a long period of anxiety, we experience "Major Depression", so, guess what, physicians reach for the ubiquitous prescription pad and write for "anti-depressant" drugs to temporarily support the brain's production of the depleted feel-good chemicals: dopamine and serotonin. You will never see this in print anywhere else, but any school kid left to his/her own devices could figure it out.
So, yes, hatred is addictive, as you point out, but our entire Western culture is filled with violence and hatred. Most of it is the result of early life emotional deprivation due to lack of parental love and support, if not outright physical/emotional/spiritual abuse/abandonment. Such is the case with DJT, who was abandoned by his dying mother (and sibs?) when he was but 2yo, for which he has blamed himself, filling him with self-loathing, which he infamously "projects" away onto others, thus saving himself from self-destruction. Hitler had the same childhood trauma watching his mother beaten by her second husband. I have treated thousands of such poor souls over my 42 yr. psychiatry practice, now drawn to a close, thank God, only to discover my own history of early childhood abuse in these later years. Self hatred is the source, the hardest to eradicate, and most toxic to self/others. Only self compassion for our inner child/unconscious memories can salve it. I always remember the old Native American saying: "don't judge me until you have walked a mile in my moccasins".
Thank you for your fine effort, and have a blessed day! Gregg
thank you neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and addicitionist. I hope some peeps check out your pdf. be well.
I also posted this on RawStory about this:
"Hatred, like many untreated addictions, can consume its host in the end. Meanwhile, the nation’s addicts will keep marching toward rock bottom, from where, eventually, they will begin the ascent back toward sanity."
Unfortunately I think this is aspirational. In many ways when drug addicts and alcoholics hit rock bottom when they do many of them are able to struggle their way to break the addiction. The same goes for other addictions like gambling. I think when it comes to individuals reaching rock bottom in the addiction to hate and seeing the errors of their ways this only happens in rare instances. You can call it redemption. It can involve a spiritual awakening or a personal loss or a number of other experiences. I do think that a society can reach this rock bottom but it may take one or two generations for the ascent to sanity (meaning morality and ethics) to occur with the majority.
yes it's my own hope.
Vitriol and violence indeed seem to go hand in hand. In this case hooked to mass delusion that belies logic. This was less an assassination "attempt" (as no shots were fired at the supposed target), but an assassination "idea". Mr. Routh had a lot of ideas formed in the shape of hate. That hate eventually could not be contained and he was ultimately drawn to make some kind of statement. Which it seems is where his compatriots (other haters) are clearly headed. Each nail of fear the Trump/Vance team hammer into the psyche of their mob, results in more dangerous threats. Eventually, all of that fear converts to hate which eventually cooks itself into action. And once that action begins, the recipients also experience fear. At which point, they win. Their goal is to scare all sides into submission. As once we are attacking each other, we won't notice that they are subjugating us all. If at least half of us are willing to resist and instead choose to love thy neighbor (in spite of their collective delusions), we will circumvent their aim to create a real-world Hunger Games. Thank you Sabrina for continuing to shine a light.
agreed they use fear to generate hatred, hence the nonstop USA bashing out of trump's tiny butthole-shaped mouth. right out of hitler 101.
Excellent essay, Sobrina! My wife and I watched episode one of The Sopranos last night, for the very first time. (She recently read that Aaron Sorkin, creator of West Wing, identifies Sopranos as "a masterpiece".) The after-effect kept me awake much of the night. Too much violence and hate! (I'll not continue watching.) It got me wondering about our appetite for the addictions you've described so well. And about Hollywood's role in poisoning our polity. Hey, I went to art school, and am a big believer in First Amendment. But I also studied ethics in grad school, and recognize toxicity when it injures and kills consumers. (Glad to see that you've read Tolle, Sobrina. Good stuff!) ~eric. MeridaGOround dot com.
pretty sure Eckhart Tolls saved my life twenty years ago....
I studied ethics at Harvard Divinity School, but not for ministry — eventually dropping out. If you'd care to unpack this Tolle-related topic further, I would keep it very private. (We both might learn something of value.) You know how to reach me privately. ~e.
Can you provide a reference so I can read more about hatred as a group addiction? What a scary thought. It explains so much about all the anti-everything groups. Thank you
every fact containing highlighted words includes a link to the reference, just click the links
Will look some more
Wow. I never thought of hatred in this way, but it became so clear to me while reading this article. Thank you for the enlightenment.
Your paragraph "Hatred triggers the addiction center of the brain . . ." sings Truth to me and points to answers I've been seeking on why this MAGA/white power/subdue females has such a grip.