Have you heard the term "God-shaped hole"?

(Sorry to anyone who is exactly 45. There weren't enough options.)

#ReligiousTrauma #polls #poll

Whenever an app or website I frequently use finally offers me dark mode, the moment I set it:

*ahhhhhhhhhhh.....*

One more thing before I go to rest.

A music rec:

Nahko and Medicine for the People

Lyrics are revolutionary, healing, and uplifting.

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #LandBack #AbuseCulture #decolonization

Here's an easy concrete step you can take to begin (or further) your effort to decolonize your mind:

Intentionally follow indigenous accounts on social media. From the Americas but also from other places in the world. (Fighting colonialism isn't limited to the US/Canada.)

Then read their posts as part of your regular social media diet. You don't have to agree, but don't argue either. Don't be a pest. Set your biases aside as much as you can, decenter yourself (you don't have to express an opinion on EVERYTHING), and just listen and learn.

Practice "extrospection," that is, trying to understand the mind of another. It isn't school; it isn't a test. Relax and just take in what comes along. Let it simmer. See what it does to your worldview.

Do the same in other areas of content you consume. YouTube, movies, documentaries, books, and music. Just spruce up your media diet a bit with stuff made by indigenous people.

I started doing this intentionally way back in my Twitter days, early '10s. In fact, I still try to intentionally follow and boost people from lots of backgrounds I don't normally encounter in my IRL circles. It's enriching and has made me a better person, and more helpful to whatever causes I take up.

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #LandBack #AbuseCulture #decolonization

Also I think we should put any Native American tribes in charge of environmental restoration, when that's a thing that they want to do.

Another thing about the Kootenai is that they have a huge role in bringing back the sturgeon in this area and in restoring the river, and are involved in managing Idaho fish and game policies for the area. (I'm probably saying this wrong; my memory of the details are fuzzy.)

This one is a no-brainer. I don't trust anyone with this as much as I trust the people who swore to protect this land thousands of years ago.

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #LandBack #AbuseCulture #decolonization

Let me do a little decolonization for you today:

White "guilt" only happens because our ability to address wrongs has been amputated through the European Christian culture.

We are taught that guilt is an eternal state brought about by opposing the will of an infinite, omnipotent authority. We are taught to resolve guilt by submitting to authority and demonstrating how very sorry we are.

Even after resolving guilt the way we're taught, we are still indebted forever to God.

It is a worldview that centers the wrongdoer and their god, leaving any victims of real harm out of the conversation.

Even if you weren't raised Christian, this moral view still permeates the core of secular American culture, just subtracting "God."

This is why white people feel so threatened by concepts like Land Back or Reparations. Or even just by giving BIPOC more equal share of power. We fear that we will be asked to fully submit the way we are expected to fully submit to white authorities.

An alternate view is that wrongdoing comes from causing harm to our fellow creatures, and that resolving those wrongs comes from making it right with whoever we've harmed and helping them heal.

In this there is real release, fulfillment, and connection rather than perpetual indebtedness and guilt.

Let that simmer today.

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #LandBack #AbuseCulture #decolonization

I feel very fortunate to have learned about the Kootenai people via a booklet they published. Their tribe is amazing and has held out against the US government longer than most because they refused to sign treaties or move to a reservation. The retaliation against them almost ended the tribe.

But in 1974, they declared war against the US government! They set up toll stations at the two major highways in the county and charged 10 cents per car to fund their war. Local police would not move against them. (An incredibly non-bastard move.)

It was a peaceful war that is still officially declared. Through their direct action, they won back quite a bit of land and some governing power, and now are relatively thriving. They even run own police force *not on a reservation* that shares local policing power with the sheriff and municipal police. They own a resort, a major gas station, and a few other businesses here.

It was heartbreaking to read their story but I'm glad I did. I will support them in any way I can. (Guess where I buy gas?)

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #LandBack

White peoples:

1. Please remember to boost the voices of indigenous people today in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day.

2. Learn a little bit about the land you're on and the people who lived or still live there. Especially if you're in a colonized territory like the US. Try to find their perspectives, not outsiders writing about them.

3. Decolonize. It's good for you! It's good for everyone! It'll dump a bunch of unhealthy and limiting views to enrich and expand your horizons.

4. Remember that you, too, came from an indigenous background. It was just a lot longer ago! Think about digging into your own roots, learning about your specific tribal background(s), and your own culture(s) that were erased or misappropriated when Christianity colonized Europe a thousand years ago.

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #LandBack

Thanks much everybody for the boosts!

Just a reminder because I need to make money to live:

I am currently seeking clients.

I offer freelance services. Primarily ghostwriting, developmental editing, and copyediting, but I can also research, write book proposals, create outlines or synopses for an existing work, and coach.

I'm a trauma-informed writer with 16 years of experience who finds purpose in helping people find their personal voice.

Broadly, my specialties include religion, religious trauma, cult research, psychology, autism, social justice topics, the art of fiction and nonfiction narrative, and speculative fiction. I'm adaptable and know a little about a lot. I'm a member of the EFA, AoG, and SFWA.

My most recent ghostwritten book is Sexcommunicated, a memoir for sex therapist Natasha Helfer who spoke up in the Mormon community and was excommunicated for it. It is scheduled for publication (with co-byline) next spring.

Reach out!

(I do not use LLMs in my work, and prefer to not edit LLM-produced work.)

#FediHire #FediHired #writer #editor

(And this is why we need the word "extrospection" as separate from "empathy." We need to understand the minds of people we *can't* and *shouldn't* empathize with.)

#AbuseCulture

RE: https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn/117349473500717138

I have an extrospective insight, if I may.

A "self as a collection of tasks who should subcontract to a machine"...

Stepping into a mind who would think such a thing is a positive...

I thought, well that makes the human role just an executive functioner, or...

An executive...

And realized that's what management does... organize and assign tasks.

And this is how they see laborers, knowledge workers, and creatives.

Machines they subcontract tasks to.

And they're the mind that makes the machine work.

And they think that's the preferred role.

What a terrible worldview to operate under. What a terrible way to exist.

They must think they're elevating us to their level. Freeing us from the doldrums of being mere production machines.

When in fact it's the opposite for us.

Producing for its own sake is the best part. The worst part is producing on behalf of an executive for the purpose of soulless profit that isn't ours.

By making us become like them, they think they're *helping*.

I consume a lot of horror content, and this is the most chilling thing I've seen all week.

(But sir, it's only Monday.)

#AbuseCulture

When they invented the electric toaster, they said, "hey instead of a wind-up jack-in-the-box, let's have it dispense twice-cooked bread."

Toasters be all like, "Surprise! It's toast!"

Every goddamn time.

Representative John James, a Michigan Republican, wrote on X: "Liz and I are absolutely horrified by the initial reports coming out of Grand Blanc. On this Sunday, a day meant for worship and peace, such violence is a grave evil. Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and the entire community. We must remain united in faith and resolve against this darkness."

Now, I'm not blaming the victims here, because Rep. John James isn't one of the saints holed up in that church...

...but my man, the darkeness... it's YOU.

#exmo #exmormon #USPol

Lots of Mormon news this morning.

There's quite a lot packed into this opening paragraph.

"Information currently remains limited, but multiple victims are trapped inside the church as a fire spreads across the building, with manpower shortages noted as a limiting factor."

https://www.newsweek.com/michigan-lds-church-shooting-multiple-victims-fire-reported-10794231

#exmo #exmormon #USPol

Ok! That's the basics of it. I'm getting tired now. ;)

I have a longer piece on dissonance theory written up in context of Mormonism:

https://recoveringagency.com/articles/cognitive-dissonance-and-consonancethe-basics-for-former-mormons/

I have a list and short description of the 31 mind control techniques here:

https://recoveringagency.com/articles/the-methods-of-thought-reform/

There are many other posts and articles on that site.

And then if you really want to dig in, there's my book, "Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control," available through links on the site, as an audiobook, or at your favorite independent bookseller.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma
#psychology
#MAGA
#cults
#AbuseCulture

And THIS is why I promote shifting political and religious discussions to core values. There aren't talking points that dig into core values. Because that's where someone is going to find self-awareness and feel dissonance, after they've compartmentalized "love thy neighbor" from "they took our jorbs!" Remind them of what they believe, deep down, under all those rickety structures.*

AND this is why I encourage asking questions. Because curiosity is the antidote to closed-mindedness and the looming threat of dissonance, which, in a cult-mind is a very scary thing to face... it's better to feed on the easy consonance the cult offers than face up to that whole structure crumbling down...

(That's an aspect of this I didn't touch on, but in short, a cult will tie identity up into the ideological structure, so pulling down even one small piece of threatens to topple the whole thing in a chain reaction, which feels like a death-threat level of dissonance.)

But questions? Sincere, heartfelt, genuine probing questions about core values without the threat that you'll go on the attack when they answer? That makes YOU a source of consonance (because you're showing trust and interest, and getting them to talk about their cognitions in a safe way), promotes their own curiosity, has them put into words things they might have never done (where they can see the swept-over conflicts), and encourages critical thinking.

* People dedicated to full-on fascist or abuser mindsets have nasty core values, so this will not work on them. Honestly, I don't know what will.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma
#psychology
#MAGA
#cults
#AbuseCulture

In translating political terminology to this model, "talking points" can be thought of as doctrines that are created for the purpose of mitigating dissonance. These are anticipated sources of dissonance that are presented in such a way as to nullify dissonance and cause consonance in the target audience, while still presenting the illusion that there's some kind of "debate."

We say what we say (because the answers to these talking points are obvious to us), and they say what they're gonna say, and between us there's hardly an original thought or a persuaded mind. We're all playing out the drama the way they want us to. They know if we stick to liberal/progressive/left responses to the talking points, that we will be 100% ineffective because they've inoculated their base.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma
#psychology
#MAGA
#cults
#AbuseCulture

Now, that's not to say that some right-wingers and even MAGA aren't feeling some dissonance at this event, or other things that come up.

The more one has dedicated (contributed, donated, campaigned, spoken out, traveled to speeches) to their ideology, the stronger their belief structure is. These are the ones who double-down after a major disconfirming event, like a failed prophecy. That's because of the pressures to avoid dissonance, which, if they did allow themselves to feel it, would be unbearable.

Those who are most susceptible to persuasion out are those who have dedicate less. Those who voted for Trump because they read a headline once that said he was good for the economy.

And that's not to say there isn't anything that can be done.

The biggest weakness of a controlling ideology is that it can't fortify everything. They are dependent upon predicting possible sources of dissonance and "inoculating" (see psychological inoculation theory) against them. But they can't anticipate everything.

This is why the United Healthcare CEO thing broke containment. This is why Epstein is such a problem. THOSE are news stories that caused dissonance in a much larger subset of MAGA than was expected.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma
#psychology
#MAGA
#cults
#AbuseCulture
#USPol