Day 184,
Been thinking a lot about manipulation and those who do it.
Manipulators want as much maneuverability as they possibly can.
Been thinking a lot about manipulation and those who do it.
Manipulators want as much maneuverability as they possibly can.
- They want to extract as much value as possible with minimal work
- They want the benefits from identifying with a role in society.
- Yet they want to be liberated from any expectation on them to fulfill their responsibilities for that role.
- They refuse to connect roles and responsibilities, as that would implicate them.
- They latch onto frameworks and belief systems as a pretense for harmful beliefs.
- They will switch between conflicting frameworks to get the best from every situation.
- They will use every dishonest rhetorical tactic to gain the upper hand and stump the other party.
- They transmogrify every person who disagrees into someone who is as vile, vengeful, and dishonest as they truly are.
- They will pull every lever at their disposal to squash any person who threatens to call out these dynamics.
- They want to seamlessly cycle between being viewed as a free agent and an oppressed victim.
- They want social permission to navigate the world fluidly, while expecting rigidity (i.e., duty) from everyone else; expecting others to do the same things, day in and day out, as they can take others' movements for granted and as a constant opportunity. You know what else is rigid and never moving? A stepping stone.
- They want no cause-effect relationships between their behavior and the kind of person they are.
- They want grace for their misdeeds and vengeance for the misdeeds of others.
UMS v2 Journal (current) || Overcoming Fear 5.75G Journal
