strengthparadox

Wild and treasonous and, most of all, pathological. Authoritarianism itself seems akin to mental illness.

18.11.2025 07:11 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Nothing is more natural and obvious to an authoritarian personality than the absolute right of those higher on the social hierarchy to shit on & abuse those lower. Empathy, compassion, understanding -- they're all scarce goods that those higher on the hierarchy are entitled to & no one else is.

30.05.2025 19:41 — 👍 117    🔁 16    💬 1    📌 1

To be clear this is an additional dimension to consider. “Best understood” gets into the realm of prioritizing ideas from best to worst. This merely introduces another dimension with which to consider the unresolved anger that characterizes authoritarianism, which in itself is politically agnostic.

18.08.2025 14:13 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

The Psychology Behind What Makes Authoritarianism Appealing What is it that makes a person want to have fewer freedoms, less choice, and pay tribute to conformity above individuality? The answer to this question is rooted in our psychology.

You’re misunderstanding again. Fromm, Adorno et al., and thousands of research studies since The Authoritarian Personality was published suggest that there is another dimension to fascism that’s worth looking into. This article can help clear some of this up:

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/over...

18.08.2025 13:59 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Not news that fear and trauma has taken over many Los Angeles communities—and others across the country— but last night I was at a support group for survivors and family members of ICE raids and the devastation. If watching raid videos is too much for you (I get it), I will share some stories.

14.08.2025 19:43 — 👍 161    🔁 85    💬 6    📌 10

We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.

- Carl Sagan

15.08.2025 16:41 — 👍 572    🔁 170    💬 4    📌 5

There's quite a lot that Freud got wrong, but the idea of Thanatos versus Eros, the death drive versus the life drive, is a great way to understand what's happening to the country right now.

08.08.2025 13:56 — 👍 34    🔁 7    💬 4    📌 2

Scientists Scanned the Brains of Authoritarians and Found Something Weird People who support authoritarianism have, according to a new study, something weird going on with their brains.

It turns out that authoritarians have less grey matter in key areas of the brain responsible for empathy and emotional regulation. New research out of Spain published in the journal Neuroscience.

futurism.com/neoscope/aut...

08.08.2025 03:28 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

The private prisons and digital poorhouses won’t fill themselves. This evil knows no bounds but don’t forget, we have the power of insight.

08.08.2025 02:41 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

The Imperial sympathizers spread fear, lies, and violence. They cloak their cruelty in patriotism, but we’ve seen the truth. We saw it on Jedha. On Scarif. On Coruscant. We saw them turn on peacekeepers, then walk free with Imperial pardon. They are the lie of “order.” We are the spark of rebellion.

11.06.2025 03:08 — 👍 1149    🔁 97    💬 6    📌 1

"It is much easier to absorb individuals into a mass of like-minded people once you dig into their deprivations, give it a name, find a scapegoat, and reinforce and weaponize the biases they already harbor." -Rajshree Chandra @iwm.at

www.iwm.at/publication/...

10.06.2025 23:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

"Authority precludes the use of external means of coercion; where force is used, authority itself has failed." ~Hannah Arendt The need for absolute control signals weakness. Never fear a fascist; fascism is inherently weak. Know your power.

The need for absolute control signals weakness. Never fear a fascist; fascism is inherently weak. Know your power.

30.05.2025 08:50 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0