They're shouting because they're frightened — truly frightened of the truth about themselves, which is always far more frightening than any fear of what might be lurking outside ourselves in the dark.
The response to that fear is [...] trying to prove to themselves that they are different enough to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by contrasting themselves with baby-killing Satan-worshippers.
With baby-killing Satan-worshippers that they know are purely imaginary. That requires more self-deception than any of us is capable of on our own. That degree of self-deception requires a group.
This is why the rumor doesn't really need to be plausible or believable. It isn't intended to deceive others. It's intended to invite others to participate with you in deception.
Are you afraid you might be a coward? Join us in pretending to believe this lie and you can pretend to feel brave.
The response to that fear is [...] trying to prove to themselves that they are different enough to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by contrasting themselves with baby-killing Satan-worshippers.
With baby-killing Satan-worshippers that they know are purely imaginary. That requires more self-deception than any of us is capable of on our own. That degree of self-deception requires a group.
This is why the rumor doesn't really need to be plausible or believable. It isn't intended to deceive others. It's intended to invite others to participate with you in deception.
Are you afraid you might be a coward? Join us in pretending to believe this lie and you can pretend to feel brave.
— "False Witnesses 2"
by Fred Clark.
by Fred Clark."You mustn't hate the Russians. If you do have to fight them, hating them is no use, medically or psychologically. It reduces your own efficiency."
I do not love my Empire's foes,
Nor call 'em angels; still,
What is the sense of 'atin' those
'Oom you are paid to kill?
Nor call 'em angels; still,
What is the sense of 'atin' those
'Oom you are paid to kill?
— Piet by Rudyard Kipling
by Rudyard Kipling"When you spend every day fighting a war, you learn to demonize your attackers. To you, they're evil, they're subhuman. Because if they weren't, then what would that make you?"
— Vanessa Kimball, Red vs. Blue
"In real life, Bradley was a mean kid. But in mom's story, he was basically the devil.
— Greg talking about his childhood, Diary of a Wimpy Kid
"Especially since the death of Princess Diana, guerilla photographers who snap celebrity candids have come to be considered the gum on the bottom of society's shoe. The film Paparazzi exploits this built-in audience disgust to characterize them as somewhere between slugs and dung beetles on the morality scale, deserving whatever they get."
—Derek Armstrong of Allmovie, in a review of Paparazzi
