Group Justice

Connor Boyack shows us the fallacious arguments used to justify the FLDS raid -

The recent events occurring in Texas in relation to the FLDS community have spawned a number of arguments—some sound, some horribly ignorant. Indeed, it seems that the prosecution (or persecution) of this religious community has caused a knee-jerk reaction among some, leading people to support Texas’ actions without considering the constitutionality, legality, or morality of the issue.

One common argument I’ve been hearing lately has to do with what is sometimes referred to as “group justice”. This position claims that since abuse is (allegedly) so widespread among this group, the government should have the power to intervene and remove all children, regardless of age or participation in said abuse. Proponents of this position further argue that the foundational maxim “innocent until proven guilty” is not valid in this circumstance, since children are being abused and action is needed to remove them from this situation. Due process, they claim, takes too long and allows for the abuse to continue. Additionally, these advocates argue that even though no crimes have taken place with regards to every single individual (collectively removed due to the widespread occurrence of abuse), it is likely that the culture in which they will mature will encourage this mentality and lead to continual abuse down the road. Early intervention, they then state, is required.

The Subliminal Battle for Our Free Agency

Stephen Wellington lets us know about the men behind the manipulation of product advertising -

If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it? The recent practice of propaganda has proved that it is possible, at least up to a certain point and within certain limits. – Bernays

This post begins with the nephew of Freud, a psychoanalyst named Edward Bernays. He is a man that should be known amongst every citizen of the corporate world we live in. Bernays is credited as being the father of modern propaganda. However, since the Germans used the term propaganda Bernays decided that the term “public relations” should be used instead to describe the “engineering of consent” that he and other very powerful people in the establishment would use to control the minds of the masses. In his book Propaganda it reads,