Chapter Three – The Authoritarian Playbook – how to fight them
This is the more difficult chapters to write. Once an authoritarian leader gets in power, they find and line up their minions. They then begin their use of misinformation and begin to normalize terror for the citizen population. This leads to learned helplessness in the majority of the population. When you are in a state of learned helplessness you feel powerless. Learned helplessness occurs when a person who has experienced repeated challenges and comes to believe they have no control over their situation. They then give up trying to make changes and accept their fate. Thus, learned helplessness occurs when we are repeatedly subjected to an aversive stimulus that we cannot escape.
So control of the media, has a lot to do to creating learned helplessness in a population. We have seen this in 20th century authoritarian leaders with their use of rallies and use of movies, television and lastly control of printed news.
Getting Control of Yourself – Step One
These are the steps you gentle reader needs to take to fight the authoritarian leader. Many psychologist and political thinkers miss giving these steps. They will diagnose the leader and his minions. They do not however, say how you fight them. The reason is they don’t really know how to do that well. The typical authoritarian leader and their crew of creeps after they gain some control over the media then begin systematic campaigns of revenge. They will often pick a powerless group of people who are different from the normal population. This helps their enforcers get use to brutalizing other humans. First, they will slam and humiliate this selected group of people they target. Then they will go after those who disagree with them and know these people will fight them. They will humiliate and intimidate them. Use the court systems to target them. So Step one for you gentle readers is to disconnect from the controlled media. This allows you mental space to deal with the mental control of learned helplessness.
Note – This can also be called deprogramming yourself!
Connecting to other like minded people – Step Two
Once you are clear of misinformation media, stay out of anger. Anger clouds your judgement. It make you feel powerful, but you are still not getting what you want or need. Thus when you begin connecting socially with other like minded people, you can feel empowered. You have a support network. Social support allows us to regain connections. Yes, you may drop old friends. However, you will gain new ones. Resist the strong man image. The strongman uses sports or hunting as a way to show how clever and strong they are. However, remember this is just an image, the reality is they are weak flawed leaders.
Thus second part of step two is to look for flaws and weakness in the leader. At the same time educate yourself and read history books. Your social connections will help with this. In this step you need to read books on authoritarian leaders. There are many out there referenced in these books:
Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present (2020; paperback with a new epilogue, 2021), Ruth Ben-Ghiat
The Wannabe Fascists: A Guide to Understanding the Greatest Threat to Democracy (Federico Finchelstein. University of California Press, 2024)
Autocracy Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Change the World (Anne Applebaum. Doubleday, 2024)
Plan – Step Three
With your new social group, begin to plan ways using the dear leaders flaws as a guide. Analysis of their behavior and needs is critical in the planning step. Use our analytical score card as a key to evaluate the leaders. Several current examples, Putin needs money. Thus Ukraine attacks his sources of income. Trump needs to feel important. When people avoid the media outlets he uses, or questions his judgement, this causes anger. So using humiliation cause anger and cause him to goof up and look silly. Ask difficult questions and ignore the controlled media. They depend on watchers and readers for their income.
Step Four – Resist and cut off support to their minions
This is the difficult and dangerous step. Gentle readers, as they will come after you. This involves demonstrations and avoidance. It also means undermining their support groups. Vote those who support them out of office. Don’t allow the lost of ethics in government.
Resist in any way you can. Also have hope.
Hope this helps. We will be adding more to this chapter. May this picture give you hope!
