Confronting Battered Citizen Syndrome

Confronting Battered Citizen Syndrome

By Professor James Tracy
The Sleuth Journal
October 21, 2014

State-sponsored terrorism poses a significant challenge to the
psychological well-being of the body politic.

While evident in many geopolitical locales, this condition arising
from such government abuses is especially prevalent in the West.

Such a disorder is comparable to the psychological manipulation
recognized on a micro-level in some spousal relationships.

Indeed, the 13-year-old “war on terror” has contributed to a
grave societal malady that might be deemed “battered citizen
syndrome.”

As the project of a transnational New World Order is laid out, the
psychological constitution of the polity must necessarily experience
perpetual crises and the threat thereof.

Genuinely non-conventional political communication, organization
and activism are among the few substantial means of combating
battered citizen syndrome and the spiritual and psychological
slavery it perpetuates.

Battered citizen syndrome is an extremely damaging psychological
condition impacting individuals who are collectively subjected to
emotional abuse and political disenfranchisement by the
psychopathic types that all-too-frequently occupy public office in
an era of political and socio-economic decay.

The condition is often the result of “false flag” terrorism initiated
by a tyrannical state that has long grown unresponsive to the
citizen’s actual needs.

This syndrome subdues individuals’ awareness of their own
historical and political agency, and discourages them from seeking
assistance for and ultimately remedying their unsafe situation.

There are various stages one will experience as a result of this
condition.

When persons in the singular or aggregate undergo the threat or
experience of state violence in the form of false flag terror (i.e.,
political assassinations, seemingly spontaneous bombings or
shootings, gigantic skyscrapers falling inexplicably at free-fall
speed, CIA-sponsored terror bogeys such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, and
perhaps even deadly plagues) they will find it expedient to deny
such exploitation and decline to admit they are being manipulated
by a paranoid and psychopathic state.

Corporate-owned or controlled mass media routinely propagating
the notion of “free choice” and personal agency by touting the
supposed integrity of electoral processes and political institutions
actively aid in this denial.

Once a victim accepts the fact that such manipulation is taking
place, they will feel remorse.

Victims will often believe that the abuse is their fault and not
the fault of criminal governance.

Eventually, a victim of state terror and violence will realize that
they are not to blame for the cruelty they are being subjected to.

Despite this realization, the individual will typically choose to
remain in the abusive relationship.

It may take some time, but eventually the truly self-respecting
citizen-victim will understand that in order to defend themselves
and their loved ones from harm they must escape their injurious
relationship.

These stages can be observed in many of the victims who have
ultimately recognized and escaped their relationships with an
abusive state.

DENIAL

The first stage of battered citizen syndrome is denial.

Denial occurs when a victim of abuse is unable to acknowledge
and accept that they are being subjected to political violence in
the form of false flag terror and contrived events.

During this stage, a victim of such psychological abuse will not only
avoid admitting the mistreatment to their friends and their family
members, but they themselves will not acknowledge the brutality
from which they suffering.

They will fail to recognize any problems between themselves
and their government.

There are numerous factors that may contribute to such
steadfast denial.

In many instances, an individual does not realize they are
being subjected to such calculating state violence.

This is largely due to the manipulative and coercive behavior
of the offending government.

The acts of abuse may be so subtle that they do not appear
to be harmful or damaging.

In other instances, a victim of Machiavellian offenses may suppose
that denial is the most effective way to avoid being subjected to
further violence and cruelty.

Whatever the cause, denial is extremely unhelpful to the victim.

Until citizens individually and collectively admit and confront
the abuses they are experiencing, they will not be able to
secure necessary psychic and material aid and protection.

GUILT

After a citizen experiences the denial period they will move on the guilt stage.

During this phase, victims of such coercive violence will undergo feelings of extreme guilt and dishonor by being fingered as potential terrorists themselves.

Through the suggestion that they may also be terrorists, citizens will believe they may have somehow caused the harm that in reality elements within their exploitative government has subjected them to.

Abusive governments stage false flag terror events not only to create confusion, but also induce guilt in their subjects.

Professional political and opinion leaders prompt feelings of guilt through similar rhetorical appeals.

Those of the liberal or “progressive” sort in particular claim that such events are the result of “blow back,” due to the given nation’s foreign policy and imperialist overreach.

Similarly, conservatives assert that the nation has been victimized because it has been too forthright in parading its “freedoms.”

Once internalized, “war on terror” guilt ideation is reinforced via the messaging slogans of state agencies.

Typical messaging may include communications such as, “Is your neighbor or coworker a homegrown extremist?”

“Keep your luggage with you at all times,” “Step this way after removing your shoes and valuables,” and so on.

Regardless of guilt stimulus, feelings of culpability are used to exert further control via rituals of submission, such as enacting excessive and unwarranted security measures to partake in travel, gain access to a public building, or withdraw cash from one’s bank account.

Along these lines, the offending government will convince the victim that it must resort to physical violence in order to punish the citizenry for their negative qualities or behavior.

They may threaten or enact violence to teach the citizen not to take part in the activities of which it disapproves or finds inconvenient, such as public demonstrations and civil disobedience.

In addition to such acts, tyrannical governments strip citizens of their civil liberties and establish or strengthen a police state in order to further expand their control.

As a result, the citizen’s already low self-esteem and depression will accelerate downward.

Once this occurs, it is not difficult to convince the victim that they are being subjected to abuse due to their own faults and inadequacies.

If they could only be more dependent on the state and live up to its expectations, they would not be experiencing state terror and exploitation.

Victims of such manipulation will believe this. Therefore, they will not contest the abuse being experienced because they have rationalized that their abusive government is not to blame for such cruelty.

ENLIGHTENMENT

One of the most important phases of the battered citizen’s syndrome is enlightenment.

This occurs when a target of abuse recognizes how they are not to blame for their ill-treatment.

They will begin to understand that no one deserves to be subjected to state-inflicted terror and violence regardless of their personal characteristics or perceived shortcomings.

The fact that the state seeks to manipulate their subjects and exhibits disapproval of their victim’s behavior does not justify exposing the victim to the trauma prompted by terrorist threats and violence.

During this stage, a citizen will begin to acknowledge that most states are abusive, violent, overseen by psychopathic personalities, and thus the violence experienced is the result of an external socio-political condition and not inherent in themselves.

It is now that a victim begins to realize the importance of coming to terms with their situation and holding those in power accountable.

Despite the realization that their fear, anxiety, and loss of civil
liberties likely stem from the broader designs of treacherous
individuals in power, victims will continue to accept overzealous
state power and commit themselves to saving the seriously flawed
relationship.

They will often use various reasons in order to justify this decision.

However, individuals who choose to remain in such an environment
will soon find that in most cases the tyrannical government will
only increase the severity of its abuses.

RESPONSIBILITY

Once a citizen recognizes how the psychological torment and
terroristic violence they are suffering from is the fault of their
government, it is only a matter of time before these victims
understand the importance of taking responsibility and escaping
their current situation.

In the majority of cases, state violence does not improve over time.

Most governments subjecting their citizens to violence and brutality
are “repeat offenders” and will continue to reinforce control by
exposing subjects to heightened abuses.

When an individual acknowledges this, they will understand that
their safety, and the safety of their loved ones, depends on
establishing new modes of governance.

During the responsibility stage of the battered citizen’s syndrome, a
victim of state violence may experience a vast array of difficulties.

It is essential that an individual plan their escape well.

Citizens who have decided to depart from their unfavorable
situation should avoid the enticements of major political parties
that are usually the root cause of battered citizen syndrome.

If a victim would like support and advice about leaving their
abusive relationship they may wish to contact or support a third
party candidate running for public office.

Citizen violence shelters in the form of information derived from
alternative news media, meaningful political discussion and debate,
and grassroots and independent political organizing can also provide
victims with the necessary support to make a clean break from
tyrannical state power that will ultimately lead toward the forging
of more constructive political realities for themselves and their
fellow citizenry.



Professor James F. Tracy is an Associate Professor of Media Studies
at Florida Atlantic University. James Tracy’s work on media history,
politics and culture has appeared in a wide variety of academic
journals, edited volumes, and alternative news and opinion outlets.

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syndrome