The CIA's Quest for Mind Control: Torture, LSD and a 'Poisoner in Chief'
Gottlieb wanted to create a way to seize control of people's minds, and he realized it was a two-part process. First, you had to blast away the existing mind. Second, you had to find a way to insert a new mind into that resulting void.You don't need LSD for this, just expose yourself to media (news, social media, "influencers", etc) and they will helpfully convince you that everything you thought before you encountered them was bad/racist/sexist/conservative/etc. They'll also give you opinions about specific groups of people, and certain people in particular (all of whom you haven't met, nor will you ever meet), and reinforce that every day you continue to consume from them.Then it's just a matter of swallowing wholesale whatever else they feed you after that.Online, platforms with downvote systems (HN included) present the apparent legitimacy of certain views over others, and help reinforce what you shouldn't be thinking or voicing (don't get greyed out by posting that!).The net result is we've sleepwalked into being controlled anyway, except that we contort ourselves justifying why "this is different".