{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "\u201cI mean that there is no way to disarm any man,\u201d said Dr. Ferris, \u201cexcept through guilt. Through that which he himself has...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/126404887518/", "html": "
I mean that there is no way to disarm any man,\u201d said Dr. Ferris, \u201cexcept through guilt. Through that which he himself has accepted as guilt. If a man has ever stolen a dime, you can impose on him the punishment intended for a bank robber and he will take it. He\u2019ll bear any form of misery, he\u2019ll feel that he deserves no better. If there\u2019s not enough guilt in the world, we must create it. If we teach a man that it\u2019s evil to look at spring flowers and he believes us and then does it\u2014we\u2019ll be able to do whatever we please with him. He won\u2019t defend himself. He won\u2019t feel he\u2019s worth it. He won\u2019t fight. But save us from the man who lives up to his own standards. Save us from the man of clean conscience. He\u2019s the man who\u2019ll beat us.
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Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

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Obligatory disclaimer that liking a book is not the same as endorsing everything in it.

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But damn if this bit right here doesn\u2019t say something profound about manipulation and how it works.

(via fierceawakening)

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Guilt turns good people into Fluttershy

(via bgaesop)

"}