“Who does she think she is?”, “he forgets where he’s from”, “they’re so up themselves” or “who do they think they are?” Sound familiar? They were to me as it was statements like these that would often be thrown around by someone wishing to cast aspersions on individuals who were making a better life for themselves. Does it still happen? I’m not sure. But in Scotland, there was an attitude that went against ‘success’ or choosing a path less trodden, particularly amongst the working class, and perhaps more so if you were born in or before the 80’s.
In the USA, Black America has a name for black people who ‘go against’ the narrative of what 'black culture’ is portrayed as (I put that in parentheses because of the false narratives that the film describes), who strive for a better life - an Uncle Tom. It’s the name of a series of docufilms, of which there are now two, and I watched both at the weekend. I couldn’t help but compare aspects of what I was watching with what has been happening here in Scotland and the rest of the UK, in the context of societal messages and emotional intelligence.
The purpose of this newsletter isn’t to comment on the politics or complexities of these issues, especially not those happening in another country, but rather to comment on how fear, anger, disgust and infantilism are used as a means to keep people ‘stuck’ and unable to shift into the mindset that they can and could do better.
What is the docufilm Uncle Tom?
Uncle Tom explores how black America has been used and abused by the system and the Democratic Party (the party of slavery) in particular to subjugate and oppress black people in America and make them believe that their ‘culture’ and history is something that it is not.
“Uncle Tom shows us a different perspective of American History from this often ignored and ridiculed group. It examines self-empowerment, individualism and rejecting the victim narrative.”
Uncle Tom II is, “an odyssey depicting the gradual demoralization of America through Marxist infiltration of its institutions. The film explores how this deceptive ideology has torn apart the fabric of society while using black America as its number one tool for its destruction. Uncle Tom II will take the audience deeper into black America’s often eradicated history of honorable men, entrepreneurship, prosperity, faith, and patriotism, to its current perceived state of anger, discontent and victimhood.”
The films are moving, tragic, thought-provoking and, I hope, offer a window of opportunity for something better. They provide a very different viewpoint to the dominant narratives that we are exposed to here in the UK. There are insights from people who are passionate and educated about their history, their country, society, the economy and the reality of what is happening outside of mainstream media narratives and the education system. If nothing else, for anyone who watches it and disagrees, it will shine a considered and thoughtful light on an opposing set of views.
Fear and loathing in the limbic system
I’m not an expert on the brain but books like The Chimp Paradox has propelled information about how the brain works into the mainstream. It’s something I have been fascinated with for many years and I have read a pile of books about the subject. Last week, on a two day Emotion Coaching UK course, I learned even more about how the brain works in relation to our emotions and rational thought.
The ‘hand-brain’ model, by Dr Dan Siegel was presented and is used as a way to show how children can ‘flip their lid’. You can watch a fantastic explainer video here
In a nutshell, the limbic system is the lower part of the brain, where the amygdala, ‘chimp or lizard brain’ lives and is responsible for our fight, flight or freeze responses. It is the brain’s emotional centre that develops first as it necessary for survival. Then, at the top of the brain, above our eyes, there’s the pre-frontal cortex - the rational, thinking brain and a necessary tool for honing the skill of ‘good enough’ emotional intelligence.
When these two parts of the brain have been given the right conditions to form neural pathways, and are working in harmony together, children, and adults, are able to self-regulate, ideally before ‘flipping our lids’, which is especially true for adults.
In an ideal environment, we would all be given the tools to know how to connect these two parts of our brain, but of course we don’t (yet) live in an ideal world. So isn’t it odd that there are so many unhelpful societal narratives and a system that would appear to be keeping people, adolescents, young people and children, stuck in their limbic system? Societal narratives that induce fear, anger and a sense of helplessness and, maybe even, self-loathing?
In the USA, and according to the Uncle Tom films, racism and lies about the history of Black American culture is being used as a tool to do exactly that.
And it’s happening in Scotland and the UK too, and from my perspective I see it happening through the vehicle of the class system.
Pop culture and EQ suppression
A few weeks ago I put up a post on Instagram about the difference between a night out on Made In Chelsea versus a night out on Geordie Shore and when I was watching Uncle Tom I could see the same playbook being used.
It’s a very simple example. On Made in Chelsea, which I do watch (for shame), a night out is portrayed as a somewhat modest affair, dancing, talking, laughing, conversations, sometimes arguments for the drama, some kissing between couples. We see Champagne, a shot or two, beautiful outfits and the next day everyone seems to be just a ‘bit hungover’. If we do see footage of the morning after, they are usually eating a lovely breakfast looking bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Of course, this might not be the reality, on reality TV but it’s what they want viewers to believe.
Tune in to an episode of Geordie Shore on the other hand, and it’s a very different experience. I watched a few clips on YouTube for the purposes of this newsletter. They came with a warning of strong language, sexual scenes and references throughout, and it was needed even though it was a very short clip. The language, the clothes, the alcohol consumption are all in stark contrast to the demure nature of Made In Chelsea. The next morning we see dishevelled, pathetic looking characters, discussing the memories, or lack of, from the night before.
Two very different versions of TV programming. Is it conditioning, or just how things are and will always be in two very different worlds where the very obvious divide is ‘class’ and financial wealth.
The Evil Global Monetary System and EQ Suppression
The truth is, we are all still living in a system of enslavement under the fiat currency system and central banks. Fiat currency, a currency that has no value and is backed by nothing, allows central banks to print currency into oblivion, transferring that made-up wealth one way with the help of central government who spend on war, public works and social programmes. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is what led to the fall of the Roman empire, and, many experts say, it is what we are witnessing now with the United States (links to an informative series that illustrates this, don’t take my word for it).
This monetary system and government interference permits policies such as the minimum wage, living wage, zero hours contracts and income tax - working for a fifth of the time for nothing. Chad O’Jackson, a gentleman who features on Uncle Tom, states that, “welfare is slavery 2.0” and I would agree. Of course it looks different today but we continue to have this oppressive regime that uses the monetary system and the welfare system to keep people down which is usually the ‘left’, or the ‘working class’.
But has the white collar middle class also been played? Working hideously long hours, or not taking a lunch break was, at one point, glorified, along with the ‘work hard play hard’ mentality. This is especially true in certain middle class sectors, but is it all really worth it? I guess, for some, it must be. Each to their own.
Today we are slowly seeing the erosion of the middle class, with inflation (I heard RFK Jr state that inflation is a tax on the middle class), increased debt, taxes, the difficulties in getting onto the property ladder (the abolition of private property?) all culminating in a dwindling quality of life and reduced expendable income which, in many cases, will increasingly find it’s way into the banks of transnational corporations owned by Blackrock and Vanguard as we witness small and medium sized businesses, the backbone of local economies, being pushed to their limits with many going out of business.
“The quality of a society is directly proportional to the quality of it’s money. Stable money, leads to stable prices, which Leads to a stable society. Whereas debasement of the currency, leads to the demise of empires.” Mike Maloney, Hidden Secrets of Money, Ep 9
When people are in survival mode, unable to have a decent standard of living, they are potentially more likely to be in their limbic system more often - angry, fearful and irrational, which then leads to an inability to problem solve, think logically, plan and contribute. For those people who are born into and ingrained in an environment that normalises welfare, they believe they have no choice but to be part of the welfare system because of their deep-rooted conditioning. And then we have a society or nations that depend on the toxic monetary system and the corrupt cronyism of central governments. We have more takers than givers.
It certainly seems like there is a melting pot of narratives contributing to the debasement of society.
Final thoughts
I have barely scratched the surface of this. I wanted to start by drawing out just a couple of examples of the way in which I believe the system and societal narratives are used to affect the development of emotional intelligence in certain groups, particularly, it seems, those we would associate with the political ‘left’ (which I was, but consider myself apolitical now), keeping people stuck in the limbic system by using fear, anger and disgust to continually trigger and ‘flip the lid’.
This dysregulation encourages a state of ‘dis-ease’ with more and more narratives and challenges being put onto people to keep or push them into survival mode. The pathways to the pre-frontal cortex are further eroded or gradually removed, preventing the shift into problem solving, intelligent thinking, or creative being who can contribute positively to local communities and the prosperity of a country.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to find their passion or a talent that they can use to contribute to the world and I believe emotional intelligence is fundamental to achieving this.
To peace and prosperity,
jaxx x
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