Jedi Mind Trick: The Disturbing, Destabilizing Abnormal Is Now Normal | Zero Hedge
Description: Disturbing, destabilizing abnormalities are now accepted as normal life in America...
Keywords: Zero Hedge,Zerohedge,Finance,Economics,Markets,Politics,Analysis,Federal Reserve,Reality,recovery
Date: 2013-01-07T00:00:00Z

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# Jedi Mind Trick: The Disturbing, Destabilizing Abnormal Is Now Normal

by Tyler Durden
Dec 19, 2017 8:53 AM
0
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Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Disturbing, destabilizing abnormalities are now accepted as normal life in America.

Forgive me for wondering if the populace of America hasn't fallen for a Jedi mind trick:

Disturbing, destabilizing abnormalities are now accepted as normal life in America:

1. Sprawling tent camps of homeless sprout like flowers of poverty in U.S. cities, leaving mountains of trash that speak volumes about systemic failure, destitution and overwhelmed city services.

2. The Federal Reserve's vaunted "Wealth Effect" that was supposed to be a tide that raised all boats at least a bit has concentrated wealth and power in the top 5%, 1%, and 1/10th of 1%, leaving the bottom 95% with diminished prospects and a thinning stake in The American Project.

3. The stock market's year-long levitation while the real-world economy decays is a perverse counter-correlation that reflects the widening divide between those enriched by the asset bubbles and those left further behind.

4. In the midst of a supposedly resurgent U.S. "recovery" in its 9th year of wonderfulness, the opioid epidemic has killed tens of thousands and crippled hundreds of thousands of lives and families, yet the federal government, supposedly the most powerful force on the planet, is frozen in a decades-long law-enforcement/Drug Gulag obsession, blind to the Big Pharma Cartel that has created and fueled the epidemic as a means of reaping billions in profits.

5. The nation's Corporate/Billionaire-owned Media obsess endlessly over the chimera of Russian collusion, as if that was the Big Story That Matters, while the nation's rigged economy is coming apart at the seams.

6. While the Sports Media Empires fret over the decline of fan engagement in the NFL, nobody dares mention that Pro Sports is now unaffordable to the vast majority of households.

7. Healthcare costs continue spiraling higher, even as Americans are visibly less healthy.

8. The endless media circus of celebrity scandal, the Russian collusion propaganda parade and the over-saturation of sports obscure the Permanent War Policies of America's Central State.

9. While The Deep State has entered the common lexicon, all the media chatter does little to illuminate the internecine battles within the Deep State that are playing out as shadows cast in the Russian Collusion Kabuki theater.

10. The reality that all these social, political and financial abnormalities are inherently destabilizing is never covered in the Corporate Media, but this orchestrated refusal to face the disturbing facts of systemic decay leaves the status quo increasingly fragile and prone to unexpected disruption.

If the "America" displayed in the Corporate Media seems like "the Real America," then this is not the America you're looking for.

* * *

I'm offering my new book Money and Work Unchained at a 10% discount ($8.95 for the Kindle ebook and $18 for the print edition) through December, after which the price goes up to retail ($9.95 and $20). Read the first section for free in PDF format. If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

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Banana Republican Dec 19, 2017 8:54 AM

These are not the bitcoins you are looking for...

lil dirtball Banana Republican Dec 19, 2017 9:02 AM

ITT, as a continuation of this hi-jacked sub-thread (ITHJST) we remember things about the world before it became suck.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-17/artists-impression-mainstream-m...

I remember when

- there was only English spoken at businesses

- the only queers anyone knew about were rock stars

... .

Cognitive Dissonance lil dirtball Dec 19, 2017 9:04 AM

Predictive Programming

The Alarmist Cognitive Dissonance Dec 19, 2017 9:10 AM

Talk about programming ... at first glance, I thought the headline was Jeb! mind trick.

TeethVillage88s The Alarmist Dec 19, 2017 9:27 AM

Certainly there are WMDs in Iraq - New York Times

CuttingEdge TeethVillage88s Dec 19, 2017 9:54 AM

I wondered how long before "Luke Skywalker" made a political ignoramous of himself again (happens quite often).

This one is hilarious.

Agent44 Dec 19, 2017 8:54 AM

Use the Farce, Luke.

FreeShitter Agent44 Dec 19, 2017 9:00 AM

Luke, You are not Father! -Maury

runswithscissors FreeShitter Dec 19, 2017 9:39 AM

The Jedi mind trick...conceived by the joos...the farce is with us.

NeedtoSecede Agent44 Dec 19, 2017 10:22 AM

May “The Schwartz” be with you...

The Count Dec 19, 2017 8:56 AM

Of course, none of this is a coincidence. This has all been carefully planned since the 80s when 'political correctness' was introduced.

Chupacabra-322 The Count Dec 19, 2017 9:03 AM

SEE WHAT THE SOCIAL ENGINEERS ARE DOING? It's very subtle, but they are trying to condition all people into thinking in terms of GROUPS, group-think, not as individuals. He, she, him, her, etc. refer to single individual people... They, their, them apply mostly to GROUPS, or classes of people. The elites are doing their best to get us to all abandon individual thinking, individual creativity, individual achievements... they want us all to be "Politically Correct", always conforming to popular opinion that they promote in the media, so we can all start assimilating into a singular 'Borg Mind' (like in Star Trek) and censoring and policing each other... basically acting like a bunch of thought Nazis and doing their job for them (see, I even used the word "them", because they like to think in terms of groups) ! LOL... this is rich!! Of course, the elites themselves are laughing at us all, acting like we do not know what is going on. The elites know there is power in unity, in conning people to think in terms of 'groups', classes and races... like "they", "them", "their"... they are using peer pressure to force people into conforming and 'fitting in' with 'popular opinion', so people go along to get along and do not feel like social outcasts or social rejects. Many people will just go along with this without thinking about how their values and attitudes and opinions are being manipulated and twisted to support the agenda of these auspicious and nefarious elites.

JohnGaltUk Chupacabra-322 Dec 19, 2017 9:09 AM

The nedia are trying to divide us on everything, something is definitely up.

They have us arguing over fucken pronouns, gender pay gap, male, female identity, the Russians, BREXIT, immigration and anything else. It's a diversion.

TeethVillage88s JohnGaltUk Dec 19, 2017 9:29 AM

You have no value. Except to the Corporation, to the Military, to the Govt. Roman style Fascism.

"The elites are doing their best to get us to all abandon individual thinking, individual creativity, individual achievements"

vega74 JohnGaltUk Dec 19, 2017 10:22 AM

Not the messenger, the media is the message. Not diversion, diversion is the course. Black is grey, or white, or green, relative to how it self-identifies on

any given day. This one is for you John Galt: A is A has become a zen koan.

old naughty Chupacabra-322 Dec 19, 2017 9:12 AM

b,b,but, that's assimilation into a singularity, humanity's destiny,

as planned by Enki-Anu-Vishnu-Luci (wespenre.com) who altered our DNA...

RagnarRedux Chupacabra-322 Dec 19, 2017 9:42 AM

Oooh evil Nazis already? Yeah goyim, don't ever have in-group preferences, interests, and alliances, that is for (((us))) only.

WillyGroper Chupacabra-322 Dec 19, 2017 9:44 AM

group think of another sort.

pedo's...scroll down after glee.

the alleged lv shooter paddock's brother arrested for kiddie porn.

http://ktla.com/2017/12/18/former-glee-actor-mark-salling-pleads-guilty-to-federal-child-porn-charges-admits-he-had-25000-images/

pazmaker Chupacabra-322 Dec 19, 2017 10:09 AM

I understand what you are saying, but I also think Mankind has been dividing themselves into groups since the beginning of time.

Going along to get along has never been my thing, thus the reasons I can probably count my friends on 1 finger.....wait maybe I don't have friend in the world....oh well

So what I think is the elite play on this fact that people are easily divided and use to their advantage.

I don't know what the solution is though.

Fireman Dec 19, 2017 9:02 AM

The sickness is upon US.

USSA is USSR so now it is becoming apparent even to the terminally stupid that FBI is KGB.

A primer for the coming collapse from .....who else? ..a Ruskie!

Stage 1: Financial collapse. Faith in “business as usual” is lost.

Stage 2: Commercial collapse. Faith that “the market shall provide” is lost.

Stage 3: Political collapse. Faith that “the government will take care of you” is lost.

Stage 4: Social collapse. Faith that “your people will take care of you” is lost.

Stage 5: Cultural collapse. Faith in “the goodness of humanity” is lost.

http://cluborlov.blogspot.it/p/the-five-stages-of-collapse.html

DEMIZEN Fireman Dec 19, 2017 9:13 AM

dmitry orlov will be my 2018 beach reading.

silverer Fireman Dec 19, 2017 9:19 AM

The real KGB is now less "KGB" than the FBI.

Ntoxic8ingWave Dec 19, 2017 9:03 AM

Stage 6 of a civilization, and none have ever prevailed.

buzzsaw99 Dec 19, 2017 9:06 AM

the mind trick must be working on me because i don't see the economy coming apart at the seams. all the charts and graphs i've seen look wonderful.

Banana Republican buzzsaw99 Dec 19, 2017 9:10 AM

Huge, even. Beautiful.

TeethVillage88s Banana Republican Dec 19, 2017 9:32 AM

Blacks are no longer unemployed, a great feat of the great society. I heard it this morning on NPR, bastion of Economic Reporting. Thank god for PBS and Public Radio.

S/

Dazar Nummers Dec 19, 2017 9:07 AM

Mr Average American-- your standard of living is declining and you persist in your Trance State compliant unto death. Open your eyes and shake loose of your stupor.

Cloud9.5 Dec 19, 2017 9:10 AM

Most people are simply trying to survive. The ongoing chatter of the political class is entertaining. The tabloid revelations of flawed icons divert attention. But, most people are working incredible hours simply to try and avoid eviction and keep food on the table.

Both of my kids are making six figures but by the time they pay their four employees, the rent on one office and the mortgage on the other, they are living hand to mouth. They are on a tread mill and there is no way for them to get off.

FORD_FIESTA Cloud9.5 Dec 19, 2017 9:30 AM

"making six figures"....."living hand to mouth"........you did a really piss poor job of Parenting there. Typical ideology of most affluent americans. Need more, more, more,,,,,but have no idea how to really survive if they had to.

No appreciation for the simple things in life.

pods Cloud9.5 Dec 19, 2017 9:36 AM

It really is shitty out there for the vast majority. Paychecks don't go nearly as far as they used to, even when replacing quality household items with cheap junk. Don't get me started on food.

All of this causes internal stress. This stress is magnified when people constantly hear how well things are, yet it doesn't seem to be visiting them. And we are in an area that is doing well. Visiting areas that worse off it is easy to see why people choose to anesthetize themselves. It doesn't make it right, but it's easy to see. Especially when the chosen way is a very "safe" and quasi legal way (opiods). Bottle says take 1, but if I take 2, then I don't care about how shitty my life is for a while. That is how it begins.

As a whole, we are at the end of a way of life. A life built on debt creation and expansion. It was all a lie. People who choose to take drugs are scolded for their failure to accept "real life," yet, society as a whole has this grand collective delusion that is many times worse. Believing that this way of life is "normal" when in reality, it is EXACTLY the same. Except debt is the drug. At first a little bit went a long ways. Over time, more and more was required to achieve the same level of happiness that was achieved by a single "pill" before. Now we are near the end, where no matter how much we take, it cannot achieve what we need. And we cannot afford it either. It has caught up to us and now, just like the heroin addict, we are all going to have to pay the piper.

pods

shovelhead Dec 19, 2017 9:10 AM

Meh.

A good pandemic will sort things out.

homiegot Dec 19, 2017 9:12 AM

Bad genes introduced into our gene pool.

FreeShitter homiegot Dec 19, 2017 9:16 AM

Khazaars infected everything.

TeethVillage88s FreeShitter Dec 19, 2017 9:25 AM

R they Sacred Cows? Can we talk here. oops.

Well if we can't talk about them, then how about the Sacred Cow of $1 Trillion Annual for MIC, or Usury, or Planned Inflation through Monetary & Fiscal Policy

44magnum TeethVillage88s Dec 19, 2017 9:31 AM

The following quote appeared in the London Times in 1865....

"If this mischievous financial policy, which has its origin in North America, shall become endurated down to a fixture, then that Government will furnish its own money without cost. It will pay off debts and be without debt. It will have all the money necessary to carry on its commerce. It will become prosperous without precedent in the history of the world. The brains, and wealth of all countries will go to North America. That country must be destroyed or it will destroy every monarchy (private bank) on the globe."

TeethVillage88s 44magnum Dec 19, 2017 9:40 AM

Heard it described as "Internationalist or International Bankers" seems a link to 1910, WWI, US Federal Bankruptcy, WWII, Creation of IMF & WB, UN Coalition War in Korea, Indochina War 1955-1975, Smithsonian Agreement, Marc Rick and Pincus Arms smuggling to Iran, Creation of GATT & WTO, China as Most Favored Nation Status, NAFTA, End of Glass Steagal.

I'd guess they will privatize the US Post Office and Public utilities next.

silverer Dec 19, 2017 9:18 AM

For US citizens who still have a functional brain: Your enemy is certainly not the government. Your enemy is your stupid next door neighbors who support the bullshit unquestionably and defend the leaders criminal actions as acceptable management.

TeethVillage88s silverer Dec 19, 2017 10:17 AM

The enemy is our Trade Representatives... Ginchrich, US Congress, William Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Obama, McCain, Phil Gramm, Robert Rubin, Larry Sommers, ... who are in our Trade Committees & WTO?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_William_Rappard
Roberto Azevêdo is the sixth Director-General of the WTO

The four Deputy Directors-General are Yonov Frederick Agah of Nigeria, Karl Brauner of Germany, Alan Wolff of the United States and Yi Xiaozhun of China.

Negative - 780 Billion Trade Balance

http://www.economist.com/node/21604509

Total Current Account Balance for the United States (BPBLTT01USA637S) 2006 = - $800 Billion?
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BPBLTT01USA637S

richsob Dec 19, 2017 9:20 AM

Sure wish we could see some articles that present the other side, or at least discuss how there may be some reasons for being positive. I'm no Pollyanna but I'm getting sick to death of all the articles that are just doom porn. This website has always been biased toward the negative but now it's getting downright depressing reading the same "woe is me" stuff every day. ZH needs to nudge things a bit.

RockySpears richsob Dec 19, 2017 9:44 AM

OK, so tell us something positive in economics/poilitics that is NOT, in some way, tainted?

I have looked for positivity in the Web, but only find self-congratulatory sites or Socialist ideologies.

If you know of some "truthful - ish" places, please, elucidate,

RS

SuperRay richsob Dec 19, 2017 9:55 AM

If you want the truth, come here. If you want “positive” go to sesame st

TeethVillage88s Dec 19, 2017 9:21 AM

Last sports event for me was like 1987 AZ Basketball, free ticket. Last Rock Concert was like 1983.

"...nobody dares mention that Pro Sports is now unaffordable to the vast majority of households."

- Higher Taxes for households in 2027... Plus higher prices for Goods & Services as corporations pass on higher expenses and local taxes
- Wealth Extraction Machine is in play
- No Firewall on your Savings, Career, Pension, Investments, Bank Accounts
- No Firewall on US Constitution, Individual Rights, Right to due process
- Firewall on Health Care Expenses/Costs
- Firewall on Govt Spending at all Levels & Budgets
- Firewall on Usury and Rising Property Taxes, Utility Fees, County Fees
- Firewall on the Power of Trans-Nationals
- Firewall on Trade Deals, WTO, NATO, Protectionism for Germany, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China

TeethVillage, Fireman

A. Boaty Dec 19, 2017 9:27 AM

Maybe it has something to do with the Shlong of Doom she has slung over her right shoulder.

ToSoft4Truth Dec 19, 2017 9:28 AM

I kinda like it the way it is. Walmart has "Merry Christmas" banners plastered all over the store. Now that's "Winning"!

A. Boaty ToSoft4Truth Dec 19, 2017 9:34 AM

Now if only we could get Christmas declared a national holiday. Oh, wait...

ToSoft4Truth A. Boaty Dec 19, 2017 10:15 AM

"Make it a "Two-Buck Chuck" Christmas, Jesus would."

CRM114 Dec 19, 2017 9:33 AM

Most people believe what they want to believe, which normally means ignoring anything with major uncertainties.

Always have, probably always will.

Only the capable are prepared to consider major uncertainty before it gets forced upon them.

Only the extremely widely capable and confident embrace it.

sheketebaka Dec 19, 2017 9:39 AM

There's a nexus, we're moving on. Some strange anomaly.

Lord Raglan Dec 19, 2017 9:39 AM

something is wrong when the stock market is up every day for nearly the last 10 years..............you talk about abnormal. That defies reality in and of itself.

TeethVillage88s Dec 19, 2017 9:41 AM

Mark Hamil looks like he is tutoring that girl in the bottom picture.

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