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Stockholm Syndrome
I was watching the story of Elizabeth Smart when I first heard
of the Stockholm syndrome. This is a condition where captives
sympathize with their captors and actually help them. Elizabeth
Smart was kidnapped in June 2002 and held by a pseudo-religious
fanatic. During most of her 9-month ordeal she cooperated fully
with her captor. Even when the police stopped their car in March
of 2003 she tried very hard to resist the officer who wanted
to determine her identity. I was shocked and fascinated by this.
I started to wonder how many less known kidnap victims are out
there, fully subservient to their captors. I saw Patty Hearst
on TV explaining how she was in a similar situation in the 1970s.
I read about the bank robbery in Stockholm where social scientists
first observed this syndrome and gave it the name of their city.
Even several months later, long after Stockholm police freed
the hostages, they still had warm feelings for the men who threatened
their lives.
I realized that the majority of Americans suffer from a form
of this condition which I will call Societal Stockholm syndrome.
We are effectively held captive by the blacks. They are generally
a hostile people who occasionally show acts of kindness. The
Stockholm syndrome explains our illogical desire to help blacks
and tolerate their antisocial behavior. It explains the behavior
of our leaders like Trent Lott, Bill Clinton, Billy Graham,
and countless others. These people may not be cowardly fools
as they appear to be, they are just suffering from a psychological
condition. They need help.
This syndrome has been observed in cult members, people in
Chinese Communist prisons, pimp-procured prostitutes, incest
victims, physically and/or emotionally abused children, battered
women, prisoners of war, victims of hijackings, hostages and
kidnap victims. Virtually anyone can get Stockholm syndrome
if the following conditions are met:
1. Perceived threat to survival and the belief that one's captor
is willing to act on that threat
2. The captive's perception of small acts of kindness from the
captor within a context of terror
3. Isolation from perspectives other than those of the captor
(Thanks to the media)
4. Perceived inability to escape.
Our relationship with the blacks clearly meets these four conditions.
This is a very unhealthy situation. Will we ever get the courage
to escape from our captors? Or will we need to be rescued by
some outside force?
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