Mass Stockholm Syndrome?
recently, the harrowing story of Natascha Kampusch has made headlines. kidnapped at 10, the girl grew into a young woman of 18 before she was able to escape from her captor. to the surprise of many (but not of those familiar with the psychological implications of long captivity), Natascha did not seem to hate her captor. in fact, she seems to even like him, describing him as "a part of my life," and adding "that's why I also mourn for him in a certain way."
Stockholm syndrome, and more generally capture-bonding, are well documented psychological phenomena. while they have been applied to individuals, why not apply them to a whole generation? a whole society? a whole country?
what do you do when a man institutes a system that steals your life from you? from birth, you are watched. if you spout the party line, you suffer the intrusion of the state quietly, giving away your days, your weeks, your months, your years ... your life ... to a system that keeps you prisoner in its insistence that it decide for you what your best interests are.
if you don't spout the party line, you suffer the much more intrusive, malevolent attentions of the state, who marginalizes you, isolates you, and ultimately imprisons you either in your own home or in cells designed to break men and women.
what do you do when a man has stolen your life from you? do you hate him? hard to do when his minions are still around, and consequences might be high.
what does a sane person do? well, you might identify with him, feel he is "part of your life," try to rationalize that, at least, you didn't suffer some of the things other people in other countries suffer, such as drug addiction, unemployment, racial discrimination.
in fact, many Cubans spoke in similar terms. Fidel is all we've known. Fidel is so familiar to us. Things won't be the same without him. I wonder how much of this is a psychological reaction to a man who has absolute power over Cubans.
and so, when the people of Cubaland reacted to King Fidel's impending death not so long ago, i wondered how much of their reaction was due to a collective capture-bonding experience, where, after 47 years, your captor has become, for lack of another alternative, your protector and sole source of security.
Stockholm syndrome, and more generally capture-bonding, are well documented psychological phenomena. while they have been applied to individuals, why not apply them to a whole generation? a whole society? a whole country?
what do you do when a man institutes a system that steals your life from you? from birth, you are watched. if you spout the party line, you suffer the intrusion of the state quietly, giving away your days, your weeks, your months, your years ... your life ... to a system that keeps you prisoner in its insistence that it decide for you what your best interests are.
if you don't spout the party line, you suffer the much more intrusive, malevolent attentions of the state, who marginalizes you, isolates you, and ultimately imprisons you either in your own home or in cells designed to break men and women.
what do you do when a man has stolen your life from you? do you hate him? hard to do when his minions are still around, and consequences might be high.
what does a sane person do? well, you might identify with him, feel he is "part of your life," try to rationalize that, at least, you didn't suffer some of the things other people in other countries suffer, such as drug addiction, unemployment, racial discrimination.
in fact, many Cubans spoke in similar terms. Fidel is all we've known. Fidel is so familiar to us. Things won't be the same without him. I wonder how much of this is a psychological reaction to a man who has absolute power over Cubans.
and so, when the people of Cubaland reacted to King Fidel's impending death not so long ago, i wondered how much of their reaction was due to a collective capture-bonding experience, where, after 47 years, your captor has become, for lack of another alternative, your protector and sole source of security.
posted by Yimboro | 6:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home