49 Comments

I do believe that most unskillful and hurtful behavior comes from a place of suffering. Those who are psychopathic, though, may not be suffering but they lead unexamined lives and make others suffer. Stay brave and hold yourself tight. You are not alone, you have many comrades.

Expand full comment

Love your work....and really loved “Wizard” ❤️

Expand full comment

Thank you, Cailtin. That is some lovely artwork and this article resonates on many levels.

The quote by Bertrand Russell is spot on, however, I believe he’s ‘one of them’…

“I think the subject which will be of most importance politically is mass psychology... Its importance has been enormously increased by the growth of modern methods of propaganda. Of these the most influential is what is called 'education.' Religion plays a part, though a diminishing one; the press, the cinema, and the radio play an increasing part.... Although this science will be diligently studied, it will be rigidly confined to the governing class. The populace will not be allowed to know how its convictions are generated … It may be hoped that in time anybody will be able to persuade anybody of anything if he can catch the patient young and is provided by the State with money and equipment.”

—Bertrand Russell, “The Impact of Science on Society”

To add to your tips above, I find stoicism useful in dealing with the slights and hardships that come with this life. It involves a detached observation of our circumstances and encounters that is objective rather than judgmental. This can be a powerful approach in cultivating a healthier internal response and more realistic worldview.

“My third maxim was to endeavor always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general, accustom myself to the persuasion that, except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power; so that when we have done our best in things external to us, all wherein we fail of success is to be held, as regards us, absolutely impossible: and this single principle seemed to me sufficient to prevent me from desiring for the future anything which I could not obtain, and thus render me contented.”

—Rene Descartes

Expand full comment

Never doubt your gift of wisdom Caitlin! Keep shining the light, that is the only way! Loved "Wizard"!

Expand full comment

Hi Caitlin. One of the ways I have learned to deal with my perception of being attacked has been to recall Don Miguel Ruiz's book entitled "The Four Agreements". Agreement #2 states Don't Take Anything Personally. This helps me remember that I am not - and cannot be - defined by the malicious words or actions of another human being. Nor do I have to allow them to have power over me. When I stop to recognize that any attack seemingly aimed at me is instead a reflection of another's inner struggle / turmoil / unresolved issues, I can - occasionally - see my attacker through the lens of empathy. (But only on occasion. What can I say? I am a work in progress.)

Expand full comment

When I get attacked I try to understand what made that person do it. For people I know, I know their personal pain and insecurities, so I send them light and love. Strangers can't wound me as deeply and I don't know what made them so nasty, so it's easier to brush them off as trolls who only feel better about themselves by tearing someone else down. Pretty pathetic way to live, so I just feel sorry for people like that. Remembering there are people who think highly of me keeps me from going down the drain.

Expand full comment

Great advice, thank you. I suspect more visual interaction in social media would likely help. A ‘ twitter’ where people responding to a post have to respond with a quick video. This would reduce trolling and the power of the thousands online whose job or objective is to maintain the status quo.

Face to face but with the buffer of time and distance will help override our cognitive biases significantly ... people will see honesty, sincerity and deception more easily... yes, the plutocratic media will still deceive with a flawless smile but it’s the social media space where the 99% are trying to be heard and seen without the smearing and status quo narratives dominating.

We have a right to privacy but a need for transparency. Human hierarchies of domination and the ego both thrive on hiding and deception.

Expand full comment

Caitlin, you're a true gem. Like Bertrand Russell, your work is a rare and poetic combination of courage, logic, humility and empathy, as well as a refreshing absence of doctrinal rigidity.

Expand full comment

Thank you for being a brave voice. I am a victim of diseased psychopaths in my own family, who have gone to great lengths to do grave harm to me. I think all one can do is to completely cut them out of your life, have NO contact, and just wait for them to die off.

Expand full comment

I love your work. You are truly inspiring.

Expand full comment

ty for the confidence to fight another day > > >

Expand full comment

OMG, your Wizard is so moving and amazing. May it shake the rusty souls and free J.

Expand full comment

Well, to be honest, psychopaths and sociopaths have always been able to infiltrate and reach the upper echelons of society. The only way to stop them is to use the system against them. When the type advances to a certain level – manager, congressperson, financial directorship, leadership position – the system must demand a thorough profile of that person be made. Once a psycho- or sociopathy is detected, then that person must be electronically monitored 24/7. Aberrant behavior of any kind is then rewarded with exile to a position which has potentially little or no negative effect on society.

This would essentially do to them what they want to do to us, i.e., have complete control.

Expand full comment

you cannot change the world by oversimplification

Expand full comment

“He has the capacity to veer with every wind, or, stubbornly, to insert himself into some fantastically elaborated and irrational social institution only to perish with it. [For man is a] fickle, erratic, dangerous creature [whose] restless mind would try all paths, all horrors, all betrayals ... believe all things and believe nothing ... kill for shadowy ideas more ferociously than other creatures kill for food, then, in a generation or less, forget what bloody dream had so oppressed him”

— Loren Eiseley —

https://howtosavetheworld.ca/2009/09/21/the-philosophy-of-loren-eiseley-in-verse/

Expand full comment

If no one has seen this Curtis documentary it is a classic. THE CENTURY OF THE SELF. He also did THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES and many other greats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s&t=4s

Expand full comment