But it is more than that as well. It's the type of attitudes it promotes and the implications of its claims. It also attracts a lot of complete wankers to it. Take this recent anonymous commenter who showed up on a previous Secret post I'd made.
This is what they had to say, the quote lifted right from Wikipedia:
"In a letter written shortly before his escape from the Glenwood Springs jail, Bundy said "I have known people who...radiate vulnerability. Their facial expressions say 'I am afraid of you.' These people invite abuse... By expecting to be hurt, do they subtly encourage it?""
Yea it is the victim's fault. Shut the fuck up.
Yes that's right folks - this defender of "The Secret" uses a quote from Ted Bundy to defend it. Ted Fucking Bundy. Unless this is a Poe, you really couldn't make this shit up.
Originally I just thought I'd leave it at pointing out this attitude showed the commenter thought like Bundy, which must be a comfort to them, and that I hoped that something as unpleasant as they think others deserve happened to them. I still think that, but I'm also going to point out just how fucked up they and their attitude are, and highlight yet more of the disturbing implications of "The Secret".
I still reserve the right to call Poe though.
From here on in, our anonymous commenter will be known as Heidi.
First, thinking like Bundy
Bundy, in this quote, is trying to make excuses for his own behaviour - he wants his victims to share the blame for the things he did to them. It's classic "She was asking for it" behaviour.
Heidi apparently agrees with this. Heidi is the sort of person who thinks that women who dress provocatively either deserve to be raped, or are inviting rape so it is OK if someone decides to assault them. There's a word for people like that: Psychopath (some would say sociopath, some think there is no difference between the two).
a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy combined with strongly amoral conduct, masked by an ability to appear outwardly normal.
Does Heidi fit the bill? Let's see:
Abnormal lack of empathy for others? Check
Amoral conduct? Check
Ability to appear outwardly normal? Well as far as I know, that's a check.
How do I know Heidi has an abnormal lack of empathy for others? Well, they agree with Ted Bundy that Bundy's victims had it coming, they invited it. They desevered it. Sounds like an abnormal lack of empathy to me, especially if you know what Bundy did to his victims. Heidi thinks that vulnerable people invite what happens to them. I'd say there's an abnormal lack of empathy there.
Amoral conduct? Yes, if Heidi practises "The Secret" they are almost certainly amoral. For instance, here they are, online, promoting the idea that it is the victims fault. But look more closely at "The Secret" and its central idea that people get what they deserve and you'll see that at the heart of it is the notion that it is OK to be an amoral jack ass. If you take something from someone else, you invited it and so did they. They deserve to lose it, you deserve to have it. If that wasn't the case, the Universe or the LoA wouldn't let you have it. If it wasn't supposed to be, then the LoA wouldn't let it happen, would it? Victims invite what happens to them, you attract what you deserve. Its OK to take something that belongs to others, because if it wasn't, it wouldn't happen.
Basically, "The Secret" is nothing but an attempt to justify greed, theft and selfishness. And, if you think about it, libertarianism. "The Secret" encourages people to take advantage of the vulnerable, on that Heidi and Bundy apparently agree.
Heidi doesn't appear to know right from wrong - they're amoral.
I'd say Heidi fits the bill - they're a psychopath/sociopath. Just like Bundy. No wonder they share the same view on victims.
Second: Well, that's "The Secret"
And that's the problem with "The Secret" - it's not like Heidi's view is an extreme or twisted version of it, it is the view held by Rhonda Byrne, the woman who dreamed it up.
Victims are to blame for what happens to them - Byrne agrees. Heidi agrees. Proctor agrees. Ted Bundy agrees.
Think about that.
Woah. Now I've heard everything.
ReplyDeleteWell, Ted Bundy WAS very charming. And that's all that matters to LOA types. Not your character, or your ethics, or your empathy. If you don't have Ted-Bundy-level charisma, that's tantamount to having Asperger's syndrome.
Interesting to hear that Bundy was a self-proclaimed expert on how to read other people's emotions through their nonverbals. You can just feel the smack of him patting himself on the back for his oh-so-superior emotional intelligence.
Now THAT, Mr. Bundy, is nonverbal reading ability.
Yeah, that was kind of my reaction when reading the comment for the first time.
ReplyDelete"Really. I mean, you're really going to use Ted Bundy to make your case? Wow."