Divide and Conquer

[acptulsa]

The Oklahoma Tobacco Control Program is a group of concerned citizens representing public, private and voluntary organizations that have come together to address our state’s devastating tobacco use problem.

The program’s primary funding partners are the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, and the Tobacco Use Prevention Service of the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Additional resources are provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voluntary organizations, tribal nations, and community-based coalitions throughout the state.

This group is promoting a new meme about how smoking costs every Oklahoma household $556. This figure refers to local, state and federal taxes. There's a new commercial airing here which shows a woman objecting to this, and a fat guy laughing at her because she has already paid it, so she can't refuse to pay it.

So, let's see. Politicians sell us on the idea of helping some people out. Politicians then stick us up for the cost of helping some people out through taxation, which some arbitrary group of people (say, smokers) couldn't possibly do because they don't have the power to stick us up. Politicians then use the fact that we're paying for the presumably irresponsible behavior of a certain group of us to turn one group of us against the other. And they say it's all for a good cause and just a little peer pressure.

But the fact of the matter is, here's an organization funded largely through tax dollars spending those tax dollars to turn one group of us against the other by telling one group that the other group is stealing from them. When the truth is, the politicians are stealing from us, the politicians presumably steal from us with our consent because we have good natures, and then they turn around and tell us that they're stealing from us against our will (so much for accurate representation in our representational democracy), and they're trying to get us to blame smokers for it when we all know that smokers don't have the authority to steal from us. So, they steal two dollars from us, they give one of those dollars to a smoker, and then they say to blame the smoker for the fact that you got robbed.

So, they divide us and deflect from themselves the blame for them doing what we don't want done. 'You know you're kindhearted and want this done for this unfortunate. What, you don't want this done? Blame the unfortunate.'

[bolil]

Absolutely, an integral part of control is the driving of wedges. Usually, as in your example, the wedge is driven on a matter of marginal importance, such as smoking or gay marriage or, shall I say it, abortion. In this cacophony of manufactured strife, they are able to get away with the real trangressions like the Patriot act of the NDAA.

Also, certain legislation (Such as the Civil Rights Amendment) actually serve to galvanize racists, perhaps chasing "racism" underground at the same time. They persecute it so, A la Vonnegut's "Bokonon", it's adherents gain in passion. It seems that way to me anyways.

Have you ever read Cat's Cradle? It gives an excellent example of what your talking about.

[acptulsa]

But, of course, this wedge wouldn't exist but for one thing--a government program. But it isn't the government's fault this wedge exist between us Americans. If you don't believe me, just ask the government.

[heavenlyboy34]

The Oklahoma Tobacco Control Program is a group of concerned citizens representing public, private and voluntary organizations that have come together to address our state’s devastating tobacco use problem.

The program’s primary funding partners are the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, and the Tobacco Use Prevention Service of the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Additional resources are provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voluntary organizations, tribal nations, and community-based coalitions throughout the state.

This group is promoting a new meme about how smoking costs every Oklahoma household $556. This figure refers to local, state and federal taxes. There's a new commercial airing here which shows a woman objecting to this, and a fat guy laughing at her because she has already paid it, so she can't refuse to pay it.

So, let's see. Politicians sell us on the idea of helping some people out. Politicians then stick us up for the cost of helping some people out through taxation, which some arbitrary group of people (say, smokers) couldn't possibly do because they don't have the power to stick us up. Politicians then use the fact that we're paying for the presumably irresponsible behavior of a certain group of us to turn one group of us against the other. And they say it's all for a good cause and just a little peer pressure.

But the fact of the matter is, here's an organization funded largely through tax dollars spending those tax dollars to turn one group of us against the other by telling one group that the other group is stealing from them. When the truth is, the politicians are stealing from us, the politicians presumably steal from us with our consent because we have good natures, and then they turn around and tell us that they're stealing from us against our will (so much for accurate representation in our representational democracy), and they're trying to get us to blame smokers for it when we all know that smokers don't have the authority to steal from us. So, they steal two dollars from us, they give one of those dollars to a smoker, and then they say to blame the smoker for the fact that you got robbed.

So, they divide us and deflect from themselves the blame for them doing what we don't want done. 'You know you're kindhearted and want this done for this unfortunate. What, you don't want this done? Blame the unfortunate.'

Well said. The regime does this constantly-dividing factions against each other to prevent popular uprisings against tyranny. It's a time-tested and proven tactic that happens to work. If history were better taught, it wouldn't be such an effective ploy.

[bolil]

Woah... conspiracy theory... you mean that it is easier to control people in smaller groups, especially when they all have mutual dislike/distrust for each other... Our gov would never instigate such vileness amongst people.