IIRC, there is good research work backing up this from @jeffowski: people who’ve been taken in by a con will cling desperately to the con rather than admit (to others and themselves) that they were conned. People are willing to pay a •very• high price to avoid shame.
Rather than taking this only as a judgmental insult (however well deserved), I’m interested in the practical psycho-socio-political strategic implications for lifting our society out of this deep hole.
https://mastodon.world/@jeffowski/112271264553686404
The one bit of practical advice I remember about helping people who’ve been conned or drawn into a cult is to ask questions and keep asking questions. Direct confrontation — “You’ve been conned! Stop it!” — will lead to doubling down in self-defense. But the gentle, relentless accumulation of doubts can make a real difference.
What does this mean at a national scale? What does it look like in this world of extreme media bubbles and strained interpersonal relationships?