The Psych Ward: The Shadow

[DrYouth]

So History on Fire and Martyrmade are teaming up for a double episode once again looking at the dark side of human nature... through the lens of two massacres committed by American Troops. (following on the heels on episodes on human sacrifice, cannibalism, torture and executions... how much of this can anyone take)

I immediately had a sinking feeling... remembering the infamous "Logical Insanity" Episode at the Dan Carlin Forum...

As a recovering SJW.... deeply steeped in SJW propaganda throughout my formative years... This is delicate territory.

But wait a second.... Darryl Cooper.... this guy isn't an SJW.... Is he?
And Danielle Bollelli... his credentials aren't sparkling... much of his history is told through the lens of American Indians and Black Boxers...
but I definitely get the sense that Bollelli just likes stories about fighters who fought courageously... not really the "peacenick" SJW trope.

So the real question posed here in this OP is can we look at The Shadow side of Human Nature without falling into the SJW trap of self-doubt and self-flagellation?


Is it possible?

Or does NOT being an SJW demand that we ignore the Shadow, when it is that of the tribe to whom we wish to remain loyal?
I do firmly believe that when we disavow and reject our Shadow, we risk being self doubting, submissive and weak.... and that this is the SJW trap!
Famously on display in the Star Wars series... where the Jedi's continuously seek to "weed out" the darkness creating monsters in the process!

I think the question really revolves on what does the Shadow contains when we unpack it.

Carl Jung famously believed that the Shadow was not "evil"... it contained strength, hope and great energy that we could harness if only we had the courage to face it without backing down... by OWNING our shadow we become stronger... By DISAVOWING it we are weaker and prone to poor decision making, self sabotage and pyrrhic victories.

Well.... with some trepidation I am plugging into this double series... although I've cringed more than a few times in even the opening hour.

[Speaker to Animals]

Yes, it is possible.

SJWs, being Marxists, look at everything through group guilt, group punishment, and group rewards/remuneration. This view isn't about justice at all.

Just look at the situation as it is and you'll be fine.

[Fife]

Objective reality is recast now as the "Shadow." OK

[DrYouth]

Objective reality is recast now as the "Shadow." OK

Explain

[DrYouth]

SJWs.... look at everything through group guilt, group punishment, and group rewards/remuneration. This view isn't about justice at all.

I agree with this.

[DrYouth]

Well this thread took off like a rocket!

What's the matter no one want to talk about The Shadow?

I mean it is a messed up psych term....

Modern psychiatry never mentions it...

It's way too voodoo.

My take on it is that it's our "evil twin".

You know the part of you that you hate to look at after the fact.
Like when you turn into an asshole when you're drunk, or are upset with your kids or your wife... or get trash talked on the court
Or like when you hijack the entire forum with Hockey Talk or something...

And later when you calm down, (if you calm down)... you're like... "I did that?" "Damn... that's not good."

Except that in war time... the odds are that the shit you did... is a lot worse than swear at your kids...

[Speaker to Animals]

I thought it was just the thoughts and impulses we don't allow ourselves to cogitate.

[SuburbanFarmer]

I don't think it's healthy to treat your dark side as a separate entity, or "shadow". It's a part of you. Trying to cut it off from yourself, and suppress it, is only going to take you down the path of repression.

This is what I was bringing up to you in another thread, Doc. Your profession pathologically denies human nature, expecting on some level for people to fit into a very modern 'ideal'. Docile, happy, emotionally calm... These are not what we are, unless something is very wrong.

This is how the 'SJW Trap' is created - beating yourself up over your true nature, because it doesn't conform to the "Ideal". We are filthy, murderous apes, and it's nothing to agonize over. It's our nature. We choose to behave differently, because it benefits us, and the threat of being caged is always just around the corner.

Without that, the modern world would look very, very different.

[Speaker to Animals]

It's been a while since I read Jung, but denying human nature didn't seem like his intent. My recollection of his description of the shadow (this was his concept) was that we create and empower this thing precisely by denying our nature. Insomuch as you banish certain thoughts and desires from your concsiousness, you create a space for them in the unconsciousness, which is your shadow. The shadow is that part of the whole self you deny, which can manifest in times of stress or turmoil. The better strategy is to stop trying to banish thoughts. Integrate them and deal with them rationally.

It's been a while, though, so perhaps I misremember it. The shadow is not a demon. It's just the part of you your conscious mind will not allow or accept.

[SuburbanFarmer]

It's been a while since I read Jung, but denying human nature didn't seem like his intent. My recollection of his description of the shadow (this was his concept) was that we create and empower this thing precisely by denying our nature. Insomuch as you banish certain thoughts and desires from your concsiousness, you create a space for them in the unconsciousness, which is your shadow. The shadow is that part of the whole self you deny, which can manifest in times of stress or turmoil. The better strategy is to stop trying to banish thoughts. Integrate them and deal with them rationally.

It's been a while, though, so perhaps I misremember it. The shadow is not a demon. It's just the part of you your conscious mind will not allow or accept.

I'm not sure whether it's repression, or healthy, but I have random shameful thoughts from my past pop up all the time. I'll be driving or something, and some embarrassing incident from 20 years ago comes into my head, and I have to force it out - usually by groaning at myself, or something.

Maybe I'm feeding my shadow with it somehow, or I'm processing it healthily. Who knows. Point is, we can't deny that the stupidest things that we've ever done were still "us". It wasn't some weird, other part of you - it was you. You have murder, brilliance, shame, and glory all within you. It's just a matter of the situation and your mindset at the moment.