JFK research and mental health.

[W. Niederhut]

25 minutes ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

I like your contributions Simon? or Andrew?  Keep it up!

I'm going to get a little dark on this. I've had some years  to evaluate what I've seen. I think most people here are reasonably well adjusted.

How I'm viewing your initial post from the conspiracy side, what I have seen to just  some here,  is that looking into these sinister forces you mentioned becomes a fixation and an obsession and that  can translate  to seeing  people who don't believe in the JFKA  as even scumballs, or one of the enemy, to a  point they are part of a conspiracy against them. And gradually more and more people are seen through a binary lens that they are with them or supporting them, or against them, which comes to isolate them, and that gives rise to more and broader  conspiracy beliefs to feed a fire to the point that nothing is taken at face value and every notion, every good intention  and  person is distrusted as part of a grand scheme working against them.

Your question involves mental health. I'm only focusing on what I see as the worst mental health problem.

Kirk,

Perhaps some JFK Truthers are more generally paranoid, but I would argue that getting in touch with JFKA reality is the opposite of a "mental health problem."

The real issue here, as I see it, is the social repression, and uncovering, of historical truth-- and how people are affected by that healthy, but painful, discovery process.

JFK wasn't murdered by a lone gunman in the TSBD.  All informed people know that by now.

In other words, we're not talking about people who have researched and discovered the repressed truth about JFK's murder being delusional.  Just the opposite.  JFK Truthers are the growing subset of the population who AREN'T delusional about what happened on 11/22/63.

The delusional ones are those who still believe that Oswald was a lone assassin-- those who have been misled by 59 years of CIA propaganda in our mainstream media.

Nor does the discovery of repressed historical truth, (e.g., about the JFK assassination) necessarily correlate with generalized paranoia.  (Paranoia is suspicion and fear that is not based in reality.)

It is more likely to result in healthy, rational skepticism about the true relationship between elements of our government (military and intelligence agencies) and our mainstream media-- what the CIA used to call, "Operation Mockingbird."

That's not delusional.  It's reality-based.  

Another prominent example.  Most of us realized at some point after 2002 that the Bush/Cheney administration was systematically lying to us about Iraqi WMDs and the sales pitch for invading Iraq in March of 2003.

Similarly, most of us also realized during the past half century that we were deceived about the Vietnam War.

[Paul Brancato]

2 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

Great comments here about the subject of our "Untold History," and its impact on our mental health.

The uncovering of the true history of JFK's assassination, and the 59 year cover up, is one part of a broader uncovering of the "Untold History of the United States," as documented by Oliver Stone, Peter Kuznick, and others.   The telling of national "family secrets."

How many Americans knew about the Tulsa Race Massacre until recently?

The grieving and working through process can be compared to the process of becoming conscious of, and working through, abuse and secrecy in dysfunctional families.

It is painful, but leads to resolution and wisdom, if people can fully mourn, rather than getting fixated at a stage of unresolved grief-- such as chronic anger about things that we can't change.

The end point of any grieving process is peace of mind and acceptance -- what Miguel de Unamuno called "the tragic sense of life."

Camus described it as acceptance of the absurd-- i.e., the absurdity of suffering and injustice.

Unfortunately, many people in our society are still fixated at a stage of denial of reality about America's "Untold History."

Denial is a defense that many people cannot do without.  Naturally, people don't want to believe that they have been betrayed or abused by trusted authority figures-- parents, Presidents, et.al.

I'm sure that we all know some people who simply cannot tolerate hearing any details about American slavery, JFK's assassination, Trump's J6 coup attempt, 9/11, etc.

Trump launched his 1776 fake history project in response to the 1619 Project to educate Americans about the true history of slavery.

 

50 minutes ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

I like your contributions Simon? or Andrew?  Keep it up!

I'm going to get a little dark on this. I've had some years  to evaluate what I've seen. I think most people here are reasonably well adjusted.

How I'm viewing your initial post from the conspiracy side, what I have seen to just  some here,  is that looking into these sinister forces you mentioned becomes a fixation and an obsession and that  can translate  to seeing  people who don't believe in the JFKA  as even scumballs, or one of the enemy, to a  point they are part of a conspiracy against them. And gradually more and more people are seen through a binary lens that they are with them or supporting them, or against them, which comes to isolate them, and that gives rise to more and broader  conspiracy beliefs to feed a fire to the point that nothing is taken at face value and every notion, every good intention  and  person is distrusted as part of a grand scheme working against them.

Your question involves mental health. I'm only focusing on what I see as the worst mental health problem.

I never look askance at people who cannot see the sinister forces at work. I feel mostly sadness. I’ve read arguments that say folks like me need to be right, that we are attracted to the position that we see clearly where others are blind. Convenient way to dismiss the conspiracy minded. So many of my friends over the years have let me know that they prefer not to believe certain things because it makes them feel powerless. ‘What can I do?’ is the question often asked. Dr. Helen Caldicott called this propensity psychic numbing. 
What sees me through all this is that from studying history I’ve learned that this is nothing new, that power corrupts, that authority figures need to be very carefully vetted, which by the way comes down to one’s own desire to seek truth and doing the work oneself. History as we are taught it is full of lies, truth seekers have often been marginalized and worse. 
At its deepest level my desire for truth stems from empathy with humanity, and from wanting a better life. 
i also see that life on earth is beautiful, that friends and family take precedence, that the only person I can truly be responsible for is myself, that my behavior towards others is more important than my beliefs. It is not necessary to be detached from the horrors of war and poverty in order to live a good and meaningful life. It’s a gift beyond measure to be here now. 

[Joe Bauer]

If only I wasn't watching my old, grainy, continuous horizontal line disturbance, black and white screen, hand me down TV in my brother's and my bedroom Sunday morning, 11,24,1963 and seen Jack Ruby assassinate Lee Harvey Oswald "live" on national TV.

I was 12.

I had been watching every second of the JFK assassination news coverage since the afternoon of 11,22,1963.

I mean "every" second."

I had seen Oswald on TV since Friday night and he was the guilty party all right. According to all the comments from high authority sources.

Dallas DA Henry Wade...
I think we have the right man...with a "beyond a reasonable doubt" certainty.

DA Homicide Captain Will Fritz...
"THIS CASE IS CINCHED!"

Even at my young age I knew that the only most important person in the case was Lee Harvey Oswald. He was going to tell us all what really happened. Even if they had to beat it out of him!  Just keep him alive!

Lee Oswald was the most important criminal suspect in our almost 200 year long history.

He was also the most threatened one. Tens of thousands of death threats daily pouring in from not just the entire U.S. but all over the world!

I trusted the Dallas PD to keep this guy safe. The entire truth of the JFK assassination rested on keeping him alive.

Again, I was just 12.  However, when Oswald was first brought out from the elevator exit into the hallway leading to the press... I immediately had a sick feeling of intuitive dread.

He looked so wide open, I couldn't believe it. Just two guys on his side. Practically parading Oswald even a little in front of them?

I really felt that dread. He was just too open!

I once went to a "Howdy Doody" Buffalo Bob Smith appearance in San Jose when I was younger. They had three times the body surrounding security Oswald had!

Kids who got too worked up and charged at them were slapped away.

Then just a few seconds later..."BOOM!" Ruby whacked Oswald! Had him "wide open" for his gut shot!

Without thinking my body leaped off my bed and I stood there in shock yelling over and over..."NO WAY!" "NO WAY!" " NO WAY!"

I "knew" there was something way beyond simple DPD negligence or improbability coincidence wrong with what I had just witnessed on live national TV.

That was the birthplace of my life-long sense of serious suspicion and doubt about the JFK event and the later official finding that it was just a lucky Oswald who did JFK and same with Jack Ruby doing Oswald in defending the honor of Jackie Kennedy.

After childhood and adolescence, everyone soon learns the world is a great and often stark mix of good and bad, danger and safety, wealth and poverty, suffering and joy, war and peace, life and death, anger and happiness, abuse and loving nurturing, bad luck and good luck.

Generally, thankfully, in the industrialized countries the balance is almost always tilted in favor of the good to a degree that most live a relatively decent to good life when it's all said and done.

You think of the good much more than the bad. Of course that's the healthy thing to do.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Joe Bauer

[Simon Andrew]

45 minutes ago, Paul Brancato said:

 

I never look askance at people who cannot see the sinister forces at work. I feel mostly sadness. I’ve read arguments that say folks like me need to be right, that we are attracted to the position that we see clearly where others are blind. Convenient way to dismiss the conspiracy minded. So many of my friends over the years have let me know that they prefer not to believe certain things because it makes them feel powerless. ‘What can I do?’ is the question often asked. Dr. Helen Caldicott called this propensity psychic numbing. 
What sees me through all this is that from studying history I’ve learned that this is nothing new, that power corrupts, that authority figures need to be very carefully vetted, which by the way comes down to one’s own desire to seek truth and doing the work oneself. History as we are taught it is full of lies, truth seekers have often been marginalized and worse. 
At its deepest level my desire for truth stems from empathy with humanity, and from wanting a better life. 
i also see that life on earth is beautiful, that friends and family take precedence, that the only person I can truly be responsible for is myself, that my behavior towards others is more important than my beliefs. It is not necessary to be detached from the horrors of war and poverty in order to live a good and meaningful life. It’s a gift beyond measure to be here now. 

One of the tenants of Stoicism is that history repeats itself and that what we experience has happened before. As you say, it’s nothing new.

Another tenant is that we should try and concentrate on what we can directly control and not worry about thing that are not directly within our control.

I’m not saying that necessarily applies directly to anyone here, just that it can offer food for thought.

[Paul Brancato]

38 minutes ago, Simon Andrew said:

One of the tenants of Stoicism is that history repeats itself and that what we experience has happened before. As you say, it’s nothing new.

Another tenant is that we should try and concentrate on what we can directly control and not worry about thing that are not directly within our control.

I’m not saying that necessarily applies directly to anyone here, just that it can offer food for thought.

Stoicism influenced me as well. It’s a very practical method of living a good life. 

[Vince Palamara]

I have so many observations to make on this fascinating topic, but I will try to be brief (in no particular order):

- The "seeing conspiracies in your soup" is the one dangerous byproduct of this case for some that is highly disturbing to me. Everything controversial that happens in contemporary life becomes a "false flag", a "hoax" and a conspiracy with people making false equivalencies to the JFK conspiracy ("Damn, it is just like what happened on 11/22/63!"). Thanks largely to Alex Jones and James Fetzer, both 9/11 and the Sandy Hook massacre were made out to be something they were not and, as a result, the term "conspiracy theorist" thus took on a much darker shade with many no longer taking anyone who espoused notions of "false flags" and so forth seriously, even throwing in the "tin foil hat" insults. I rarely heard anyone making derogatory comments about JFK conspiracy researchers pre-9/11 (and pre-Fetzer/Jones) but, since then, it is common fare to see loads of insults on public (comment) forums and so forth. We have met the enemy and it is (largely) us by these false equivalencies to contemporary acts (mass shootings, etc.) and going off the deep end.

- Having "a life" greatly helps keep things in perspective and also helps one keep an open mind towards the case. By "a life" I mean anything from a wife and/or a family to even "just" other interests (or perhaps even a full-time job; hopefully one that is intellectually stimulating and so on). Without diversions, one can become consumed with this case and become too wedded to a theory, paranoid, bitter, easy to get into conflicts with others, etc. I remember a time in the late 1980's-early 1990's [I was 22-26ish] when I was full-blown consumed and obsessed with this case, to the point of silliness: I would make a sharp hairpin turn in my car and think of Bill Greer driving the limo in Dealey Plaza (!). I would constantly juxtapose mental images of Kennedy in life with those of him being assassinated (those early viewings of the Zapruder film and especially the autopsy photos had a profound effect on me). I remember seeing the JFK movie and coming out of the theater all fired up and wanting justice for Kennedy, only to be bummed out when I overheard a couple talking about who was playing NFL football on Sunday- hey, why weren't they as "into it" as I was? The list goes on. I almost felt as if I had ADHD back then- the Kennedy case was a running movie in my head nearly all the time. The case "cooled" for me somewhat as I got older- with age comes cynicism that the case will ever be solved. Actually, this case is a weird conundrum: there is a part of me (a part of most all of us?) that doesn't want it to ever be solved, as incongruous and potentially distasteful that notion may be to some. But have no fear: this case will live forever- not so much because it will never be solved but we will never AGREE with any solution!

-I highly recommend this outstanding article by retired Canadian researcher Ulric Shannon (I knew him well back in the 1990's when he was a passionate young man interested in the case. When the 2000's came, like Kathleen Cunningham, Carol Hewett, Barabara LaMonica, Steven Jones and others, he lost interest [I think the ending of the ARRB actually had a negative effect on some- it felt like that was the last investigation- the last hurrah- and, with the new century, we had gone as far as we could go]: Problems In the JFK Assassination Research Community (jfk-assassination.net)

-"Don't become a Livingstone"- that is what a few fellow researchers said back in the day. Harry Livingstone, although a highly successful and prolific author (High Treason was twice a NY Times best-seller, while High Treason 2 was also a NY Times best-seller plus he wrote a couple other books that did well), was ostracized from the research community and barred from speaking at any of the major conferences (ASK, Lancer, COPA) because of his harsh and hostile takes on well-known and revered authors like Mary Ferrell, Harold Weisberg, Mark Lane, and others. Harry's third JFK book Killing The Truth truly "did him in"- he became a pariah in this case. Harry had fallen so far down the rabbit hole with hatred for other contemporaries, paranoia and loneliness (he was a lifelong bachelor who inherited some money and made enough money from his books to never have to work- he just "lived" the case 24/7), that the very good work he DID do on the case was (sadly) ignored and shunned because of the way he was.

Edited December 28, 2022 by Vince Palamara

[Joe Bauer]

5 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

 

I never look askance at people who cannot see the sinister forces at work. I feel mostly sadness. I’ve read arguments that say folks like me need to be right, that we are attracted to the position that we see clearly where others are blind. Convenient way to dismiss the conspiracy minded. So many of my friends over the years have let me know that they prefer not to believe certain things because it makes them feel powerless. ‘What can I do?’ is the question often asked. Dr. Helen Caldicott called this propensity psychic numbing. 
What sees me through all this is that from studying history I’ve learned that this is nothing new, that power corrupts, that authority figures need to be very carefully vetted, which by the way comes down to one’s own desire to seek truth and doing the work oneself. History as we are taught it is full of lies, truth seekers have often been marginalized and worse. 
At its deepest level my desire for truth stems from empathy with humanity, and from wanting a better life. 
i also see that life on earth is beautiful, that friends and family take precedence, that the only person I can truly be responsible for is myself, that my behavior towards others is more important than my beliefs. It is not necessary to be detached from the horrors of war and poverty in order to live a good and meaningful life. It’s a gift beyond measure to be here now. 

Beautifully stated. So wise.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

I never look askance at people who cannot see the sinister forces at work. I feel mostly sadness. I’ve read arguments that say folks like me need to be right, that we are attracted to the position that we see clearly where others are blind. Convenient way to dismiss the conspiracy minded. So many of my friends over the years have let me know that they prefer not to believe certain things because it makes them feel powerless. ‘What can I do?’ is the question often asked. Dr. Helen Caldicott called this propensity psychic numbing. 
What sees me through all this is that from studying history I’ve learned that this is nothing new, that power corrupts, that authority figures need to be very carefully vetted, which by the way comes down to one’s own desire to seek truth and doing the work oneself. History as we are taught it is full of lies, truth seekers have often been marginalized and worse. 
At its deepest level my desire for truth stems from empathy with humanity, and from wanting a better life. 
i also see that life on earth is beautiful, that friends and family take precedence, that the only person I can truly be responsible for is myself, that my behavior towards others is more important than my beliefs. It is not necessary to be detached from the horrors of war and poverty in order to live a good and meaningful life. It’s a gift beyond measure to be here now. 

I second what Joe says, you’re on a different strata of wisdom to others with comments like this, Paul. 
 

 

 

[Benjamin Cole]

"You can be paranoid...and people can still truly be out to get you." 

That old Nixon-era joke pertains to JFKA situation.

Some researchers may get in too deep, become mentally troubled...but that alone does not undermine their assessments. 

One thing I noticed over the years. The first people to dismiss official narratives are usually the marginalized, the gadflies, the socio-economic left-behinds, and (in the past) outcasts by virtue of sexual orientation. (BTW, in a way, this also describes the bulk of people who occupied the Capitol on 1/6). 

This has the unfortunate result of making the opposition to official narratives look a bit kooky. 

Good luck everybody.