Protesting May Feel Better, Though Do Things Actually Get Better?

[DISCLAIMER]

In my blog, I make no secret of how I once unwittingly worked alongside intelligence officers of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) when serving diplomatic posts in South America. Once my ignorance was remedied, I was promptly sent back to the United States (U.S.).

Years later, I began using Instagram (IG) as a blogging platform while others were posting vapid content (e.g., photos of what they’d eaten on any given day). For a while, I amassed a diverse group of followers who provided rich commentary on my posts, such as the following:

The Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump election is over. No petition, march, protest, rally, riot, or demonstration is likely to alter the results. Throwing a temper tantrum; assaulting others through verbal, written, and physical means; shaming and falsely accusing people; and/or other means of manipulation designed to receive the outcome one finds favorable remains unnecessary.

Rather than feeding on mass hysteria, fueling emotively charged collectivist paranoia, and whining like a toddler who experienced some form of perceived wrongdoing, how about owning up to the very political process one supported in the first place?

In that IG post, I advocated personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”) for one’s own reaction to events, in the interest of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)—a self-help type of psychotherapeutic modality designed to resolve self-disturbance.

In a separate IG post, I used irreverent communication when stating, “How are your protests going? Have you changed the world yet? Has the government decided to give in to your demands? Have you toppled any power structures yet? No? Odd, that.”

That entry related to general protests (the act of objecting or a gesture of disapproval, especially a usually organized public demonstration of disapproval). Having inadvertently supported CIA missions, I was aware of how Barack Obama ushered forward questionable acts within the U.S.

Regarding the Smith–Mundt Act, one source states that its “authorization for State Department information diplomacy efforts, and—as amended—prohibited transmission to the American people,” though Obama arguably allowed intelligence efforts to be used on U.S. citizens.

Per a separate source, “critics have raised concerns about journalistic independence and the potential for domestic propaganda. Despite these concerns, the law now enables people across America to access the news reported by the agency’s journalists.”

The actions I witnessed being deployed against the people of South America by the CIA aren’t dissimilar to what I’ve observed here at home. Thus, I’ve remained critical of protests which may ostensibly be based on Mockingbird media content. Still, in another IG post, I stated:

I further admit my narrow-mindedness when asserting how ineffective protests often are. While activism frequently functions as a means by which individuals are able to voice their emotively-fueled perspectives, historical account demonstrates that such advocacy can alter outcomes in favor of those who seek change.

I acknowledged that not all protest activity is irrational (not in accordance with both logic and reason). Here, it may be useful to define terms and provide an illustrative example regarding rational and irrational choices.

“Logic” is the interrelation or sequence of facts or events when seen as inevitable or predictable, and “reason” is a statement offered in explanation or justification. For instance, a modus ponens syllogism uses the following logical form: If p, then q; p; therefore, q.

When using this logical form, it’s inferred that premises p and q follow without completing the syllogistic form. As an example of a rational choice, if U.S. citizens are displeased with the government (p), then peaceful protest serves as a lawful way of communicating displeasure (q).

Now, consider an irrational choice. If U.S. citizens are displeased with the government (p), then violent protests are a way of effectively voicing displeasure (q). Whereas the rational choice is legal, the irrational choice isn’t, as consequences of the latter may negate intended outcomes.

Presuming you understand the distinction between rational and irrational choice, I offer one final IG post worthy of your consideration. Admittedly, I received a fair amount of pushback when stating:

Historically, protests and demonstrations have failed to achieve effective outcomes. Sure, gathering the people in a unified front may seem like a good idea—fueled with impulsive emotions and desires to effect change—though outcomes of such action rarely are in the favor of the masses. Still, people tend to forget about the past and will always allow the days of yesteryear to repeats themselves in the present.

White Albert Einstein certainly did not coin the statement, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting different results [or a different outcome]”, one does wonder about the actions of protestors and demonstrators when history reveals truth concerning such actions. […]

Fake revolutionaries of the social media world, hear me. Your protests and demonstrations will change nothing worth the exerted effort you apply to them. Rather, the communities you ravish by your protests and demonstrations will remain as the only evidence of change, as such areas are often affected by displaced hate, greedy looting, and pointless destruction. Do not believe me? I will prove my point by making a logical prediction.

Today is Sunday, the 24th of August, 2014. After the protests, demonstrations, riots, and appearances of prominent leaders who leech off of political actions across the United States, none of the aforementioned actions will result in the change expected for those concerned with the Michael Brown case. Watch.

The prediction I made in that post was easy to have surmised. Perceived racism (a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race) wasn’t likely to end in the U.S. due to protests.

Regarding that IG post, one person and I engaged in back-and-forth dialogue concerning my view. To sum up the premise of her argument, protests may not produce lasting and effective change, though participation in demonstrations felt good. Here, it’s important to define terms.

For consideration, with my approach to care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I invite people to consider scripts which are rational – especially regarding events which correlate with strong feelings (e.g., participation at a protest).

On the topic of feelings, I often find it valuable to clarify what this element represents in regard to the construct of beliefs. This is because people generally misuse this term.

A “feeling” relates to either: 1. Emotion (i.e., joy, fear, anger, sorrow, disgust, surprise, etc.) or 2. Sensation (e.g., tightened or stiffened jaw). If the word “feel” (or any derivative thereof) can be replaced with “hunch,” “thought,” or “belief” (or any derivative thereof), it’s not a feeling.

Thus, it’s improper to say something along the lines of “I feel like you did that to get back at me,” because what one typically intends on communicating is “I believe that you did that to get back at me.” Ergo, the person from IG said protesting felt good emotionally and sensationally.

My response to this was that my REBT approach to rational living concerned actually getting better, not merely feeling better. Protesting may feel better, though do things actually get better? Moreover, from the ABC model of self-disturbance, does one (as an individual) truly get better?

For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as self-disturbance.

For example, if you disagree with President Trump’s behavior (Action) and you Believe, “He’s a piece of shit who I can’t stand, because he’s horrible and shouldn’t be in charge of this country,” then this unaccommodating script results in anger and your protest activity (Consequence).

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

Aside from the ABC model, you could benefit from use of unconditional acceptance (UA) to relieve self-induced suffering. This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance (USA), unconditional other-acceptance (UOA), and unconditional life-acceptance (ULA).

Whereas the ABC model is a scientific approach to wellness, UA serves as a philosophical method for un-disturbing yourself. I view the former as an abortive approach to disturbance and the latter as a preventative method. Of course, not all REBT practitioners use the same style as I.

With my approach to REBT, I incorporate author Stephen Covey’s concepts regarding the circles of control, influence, and concern, as well as an area of no concern. UA maps onto the circle of control (USA), circle of influence (UOA), and circle of concern and area of no concern (ULA).

The circle of control encompasses only oneself, the circle of influence encapsulates elements which may be subject to one’s sway, the circle of concern engrosses most matters one can imagine, and the area of no concern relates to all content which isn’t yet imagined.

Use of the ABC model and UA is done as one empirically must take personal ownership for one’s own self-disturbed outcomes. Unlike protesting which may help you to feel better, feeling better doesn’t help you to change your beliefs and behaviors, which would help you get better.

In any event, citing IG posts, I’ve shared with you my historical skepticism of protests thus far. Now, allow me to share an entry from my current professional blog. In a blogpost entitled Tolerating Fed Ops, I stated:

I encourage clients to consider the consequences of self-disturbing beliefs. Although one may feel better while attending a protest, I wonder if one has gotten better while incarcerated after eating from a fed honeypot.

Bear in mind that I’m not speaking from an etic perspective regarding how the CIA and other intelligence or federal law enforcement entities frequently infiltrate sociopolitical movements. My job in the U.S. Marine Corps was military police and I also served diplomatic missions.

Although protesting may feel better, as you cathartically act out your frustrations, it isn’t as though the federal government refrains from constructing dossiers on participants of these demonstrations. Also, consider what one source says of recent No Kings protests:

Jonathan Alpert, a New York City-based mental health counselor, told Fox News that ‘40-something women are probably the biggest demographic of consumers of mental health services. Probably twenties to forties’. […]

Alpert added that this kind of person is ‘quite fluent in learning how to express themselves, their emotions. So naturally that would play out on the city streets.’

‘The No Kings protests, from what I’ve seen in person and on TV, it seems to me like a big venting session. It’s almost like a big group therapy. So, people get stuff off their chest and they feel better in the moment, but it doesn’t necessarily bring about any sort of positive change,’ he said.

He said that rather than actually effecting change, many of them are simply craving community or validation, which he said ‘can be addictive’. ‘A lot of times people are unhappy in their own lives,’ he told Fox. ‘They may have anxiety or anger, and they project that onto others. That’s partly what we’re seeing play out at these rallies.’

It would be difficult for me to agree more with this counselor’s perspective. Still, it’s almost obligatory at this point in the blogpost to advocate support for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Thus, it’s worth noting that I stated in a blogpost entitled Control:

Dear reader, this isn’t to suggest that people shouldn’t, mustn’t, or oughtn’t to protest, because it’s not my concern to mandate how others behave. Besides, I support the ability of [U.S.] citizens to freely exercise their First Amendment right to assemble and express views.

Irrespective of likely geofencing used in association with protest activities in the U.S., presumably as a method of compiling dossiers on attendees, I appreciate that people exercise their First Amendment right to protest. The purpose of this blogpost isn’t to discourage that.

Rather, I invite you to consider that while protesting may feel better than not doing so, things may not actually get better. Therefore, I invite you to use REBT if (or, let’s be honest—when) the situation doesn’t improve. In this respect, you won’t self-disturb. Own your outcome!

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, fair use

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