The Free Fall of Illusion: How Blame and Denial Seal the End
“This is the story of a man who falls from the fiftieth floor of a skyscraper.
And as he falls, he repeats over and over again to calm himself down: 'Up to here, things were still going quite well. Up to here it was still going quite well. Up to here it was still going quite well.
But the important thing is not the fall ... but the landing”.
Which stratagem is being used here?
“La Haines” quote refers to the same form of Führerbunker mentality that Duke Dumont sings about in his “Ocean Drive”; stratagem 20 in use: “Fishing in murky waters”. In order to maintain the illusion of control, reality is kept out of the game (Senger 2004: 156-178).
The truth only comes to light at the end. Until then, we carry on as usual and hide everything that doesn't fit to our narrative. You only see what you want to see (selective perception), interpret signals as you want to understand them (unrealistic optimism) and block out what doesn't fit into your own picture or causes interference (repression).
The downward spiral isn't unstoppable. The only problem is that no countermeasures are taken until the very end. Instead, we remain on a collision course full of deceptive hope and are surprised at the end by how long the outcome was foreseeable.
Stratagem 20 is involved here by ignoring or deliberately obscuring reality (?murky waters“). This can be done through distraction, illusion or deliberate distortion of perception. Examples of this are perseverance slogans, meaningless rituals or ignoring red flags until impact.
In psychological terms, repression creates the illusion of control. This serves as a protective mechanism to block out fear, powerlessness or panic (?fishing“). Believing that everything will be fine suggests short-term stability, even though the situation has long been out of control.
By not confronting reality, decisions are delayed or avoided completely. This allows people to “muddle on” without taking responsibility.
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In "La Haine", for example, the falling man ignores the impending impact (“It's gone quite well up to here”). Likewise in “Ocean Drive”, where the protagonists “dance with the devil” instead of solving the problems in their relationship. Hitler, who was still giving attack orders to phantom divisions while the Russian tanks were already in Berlin (Leonhardt 26.11.2024).
Everyone is the architect of his own destiny. However, the problem here is that in the end, at best, people prefer to feel guilty themselves or usually see others as culprits (stratagem 26, “Pointing at the mulberry, but cursing the acacia tree”, Senger 2004: 399-439) instead of finally giving up their passivity and actively live their life.
Almost all scam victims can tell you a thing or two about this (Roest/Leonhardt 2021).
You may also read: Blinders On, Full Speed Ahead! Ocean Drive's Führerbunker Mentality.
Sources
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