NON-CIVIC PROTEST MECHANISM: MANIPULATION AND VIOLENCE
(TRADUCCIÓN NO OFICIAL) MANAGUA, Nicaragua. MAY 2019
ENTERVIEW TO “La Primerísima” RADIO
NON-CIVIC PROTEST MECHANISM: MANIPULATION AND VIOLENCE
Could you tell us about your experience, ¿How have been the methods or mechanism of protest in Nicaragua for the last few years? until on April 2018.
Nicaragua, in general, has always prevail some kind of political and social protest, and the political discomfort is the one reason of the violence conflicts, during the last two hundred years. In history, the citizen security, seen strictly like a risk of criminal violence, have been minimum. The conflicts in our society have been unchained, mostly, by political and social reasons.
In other geographic scenarios, prevails religious, ethnic, criminal or nationalistic conflicts; in the case of Palestine, the criminal activity, in terms of common crime, it’s insignificant, but the level of insecurity is caused by a nationalistic and ethnic conflict, that the world knows internationally.
In Nicaragua, the level of criminal violence it’s insignificant in historic terms, and the insecurity is mostly caused by the confrontation of social-political nature, that exacerbates the criminal behavior, in other words, is able to waking up, and trigger, by dangerous ways sometimes, criminal or antisocial behaviors.
Today, it’s known with highly precision that human brain, has two clearly identified areas, one is the instinctive emotional brain, and the other is the rational brain. But also, it has identified when there is an external effect of sound, image, voice, a message, the first who received this external stimulus, is precisely the instinctive emotional brain.
That’s logical, because the human being protect themselves immediately and reacts when is facing an external risk, or facing the perception of something outside: for example, if this cup of coffee was hot, when I was just touch the cup, immediately my instinct reacts, and leave the cup. I don’t get inside any rational analysis about the hot cup of coffee, I simply react to an external effect of the cup of coffee. But then, every aspect of the external environment (images, sounds, odors, colors, messages) pass through this instinctive emotional filter, and then goes to the rational filter.
There are many thinkers, who have written about this, for example, the Nobel Prize for Economy (2002), Daniel Kahneman, who published a book known has “Think fast, think slow”, and it’s curious because this writer is psychologist, but he achieved the respectful prize in Economy, because he achieved identify the people behavior in the take of decisions in the marketplace. But then, here comes sometimes to care about: If I want you to buy my product or react to a certain way, I don’t care about your thinking, I care about explode your emotions to manipulate you, in other words, I show you images so that, a message or phrase, can make you react to the instinctive and emotional way I wanted, and make you to take a certain decision, independently of your thinking.
For example, I said: “There are some criminal outside your house to burn it down”. I affirmed that, without elements, with no evidence at all. Maybe, there’s a group of people that want to celebrate your birthday, but show at your house with an instinctive emotional prejudice, that a risk situation it’s happening. Then, you react, not like reality it is, but with a blinded perception, built from an instinctive emotional point of view.
In Nicaragua, what happened in April-June period mainly, is a smart exploitation, from someone who understands this phenomenon, and it capable of activate the negative emotions by an irresponsible way, to trigger, from this emotions, an instinctive emotional reaction, that explode in fear, distrust, insecurity, relentless, fear to an inexistent risks or the magnification of the levels of risks.
If you are at the street driving a car, the levels of risks exist: there is a possibility of an accident, but the risk has a rational and determined magnitude. Which is the rational magnitude? The real and objective possibility to have a car accident, but if other people, or the news talk about accidents insistently, and you feed yourself constantly of this information, immediately those images active your instinctive emotional brain, and it moves you to the feeling of fear, insecurity and risks. This risk, maybe has a size of “5”, but you multiply by “10”. I mean, you perceive ten times higher than real, even though it’s an objective risk of “5”, you might think is of “50” is your subjective risk perceived.
In case of Nicaragua, I think that the manipulation of information, even though is a global known problem, was developed by a virtual network, a new phenomenon in the world: 30 years ago, was not like today. This virtual network has the possibility to explode and multiply, by an unusual way, those images and messages that active the instinctive emotional brain. What if I use this virtual platform, I create a virtual reality, something that doesn’t exit, or maybe, does exist, but in a lower scale, but nevertheless, I increased and show a higher magnitude. The big problem is many Nicaraguans, but many other international actors, let themselves go and they acted from an instinctive emotional way, starting from the disinformation and manipulation of the information irresponsibly, that created fear, distrust, uncertainty, a caused an exponential reaction facing a non-existing threat, or an exaggerated or manipulated threat, so that produce an vicious circle in spiral form: In front of what I perceived as a threat, I react with violence, and that violence it generates me a higher threat, and the threat becomes in an actual risk.
Anyway, we must recognize that phenomenon has had a concrete end, I mean, It’s wasn’t an improvised phenomenon that occurs with no preconceived or opportunist purpose, but like a merchant would think: they wanted you buy a product, even though you later might wonder why you buy it, but it’s late, it’s already paid, the expense was done, there’s no return.
This people wanted to discredit a legitimately constituted government, pretending assume the political control. This purpose is clear, and in order to this purpose, they manipulate the instinctive emotional effects of the population or a group of people, that also have a common feature: Who are the main users of social networks? People under 40-year-old: teenagers and young adults. Then, you impact over certain universe of people, mostly young, because people of my generation, they spend less time on social networks than this generation.
Promoters of this effect require to make look those damage to a way they influence on the popular sensitivity, getting into the most intimate emotions of the social collective (Homeland, mother, children, environment, religious thoughts, etc.), the creation of a victim or the manipulation of a real one, I mean, what you really want is to enhance and manipulate the effect of the victim image in the common behavior, influencing on the collective sensitivity.
If you want to spread fear, insecurity, risk, threat, rejection, discredit a political state to the police (legitimate tool of institutional political government), independently, it is true or not, for example, maybe there exist one deceased person, but I create the image that were more than reality; maybe there exist one injured person, but I could show that might be 20 injured people. In other words, multiply all the reality by a higher magnitude that explode the collective negative emotions and trigger instinctive rejection, eventually, excessive rejection, relentless, hate and violence
A lot of people says this protests are authentic, I mean, the feeling of a nation facing a social demand, when starts to be illicit?
When you talk about authentic, “a feeling of a nation”, the word “feeling” is an emotion, so that I wonder, If the feeling was legitimate, or was emotional manipulated? That’s my point: A lot of people, reacted to a wrong information, mostly manipulated. If I see a photo of a hurt child, or burned in case of the Carlos Marx victims, like a father, I look at the child and immediately I feel pain, and I got emotional. But nevertheless, I try to think more about the situation, see the evidence, the connection of causality or any possible responsibility, but, If I don’t try to think deep in the situation, I simply react rejecting a fact, obviously repudiable, but ignoring the reality of who was the real author. Yes, there is an authentic feeling, but the real question is: Who create that legitimate feeling? It was provoked by real facts, or manipulate facts, or unreal facts and virtually constructed? That’s the big problem.
At December 2017, the official and non-official stats, confirmed Nicaragua had optimal economics, social and security figures: Definitely, the most privileged in Central America. Nicaragua had a homicide rate about 7 by 100 of population, one of the lowest in Latin America. Investment rate, macroeconomics stability, jobs and social security affiliation, all them were growing. The increase of tourism, business and social economic activity, the general perception of the citizen was optimal. In that scenario of December 2017, you can’t imagine the minimum possibility to live a dramatic event like the one occurred between April and June 2018. What originates it? An artificial, or virtual explosion, of distrust, discomfort, fear, by the irresponsibly manipulation of the instinctive emotional brain of people, with fake photos, manipulated, or real photos but spoiled from it real nature and magnitude.
May 30, 2018: Mother’s Day March Disaster
The polarization was created; at May 30 there was a strong polarization, the people thought a lot of things watched on social media, and probably he or she was part about what you mention. Why choose a march, or about opposition site, why choose that day to realize another national opposite march? Does it have any relationship that is a meaningful day for Nicaraguan people? Evidently, that was actually happen.
They used symbols to manipulate your emotions, I mean, why choose a blue and white flag, if is the same blue and white flag of all Nicaraguan? Because you want to manipulate the symbol, emotionally. Choosing dates, and choosing references that could get inside your emotions: patriotism is an emotion-feeling very important inside the citizens, so that blue and white is very important: all we are Nicaraguan, and we all identified with a blue and white flag. But also, choosing this date, because we are very affective with our mother, in general. A lot of homes are directed by mothers. Using specific dates to try to create conflicts and show “victims”, but non real victims, and like a provocation by the opposite, what it was a misaligned, elaborated and constructed provocation. I think this is this the real purpose.
Then, 2017 scenario, was regrettably altered by a circumstance that explode every contradiction between Nicaraguan: in this country, the society is diverse, and there exist differences and issues that require to be administrated and look for solutions inside of a constitutional and civic way. We have very different points of views, between social, political groups, but this points of views didn’t increase to an extreme conditions of confrontation, before. But maybe, other opposing and non-civic group, needed to provoke conflicts to increase contradictions. This is what they try to do in this produced scenario.
Nevertheless, I saw a recent M&R’s poll (May 2019), where it poses an interesting panorama: there’s a reduction in how much people sees a negative vision for the country, since the last ten months. The people who sees the worst panorama are less. I think it’s positive, and this stat wants to explain that the instinctive emotional aspect, is starting to passing through the rational aspect, and we are starting to see the arguments clearly, the balance of the circumstances, the true references, appealing to reason with good intentions and higher serenity.
I think there’s a group who has higher rationality in their behavior, but there are who keep an intolerant, irresponsible and intolerant. This doesn’t mean that every single person must to be agree to a specific government, but almost 8 of 10 Nicaraguan are convinced the way to change any government is through the politic institutional way, in other words, we need to choose the democratic way, following and respecting the laws. If we don’t sympathize with a government, we have the right of no sympathize it, and we must appeal to a legitimate mechanism to replace it. It’s not functional neither the dams, nor the public violence, nor the strike that impact the employment and society’s development. Mostly of Nicaraguan, want jobs, security, prosperity, calm and peace. I’m very convinced about it, but also this poll reaffirms this, I mean, 8 by 10 people, at least.
What it the expected role from police and authorities in violent situations?
The first comment I observed, in some behaviors of the non-civic politic opposition, there is a pattern: you call to a determined action over a determined route, and then, they altered the route, they altered the behavior of the people presented. I mean, there was a try to summon people with specific purpose, and they used to another one. Mentioning a case: May 30, the protest ended in Metrocentro, why they move out of that area? A group of people move out, what was the real intention? They go through another area to confrontative, provocative, attack and burn, evidently out of the real purpose mentioned.
In June 30, 2018, the called “Flower’s March”, a protest with a designated route, -even though didn’t complete right formalities in law, was permitted-, suddenly, a group of people move out from the stablished route, and took actions out of the real purpose: to recover with violence a private property recently invaded. Who was the owner? One of the people who cover the cost of the protest. What is this? Manipulation.
I might mention the recent case in the Prison System (May 16): A visit from International Red Cross is organized this day. The same day, inmates of prison drive a violent riot: they try to disarm and attack with violence the custodians, and creating conflicts to make an external, visual and virtual impact.
The three examples previously mentioned, the pattern I observe is many acts of protest or public mobilizations planned before have a hidden particular purpose, generating other violent behaviors and consequences to exacerbate the confrontation and the informative manipulation that keep activate the internal and external instinctive emotional reaction.
What it’s the expected role of the police here in Nicaragua, and every other country in the world? The police must to preserve the public order, or restore the public order, in case of interruption. Does this role it’s expected from the Red Cross? From Firefighters? Or teachers? No, I mean, the police, like job and profession, like institution too, is able to use the force legitimately, complying with the law. Therefore, preserve the public order and restore the order public when it’s interrupted, is a required and legitimate public function for the common benefits.
Why the police do this? First, to preserve the life and goods of people. I ask, what would happen if the police stay away, and the chaos increase in streets, but nobody restores the calm? Mostly of the citizens are harmed, and I ask again, from who is expected to restore the calm? The government is obligated, to act thought the police force, given by the law, to restores the public order, or preserve it, protect life and integrity of people, the citizens performances, the social, economic and political activity, legitimately.
If any wants to interrupt with violence or non-civic actions out of the law, who must restore the order? The police! An officer friend of mine, said once: “Many years ago, we had to dance with the ugliest girl” (referring they might not be the best), but it’s their competence to act. What should the citizens do if this legitimate and institutional force is absented and doesn’t act?
If a thief tries to rob my house, then I call the police and they might him to prison. The thief might probably be a good person, have kids, or a granny, or a sick mom, this doesn’t determine the real nature of the crime: he try to rob, committed a crime and now has to assume the consequences of the criminal act. The justice might determine the mitigation and the circumstances, but the responsibility can’t be ignored. If a subject attack another person, and damage physically, we call the police. The police handcuffed the subject and send him to prison. How looks the prison? How looks every prison in the world? There’s not a pretty prison. It is funny to be at prison? No, it’s not funny or comfortable for anyone. It is unfortunate to be in prison. I wish there was no one in prison, but I also wish there was not even one dead, or one injured, or any damage at the economy bringing unemployment for more than a hundred thousand of people, by the tragedy occurred on April and July. If there was any damage, there are responsibilities, and if there are responsibilities, there are specific people who has to take responsibility, with penalties and sanctions by the law: provoke damage to society and the government must to act and make justice for the common benefit. At first, the act of the crime is competence to the political system, and then is a competence for the judicial system.
If the State and the police, don’t preserve the public order, and restore the public order, who is going to do it?
If you want to create an emotion in people’s behaviors, a reaction of a fact -no matter if it’s real-, to provoke and send messages and pictures of “risk”. To provoke, you probably said: “There’re snipers”, or any other threat, then people reacted facing a threat, they think it’s real, and this threat starts to increasing inside of the mind of people, threats that might not exist. You create a confrontative and risky scenario from supposed threats.
If you remember history, in the 20th century, people have wrong ideas like “Russians or communist eat children”, for example. Or “Elderly people eat soap”. This is fantasy, but doesn’t matter, here it’s the same, I mean, what you want to seed inside of people’s emotions and behaviors, is to exacerbate the negative emotions of people like pessimism, relentless, fear, insecurity and distrust.
I think Nicaragua, and the Nicaraguans, and this show, have to cultivate positive emotions. Which are the positive emotions? Solidarity, friendship, peace, coexistence, tolerance, respect. Also, we have to insist people spend their time to think with reason, and don’t let go by impulses or animal instinct. In a couple relationship, or any other relationship happens too: if your wife said something, and you react from an impulsive way, you are going to make a mistake that could become serious at the relationship. I mean, when this situation happens, stop and breath for a minute, think and respond wisely, with serenity, and I guaranty you the decision and the behavior will be responsible.
In Nicaragua, regrettably, between April and July, a group of malicious and irresponsible, with opportunist and political purpose, explode recklessly the negative emotions of Nicaraguan people, and show on social media, and international channels, also contaminating the decisions of international organisms that could be more reasonable and objectives, but also were motivated by external geopolitical interest.
In reflection, Nicaraguan people should say: “Never more”. Never more been manipulated, and never more that irresponsible violence. Let’s use the right mechanism respecting the legitimate and constitutional order, not at the disinformation.
Nicaraguan people have the enough maturity and responsibility to talk and find solutions to our problems. The external interference has demonstrated in history two hundred years ago, that is unfortunate, and always provoke damage. One thing is the external aid that helps to solutions the problems, and another thing is the interference attitude, manipulating from the outside, and contaminating the possibility to have our own and authentic solutions.
Nicaragua needs to restore the way to prosperity, peace and security had on 2017. The solution is the dialogue and the tolerance, to learn to live with our differences and surely we are going to be capable to take advantage of our big natural and human potential that every Nicaraguan have.
