One statement that is frequently made about people like David Koresh and Roch Theriault is that they had an extraordinary ability to manipulate the system. In fact both of these men had real abilities and real knowledge. They used these things for wrong ends.
How did they get so good at manipulating the system? Because they understood the system. Similarly Al Queada got good at terrorism because it figured out how the West worked.
In the former Soviet Union, there was a class of people known as “prohodimetz.” These people knew how to play the system to get what they wanted. They were regarded by many as scumbags, and many of them really were scumbags. However understanding the system – or understanding people – is not a bad thing in itself. It is an ability. An ability can be used for good, bad, indifferent or a mix. “Guns do not kill people. People with guns kill people.”
There are many people who think that these abilities are evil. They are not. They are abilities. They can most certainly be used for things that are wrong. They can also be used for things that are completely legitimate and completely rightful.
We have been hearing a lot – especially on the Internet – about the Jews. Apparently there are too many of them in Hollywood, Wall Street and the academia. Why are there many Jews in these lines of work? Because they are good at it. If you believe in success, as many conservative do, then you will be respectful of other people who become successful. And if you do not then you cannot claim to believe in success.
When you believe that you and yours own success, you will be unhappy when someone who is not a part of your club becomes successful. You will howl bloody murder. You will try to demonize the person or agitate others against him. That is because your false worldview will be refuted. More importantly, the lie that you use to control the population – that unless they submit to you in every way and conform to you in every way they will always be losers – will be punctured.
It is time that this hypocrisy come to an end.
We see this kind of hypocrisy around us all the time. If a woman has emotional intelligence she is “manipulative”; if a businessman or a politician does he is “competent.” If Obama is in power he is a sociopath; if Reagan is in power he is a great man. You want your own to have empowering qualities, and you reward them accordingly. Whereas when someone else has empowering qualities he is “dangerous.”
He is in fact dangerous - to a lie.
I do not believe that any ability is either good or evil. Abilities are neutral. They are what you are using them for. If someone has an ability that differs from yours, it should not be attacked but rather given constructive expression. That way the “prohodimetz” types turn into marketers; emotionally intelligent women into psychiatrists; and people who otherwise would be disaffected into contributing citizens of the civilization.