good cop
bad cop

Everyone knows "Bad cop, Good Cop."

Let's examine it closely. The technique: Alternately scare and comfort you, then show you the obvious path to "get out of this mess." The goal: Manipulate to achieve compliance. Both the good cop and the bad cop are "in on it." They share the same goal, split up the suspects, turn them against each other, get their confession, crush their freedom. Whatever the Man's motivation, the given path seems to be only way out. The victim (the suspect here) has forgotten they have more options then are presented. If they didn't, there would be no point to the game.

On TV, they make it obvious. We're told when it's happening. A necessary element in the plot. We're "in on it" too. We're behind the mirror. We enjoy the show. We see the good cop befriend the guy. We see the bad cop threaten. They go back and forth, up and down on the rollercoaster of emotions. We watch the suspects betray each other then break. Who wouldn't? We think... "we wouldn't... stupid criminals."

Sometimes a rollercoaster is the key to a bigger show. During a horror movie we feel what the suspects felt. We get the thrill of being alternately frightened and then reassured. Ripped apart, reunited. The rush of reassurance feels so right, just like coming home. The fear... an alienation - skin crawling, painful discomfort. But eventually the manufactured hell is unmasked, explained, declawed. Satan is conquered. We are saved and reunited. Movie and TV rollercoasters seem like a harmless addiction. A healthy way to leave job, money, worry and real fear behind for a few hours. When the lights come on, we remember who we are, we see we have not been alone, everyone else is in the theater. Everybody in our tribe was scared too, but we pulled through together. We breath a collective sigh of relief, together. We are used to this kind of thing.

Sometimes we took the movies home with us. Cowboys and Indians was fun in the back yard. The Indians were red. The cavalry was blue. Millennia of tribal training makes it seem so natural, so right. No one noticed it was mom's way of getting us out of the house. Parents knew Divide and Conquer, Trojan Horse, Good Cop Bad Cop and didn't give a rat's ass about who won as long as it kept us in line, occupied and unconcerned with the man behind the curtain. They learned this from their folks who learned it... blah blah blah. It goes way back. Way, way back we were naked in the face of floods, parentless during pestilence, defenseless from destruction, motherless during monsoons. Unarmed and unfed tribes welcomed narcissistic, even sadistic, sociopaths if they were kept safe and warm. There were whispers of evil men who did horrible things. There were secret books written about them. There were secret books written by them. Rumors in the neighborhood. Tales told in taverns carried by traders, recanted to children by the fire, mysterious hidden meanings lurking in the shadows. Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Cinderella, Three Little Pigs, Billy Goats Gruff. Why are we susceptible to conspiracy theories ?

Now we have the technology. The stories have been sliced open, the tyrants laid bare. What they did, how they did it, who were their parents? The researchers have spent a few centuries of finding the secret books and observing real life, real time narcissistic presidents, sadistic dictators and sociopathic demagogues. They have applied the microscope of science to perfect Good Cop Bad Cop, Divide and Conquer, and Trojan Horse. They figured out how to classify, weaponize and bottle the techniques. The potions are for sale in vending machines. You can get master's degree. Police and movie directors, news editors are keenly aware of the technologies of emotional manipulation. So are pollsters, advertising conglomerates, internet web spinners, military tacticians and their transnational bosses. They can buy a country, they can buy a coup. They can spin a tale that will fracture you.

Today a manufactured rollercoaster of emotion runs the biggest show of all. But we never saw a show like this and we're NOT "in on it." We don't remember buying a ticket. Someone let us sneak in Candyland's back door. We're voyeurs peeking at the "channels we deserve," binge-able any time we need a fix. What a deal. It's free, everywhere... the cellphone, the gas pump, vending machines, the airport, the bar. We are unaware that our desires, fears, and comforts are manufactured. The emotions are exhausting but they have a familiar feel. We are used to this kind of thing.

Or maybe not. This time, Good Cop Bad Cop doesn't end after an hour or two. In fact, there's no leaving the theater. The lights aren't going on. The tribes are split. We don't know if the people sitting next to us are Saved or Santanic. We are super-glued to the seats. We remember this is no movie, we are not in a dream. The job, money, and struggles are not forgotten, in fact, they've been dragged center stage. The fear is intolerable, we need a reassurance stronger than heroin. It's not fun. It's something else. This is personal and we don't know how it will end. We were Saved and Santana is ruining everything. We know we are the hero, we know we are the slayer, we know the battle must be won, but what are we fighting, who are we, how is it done? What shall we do? So little time to think. We don't remember being trained for this. Or do we? "Bob! Find a tv, plug it in, tune in, there will be a story that tells us what the monster looks like, the scale of the problem, how we can fix it. How lucky for us. Hurry!" There is a team forming. We are used to this kind of thing... on TV.

But who are the cops? MSNBC and FOX? Who ever they are, and for whatever reason, they've shown us a clear path - enjoy our partisan bickering, fear, uncertainty, and doubt. (Isn't "doubt" the same as "uncertainty?" Could "doubt" be replaced with something interesting... like "corrosion?") FUD seems to be only way forward. But it's not. We have more options then are presented. If we didn't, what would be the point of the game?

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