Will Keys
Disclaimer: I am not a clinical psychologist. On the other hand, I have studied psychology at a tertiary institution, my major discipline is the law.
The primordial psychological ‘fight-or-flight-or-freeze’ responses are extremely well documented in the world of psychology.
Extract: “The fight-or-flight-or-freeze responses are a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.” It was first described by Walter Bradford Cannon.
The degree, length, and sustainability of the response differ individually. In general terms, we all have a combination of the three responses, with endless permutations and flexibility of three. Warrior males will on balance ‘fight’. Females will on balance ‘flight or freeze’. A smaller combination of both genders will ‘freeze’. It is what it is.
It is my experience that people who ‘freeze’ during threat scenarios are easy prey. On the other hand, God’s Evolutionary plan has exquisite and unfathomable permutations of the three responses.
It is my conjecture that the ‘freeze’ threat response, is the weakest of the three. I postulate that the ‘freeze’ response results in the person making themselves easy prey. Vikings enjoyed an enemy with a predominant ‘freeze’ response.
For reasons well beyond my pay grade, Christianity promoted the ‘freeze’ response into a philosophical mentality. That is to say, ‘freeze’ dovetailed with Christian teachings to love one’s enemy, and to turn the other cheek.
In western modernity ‘freeze’ became fashionable, and the fiction that ‘nice people’ are placid people. Let me say unequivocally that the freeze response people are not nice people, they are just people with a propensity to freeze. They cannot be relied upon, and therefore are less useful as warriors and leaders. They are also awful teachers, parents, and generally speaking, are dangerous. A society that promotes the freeze response into its fabric has lost its way. It will end up unable to defend itself.
The dire consequences in the western hemisphere of following this detrimental ‘freeze’ mentality is on open display for all to see. It has flourished in the insipid environment of academia, “Those that can’t do teach, and those that can’t teach, teach gym.” song by Jack Black. In the western hemisphere, the chickens are coming home to roost. Virtue signalling; identity politics; feminist propaganda; race hustling; male shaming is all fodder for American Marxism to weaken the American warrior mentality. Unfortunately, the western hemisphere, in a geopolitical sense, has painted itself into a corner.
It goes without saying that the promotion of ‘freeze’ has also weakened the fabric of western societies, and there is a price to pay. The Eastern bloc must be viewing the West with ferocious predatory eyes, and why wouldn’t they?
The next time you are in a situation where you can express an opinion and in that small way project leadership, don’t ‘freeze’. Don’t concern yourself with the old pathetic excuse “it wasn’t the time and place”, it never is. Show some old-fashioned gumption, and strength of character.
For God’s sake speak the mind of your better self.
By Will Keys
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Hey Will,
having been in 3 dire ambush situations (being Rhodesian) during the African continents wars where others were seeking to kill me, I can categorically state that in the first such incident, the immediate response was “freeze” because the shear impact of the situation dulls the senses and stops all action. Seconds later, training kicks in and, naturally in war situations, the response of the warrior is “fight”. Thereafter, the following 2 situations had even shorter freeze times as both training and experience allowed a best strategic response (to fight in those cases)
If people are untrained (or unprepared in a civilian context), this freeze can be for extended period and can result in severe harm to the subject or subjects of the punitive action. If people have thought about potential issues, then the freeze is usually shorter and replaced with, in most cases, flight. For eg see what happens in malls where terrorists open fire; majority of people flee.
I suggest that the solution is “PREPARATION”; getting oneself mentally trained to meet situations, practicing solutions, even if only mentally, and then the freeze is short and followed by an appropriate fight or “strategic move to another, hopefully, more advantageous to oneself, better position” (sometimes “advance backwards” is the best option, followed by fight from another more advantageous position).
As far as the politically correct stances which infringe and, wrongly, erode my freedom, I keep thinking, keep preparing and thereby get ready for confrontation if and when faced by “woke” idiocy. I do not believe anything except fight is the correct response in the face of such attacks; in today’s world the loudest get heard and the freeze and flight people are silent.
Will is a complex character. His two talks on Fighting Men of Rhodesia caused heated debates. Funnily enough on the Intaf Facebook pages.
He allegedly left the BSAP in 76, then left Rhodesia in 78.
So you can say he fled, rather than fight on in Rhodesia. He now resides in the safety of Australia.
I enjoy his articles. Don’t tend to agree with most of it. But freedom of speech etc.
Will, I get your angle…I think. It is very well written and to the point.
I am not a psychoanalyist either. The controversial Sigmund Freud who tried to explain character defects (where sometimes there’s a case of, “don’t blame Tug; he’s putting up a defence mechanism”) can put lots of light on the subject of how we make decisions. Some of us get ‘labeled’ as the village weirdo and the world wouldn’t be exciting without debate.
In my latest memoir of moral (or perhaps immoral) injury (Tug’s Trek, by AA Morkel), I write about being sometimes gung-ho or extremely frightened. Some of us are up for a fight and some aren’t. Sometimes it’s better to freeze and stay ‘diplomatic’, as evidenced in military strategy by retreating and/or talking.
Not only are our minds divided into the conscious and the subconscious, but into ego and super-egos. With rapid cyclical swings of mood within us, we can change our minds very quickly. We are living in a blink-of-an-eye moment.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the Eastern bloc – we are quite capable of seeing them off…for the time being.
Excellent article. More people need to start confronting the believers in this Covid pantomime and those that push this new PC, Libtard woke mentality. Time for the strong and those with common sense to reclaim control.
Based! I like the way you think .
excellent article, hope it gets the distribution it deserves.
Yep, you’re right….