Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

  Sculpture at Terazin  2024 “Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It.” George Santayana ***** A great quantity of information in the form of text, photographs, statues, films, drawings, and paintings portray and honour the lives of those who were victims of the Nazi’s murderous plan. The concentration camps do concentrate one’s focus on a particular era of terror. The evidence from the past 80 years suggests Santayana was right and wrong. In a sense, his statement was too general to be contradicted. For example, the specific conditions that generated and maintained the Nazi system of mass murder are unlikely to be replicated; however, some timeless characteristics of human nature persist. ***** I’m a psychologist and not a historian yet, I come away from recent visits to several Nazi terror sites with some impressions. 1. Religion supports dictators. Horrible leaders often have an amiable relationship with the larger religious groups who fail to dissuade th...

 In today's Washington Post, there's a story about the Texas shooter who entered an elementary school--19 children are dead. Could you predict that the Texas shooter was at high risk? Possibly. The first paragraph of the WP article caught my attention. "The gunman in Tuesday’s elementary school massacre was a lonely 18-year-old who was bullied over a childhood speech impediment, suffered from a fraught home life and lashed out violently against peers and strangers recently and over the years, friends and relatives said." How is that helpful? Peterson and Densley have studied mass shooters. A large number of shooters had a history of childhood trauma and most were in a state of crisis close to the time of the shooting. Here's a quote from their book, The Violence Project . Almost 70% of the mass shooters in schools had a history of childhood trauma  and they killed more people than shooters who did not have trauma. And there's something else about the Texas sh...

BBC linked image Congress works under the protection of heavily armed guards. Images of America under attack have gone round the world. The violence of Jan 6, 2021 coming on top of increasing deaths and hospitalizations linked to Covid-19 offer a horrible context of anxiety for the lawmakers. BBC linked photo The whole transition of power period is worsened by warnings of threats of violence coming to DC and US State Capitols in the next few days. Sometimes fear is worse than reality--but not always. BBC link / Getty Images As Congress discovers that their members are work under death threats and that some of their own colleagues may have helped the rioters gain entry, they have a basis for high levels of anxiety. Add to this anxiety rumors that those who are supposed to protect them may have supported the rioters, the basis for paranoia arises. We need a Congress that is able to work in a safe setting to conduct our business. We will need to do what we can to create a safer community ...

Amidst the many lessons that clergy will share between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, are timeless stories of human nature. The gospel narratives tell the story of Jesus' purpose driven death, but we also see the role of the crowds and societal leaders in killing Jesus, the author of the Christian faith. Whipping up the Crowd On Palm Sunday, a crowd in Jerusalem welcomed Jesus as their king. The crowds were enthusiastic. On Good Friday, a crowd welcomes a political revolutionary (Barabbas) and calls for the death of Jesus. According to Mark , the religious leaders “stirred up the crowd.” The governor, Pilate, recognized what was happening and bowed to the demands of the crowd’s request, “crucify him.” The crowd secured the death penalty and the political rulers whipped and mocked the “King of the Jews.” Whipping People Effective leaders know the power of crowds to effect change. Jesus was a clear and present danger to the way of life for the religious le...