The one reason you can't be brainwashed

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If you're reading this, there's a good chance you're pretty resistant to brainwashing—or at least not easily swept up in it. I say that because the folks who are deep into wokeness usually steer clear of my writing the same way I avoid a plate of fried liver.

That leads to an interesting question: Why do some of us stay immune to the constant barrage of media spin, peer pressure, and what gets pushed in schools and universities? There are lots of reasons, sure, but one stands out above the rest. If this one thing is wired into your thinking—and I'm betting it is—you're basically bulletproof against what we might call "thought reform."

The late psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton laid this out in his classic book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, based on his studies of brainwashing in Communist China. He looked at people who were locked up and relentlessly indoctrinated. After years of effort, most broke. But a small handful simply couldn't be cracked—no matter what their captors tried. Sadly, many of those who resisted were executed, but a few survived and shared their stories.

Almost all of those who held out were Catholic priests. Why? Their minds were already made up. Their faith had immunized them—a deep, contrary belief system that the communists couldn't overwrite.

That's the same reason the woke left hasn't gotten to you: your mind is already settled on certain truths.

Psychologist Kurt Lewin described thought reform as a three-step process: "unfreezing" old thinking, changing it, and then "refreezing" the new version. If your mind is frozen solid in reality—anchored so firmly that no amount of pressure can thaw it out—you're effectively immune.

Take me, for example. My thinking got locked in during four years at a majority-Black high school. After that kind of real-world experience, no peer pressure, no Hollywood messaging, and no classroom sleight-of-hand is going to unfreeze it.

I'd bet you've had your own experiences that keep you well outside the woke hive mind. Feel free to share them in the comments—I'd love to hear.

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So how do otherwise sensible people get pulled into a belief system that ignores reality?

Thought reform uses a bunch of psychological tricks to reshape how people see the world, feel about things, and even define who they are. It makes any other point of view feel not just wrong, but unthinkable.

Calling a woman a "lady" used to be a polite compliment. Now, for a lot of people, it's offensive. Why has "being a lady" become something you're not even supposed to consider? Or take the Confederate battle flag. I've got one on the front of my pickup truck. Who flipped the script on what that symbol means to most people—and how did they pull it off so effectively?

These techniques tap into basic human wiring: the need to belong, the discomfort with uncertainty, and the natural trust we place in authority figures, especially early in life. Over time, they build a mental framework that runs mostly on autopilot.

It often starts in childhood

Kids' brains are sponges. They accept what trusted adults tell them without demanding proof—it's a survival thing. Thought reform (or modern ideological conditioning) takes advantage of that window, planting ideas before critical thinking fully develops. Once those ideas are in there as core anchors, they shape how everything else gets interpreted.

I think "public" schools have become major vectors for some pretty maladaptive ideas.

Repetition and ritual make it stick

Repeat the same messages over and over—through classes, slogans, group activities, media—and they stop feeling like opinions. They start feeling like common sense. Behavioral science shows that repetition builds habits that feel instinctive. Deviating from them creates unease, even a sense of threat. When everyone around you is doing the same rituals, it reinforces the feeling that this is just "normal."

The woke crowd loves talking about "normalizing" things. That's exactly why.

Environment, senses, fear, and guilt

Put people in spaces designed to impress or intimidate, pair messages with emotional music or group chanting, and you engage the brain on a deeper level—dopamine hits, feelings of unity, all of it.

Then there's the carrot and stick: portray disagreement as dangerous (socially, morally, or existentially), while offering acceptance and community only if you stay loyal. Guilt is a powerful tool too—frame normal human traits or history as original sins that only the ideology can fix. It keeps people hooked on the cycle of confession and absolution.

The left often talks about "dog whistles"—racism that's supposedly there but invisible to most. In practice, it stirs up fear and anti-white sentiment. Take Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who claimed someone entered her D.C. office making "white supremacist threats and hand gestures." The specific threats and gestures? Never disclosed. Everyone was safe, but the narrative did its work.

Language control is huge

They create special terms and phrases that steer how you think and shut down debate. Use the approved words and you sound enlightened; question them and you sound suspect.

That's why in my writing I deliberately use words like "Negro" and "Caucasian" instead of "Black" and "White," or "homosexual" instead of "gay." Language shapes perception. (There's a whole list of woke-loaded terms out there if you want to see the playbook.)

From the inside, it doesn't feel like control. It feels like belonging, certainty, and moral purpose. The ideology wants you comfortable with its worldview and uncomfortable with plain old reason.

Breaking free

The good news? Once you see the patterns—repetition, emotional manipulation, information gatekeeping—you can start stepping back. It takes time: exposing yourself to different views, rebuilding your own sense of what's real based on evidence, and working through any leftover emotional residue.

Your social media posts matter more than you might think. They chip away at the echo chamber.

Platforms and outlets that prioritize open inquiry—like X and Substack—have already helped a lot of people break out. The more personal stories of "I used to believe X, but then I looked closer," the weaker the illusion of inevitability becomes.

In the end, the human mind is amazingly plastic. It can be shaped subtly, but it can also be deliberately reshaped toward reality, evidence, and individual agency. Shining a light on these psychological tools helps us all make clearer choices—and builds a society where asking tough questions strengthens us instead of threatening the narrative.

What experiences have kept your mind "frozen" against the current? Drop them below.

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