Covid, Coercion, & the Prisoner Playbook

A few months ago I ran across something called “Biderman’s Chart of Prisoner Coercion” referenced in regards to the Covid-19 “Pandemic.” The oldest instance of publication of Biderman’s chart that I could locate was in a 1973 Amnesty International Report on Global Torture.

I immediately saw a connection between the tactics used in Biderman’s study of prisoner torture and the mandates and policies implemented surrounding Covid-19. I made several slides with the information for a social media post, but it was a little dense and hard to read on smaller screens. The ongoing and ever-increasing restrictions to keep people subservient has made me want to revisit the subject in blog form.

The Amnesty International report concluded that torture does not belong solely to one political ideology or to one economic system. It includes relevant studies from the time period of many nation-states and the methods of torture, coercion, and manipulation used around the world.

Chapter One of the report, “Medical and Psychological Aspects of Torture,” subsection “Manipulation and Resistance” includes the Biderman chart as part of a series of schemes known as “DDD – Dependency, Debility, and Dread.” An examination of these principles shows at minimum a correlation with government and media treatment of Covid-19.

Several governments have used the same methods to condition their populations into blind acceptance of and compliance with all commands, edicts, and policies.

Biderman states that there are eight components of coercion:

1. Isolation
2. Monopoly of Perception
3. Induced Debility & Exhaustion
4. Threats
5. Occasional Indulgences
6. Demonstrating “Omnipotence”
7. Degradation
8. Enforcing Trivial Demands

Each of these components has its own table in the Amnesty International report. The first column describes “Effects & Purposes” of the component and the second column has room for “Variants” of the associated actions. I have added a third column to list the relationship of each point to Covid-19.

1. ISOLATION

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Deprives Victim of all Social Support & Ability to Resist	Complete Solitary Confinement + Complete Isolation	No Large Gatherings; Do Not Visit Family; Stay Home + Isolate
Develops an Intense Concern with Self	Semi-Isolation	Travel Quarantines, No Vacations, no Mental Escape
Makes Victim Dependent Upon Interrogator	Group Isolation	Social Distancing

2. MONOPOLY OF PERCEPTION

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Fixes Attention Upon Immediate Predicament; Fosters Introspection	Physical Isolation	24/7 News on the Subject; Guilt Trips i.e. “your selfishness is killing other people!“
Eliminates Stimuli Competing with Those Controlled by Captor	Darkness or Bright Light; Barren Environment	Self Isolation Indoors; City-Wide Shutdowns
Frustrates All Actions Not Consistent with Compliance	Restricted Movement	Capacity Limits; Small Business Shutdowns
	Monotonous Food	Closure of Restaurants; Created Perception of Food Shortages

3. INDUCED DEBILITY / EXHAUSTION

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Weakens Mental & Physical Ability to Resist	Semi-Starvation	Restaurant Closures; Created Perception of Food Shortages
	Exposure	Temperature Taken at Workplace Entry; Mask or No Mask Fight; Standing in Longer Lines; Forced Identification or Reason for Travel
	Exploitation of Wounds	Contact Tracing; Cell Phone Tracking Auto-Installed with Software Updates; Mandatory Vaccinations on the Horizon
	Induced Illness & Sleep Deprivation	Increased Stress = Increased Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke, etc [May Still be Labeled Covid on Death Certificate]; Lack of “Self-Care” i.e. Forced Closure of Salons & Spas
	Prolonged Constraint; Prolonged Interrogation	Isolate for 14 Days to “Stop the Spread” is Now at ??? Days; ID Requirements; COVI-PASS; Vaccination Proofs

4. THREATS

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Cultivates Anxiety and Fear	Threats of Death	“You and everyone you love will die from this if you don’t do as we say!”
	Threats of Non-Return	“This is the New Normal – get used to it!”
	Threats of Endless Interrogation and Isolation	Temperature Checks; ID Checks; Contact Tracing; COVI-PASS; Vaccination Proofs
	Threats Against Family	Small Business Fines & Closures = Loss of Livelihood for Families; CPS Taking Children; DHHS & State Governors Forcing Infected Patients into Nursing Homes
	Vague Threats	Ever Changing List of Ways that You Can Spread the Virus / Get the Virus / Die from the Virus
	Mysterious Changes in Treatment	Arbitrary and Contradictory Rules; Fauci etc. Constantly Shifting Position On Masks, Gatherings, Voting; Protests OK but Church Not OK, etc.

5. OCCASIONAL INDULGENCES

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Provides Motivation for Compliance	Occasional Favors	Opening Under Certain Conditions (Capacity Limits); Drive-By and Honk + Wave at Students/Teachers; Online Sales Offering Free Delivery / Bonus Sales + Free Mask with Purchase
Hinders Adjustment to Deprivation	Fluctuations of Interrogator’s Attitudes	So Can We Leave the House / Go Places / Gather in Groups or Not? Protest Ok, Church Not Ok; Ever Changing Statements from WHO/NIH/CDC
	Promises Rewards for Partial Compliance	We Can Get “Some” Things Back with “Enough” Compliance (Sports, Concerts, Festivals)
	Tantalizing Offers	“If you keep social distancing and wearing masks you can get those things back! But you’re not compliant enough yet! Increase restrictions again until you all obey then you can have prizes!”

6. DEMONSTRATING “OMNIPOTENCE”

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Suggests Futility of Resistance	Confrontations	Social Media Attacks; Social Media Censorship; MSM Calling Everything Outside their Narrative a “Far Right Conspiracy;” People Getting Shot for Not Wearing Masks
	Pretending Cooperation Taken for Granted	[WE] are in this together! + [HEROES] work here!
	Demonstrating Complete Control Over Victim’s Fate	Health Care “Cure” Only Has One Option; Mandatory Vaccinations; Small Business Fines + Closures; Shut Down of World Economy; Complete Fabrications & Reversals by MSM Sources; Flip-Flopping Regulations While Simultaneously Being Expected to Immediately Adhere to “New Normal” Rules; Cards Only [No Cash]

7. DEGREDATION

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Makes Cost of Resistance Appear More Damaging to Self-Esteem than Capitulation	Prevent Personal Hygiene	Hair / Nail / etc. Salons Closed; Spas Closed; Clothing Stores Closed; No “Self Care” Available [also Tanning, Massage, etc.]
	Filthy & Infested Surroundings	Prolonged Shortage of Cleaning Supplies & Hand Sanitizers; Wash Hands and Bleach Surfaces Constantly – Still Never Clean Enough!
	Demeaning Punishments	Rejected From or Denied Entry To Businesses [No Mask]; Families Encouraged to Isolate Even In Same Household; Workplaces Force Time Off for ANY Symptom
	Insults & Taunts	Demeaning Anyone Who Isn’t “Scared Enough;” Accusations of Selfishness for Anyone Who Doesn’t 100% Follow MSM Narrative; You’re a Bad Person if You Don’t Cower in Fear and Comply
	Denial of Privacy	No One Seems to Care about HIPPA When it Comes to Covid Symptoms; Have to Explain “Why” You Went Somewhere [Result of Guilt Trips]; Contact Tracing etc.; Cards Only [No Cash] Leaves Trail of Every Purchase

8. ENFORCING TRIVIAL DEMANDS

Effects/Purposes	Variants	Covid
Develops Habit of Compliance	Enforcement of Minute Rules	Masks Required for Entry; Six Feet Apart; Follow Arrow in Wal-Mart Aisles; Go In/Out Same Doors Even Though it Reduces Distancing; No Reusable Grocery Bags; Cards Only [No Cash]

There is no doubt in mind that the actions taken by world governments in conjunction with the mainstream media have been carefully orchestrated to manipulate people into a new way of life subservient to their every whim. This is only one of many manipulation + coercion models that one can relate to Covid-19. I will likely explore more of them in the future.

Never give up the good fight trying to break your loved ones out of the trance they have been put under because of this manufactured panic.