What people need is conviction to deal with ongoing manipulation, and that conviction best comes from the path. Conviction is needed so we are not swayed by the financed quantity of false views. For the pathtivist whose harmonious approach might not be in line with the prevailing grassroots idealisms, this conviction has to be particularly strong, clear and honourable.
Blog written at the time - http://zandtao.com/zblog/zandtao/derekblackcompassion.htm
Let's start by seeing where most conviction comes from? Reinforced conditioning. Read about R Derek Black born in white supremacist society - (just discovered pronoun is their). Derek described their upbringing as accepting KKK just like we would all accept the conditioning and conformity of our upbringing; that was their background. Their conviction came from reinforcing the racist ego of the ongoing conditioning of their community. Immersing in conditioning can bring conviction, and once out of that immersion the conviction can easily become a fragile ego that can break, disappear or be released.
Let’s be clear, immersion in conditioning is the process of conforming views, with many views we accept what is commonly accepted. Amongst people bill knows closely the views of Farage would never be accepted, yet in the wider community zandtao's views would not be accepted. This is what conformity is – agreed views applied in community eg most people agree to accept the system-for-the-rich in order to be successful – a conformed view. R Derek Black conformed to their upbringing, and was brought up to become a significant KKK leader. But at uni they were not in the immersion, and they lost their conditioning and conformity; from their book it took time but they lost the conformed racist views of upbringing.
In terms of the pathtivist arena - the grassroots movement, there is a significant immersive scenario – the socialist idealist. Out of upbringing many intellectuals react to conformity and turn to socialist idealism (mainly Marxism) as a way to change society. Once these young people have reacted to their upbringing their ditthi-idealism is reinforced by like-minded in uni and on the left, so immersion works to consolidate their reactions to upbringing. For some this new idealism lasts for a lifetime but it is recognised that for many socialism is just in young adulthood. So immersed conditioning works for many socialists, socialism is a ditthi-idealism that flourishes through immersion; socialist conviction continues if there is immersion – for some socialist idealism continuing for a lifetime.
More recently there has come a new immersive conditioning that zandtao can only observe from afar - conservative conditioning. At bill's uni there were the occasional conservatives - considered extreme at the time, but these conservatives have been on the increase through organisations like Turning Point which have been particularly successful in restricting the already-limited educational freedom of teachers. These conservatives are strongly immersed in this approach gaining conviction that takes time to be released. From outside observation it appears that the 99% have been strongly divided into left and right since Occupy and the rise of approaches like Turning Point, but bill did not experience this conservatism beyond a few closed-minded individuals.
We need conviction because of the way media is being controlled now. Whilst it has always been an organ for the system-for-the-rich, perhaps it has never been so difficult to maintain independence from media manipulation. When bill was growing up there was conditioning and conformity but it was not so much in your face. Television was relatively new, and his conditioning and conformity came from family and peers – no social media. With social media the system-for-the-rich learnt control through algorithms, and even on a minimal level conviction is needed to withstand the conditioning and conforming of the algorithmic social media - simply to avoid clickbait consumerism. Social media applies its own form of immersive conditioning – conditioning-by-algorithm, withstanding that conditioning requires conviction and a strategy for not being conditioned by manipulation. Immersive conditioning can withstand any manipulation but it requires a strong immersive environment and a commitment to that way of life, outside that environment there might not be the ability to withstand the coercive conditioning.
Pathtivists need the conviction that does not arise from immersion but that arises as part of truth and compassion ie arising from the path. Conviction is an aspect of the path – no reinforcement is needed. Once an understanding has arisen from the path based on the directions of love, wisdom, sila and truth, no amount of conditioning can affect it.
Currently social media is particularly being dominated by increased financial investment but this is not relevant to those following the path, their conviction comes from truth and not the repetition and reinforcement of immersed idealisms on social media. From the path a seeker can see fashionable ditthis that impact the social movement, fashion is not truth and has a temporary basis often in profit eg clothes fashions for profit. But a writer can be fashionable, a sub-idealism can be a fashionable ditthi that can change focus. The path with its conviction can see all these, and can remain detached; this is the conviction that arises from atammayata – state where a seeker is not impacted by either conditioning or conformity.
Is conservative authoritarianism one such fashionable ditthi? At the moment it is attracting many erstwhile comrades of the grassroots movement disguised as anti-immigration - attracting the conservatives of Turning Point, so it would be argued it is not fashionable. Quite clearly the liberal aspect of the system-for-the-rich enabled immigration as cheap labour for the system-for-the-rich in recent times - instead of supporting the governmental duty of providing work for its people. bill remembers this cheap labour tactic post-war - the Windrush generation, and as part of Blair's working with industry (Blair the soft veil of the system-for-the-rich) his government enabled cheap labour from Eastern Europe. Even though people voted for Brexit to end this immigration, it hasn't stopped as industry wants to reduce labour costs.
This increased immigrant labour has led to scapegoatism to such an extent that authoritarians have developed a platform around it. This is a fashion, will it be long-term? zandtao thinks not because if they get into power, where will they get the money to re-employ the white people? There are fewer jobs not simply because of immigrant labour but more importantly because the system-for-the-rich is automating their accumulation – no jobs for anyone!! To zandtao conservatism is an authoritarian strategy in which the supporters of these people will be equally dismissed, hence zandtao sees conservative authoritarianism as only temporarily having support eg fashionable ditthi.
The path sees the system-for-the-rich as the problem and works in harmony to end this exploitation whether this system-for-the-rich is conservative authoritarianism or the neo-liberalism typified by Blair.
A pathtivist requires no immersion, is immune to conditioning and conforming, being in the state of atammayata they choose only to see truth with love, wisdom and sila. This is needed within the grassroots movement where reaction to upbringing has significant impact. The youthful energy is needed but it is not wise energy, that energy needs the wisdom of age to maintain direction with compassion.
Whilst elder comrades quite often have wisdom from within the movement their idealism still brings confrontation tempered by time and an element of realism. For a pathtivist harmony is the priority and there is disagreement with some of these elders. However there are wise comrades who have become detached from the idealism and function with compassion. Whilst these wise comrades are often steeped within this ditthi-milieu of idealism they have developed a wisdom that focuses on the grassroots movement and its own desires and direction.
One current wise activist who is focussing on grassroots democracy is Marianne Williamson. zandtao has known of Marianne ever since he retired and bgean his path studies. He came across her when he tried to study ACIM – A Course in Miracles, zandtao rejected ACIM and gave this warning.
However zandtao sees ACIM as a path up the mountain, and although he rejected it for himself and felt sufficiently concerned to offer the warning he considers that Marianne is on her path and as such is a pathtivist; there is no one idealism nor activism of a pathtivist. .zandtao takes Howard Zinn’s view of the US founders and constitution LINK but Marianne frequently refers to the constitution. That is her choice, her pathtivism, holding to ditthi would create division so zandtao notes the difference without attachment and supports Marianne. .zandtao has no doubts that Marianne’s pathtivism is based in love and compassion – the path, and further notes that as far as he understands Howard Zinn never accepted the path - being a wise comrade.
However zandtao does not consider Corbyn's approach is based in the love and compassion of the pathtivist, he is a wise comrade not following the path. So zandtao is discerning with regards to support for Corbyn yet Corbyn is so experienced and wise. Can Corbyn reject the confrontation of socialism? But both Marianne and Corbyn have conviction, their own states of atammayata, not swayed by the propaganda of conditioning and conformity of the media of the system-for-the-rich. Conviction is so necessary for the movement to withstand the barrage of propaganda.
Tathata means feeling, knowing and seeing the way things are, and conviction arises from the path because it develops a state of tathata. We live in confusing times mainly because we have no clear tathata to withstand the manipulation of the current phase of the system-for-the-rich that is intentionally creating that confusion in order to exploit and increase their accumulation.
What we have to understand is that as a consequence of our upbringing there is no clear tathata. For many reasons upbringing leads us to this conditioning and conformity which enables exploitation by the system-for-the-rich. In this long zeersight zandtao can hopefully help guide a seeker into a state of atammayata where the seeker is free from the restrictions of upbringing and society, and once in that state an individual can feel, know and see the way things are - see tathata clearly. This is a long and difficult process but the clarity and therefore conviction is worthwhile.
But with the clarity of tathata comes the conviction of atammayata - being free from manipulation, and the clarity of seeing the manipulation being applied in our confusing times. This tathata-clarity requires hard personal work and the practice of freeing from restrictions is ongoing; it is an integral part of what a pathtivist needs to navigate the grassroots movement. It becomes hard to watch the movement and society being manipulated throughout because people including activists do not do this kind of personal work.
Compassion, conviction and tathata not idealism - marxism, conservatism etc - are what is required in the grassroots movement. With conviction and tathata there is no confusion as the pathtivist knows, sees and feels their way through the movement working with activists to create harmony and bring unity and compassion to changes in society.
gabiK Postscript:-
Here gabiK talks about hidden survival strategy in her deep and complex way:-
Conviction and Tathata 
Books:-