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Manipulation Quotes

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Manipulation Quotes

“The insidious nature of government surveillance extends beyond the violation of privacy; it corrodes the foundations of trust essential for a healthy democracy. When citizens are constantly under the watchful eye of those in power, it creates an environment ripe for abuse and manipulation. The emotional toll is immeasurable, breeding a culture of fear and self-censorship as individuals navigate a world where every action is potentially scrutinized. Examples from history, such as the misuse of surveillance by authoritarian regimes, serve as stark warnings against the encroachment of unchecked power into the private lives of citizens. The unlawfulness of such surveillance is not just a legal matter but a moral imperative to safeguard the very essence of individual freedom.”

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Author:James William Steven Parker
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“Society cannot function if it is every man for himself. By definition, civilization cannot survive that. Those in authority must retain the public's trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no one.”

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Book:The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
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“A taker doesn’t just take; they consume. They don't have limits. They’ll drain you dry and still look at you like you’re the problem for running empty. No matter how much love, how much patience, how much forgiveness you pour into them, it’s always expected and never enough. It never will be.”

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Book:Shattered Reflections: Behind the Smile
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“Breaking free from manipulation isn't just about escaping someone's control—it's about rediscovering your strength, your worth, and your power to choose your own path.”

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Book:"Under Control: Manipulation and Disillusionment": How Narcissists Control You and How to Take Back Your Power"
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“The 'originalism' of which they speak (they being the Supreme Court, the Federalist Society, and affiliated lawyers and politicians) treats the constitution like Evangelists treat the bible: they cherry-pick at whim which tenets they will uphold and which they will ignore, and, also, which they will distort so the text seems to agree with whatever it is they're claiming. Of course, it's as absurd to believe there is only deep truth to be found by trying to get into the mindset of a privileged white slave-owning land-owning cis male founder of this country as there is by trying to get into the mindset of whoever you believe wrote down the various pieces of the bible, both old and new testaments. And now they're chopping down the cherry tree out in the open with us all watching (well, watching only when we're not getting felled along with the branches) and they're speaking the truth about their intentions in a document called Project 2025. We all must read it carefully, read it and weep, weep and get angry, get angry and build strength, and then do all we can to stop them. It's now, baby, or never.”

TruthStrengthConstitutionCrisisManipulationSupreme CourtEvangelismDistortionCherry Picked Originalism
Author:Shellen Lubin
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“Leaches Ten Tall by Stewart Stafford Don't play this game with me, Predatory whelk of tide pools, Taint me as Rigoletto to a bawd, Floundering florist to my bee. Devotion twisted to a changeling, Now a jealous twin in the shadows, From dancing partner to judge; Delicate consensus to harshest critic. Slice of cold shoulder sandwich, Sup the chalice of icy comfort, Not snowfall on Christmas morn, Oaken boards trodden in a manger. © 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

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Author:Stewart Stafford
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“The soft glow of the fairy lights in her room, the way her arm warmers covered the bandages on her wrists. She had made them herself, tiny stitches woven into the fabric like a secret, a small act of care for a body she was learning to hate.”

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Book:Nowhere Strangers: A Sapphic Coming-of-Age Story of Digital Romance, Heartbreak, and Self-Discovery
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“Her breath caught in her throat. She knew what he was doing. She had seen it in books, in movies, in the hushed conversations of girls who had learned their lessons too late.”

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Book:Nowhere Strangers: A Sapphic Coming-of-Age Story of Digital Romance, Heartbreak, and Self-Discovery
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“I think it’s pretty common to hold onto people, to bribe them with things, say, a body, in the hopes of keeping them from leaving you. I don’t think it’s uncommon to invert such behaviors, to become something unlovable, in an effort to speed up the process of the inevitable. Fighting is an instinct. So is running. Everybody knows how to destroy a good thing. It’s easy.”

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Book:Return to Sender
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“A part of me expects more of my only sister....Dorothy has always been exactly who she is, and for me to hope for anything better reminds me of a quote attributed to Einstein: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Dorothy is predictable. She does the same thing repeatedly and expects not a different result but the same one she got the last time she did whatever she wants with little regard for anyone else. So maybe she's the sane one....”

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Book:Chaos
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“Seduction is manipulation, manipulation is half of argument, and therefore many of us shy from it. But seduction offers more than just consensual sex. It can bring you consensus. Even Aristotle, that logical old soul, believed in the curative powers of seduction. Logic alone will rarely get people to do anything. They have to desire the act. You may not like seduction’s manipulative aspects; still, it beats fighting, which is what we usually mistake for an argument.”

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Book:Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion
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“Für jene, die in das Erscheinungsbild ‚normalen’ Verhaltens hineinschlüpfen, weil sie die Spannung der Widersprüche zwischen der auferlegten Realität und ihrer inneren Welt nicht ertragen, für solche Menschen gibt es bald keine wirklichen Gefühle mehr. Stattdessen gehen sie mit Ideen von Gefühlen um, haben keine Erfahrung mehr mit ihnen. Sie präsentieren aufgesetzte Gefühle und sagen sich von ihren wahren Gefühlen los. Je ‚gesünder’ das Image der Identität, das sie angenommen haben, desto erfolgreicher werden sie diese Manipulation vollziehen können. Und es ist Manipulation, da ihr Ziel nicht der Ausdruck ihrer selbst ist, sondern den andern zu überzeugen, dass sie angemessen handeln, denken und fühlen.”

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Book:The Insanity of Normality: Toward Understanding Human Destructiveness
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“There is an aid for helping us to learn how to distinguish between the ego way and the higher way. It is pain. The ego way inevitably leads to pain, even if it seems to temporarily satisfy. The higher way does not. It works. And it works harmoniously. It brings the sort of success that has no bitter after-taste. It is not manipulative. It doesn’t play one person against another. It doesn’t feed anyone’s fantasies. It is honest and it protects the good.”

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Book:Faith
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“When words don’t add up in love, it is because of six possible reasons: 1. They are afraid to tell you the truth because you will leave them. 2. They enjoy being a liar or playing people because of ego reasons and/or control. 3. They don’t know the truth themselves. 4. They are undecided. 5. They refuse to let their guard down and be vulnerable because you or someone else have hurt them tremendously. 6. You are not being told all the information because of a break down in communication.”

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Author:Shannon L. Alder
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