patrick.net

not a con job if the one on the collecting end actually believes the shit they plow.

Heraclitusstudent says

SoftShell says

ex·tort [ik-stawrt] Show IPA

verb (used with object)

1.

Law.

a.

to wrest or wring (money, information, etc.) from a person by violence, intimidation, or abuse of authority; obtain by force, torture, threat, or the like.

con job?

noun Informal.

1.

an act or instance of duping or swindling.

2.

an act or instance of lying or talking glibly to convince others or get one's way.

SoftShell says

But there still has to be some gullibility on your part to believe what you are being threatened with.

Read on propaganda. It's human brain biases, not gullibility. Within the right conditions, everybody falls for some version of it.

It's like commercial advertising: most people will say it has no effect on them. But studies show advertising have a massive effect.

Even if you understand the technique used, you would have to make a constant conscious effort not to be influenced while watching advertising.

Precisely why I 'tivo' everything, and skip all the commercials.

Heraclitusstudent says

Even if you understand the technique used, you would have to make a constant conscious effort not to be influenced while watching advertising.

I'd be interested in some sucker bringing a civil suit against "Name it and Claim it" Churches, the ones that promise donations get returned 3 fold, etc.

Be curious to see how the suit would develop, the technicalities, etc. Would be awesome if the defendants felt compelled to demonstrate their theology in court, hahahah.