The subtle mind control strategy that works across society

In “The Great Dictator”, Hynkel, the character played by Charles Chaplin, speaks Grammelot, a language composed of meaningless sounds, words and voices which, however, others seem to understand.

In the novel "1984", George Orwell referred to a "neo-language" in the service of the control system in which all words considered "dangerous" to the regime had been eliminated. The Party's motto was: "War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength".

In reality, the meaningless language, speaking without saying anything, has spread among us at a dizzying speed, like a real epidemic. The philologist Igor Sibaldi defined him as “rumorese”. And it is important to be able to identify it because - without realizing it and surreptitiously - it can end up limiting our thinking and, therefore, our decisions.

What is rumorese?

The rumorese is to talk without saying anything, the ability to say one word after another, quickly, without worrying that the message is consistent, has meaning or value. A speech in Rumorese is made up of empty words or overly ambiguous terms that are often contradictory to each other.

The rumorese is, therefore, the language of all those who want to excel, but do not have anything important to give / do in the world. It is also the language of those who want to exercise control without resorting to reason or understanding. It is a language where sounds prevail and meaning is omitted.

Living in the society of talkativeness

In times when quantity matters more than quality, it should come as no surprise that talking a lot without saying anything has become the norm. As Thoreau said, “it seems that the important thing is to speak quickly and not with common sense”.

Anyone who does not learn this language, but speaks sensibly, can be viewed with distrust by others. His speech will be classified as too complicated and strange because it requires a capacity for attention and reflection that has been lost.

Therefore, reasonable, logical and coherent speeches become incomprehensible to the majority, a majority that has been conveniently lobotomized thanks to a systematic education in talkativeness.

In fact, in order to function in certain social contexts and be "successful", many people are forced to learn to talk more and say less. Those who do not feel lost, like a fish out of water, as if they were the only sane person in an asylum, witnessing an absurd scene that takes place with extraordinary normality. Those who do not speak this language therefore end up feeling marginalized, excluded and strange.

The rumorese creates the absurdity that lobotomizes

"We are ready to make the necessary changes, starting from justice on the part of the citizen, implementing reforms that do not change the ongoing process ..."

These words, taken from a very important newspaper, may seem familiar to us since they are part of political rumorese , although it is true that there are many other variations of this “speaking without saying anything” that extend to different areas of our life.

In that example, although the reader may feel happy that the "necessary reforms" will be applied , in reality they "will not change the ongoing process," which means that everything will change so that nothing changes. Added to this is that the fact that justice is on the part of the citizen is a contradiction since justice should not be on anyone's side but be impartial.

The rumorese , therefore, only serves to generate confusion and expectations that will never be met, so it ends up creating frustration. The flagrant contradictions and absurdities they generate cause a part of our brain to shut down, tired of looking for a non-existent logic. And it is precisely this type of self-inflicted lobotomization that is suitable for all those who exploit the rumorese to achieve their goals.

In addition, since Rumorese does not have a meaning in itself, those with greater authority are usually more credible. If we do not understand two antagonistic discourses, we will have a tendency to agree and believe the institutionalized and canonized discourse. The power of the referent has a magical effect where there is no habit of thinking freely.

This means that reason and dialogue do not prevail, but power. As Thoreau warned, "man does not accept what is truly respectable, but what is respected."

Reflection as a weapon against empty words

The rumorese consists of a series of ideas designed to be believed, regardless of their truth or rationality. Generally these are speculations or false statements that spread because they breach our most atavistic emotions.

Indeed, rumorese spreads extremely effectively and is a perfect manipulation tool because we tend to adapt our worldview to the perception that others have. We think that many minds cannot be wrong, ergo who am I wrong.

The best antidote for containing empty talk is reason. We have to go through everything through the sieve of our thinking. No matter where the words come from or who uttered them, we must always question them and, if necessary, reject them. It is in this act of deconstructing what has been said that we find our truth and become free.