07-01-2003, 11:00 PM
Quote:I haven't read any related literature, nor have I (obviously) experienced it, or know anyone who has. So I very well may be underestimating how resilient the human mind can be. But the fact that it, apparently, works indicates that some of us are more robust than others.
You're quite correct that some people are more tolerant of abuse than others. We're all individuals, and we each have a breaking point. I think you may be on the low side on your average estimate, though. :)
Quote:What I do know is this: The thought of someone messing with my mind horrifies me. If someone screws up my thoughts to the point that some of those kids were at ("I have no doubt that if I weren't sent to Tranquility Bay, I'd be dead now." -- paraphrased), would I still be me? It's like being lobotomized; your meat still exists, but you aren't there. If you'll excuse the melodramatics, this is like "mental rape."
If it's any consolation, I've done some reading on the subject, and it would seem that the "core" personality is not destroyed, but shut down. The artificial shell that conditioning creates tends to break down when outside the environment that constructed it. A lot depends on how the person views the new behavior patterns - if they meet with internal or external approval, the patterns can persist indefinitely.
The return to the core personality can take some time, but I suspect the vast majority will look back in five or ten years, and consider TB a hellhole. I may be optimistic, though - they could rationalize their acquiescence, or simply refuse to think about it.