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Has there ever been a case where a kidnapee was able to brainwash his captors into freeing him/her? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by Subject6051@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Though the question sounds very narrow, I am actually trying to explore a theme. I was reading in a book about Brainwashing about how the Chinese Communists or Christian priests were trying to brainwash people who didn't believe in their ideology. Protestants trying to convenience Catholics and vice versa. Kidnappers being successful in brainwashing Patty Hearst who being a victim of Kidnapping herself, went on to rob a bank for her captors willingly as she had now believed in their ideology. etc.,.

So, I was wondering, has brainwashing ever worked in reverse where a person who is supposed to be a victim of brainwashing manages to outfox their captors and manages to change the mind of their captors or break free? Maybe a protestant priest managed to convert a catholic priest? You get the theme.

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[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

What book is that? Brainwashing basically is not a real thing, so I advise you to check who the author is. (By the sound of it, I have my money on a prominant Christian)

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I don't think they mean brainwashing like a scientific technique to wipe your mind, but their are countless examples of a person in a cult or church or radical group where the constant bombardment of propeganda and apparent correctness ( by number of believers ) alters the persons belief system.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

There's a history of it meaning some kind of magical personality replacement thing, though. IIRC it was a Cold War excuse for why US soldiers defected sometimes. Cults exist, but the techniques they use to pressure people are a lot more mundane and take time to really take root.

Edit: Yup. More info here.

[–] Subject6051@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The book's name itself is Brainwashing, it's written by a non-christian. But since she was taking examples from history and European history is rife with turf wars between different flavors of Christianity, that might have seem to be the prime example

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 week ago

Ah, thank you. Here's the Wikipedia.

It sounds like she takes a more expansive view of what constitutes it.

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Patrick

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

A good guess. I'm not sure how Evangelical he is, but he sounds like a fellow traveler having worked with Reagan and inflicted abuse on people from other faith groups.

I said a Christian author just because most people are over the Protestant vs. Catholic thing, and Chinese communists are a particular favourite bugbear of theirs.