Are some in your team using threats? This is toxic communication number 8 of 8. The other articles have described the toxic technics of: Ignore you. Make to laughter. Keep back information. Always criticise. Blame and shame on you. «We or them»-polarisation. Pressure you. All toxic communications may hurt your work for sustainable development.
VIII: Violence, threat of violence and terror, punishing
The theats may be physical and psychic violence. This may hurt and conflict your survival. They hurt the needs of the participants for truths and their rights. They may use confusing, fast shifting surprising double communication that scream you. The aim is to scream you out of balance, away from thruth and your legitime rights and into fear and apathy. When they lie and take rights from common people, people will not participate in common solutions to sustainable development. Will this help the United Nation’s 17 sustainable development goals? Examples:
33.Covert and overt threats – threaten to create and install fear
They install fear in you if you disagree complying to their demands. Any challenge results in an ultimatum. «Do this, and I will do that». When you set boundaries or have different opinion – it is a red flag for persons with a high degree of entitlement, power, superiority. They are used to decide themselves over others, and have no plans to compromise. Rage, threaths and punishment may result in mutual escalating fight, rage or threats – or fear, flight, withdrawal and apathy.
Solution: Take threats seriously, document threats and report them whenever possible and legally feasible.
34.Lie, twist, dislocate the truths about responsibility
They may bluff and tell lies. But at the same time they may have a charming presentation, smiling body language and tone of voice. This is a double communication that is difficult to discover for the victim and other observers. They may make false presentation that hurts the truth. They avoid or diffuse their responsibility. It is a manipulative tactic. «That didn’t happen», «Are you crazy?» «It falls on its own unreasonableness.» This distort and erode your sense of reality, reduce your ability to trust yourself. It creates cognitive dissonance, brain chaos, between two conflicting beliefs: Is this person right - or can I trust what I experienced?
35.Control and isolate you
Toxic persons most of all love to maintain control, social status and power. They isolate you. They want to maintain control over your finances and social networks, and micromanage every facet of your life. They dictate details in your internal affairs on your territories. They recommend to decide your life and living room. They toy with your emotions. They manifacture situations and create conflict out of thin air, to keep you feeling off center and off balance. They chronically engage in disagreements about irrelevant things and rage over details. The more power they have over your emotions, the less likely you will trust your self and own reality and the truth. They try to erode your sense of self.
Solution: Regain control over your own life and away from toxic people.
Do you want to experience a test session on how you may go beyond toxic communication in climate debate,
contact helge.christie@gmail.com
Read more in my book: Forbi hersketknikker og fryktkultur
https://www.helgechristie.com/butikk/helge-christies-16-bok-forbi-hersketeknikker