Erving Goffman's 1952 paper "On Cooling the Mark Out: Some Aspects of Adaptation to Failure" explores how individuals or 'marks' cope with the realization that they have been deceived, particularly in the context of con games. The paper discusses the social mechanisms and processes used to pacify these individuals, preventing them from causing trouble for the operators of the con.
Here are some key ideas from the paper:
Definition of 'Mark' and 'Cooling Out': The 'mark' refers to the victim of deception who must be 'cooled out'—pacified or reconciled to their loss or failure. This process is crucial to prevent the mark from retaliating or causing problems for the con operators.
Social Roles and Self-Image: Goffman notes that much of a mark's distress comes from a damaged self-image. Individuals often construct their self-esteem around being knowledgeable, capable, or savvy. The realization of having been duped shatters this image, necessitating significant psychological adjustment.
Strategies of Cooling Out: The paper outlines various strategies used to cool marks out, including offering consolation, redefining the situation to make the loss seem less significant, and sometimes providing alternative roles or statuses as a form of consolation.
Broader Social Implications: Goffman extends the concept of cooling out to general social interactions, suggesting that similar processes occur in everyday failures or losses, not just in cons. This can include job losses, social snubs, or personal rejections.
The technocratic elites conned the plebs into taking toxic jabs; however, at some point, when the truth of the scam starts becoming very obvious, they have to ‘help’ the victims adjust to their disappointment in order to maintain social order and avoid violent conflict. Generally, people don’t like being conned, not least when it involves harm to their own body and mind. I think that’s what we are seeing in Australia, and we will see a lot more of it throughout the world over the next few years.
"After the blowoff has occurred, one of the operators stays with the mark and makes an effort to keep the anger of the mark within manageable and sensible proportions."
"The mark is given instruction in the philosophy of taking a loss."
"Cooling the mark out is one theme in a very basic social story... it is well understood that persons protect themselves with all kinds of rationalizations when they have a buried image of themselves which the facts of their status do not support."
Australian Jab Pushers Now "Cooling the Mark Out"...