Pretense

A Pretense is a False cause, or justification. Creating Pretense is a truly conservative tactic. Once you learn to identify it, you'll be better able to recognize pretense and to avoid it.

Why is pretense a conservative tactic? It's a conservative tactic, because it usually relies on a tradition of oppression or an already existing predisposition to violent acquisition or domination. Pretense is a favored tactic of conservatives who are in a position of strength, control, or majority. Control of news media is extremely useful if you intend to create a pretense. Pretense may have some of it's basis in the common male lessons of controlling emotion in competitive situations.

How does it work?

 * 1) Identify what you want but don't feel you deserve
 * 2) Either incite a fearful or angry response, or covertly create an act of aggression from your opponent.
 * 3) If You've covertly created an act of aggression, you're now "justified" in an active response and you take or do what you want (this is a situation where media control is important)
 * 4) If you've chosen to incite a fearful or angry response, you now misconstrue the response as an act of aggression or guilt.  If you wanted something, you're now justified in an active response and you take or do what you want.

Variations

 * Emasculation to escalate - If your opponent's response isn't overt enough to be misconstrued as the aggression you need to escalate the situation, try to portray the opponents response as less than masculine. This may erode the resolve of your opponents supporters or goad your opponent into the emotional response you desire.
 * Emasculation to dominate - If your opponent's response can be misconstrued as extreme and you wish to maintain existing dominance, you may portray the opponents lack of emotional control as less than masculine, and in need of rational paternal guidance.
 * Dehumanization - an extreme variation common in the past, but now rarely practiced except as prelude to or during war. The opponent is characterized as a sub-human incapable of controlling base urges.
 * Infantilization - In this variation, you assume the position of parent/protector and your opponent becomes your protected inferior incapable of emotional control and fully rational action
 * Modernization - A variation where you become the superior/protector of an undeveloped or archaic inferior who has yet to develop emotional control and rational behavior
 * If at first you don't succeed - Provocation can have a cumulative effect. It can sometimes be escalated by action against loved ones or supporters.

As you can see, there are plenty of variations on the theme. The tactic of provocation and exploitation of emotional response has been around for ages, and has been used countless times in countless ways. You may encounter it in policing tactics, in tactics of oppression, in bullying, in politics or in battle.