deathnate4

I have to say that as a black person I almost didn't read through this AMA because this is a very sensitive topic for me and it's so hard to avoid getting hurt when seeing discussions on race. I can't even imagine where you get the resolve to not be hurt by racist slurs and racism directed at you, even when you expect it. I really wish I could be like that, I really do.

And not doing so allowed for others to be killed.

Savage but honestly that's what this AMA felt like straight from the title.

That isn't feelings being manipulated. That's a phenomenon called 'stereotype threat' and it has to do with how stereotypes and the anxiety derived from it affect cognitive performance. This isn't an example of making a person feel something they aren't feeling, it's an example of how stereotypes can affect cognitive behaviour. Basically you're conflating a lot of different kinds of mental phenomena and misunderstanding them. So yes it's true that what people say to you can affect how you think and feel, no-one would deny something so obvious. What isn't true is that you can determine what someone feels by insisting that's what they're feeling. There's a big difference between influencing feelings and determining them.

That's an entirely different scenario. That's just a false memory, it has nothing to do with trauma itself. No-one can make you feel something you aren't actually feeling. If it were that easy you could just get everyone out of depression by telling them they're happy over and over again. I can guarantee you it doesn't work like that.