Abuse. Trauma. - August 2023
This article was published in the August 2023 issue of the Youngstown Buckeye Review, a locally owned black publication.
Quick Review
Look behind the curtain of Slavery, Reconstruction, Black Codes, Jim Crow, and the current “radical right’s” neoliberalism and you find the consumer (i.e., the “waster”, the “destroyer”) mindset and language. For the sake of our children’s future, we must abolish the consumer, see one another as Producers, and utilize Producer language to think, talk, and make decisions about EVERYTHING. [See producerconsciousness.com.]
Abuse and Trauma
Oppressive systems and abusive people traumatize those being oppressed and abused. This article is not about treating abused and/or traumatized Producers; there are professionals in Youngstown, like Drs. Linda and Mike McNair, who specialize in helping Producers deal with the pain and suffering of abuse and trauma. This article simply offers the loved ones of abused and/or traumatized Producers a way to think and talk about abuse and trauma.
Utilizing Producer Language
Any human being (Producer) can experience abuse and/or trauma. When this happens, the Producer’s brain-mind does the following: 1) assesses the abusive and/or traumatic Inputs as threats to survival; 2) produces very strong negative FARTs (feelings, actions, reactions, and thoughts) for the Inputs; and 3) stores in Vectors the Inputs, the threat to survival assessment, and the negative FARTs. The Vectors are for the people, places, and/or things that perpetrated the abusive and/or traumatic Inputs. [As stated in past articles, Vectors are a way to study and understand memories.]
Current and Past Abuse and/or Trauma
The brain-mind of a Producer who is currently experiencing abusive and/or traumatic Inputs is in constant threat to survival assessment mode and, therefore, constantly producing very strong negative FARTs. Here, the Producer can shut down or strike out at others; often at Producers who have nothing to do with the abusive and/or traumatic Inputs.
Producers can relive past abuse and/or trauma. Here, something or someone related (or even unrelated) to the past abusive and/or traumatic Inputs can trigger the brain-mind to go to the Vectors for the people, places, or things that perpetrated the abusive and/or traumatic Inputs and do a “ride-down” the Vectors back to the time when the abusive and/or traumatic Inputs happened. Effectively, the brain-mind relives the abusive and/or traumatic Inputs, its threat to survival assessment, and the strong negative FARTs it produced at the time of the abusive and/or traumatic Inputs.
Abused Young Producers
When interacting with a young person who has been (or is being) abused, adults (parents, teachers, relatives, friends) must see the youth as a Producer who’s brain-mind has: 1) experienced abusive Inputs; 2) assessed the Inputs as threats to survival; 3) produced strong negative FARTs (feelings, actions, reactions, and thoughts) for the Inputs; and 4) stored 1, 2, and 3 in the Vectors for the people, places, and/or things involved in perpetrating the abusive Inputs. Utilizing Producer language to think and talk this way promotes deeper awareness, empathy, and compassion for the youth. The youth, in turn, senses the adult’s awareness, empathy, and compassion; this helps young Producers begin producing agency, dignity, self-respect, self-awareness, and self-efficacy.