With Nancy Robertson
[PART I of 3 Parts]
Stella Morabito is a journalist whose work I respect immensely. Her new book “The Weaponization of Loneliness,” is a tour de force examination of how tyrants move populations toward their totalitarian interests. Stella’s perspective as a historian of Russian and Soviet propaganda, is filtered through the lens of Soviet tyranny and herewith is her detailed and brilliant discussion with Nancy Robertson, which I find extremely valuable.
I have studied the tyranny underlying the gender industry from a capitalist perspective. In other words: Tyranny, American style. A capitalist market that is unfettered, uncontrolled, and left to run away, by its design, forces all the wealth of society upward, into the hands of oligarchs who then instill their tyranny on the populace via the market, which we see repeatedly with the gender industry and elsewhere.
An ideology of transhumanism, positioned as a human right for a male sexual fetish of owning womanhood, is being forced into our universities, institutions, public policies, laws, and language, by capital, and those governing the capital. Oligarchs, such as the Pritzker family, Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk, and capital assets management firms such as Black Rock and Vanguard, who have technological and medical investments in transhumanism and the profits to be garnered from transhumanist augmentations, are tyrannically forcing on the public an ideology that is anti-reality/anti-human. They are doing so with the threat of financial isolation and abandonment from the market, The unfettered capitalist market has functioned as well as any dictator with an ideological bent and a drive for absolute control. It has led to a commoditization of all life, manifesting extreme isolation for all of us, from our families, from our communities, from meaningful rituals, from our land base, and now, with the burgeoning gender industry, from our bodies.
All avenues of tyranny lead us to the same dark place from which we will eventually be unable to resist. I hope this discussion inspires you to political action soon. It is my assessment that we are rapidly running out of time to resist this global, totalitarian, juggernaut.
Many thanks to Nancy Robertson for outlining and facilitating this important discussion.
- Jennifer Bilek
The following transcript has been edited for clarity.
Nancy Robertson: Today I'm pleased to speak with Stella Morabito, a woman who’s had the most fascinating career. Stella spent ten years working as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency where she focused on propaganda and media analysis. She is now a senior contributor at the Federalist, an online magazine that carries her articles that focus on the social fallout of group think, propaganda, and mob psychology.
Stella has written an insightful and relevant new book, The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide, and Conquer. This book shines a much-needed spotlight on the rise of totalitarianism which now expresses itself most dramatically in “transgender” ideology.
“Transgender” ideology harms us all. It imposes compelled speech, “gender-affirming care” for vulnerable children and adults, and the loss of women’s sports and women’s safe spaces. This pernicious ideology has captured our most important institutions: schools, universities, hospitals, mainstream media, entertainment, corporations, and government. Everyone and everything have been affected.
In The Weaponization of Loneliness, Stella explains how tyrants use totalitarian methods such as identity politics, political correctness, and mobs to gain power with devastating results for everyone. Fortunately, Stella doesn't just outline the problem. She explains how the average concerned citizen can work to defeat it.
The Weaponization of Loneliness was published by Bombardier Books last year and is available on Amazon. I urge everyone to buy and read this extraordinary book because it will open your eyes and give you the tools and confidence to help defeat one of the greatest threats to humanity. Stella. Welcome.
Stella Morabito: Thank you so much, Nancy. It's great to be here with you, and thank you for that introduction.
NR: You're very welcome, Stella. Can you tell me about your experience as an analyst for the CIA and how that applies to your current writing on propaganda?
SM: I have a master’s degree in Russian and Soviet history. And after I received my degree, I worked as an analyst at the CIA all throughout the 1980s. The focus of much of my work there was analyzing the communist media of the Soviet Union during that Cold War era.
My experience gave me a clear window into how propaganda works, especially in a one-party State, which is what all totalitarian systems are. The Soviet Union had only the Communist Party. There was no tolerance for any other point of view.
Part of what I studied was the Soviet use of psychiatry as a political weapon where dissidents were consigned to psychiatric hospitals for not accepting the propagandistic narrative. Dissent was considered a mental illness If you disagreed with the narrative, you were punished and ostracized. Unfortunately, I see the same patterns here today that I observed then, even in the fields of psychology and psychotherapy.
And we also see this today in China. Their social credit system controls your access to goods and services, depending on how well you comply with their narrative. I fear that that’s what we're seeing more and more of in the United States.
NR: Yes, unfortunately. Therapists today are now required to “affirm, affirm, affirm” their patient’s “gender identity.” Therapists will lose their license to practice therapy if they don’t comply. So these therapists tell parents their children will commit suicide unless they “affirm” This situation is growing increasingly dire. Governor Gavin Newsom of California, who some believe may enter the presidential race, recently stated that any parent who doesn’t affirm their child’s “gender” should be accused of child abuse. Child abuse -- it’s alarming!
SM: People in the US are being bullied into accepting this narrative. And people are being punished for not accepting it. That's exactly how it works in any totalitarian system or social credit system. And if we don't push back and push back hard, we'll end up in a similar situation.
NR: Yes. We must push back now, or the unthinkable will happen.
SM: Yes. And that’s why I’m grateful to everyone who is fighting against this, especially Jennifer Bilek. Her 11th Hour blog is so necessary right now, and it’s made such a difference to have people come together and speak out. Women like the author JK Rowling; Kellie Jay Keen, the British women’s rights activist who was physically attacked by a “transgender mob in New Zealand earlier this year; and Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis, who spoke out against men in women’s sports on Twitter. Their actions help people open their eyes to these insidious narratives and programs that are taking over. This encourages people to stand up to the oppression and the bullying we see today.
NR: Back in 2017, you gave a very prescient speech for the FRC, in which you said there were four ways in which the “transgender” agenda helps to instantiate totalitarianism. Can you tell us more about that?
SM: Yes. I distilled the process by which what we call “transgenderism” is really a vehicle for totalitarianism and censorship. There are four conditions that have to be put in place for that to happen, and to subvert all our institutions, especially schools, universities, and the corporate world.
The four conditions are: 1, consolidating state power under the guise of promoting individualism; 2, sowing chaos into the language; 3, state censorship; and 4, an aggressive campaign of propaganda and agitation.
Under the first condition, gender ideology as a movement consolidates state power under the guise of promoting individualism and preventing discrimination. But the ideology actually serves to break down and destabilize our sense of identity. Children are told to be their “authentic selves” after activists in schools and culture indoctrinate them or perform what I call mind-rape upon them.
You can't sustain the sort of “individualism” that requires us to deny reality to such an extent that we can't even talk to one another anymore. There are no limits. No boundaries.
The “transgender” movement also sows chaos into the language. But language is how we communicate with one another. It's how we establish relationships with each other!
NR: Yes, those awful new pronouns like “zir” and “zim” and “they” instead of he or she.
SM: Linguists like Stephen Pinker describe pronouns as “function words” in a language. Pronouns prop up the structure of language and speech, like scaffolding. A pronoun is not like an adjective that can change, or a noun or verb, or any of those other parts of speech. You can’t change pronouns at will. You need a structure with agreed-upon rules so people can talk to one another. But when you change the pronouns, you've eliminated the structure of the language.
NR: And pronouns are only one example. “Transgender” activists also want to abolish the word “mother.”
SM: Yes. And ultimately this leads to the destruction of our relationships. It's all about regulating and dictating all human relationships. And in order to do that, you have to isolate people. And that's what this does. It destabilizes a sense of identity, the sense of self, especially for children. And once that's destabilized, you're in a state of isolation, and that makes you a whole lot more controllable. Sowing chaos into the language is number two.
The third requirement is state censorship. Imposing “transgenderism” on a society requires state censorship. Everyone knows this deep down. Who hasn't been, you know, mind-raped by the idea of “transgenderism.” Everybody knows it's not true, it's not reality. So, the State shuts people up who don't agree with it.
And then we come to the fourth requirement for total social control: a very aggressive campaign of propaganda and agitation, along with censorship, that pushes the narrative forward and forces people to accept it.
NR: And now we have propaganda and agitation coming not just from the state, but from our largest corporations, too. Dylan Mulvaney as the “transgender” spokesman for Bud Light. And Target openly displayed tuck-it underwear in a “Pride” display next to colorful children’s clothes. Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with “transgender” propaganda.
SM: These are only a few of the tools in the bag of tricks that enforce the narrative of “transgenderism” Meant to socially control everyone to get with the program. Our institutions are being taken over and getting away from their original mission. We see this, for example, in medicine. They are enforcing one particular viewpoint. One particular totalitarian structure.
And “transgenderism,” of course, which is the focus of this interview plays a big role in that because it has such an effect on destabilizing the sense of self of the child as well as in all human relationships.
NR: Yes. It’s very destabilizing. Let's talk about your new book, The Weaponization of Loneliness. When did you decide to write it? And why?
SM: Well, all my life I’ve had a nagging feeling that there’s something more behind all the bullying that we see around us. Bullying on the playground, bullying by a toxic boss, bullying by a cult leader like Jim Jones, who in 1978 convinced almost a thousand people to commit “revolutionary suicide” in that compound in Jonestown, Guyana by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. That’s where the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” comes from. It means following the propaganda. And when you do that, it leads to your own destruction.
But all this bullying, from the mean girls at school right on up to the world-class dictators wage war on private life and human relationships in order to gain power.
I wrote the book because I wanted to understand how this happens. And at a certain point, I realized the patterns that tie all this together have to do with the impulse to conform. Human beings need to be connected with other people. And this need to connect with others is hardwired into us. That makes it easy for tyrants to exploit and control us. The flip side of this need is fear, the terror of being ostracized, cast into the outer darkness. And this fear is probably stronger than any other human impulse, even hunger. For example, look at what happened with anorexia nervosa. Teenage girls would starve themselves so they could look like skinny fashion models and feel accepted as beautiful. Their need to feel accepted was ever more powerful than their need to eat.
The fear of ostracism and the need to be connected dictate so much of human behavior. Political correctness is a primary example. Someone might say to themselves, “Oh, I don't want to say what I really believe, because they might reject me.” That plays a huge role in moving the ball forward for totalitarians. It’s a huge vulnerability on our part.
I wrote the book because I felt that we need to be much more aware of these dynamics in order to keep them in check.
NR: These tyrants don't just threaten human connections. They also threaten people's livelihoods.
SM: Yes, and in fact, the loss of one's livelihood is very connected to one’s sense of self. For example, why are so many American physicians going along with crazy things, including the mutilation of children? Why? Likely, because doctors put a lot of time, money, and effort into getting their degrees. And their occupation as medical doctors provides them with a high level of status and respect. And they don’t want to risk losing that. But they don’t understand that their compliance is a Faustian bargain. In the short term, you may feel like it will save you. But if you don’t push back, it will destroy you.
NR: You have called the weaponization of loneliness a war on the private sphere of life. How does the State fill the void of isolation with their tyranny?
SM: They just keep making you more and more dependent upon the State. And feeling less and less able to have access to the personal relationships from which we get our strength.
Most totalitarians and tyrants know instinctively that the private sphere of life is where we derive so much of our power. The individual human being needs those very strong core relationships—in family, faith, and friendship--to fall back on when they're dealing with the world at large.
Totalitarians have been trying to invade that sphere for at least two centuries if you go back to 1848 with the publication of the Communist Manifesto. One of the biggest points made in that pamphlet is to abolish the family. And once that happens, the only thing left is the State. And the State fills the vacuum.
In a healthy society, bonding begins with biological bonding, and family bonding. And then it blossoms out into community bonding. So, if you get family breakdown you end up with a community breakdown, too. But when you do have strong bonds to fall back on, you're much more able to express what you really believe, even in the face of those who seem to reject you for doing so. And that’s because you have your family and strong friendships to fall back on.
Family and friendships are exactly what totalitarians and those who have that totalitarian impulse want to do away with. Movies such as Gaslight, from which we get the term “gas lighting,” shows how psychological abuse so often begins with isolating the victim and making the victim feel like they’re the crazy one if they don’t agree with the narrative pushed by the perpetrators. And this can occur whether it’s a one-on-one relationship, a cult leader, or the dictator of a country. People are made to feel that if they don’t agree with a narrative, no matter how outlandish it is, they’ll be viewed as a social outcast.
And so, the State becomes the Mass State. As the psychiatrist Carl Jung put it in his 1957 book The Undiscovered Self, the Mass State has no interest in the real relationships between people, between human beings. The main objective of the Mass State is to inject psychic isolation into the individual.
That’s what “transgenderism” does. It injects psychic isolation, especially on the child. Why would a child go through with all these horrific things that interfere with their development -- whether it's puberty blockers or mutilating surgeries. Why? Because they want to feel connected, want to feel accepted, not rejected. And that’s why rapid onset gender dysphoria affects so many kids in school.
Kids tell themselves, “This is the cool thing. I’ll be protected.” There’s so much bullying in schools, that becoming “trans” provides a safe haven because it is protected by anti-discrimination rules. And that can be tempting to them.
NR: And unfortunately, “transgender” activists target the most vulnerable children. The children who might be on the autism spectrum or are unpopular for another reason. But if they declare themselves “transgender,” they can suddenly become heroes.
SM: Yes, they want to feel accepted. And that need for connection, as I said, is easily exploited. The powers that be, whether it's a teacher or a school administrator or the Federal government, say they will protect you if you become “transgender.” They also tell you the enemy is the “cisgender.” That is, unless you’re a “transgender” ally. And nobody wants to be seen as the enemy or socially rejected. That's usually that's how it plays out in the child's mind and causes confusion.
NR: Those poor children.
SM: That’s why it’s so important to understand how the weaponization of loneliness affects people and destroys relationships. It isolates us, and therefore makes us miserable, confused, and powerless.
[END PART I - PARTS II and III coming soon]
Stella Morabito is a senior contributor at The Federalist. She is author of "The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide, and Conquer." Her essays have appeared in various publications, including the Washington Examiner, American Greatness, Townhall, Public Discourse, and The Human Life Review. In her previous work as an intelligence analyst, Morabito focused on various aspects of Russian and Soviet politics, including communist media and propaganda. She has a Master's degree in Russian and Soviet history.
Nancy Robertson graduated from Barnard College with a BA in psychology and then received a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Stanford University. Nancy is retired and has written articles for WoLF, Women are Human, and The 11th Hour Blog. She grew up in New York City in the middle of the last century. In 2022, she learned that three daughters of a deceased, old college friend were trying to become men through they/them pronouns, wrong sex hormones, and mutilating surgeries. She realized a strange cult of "transgender" madness had sprung up, infecting the US and much of the world. Nancy began to research and write about the gender industry to stop it.
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