Hypernormalization

[Kid Berwyn]

Systems are crumbling – but daily life continues. The dissonance is real

If everything feels broken but strangely normal, the Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help

by Adrienne Matei
The Guardian, May 22, 2025

Excerpt...

First articulated in 2005 by scholar Alexei Yurchak to describe the civilian experience in Soviet Russia, hypernormalization describes life in a society where two main things are happening.

The first is people seeing that governing systems and institutions are broken. And the second is that, for reasons including a lack of effective leadership and an inability to imagine how to disrupt the status quo, people carry on with their lives as normal despite systemic dysfunction – give or take a heavy load of fear, dread, denial and dissociation.

Snip...

The effects of hypernormalization

Confronting systemic collapse can be so disorienting, overwhelming and even humiliating, that many tune it out or find themselves in a state of freeze.

Greguski likens this feeling to sleep paralysis: “basically a waking nightmare where you’re like: ‘I’m here, I’m aware, but I’m so scared and I can’t move.’”

In his 1955 book They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45, journalist Milton Mayer described a similar state of freeze in German citizens during the rise of the Nazi party: “You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone; you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ Why not? – Well, you are not in the habit of doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty.”

“People don’t shut down because they don’t feel anything,” says Hickman. “They shut down because they feel too much.” Understanding this overwhelm is an important first step in resisting inaction – it helps us see fear as a trap.

Continues...

https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-interactive/2025/may/22/hypernormalization-dysfunction-status-quo

The image at the top is a detail from "The Life Line", an 1884 oil on canvas painting by Winslow Homer. The masterpiece is part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. To me, it says "We must keep trying our best."

[c-rational]

1. Good post. Thanks. K&R.

[Kid Berwyn]

2. You are most welcome! The "What We Can Do" provides sound direction.

From the article:
Excerpt...

“We are in a period now when it’s absolutely essential to protest,” says Hartmann, citing the Harvard professor Erica Chenoweth, who argues that just 3.5% of a population engaging in peaceful protest can hold back authoritarian movements.

Snip...

In 2014, Ursula Le Guin accepted the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, saying: “We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”

Harfoush reflects on this quote often. It underscores the fact that “this world we’ve created is ultimately a choice”, she says. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

We have the research, technologies and wisdom to create better, more sustainable systems.

“But meaningful change requires collective awakening and decisive action,” says Harfoush. “And we need to start now.”

[Irish_Dem]

3. The more Americans pretend all is normal as society collapses, the sicker we will get.

And the worse the outcome will be.

[Kid Berwyn]

4. Precisely: The STASI State of Mind

State Security in the SED Dictatorship

After World War II, under the direction of the Soviets, German communists began establishing a dictatorial regime in the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. In 1946, also under Soviet pressure, the German Communist Party (KPD) and German Social Democratic Party (SPD) were merged to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED). The SED remained the centre of power in the GDR until 1989.

The rulers created a system of power based on force, threats, rewards and privilege. Individuals were taught to conform, comply and, whenever possible, participate. The SED, with unrestrained access to almost all areas of life - the churches remained an exception - was able to comprehensively control the population and to reward and reprimand as needed.

The Ministry for State Security (MfS) constituted the centre of the ruling apparatus. Under the SED leadership, the so-called “Shield and Sword of the Party” was responsible for protecting the “workers’ and peasants’ state” and securing the SED dictatorship.

Snip…

The offices of Erich Mielke, the last GDR Minister for State Security, are preserved in their original condition and form the centrepiece of the exhibition.

Source: https://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enausstellung.htm



Battle the traitors and all enemies of the Constitution.