What if we’ve all been primed?

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Consider this statement: We’re all in this together.

If you hear this over and over, and unconsciously believe it, then it means those who don’t follow the conventional recommendations aren’t in this with you. They’re outsiders. They are easy to target and hate and slander. It feels okay to treat them as outsiders because people believe they have the support of their pack to do so.

Or take this one: Stay home. Stay safe.

This implies that by staying home, you’re doing something that helps protect people. To not stay home then, would mean putting others at risk. It sets the stage for people to easily buy into the idea that if you don’t stay home, you’re selfish.

There’s nothing to prove this statement is accurate. Recent data says the opposite: 66% of hospitalizations in New York are from people sheltering in place.

Yet, if you asked the average person what they should do to protect themselves and others, they’d say, “I should stay home to stay safe.”

Behavioral priming can lead us to believe something is a fact even without evidence to support it. It would explain why some people feel it’s okay to throw stones at those who believe in something other than staying home. They want to slander doctors who suggest we’re actually safer being at work. Maybe their strong emotion comes from the fact that they’ve been well-primed over the past couple of months.

And finally, what about this? A new normal.

What a perfect phrase to prime you to accept a life that’s different from the life we lived up until 2020. If you believe whatever we’re told to do next is the “new normal” after hearing that phrase a thousand times, you’ll be less likely to question whatever that suggested normal might be.

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