[muh-nip-yuh-ley-shuh n]

by Rémy Dambron

oil pastel drawing manipulated in photoshop by u/monealiza

the art of manipulation
is not about making people
do what you want them to do
but rather getting them to
want to do what you want
them to do so if you tell a lie
that is big enough and tell it
often enough people will
believe it is true first identify
what it is those people like
then work backwards and
direct their desires toward the
goal you want to achieve then
empower yourself and people
who will help you stay in power
empathize with other abusers
and people whose actions
mirror or rival the severity of
yours embrace an opportunity
to profit from others welcome
an opportunity to disparage
anyone cherish an opportunity
to create chaos employ
psychological manipulation (a
form of social influence that
aims at advancing the goals of
the manipulator through the use
of underhanded indirect and
deceptive tactics) showcase
expert knowledge (you are an
expert if you insist that you are)
harness association bias (the
tendency to associate truth with
people you like rather than with
facts) engage in name calling
(anything goes) mockery (a must)
insults (the more outrageous the
better) imitation (of people who are
a threat to you) intimidation (of
people who are a threat to you)
threats (against people who might
expose you) bullying (people who
stand up to you) and gaslighting
(manipulative tactic used to gain
power and assert dominance over
a victim by forcing them to
question and challenge their own
sanity)

Rémy Dambron is an environmentalist and

advocate for social justice. His works have appeared in Naturewriting.com, What Rough Beast, and Poets Reading the News. In a time when freedom of speech is being attacked by the very people sworn to protect it, he chooses to write poetry because he believes it is among the most democratic forms of literature, as it can be accessed by everyone and created by anyone.