Social Control: The Self-police Parade

The Self-police Parade

The concept of the Self-Police Parade, as referenced by Robert Calvert, the lyricist and vocalist of the band Hawkwind, is a thought-provoking metaphor that reflects on societal control and the resultant self-regulation of the individual. Calvert’s lyrics often delved into themes of dystopia, individualism, and the consequences of a mythical societal norm, and its enforcement, both on himself, and on everyone else, via this self-appointed, self-police parade.

What is the Self-Police Parade?

“Welcome to the oceans in a labelled can.
Welcome to the dehydrated land.
Welcome to the Self-Police parade,
Welcome to the neo-Golden Age,
Welcome to the days you’ve made.
You’re welcome.”
Robert Calvert, Hawkwind, Space ritual

Lyric Context: The phrase “Welcome to the self-police parade” appears in Calvert’s work, particularly in the context of a critique of modern society. It suggests a scenario where individuals monitor and regulate their own behaviour, as well as those around them, often colluding with others to oppress shared targets for control, and influenced by societal expectations, direct and indirect brainwashing and other, more hidden pressures.

Themes explored in Calvert’s Self-police Parade concept

Enforcement of Conformity: The idea that people may feel compelled to force others to conform to their own concept of societal standards. This leads them to a form informal, of more organised teams of “vigilante social groomers“, who target other individuals for surveillance, “normality” assessment, and to put in place individualised control measures in response.

It echoes a need to suppress others, when their thinking or behaviour becomes too challenging, and this echoes previous articles discussing how the lack of wholeness leads to low self-esteem and self-confidence,  and leads to confused behaviours, such as a loss of trust in their own use of logical thinking, and their own concept of self by the observation of societal incongruences that challenge assumptions that should never have been made.

This leads to the sometimes deadly enforcement of personal biases onto others. via various forms of gaslighting, and more overt and harmful actions, such as direct, in-public personal attacks aimed at showing everyone (in on the act), exactly how mad, angry, violent, stupid, disabled, autistic, etc., the target individual can be made to look and feel..

Self-isolation, and self-censorship: Are amongst the desired responses for the the individual targeted by the self-police parade.

Self-suicide is also an objective of the self-police parade. Self-suicide can mean that the individual chooses to completely lose all self-confidence and conform in any way possible. Including asking the authorities, or even their gaslighter’s, for “help“, allowing them to be further labelled and identified to a wider controlling group can be better informed of their need to be watched, informed upon, and actively policed and self-policed. This may be triggered due to signposting for suicidal ideation, or mental illness.

Self-suicide can also mean the total removal of the individuals influence on society, forever. It This can include death, and is often accompanied by revelations of that individuals poor thinking, and a justification for society to be glad they have died or been otherwise excluded as an influence.

Self-Policing: Is the catch-all term often applied to those responding to the self-police parade via their self-isolation, censorship and suicidal tendencies, adopted as coping strategies against their ongoing abuse, stress, anxiety and trauma.

Where Can We See It in Action?

The concept of the self-police parade can be observed in various aspects of contemporary life:

Social Media: Platforms often encourage users to curate their lives in a way that aligns with presumed societal ideals, these are enforced by social media algorithms  creating vacuums of silent disapproval to the users posts, and also direct criticisms and signalling of hidden agendas of those false friends that are secretly members of their self-policing patrol.

These self-police patrollers, typically enact a significant carrot and stick based strategy, to lead the individual away from their expression of their true-self, and further into the policing units chosen delusion for them. This, ultimately to be used against them in much more significant gaslighting attempt.

Automatic censorship of legitimate opinions by social media platforms, using biased, and misleadingly named “fact” checkers. Further gaslighting the societal target for suppression, by virtue signalling to all of their gaslighting friends, that this target has been legitimised.

Vacuums of disapproval: When the individual decides to leave the platform, all of their “friends” let them know that they never cared, and are happy they are in pain, and also happy the target is very confused by their own incongruent and abusive behaviour. They tend to be upset at the target, for leaving their “loving care”.

Propaganda: Governmental and Other Institutional and Media signals increasingly cause people to enforce perceived standards of behaviour that are again, increasingly influenced and distorted by their own biases as well as those around them.

False Cultural Norms: In most societies, individuals are made to feel the need to conform to cultural expectations, whether in fashion, lifestyle choices, or political beliefs, effectively policing themselves to fit in. These expectations keep changing, and move ever more into increasing level’s of self-censorship, combined with repetitive external criticism for not adapting quick enough. Those “rules” just seem to get tighter and tighter, in often bizarre ways.

Public Behaviour: In public spaces, people often adjust their behaviour based on perceived social norms, a process often called masking. This masking is a coping technique, that the self-police parade hope will become embedded behaviour, if they continually reinforce it with their carrot and stick.

Societal imposter-syndrome: Similar to imposter-syndrome, the individual feels so out of place, and ignorant of society, and their role within it, that they consciously start copying societal trends and chosen influencers. Both in order to signal Conformance and compliance, but also as a way of pointing to other targets, in the hope of distracting those self-policers away from their current targeted focus on their victimised self.

Inferiority Complex: Both victims and perpetrators can have there responses and interactions coloured by an inferiority complex that can created a very significant, trigger based need to attack and defend against each other. One mimicking the other, or their perceived reflection, as a form of defence that can easily become “Locked-in”

Robert Calvert’s self-police parade not only encapsulates his own paranoia with regards to the society he found himself in, but he also let us all know, this was the future we were walking into, and that we needed to be aware of it.

The self-police parade in action

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed a powerful example of this peer-based social enforcement. Governments implemented various restrictions, but their effectiveness was significantly amplified by the pressure individuals felt from their peers to comply. This pressure manifested in several ways:

Social Shaming: Individuals who didn’t adhere to mask mandates, social distancing guidelines, or quarantine rules often faced public criticism and shaming on social media and within their communities. This social pressure was often more effective than official enforcement.

Gaslighting and constant reinforcement of threat: Collectively identified targets for suppression and control become constant targets of threats, abuse, and attacks via social media. Their own responses often hidden by the algorithm itself, from any friends that might look to support them. Reminders of the need to conform, increasingly target those “non-conformers”, of the need to be afraid. The aim being to ensure they have constant anxiety, and stress, triggering pre-conditioned trauma responses, and ever ready to launch into that fight or flight response that will “hang them”. “That will teach them not to be different”

Informant Behaviour: People reported neighbours or acquaintances who violated restrictions, sometimes anonymously. This created a climate of suspicion and self-monitoring, where individuals policed each other’s behaviour.

Self-Censorship: Many people altered their behaviour not because of fear of legal repercussions, but because they didn’t want to be seen as irresponsible or endanger others. This self-censorship is a clear example of internalized social control.

Shifting social norms: The pandemic rapidly changed social norms. Behaviours that were once acceptable (e.g., close physical contact, large gatherings) became socially unacceptable, leading to a widespread shift in individual behaviour driven by peer pressure and the desire to conform to the new norms.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a compelling real-world example of Calvert’s “self-police parade.” It demonstrates how societal control can be achieved not only through formal institutions but also through the informal mechanisms of peer pressure, social shaming and conditioning, and the internalization of evolving social norms.

This peer-based enforcement, arguably, represents a more insidious and pervasive form of control than traditional top-down approaches. It highlights the power of social influence in shaping individual behaviour and maintaining social order.

psychological manipulation

The image provided depicts a powerful figure manipulating a child puppet, surrounded by shadowy figures. This effectively visualizes the themes of control and manipulation central to both Orwell’s 1984 and Calvert’s concept of the self-police parade, albeit with different focuses.

Contrasting Calvert and Orwell’s 1984

1984: Orwell’s dystopia focuses on overt, totalitarian control by a powerful state apparatus (the Party). Control is achieved through surveillance, propaganda, torture, and the manipulation of history and language. Individuality is systematically crushed, and dissent is brutally suppressed. The Party’s control is explicit and inescapable.

Calvert’s Self-Police Parade: This concept emphasizes a more subtle, insidious form of intense and targeted social control. It’s not about a single, all-powerful entity, but rather a system where individuals police themselves and each other, driven by social pressure and the internalization and normalisation of “accepted” societal norms.

This control is less overt, more diffuse, and relies on the willing participation (or at least acquiescence) of the individuals involved. The pressure to conform is often self or fellow citizen-imposed, rather than enforced by a visible authority. The rules of that control, highly tuned to the specifics of that individual.

Calvert’s Vision within the Context of 1984

Calvert’s vision can be seen as a potential “evolution” or “complement” to the dystopia depicted in 1984. While 1984 portrays a society controlled through brute force and overt oppression, Calvert’s self-police parade suggests a future where such overt control might become less visible, and all the more powerful because of it. Because the attack on the oppression and suppression target, is seen as an act of heroism on behalf of a society whose societal norm, only they understand, and have been made up in a spontaneous act of judgement and hatred, once that individual has proven to them, that they are “no good”.

In a society saturated with social media, peer pressure, and the constant monitoring of one’s online persona, individuals might internalize the norms and expectations of the system to such an extent that overt coercion becomes less important. The self-policing aspect becomes a more efficient and less resource-intensive method of maintaining a desired but often unexpressed or agreed, social order.

In essence, Calvert’s self-police parade might be seen as a more advanced, technologically mediated form of social control that builds upon the principles of surveillance and manipulation outlined in 1984, but achieves its goals through a more insidious and self-perpetuating mechanism. It’s a dystopia where the lines between individual agency and societal pressure become increasingly blurred.

Are we in a Calvert style self-policing society?

Determining whether Calvert’s “self-police parade” accurately describes a modern-day, 1984-style control system requires the examination of several key indicators. It’s crucial to remember that Calvert’s vision isn’t about a single, overt oppressor like Big Brother, but rather a system of diffuse, society-enforced control.

Ubiquitous Social Monitoring: The extent to which our lives are digitally documented and monitored is unprecedented. Social media platforms, search engines, and various apps track our activities, preferences, and interactions. This data is used for targeted advertising, but also potentially for influencing our behaviour and manipulating public opinion, as well as your friend’s opinions about you. The sheer volume of data collected and analysed raises concerns about potential manipulation.

Self-Censorship and Conformity: Do individuals self-censor their opinions or behaviours online for fear of social repercussions? Is there a strong pressure to conform to prevailing social norms, even if those norms are questionable or harmful? The prevalence of “cancel culture” and the fear of online shaming suggest a high degree of self-regulation driven by social pressure.

Algorithmic Manipulation: Social media algorithms curate our feeds, showing us content that reinforces our existing beliefs and biases. This “filter-bubble” effect can limit exposure to diverse perspectives and create echo chambers, making it harder to engage in critical thinking and dissent. The algorithms themselves are often opaque, making it difficult to understand how they influence our behaviour. We can see this described as Pavlovian Techniques from the Theory of Dark Persuasion.

Erosion of Trust in Institutions: A decline in trust in traditional institutions (government, media, science) creates a vacuum that can be filled by alternative sources of information, some of which may be deliberately misleading or manipulative. This erosion of trust makes individuals more susceptible to influence from other sources, including those promoting divisive narratives.

Peer-Based Enforcement: Do individuals actively police each other’s behaviour online and offline? Is there a strong social pressure to conform to certain norms, even if those norms are not officially mandated? The spread of misinformation and the rapid escalation of online conflicts demonstrate the power of peer-based enforcement in shaping public discourse.

Surveillance Without Explicit Oversight: While not as overt as in 1984, the constant collection of data and the use of predictive policing technologies raise concerns about the potential for surveillance without explicit consent or oversight. This creates an environment where individuals may feel constantly monitored, even if they are not aware of the specific mechanisms involved.

The combination of technological advancements, social media dynamics, and the erosion of trust in traditional institutions (by their untrustworthy behaviour) has created a fertile ground for subtle, yet extremely powerful and oppressive forms of social control.

The fact that we cannot prove that the control is centralized and more focussed than many might be able to admit to be true, from organisational structures they have been led to think of as trustworthy, does not mean that is isn’t true. The more we as a society avoid asking that question. The more likely that we “know” it as being potentially true.