Aired 13 April 2021 – 5:00 PM EDT
An Interview with Political Psychologist, Activist and Writer Diane Perlman
“Notseeism: The habit of choosing to not see what is too uncomfortable to look at.” — Swami Beyondananda
America – and indeed the world – is living in two parallel realities.
In one reality, experts are lauding the new vaccines as the only way to liberate us from the COVID pandemic and lockdown. Those who are “vaccine-hesitant” or doubt the efficacy of masking and social distancing are seen as science-deniers and ignorant, selfish Trumpsters.
In another reality, the vaccines – particularly if made mandatory or de facto mandatory via vaccine passports – are viewed as untested, potentially dangerous, and an attempt to install medical totalitarianism. Critics of the “vaccine as savior” policy point to the censorship and de-platforming of any alternative views – including successful treatments of COVID cases that make hospitalization unnecessary – and wonder how many deaths could have been avoided had these simple and inexpensive treatments been publicized and made widely available.
So who – or what – is right? Is there a middle ground as this seeming reality chasm widens?
This week, we have re-invited a guest we had earlier this year, Diane Perlman, to discuss vaccine passports, censorship, polarization, and the psychological barriers to seeing the whole picture. She is in the process of establishing a new site CoronaWise, to offer irrefutable facts and undeniable evidence that the media has conveniently omitted, so that we can make wiser choices around vaccinations and handling these crises in the future.
Diane Perlman, PhD, is a clinical and political psychologist, conflict analyst, interdisciplinary social scientist, author, educator, mediator, lifelong human rights advocate, environmentalist, and patent holder. She is interested in psychological dynamics of conflict and reconciliation, and strategies of win-win conflict transformation capable of producing enduring security. Previously she had a clinical practice in individual, couple and family therapy, psychoneuroimmunology and Jungian oriented psychotherapy.
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To find out more about Diane Perlman and her work, please go here.
You can read her most recent Medium article here.