Continued from West Side Story Part I

The evening’s calm was suddenly violated by the drama that played before me. I watched as five police officers and two detectives leaped from their vehicles, rushing toward me with weapons drawn. Did my life hang in the balance at that moment? With only seconds to react what should I do? A number of factors guided my actions in those few critical seconds. First of all, I knew that there was no legitimate reason for this attack. I had no illegal substances, no weapons, had not committed a crime, had not conspired to commit a crime. There was nothing in my actions, or conversations, at any time, that would hint at criminal activity. I also knew that the Federal agents targeting me were well aware of this, having kept me under intense surveillance for three years prior.

However misguided their motives, there was another trait consistently characteristic of the Federal agents guiding this campaign of harassment. They were obsessive about keeping their identities and actions hidden. Therefore, I was certain that they were not going to purposely make a violent public blunder that would expose their actions and agencies to media coverage and public scrutiny. With this in mind, I quickly surmised that this encounter was not what it appeared to be.

As they leaped from the NYPD (New York Police Department) van, I visually focused on one of the five officers, and began to study every nuance of his actions. I invite you, the reader, to speculate with me for a moment. If five officers with guns drawn jump out of a police van to apprehend a dangerous suspect, the tension of the moment will be apparent in their faces, their voices and their actions. At the very least, they would maintain an intense focus on the suspect—not doing so could be deadly! Don’t you agree? However, this is not what I observed in the officer I studied. He seemed to purposely avoid looking directly at me, keeping his focus on the officer taking the lead. Also, he seemed emotionally uninvolved, his face lacking the adrenalin-induced tension a dangerous encounter would normally produce. His body language told the truth. This was not a genuine arrest. It was a well-choreographed act of intimidation, a. psychological ploy designed to instill panic and fear into me.

Here is something else that seemed quite odd in that moment. The officers and plainclothes detectives said nothing to me or to the shocked bystanders witnessing this sudden encounter. No shouted orders. . . not a word! Of course, I would have instantly complied with any orders they gave me. None were given. This critical omission confirmed my suspicions that this was a psychological assault.

As the officers rushed towards me, I calmly continued walking towards them, keeping a pleasant countenance, and never breaking stride. As the officers reached me, they broke into two columns, rushing past on my right and left as I strolled by. I heard them stop less than ten feet behind me. Without glancing back, I continued walking to the end of the block, waiting for the traffic to subside before crossing the intersection.

The bystanders who seconds before watched in horror were now laughing. I did not have to look back to know why . . .

” No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

The assault was over. I crossed the street and continued strolling without ever glancing back. You may wonder how I could survive this incident without losing control. Clearly, this was an injustice that should have provoked outrage on my part! Or, should it?

Keep in mind the true purpose of this assault. It was a psychological attack with a clear motive—to provoke an angered, irrational response. It was my potential response that could have done me the greatest harm, not their attack! They were prepared to exploit any anger and loss-of-control on my part. It would give them license to take control of me. An irrational public response would also have given bystanders the perception that I was a dangerous criminal. By controlling my response, in effect, I controlled the outcome of this incident—protecting myself from harm. If I had reacted emotionally, angrily, what would they have done to me?

As I strolled along 9th Avenue towards 52nd Street, my mind went back to choosing a restaurant for the evening. Here was a tiny Brazilian cafe I had never noticed before. I entered, was seated, and decided to dine on a Brazilian style hamburger with a mango chutney recommended by the waitress (it was delicious). As I was eating, an African-American woman in business attire, came in and sat at a table near the entrance, giving her a clear view of the entire dining area. She ordered a Coke and began sipping slowly as she kept her cell phone to her ear. Because the cafe was tiny, I could easily overhear her conversation. She was a plainclothes agent talking to her superior while keeping me under surveillance. By her responses, I could easily discern the full scope of her conversation.

“What is he doing?” the voice in her cell phone growled. “He’s sitting here eating food.” she replied. Moments later, the voice impatiently asked “What is he doing now?” “He’s still eating,” she replied. Less than a minute passed before she responded a third time–”He’s just eating food!” As I glanced at her, I could see that she was relaxed, and chuckling quietly. She seemed amused by the outcome of the street drama that occurred minutes ago.

However, all the agents / officers involved in this drama did not find it so amusing. I instinctively knew that some felt humiliated, angered by the repeated failed efforts to entrap me. Given the cruel hubris that has fueled so much of what I have endured, I would not need to wait long for the next attack to occur.

The Value of Emotional Intelligence
The ability to control emotions is of tremendous value when coping with injustice. Some experts in the field of psychology now feel that emotional intelligence (the ability to control emotions and deal empathetically with people), is more valuable than intelligence (or IQ) when facing crisis. My experience over that past six years has proved that true. I’ve faced an antagonist trained to exploit common emotional frailties. Therefore, it was not enough to be innocent, I also needed emotional defenses. My efforts to cultivate and apply positive qualities such as patience, reasonableness and humility have helped me respond appropriately to repeated psychological attacks. It has also helped me to endure torture by directed energy through-the-wall weapons.

« CBS 60 Minutes Report: Pentagon Ray Gun | Propaganda and Gang-Stalking Vocabulary »