that's from a sample that begins this techno track I've known for a while: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1R9nI7g4uw
but the ultimate source is some narration from a "Hammer Presents Dracula" LP: https://youtu.be/bod1sdaVjlU
fear is slippery stuff. even being aware of it, even being alerted to what fear does to a person...the stuff still finds so many hiding-places in the human psyche, as we're finding out. we are riddled with fears, and they're putting up a hard fight.
American society is, in general, terrified of fear. fear is supposed to be absent from the respectable citizen of the United States". hasn't everything been accounted for, explained, understood by experts whether religious or scientific (or religious people pretending to be scientific?) haven't we proved that most fears don't really exist? or that they have very simple explanations? only "stupid" and "dumb" people are prey to fears.
take a practical example: there's a deep-seated fear abroad in American culture about wearing masks, supported by a virtually religious conviction that an honest person allows others to see their face—only a criminal wears a mask. this firm association of masks with criminality has been reinforced by huge amounts of popular entertainment that uses masks as universal shorthand for "someone up to no good". there's an associated fear about whether someone is saying things under their breath, or making rude faces at you without being noticed—the fearful American cannot help but think, when they see someone on the street in a mask, that this suspicious character is taking advantage of the mask's concealment to mutter curses, or even (gasp!) daring to frown in public, which as any good American knows is one of the worst possible sins. shooting someone dead on the sidewalk is much less of a crime than frowning at them: the bullet takes their life, but the frown breaks their spirit.
I believe I have just spoken the truth; others may quarrel with it, but I do genuinely think that Americans have been trained to be scared of mask-wearers.
good luck informing anyone about it! this is a fear that's learned to hide itself very well indeed. it's a simple trick for fear to hide; all it needs to do is prevent you from even considering the concept as a valid one. "FEAR?! what the heck is 'fear'? I don't know what this 'fear' is! it must be some devil that troubles YOU, but 'fear' is unknown to me. all I know is Jesus." (or "Science" or "Jordan Peterson" or whatever.)
I despise being afraid. of anything. and that in itself is a weakness, for the difficulty with merely hating fear is that the hatred gives the fear more hiding-places. you don't like thinking about what you merely hate.
~Chara
