Monday, July 21, 2008

Law 33: Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew

Are you Mr. Insecurity? If not, then you're the man!

You are brave, dependable and dauntless. You are strong, in mind and in spirit; honored by your peers, feared by your enemies. There is absolutely nothing that can break the walls you have tried so hard to build. Battle after batlle, you emerge victorious. Argument after argument, your opponents end up concurring to your point of view.

And you congratulate yourself, celebrate with a delectable bar of dark chocolate. This delightful blend of almonds, cherries and cocoa might as well be your Achilles' heel – your weakness – and admittedly so.

However, is it really a weakness, or but the illusion of a weakness?

No matter, it is a thumbscrew the observant, the manipulative, and the all-powerful can put their thumb in, and turn you with at will. At her call, your walls will crumble, and you will be a great monument turned lap dog, doing anything and everything she commands.

Pity. All she had to do was pay attention to gestures and unconscious signals. Once she disclosed a fairly insignificant secret to you, there you were pouring your heart out, revealing the helpless child within, going on and on about how your mother never loved you and how your father did not care. Once she got close to your lover, little did you know she has already taken control of your life by finding the weak link, by getting to the persons closest to you. Once she trained herself to be more attentive, she discovered that you boast about your achievements, no matter how little they are, and you host high society parties often because you are a sucker for social validation.

Despite the dangers in playing on your weaknesses – that is, stirring up actions she cannot control – by planning several steps ahead and anticipating the consequences of exploiting your vulnerabilities, she will have you bend at her will until she is satisfied with the power she has achieved and not simply the thrill of control.

In the end, she will give you what you need, what you crave for. She will embrace you like a mother embraces her child. She will compliment you endlessly (knowing that your ears are clapping and your heart skips a beat every time), and she will spoil you, pleasure after pleasure, be it for the soul, the mind, or the body.

Catherine de' Médicis, wife of French king Henri II, knew exactly how this is done. By unleashing her 'flying squadron', composed of the loveliest women in the court, she was able to spy on her detractors, and keep them too occupied to plot against her. She knew that the stronger the passion, the more vulnerable the person. The stronger the weakness for women, for example, the more likely a man would play victim in her ploy. What secret pleasure they cannot control, Catherine controlled for them.

By example, Catherine de' Médicis of France played on the weaknesses of the males close to the throne and illustrated exactly how it is she can play with the strong desires, strong pleasure, and strong emotions you cannot conceal. Catherine turned men's susceptibility to give in to their carnal desires to her advantage – and that is the way to do it.

That is how you stick it to the man

14 comments:

Jedd Emille Chua said...

For me, like spying, use this tactic on your enemy. In this way, you know everything that they can throw on you, and counter it. State the Samson story for example, Delilah found out the thumbscrew of Samson, which the enemy, the Philistines, used against him.
-Jedd Emille Chua
Hi 18 O

tashie_melevo said...

i agree with jedd that this law is also connected with the spying law, when you know the weak point of a certain person, you are guaranteed that somewhere along the road, you can indeed use it against them. Most of us have watched enough TV to know the Miranda rights(also called the Miranda warnings) by heart:

• You have the right to remain silent.

• Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.

• You have the right to an attorney.

• If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you by the court.

i find this somewhat related to this law because you see how they can use anything you initially say against you?

of course thats a bit exaggerating things, but isnt it just the same? with this law comes the warning that we should also be mindful that as much as we are smart, our enemies may be smarter so we have to always be on our guard because we cant know when they find out something that may backfire to us.

Nastashja Melevo
II BS LM
HI18O

dyanster said...

I agree with the previous comments. This law is somehow connected with the law on spying for it really does use the manipulation of others to get what you want. This is also kind of related with the law on self-interest, for one manipulates the other by using things that one knows the other cannot resist.

The underlying lesson given by this law is basically that we should always be on our guard for people who might use our weaknesses to their advantage. You can find this anywhere - classmates, family, enemies, friends even. So be careful, and watch that back.

All that dark chocolate just might get to you.

Dyan Garcia, II AB MEC, Hi18 O

janine cindy santiago said...

Knowing each man's weaknesses is sure to be used against them, that's why you must not also easily expose your weaknesses to be used against you.

-Janine Cindy Santiago HI18 N

ram c hidalgo said...

find the weakness of the strongest man and pound on it till it bleeds and begs and you can play with it by tying a rope to its legs and arms and hoisting it up like flag for all your friends to see. Sadistic? Yes. True? yes as well. Every being, creature or thing has a weakness, no matter who or what they are. meaning, that even YOU who wants to win has a weakness. this law then may also state "Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew FIRST".

Unknown said...

This is such a blackmail thing to do haha. Being able to know your enemy's weakness and using that against him is like hitting below the belt, and we all know how much that hurts. Superman's such a big strong superhero who can do anything, right? But then all you need to do is take with you a bit of kryptonite, his worst enemy, and you've got him crawling at your feet. Instant defeat and you could probably get out without a scratch.

- Bianca Michaela Bes, Hi 18-O

Miguel Rojas said...

This is also similar to Law 43, looking for what makes a person 'tick'.

Dyanster: I agree with you, we must be careful in screening who to open up to, because they might have a secret 'hidden agenda'.

The morale lesson in the Japanese film Battle Royale is, 'don't trust anyone'. Although most of us would have to claim that we trust the people who's in our circle, it wouldn't hurt to do a little reality check to guarantee that no one will take advantage of the trust that you are giving them.

Miguel Rojas
Hi18 O

Dexter Tanengsy said...

Although it might vary, everyone has their price. No matter how righteous or God fearing that person might be, there will always be something you could offer in exchange for their soul. The hard thing is trying to find the right thumbscrew. But once discovered, you could slowly unscrew it until that person lies defenseless in front of you.

Dexter Tanengsy, Hi18-N

maiki Abello said...

I think a great way to counter this law would be the 12th law, using selective honesty. So when using this law (law 33), we need to be aware of this. We have to keep in mind that the other person might just be playing with us too. We have to be very observant...

Katrina L. Abello
HI18-O

Eric Andres said...

Like what I said with a previous law, are we willing to stoop that low for power? I agree with Bianca Bes--it's like hitting your enemy below the belt. Would you seriously want to get power through such means?

Again, this law may be effective: HIT YOUR ENEMY WHERE IT HURTS... but one must ask one's self, "is it ethical?"

Eric Andres said...

(continuation)

I mean...this law is about using one man's weaknesses against him. One must be careful in using this law: it can seriously backfire. Your enemy can work on his weaknesses, and your strategy might backfire at you.

Eric Andres
HI 18 Section N

Miguel Rojas said...

"Again, this law may be effective: HIT YOUR ENEMY WHERE IT HURTS... but one must ask one's self, "is it ethical?" "

I think that the book is pointing out that ethics/morals are left behind when a person is looking for power. In effect (according to this law), the absence of ethics/morals makes someone rise to power :|

Miguel Rojas said...

(forgot my info)

Miguel Rojas
Hi18 O

katherine conde said...

More to discovering our enemies’ ‘thumbscrew’, is knowing how to take advantage out of it. Like as mentioned in the other laws, people are bound to their imperfections. Everyone has his/her own weaknesses. Play upon our enemies’ weaknesses and insecurities. Use them, and turn them to benefit us.

"Again, this law may be effective: HIT YOUR ENEMY WHERE IT HURTS... but one must ask one's self, "is it ethical?" "
I agree with miguel. I guess it does not really matter if its moral/ethical or not. Out of the 48 laws, which law would you consider as ethical, eh? One of the two (ethics and power) must be left behind, and in this case, acquisition of power ruled over ethicality.
Katherine Conde
Hi18 O