Famous psych prof says haters aren't worth your time, share truth unafraid

A professor who says telling the truth is needed to prevent totalitarianism adds those who do so can't let haters hold them back or waste their time.Mattias Desmet, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Ghent in Belgium, made his comments in a recent Substack post. The author spoke in November at the International Crisis Summit IV in the Romanian parliament and previously at the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. He said posting the latter speeches online inspired “many supportive and enthusiastic comments” but also “rather vicious remarks.”Desmet highlighted his experiences as an example of how to handle hate.“Here is how I deal with mud-slinging. First, I search in the mud for the little bit of truth that might be in it. In my experience, as soon as you humble yourself and look for the little diamond of truth, you will no longer be so bothered by the mud. That is, if there is actually a diamond in it, of course. Sometimes there isn’t,” he said.“Are the politicians who invited me extremist and anti-democratic? This is what I think: They are politicians who do not go along with the mainstream political ideology. For some, that is sufficient to label them “far-right extremists.”Desmet said he was invited by members of the parliament, not the general assembly, so, “The latter invitations could be considered more prestigious. That’s true.” Then again, he says, “I don’t know if you can always mention every single detail.”One thing he wanted to rule out was any “impression these political institutions are making a massive about-turn. They clearly aren’t. They continue to move in the same technocratic direction.”To his critics, Desmet asked, “What if you subjected the ‘COVID experts’ to the same such scrutiny — what would you discover? Perhaps that it is about as difficult to find something correct in their narrative as it is to find something incorrect in mine." "Remember it was these same experts, after all, who predicted that tens of thousands of people would die in Sweden if the country didn’t go into lockdown, that face masks were effective, that the vaccines would prevent the spread of the virus and so on.”He welcomed his critics to follow his example, noting the Romanian Parliament and its 800,000 tons of oak was “one of the megalomaniac projects of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. I recommend it to anyone who is inclined to slander me on social media: Rent this building yourself and give a lecture there. And videorecord your speech and post it on social media.”Desmet said his critics usually don’t get his “humour and irony” because they’re a waste of time.“We won’t overcome totalitarianism if we attempt to ‘debunk’ the slander and propaganda; we need to become immune to it. I won’t spend my time arguing against those people who, time and time again, write articles and social media posts about me being a far-right extremist, a liar, an indoctrinator of students, even a protector of mass murders and a victim blamer,” he said.Desmet, who gives workshops on the art of speech, said he only responds if he can make it “interesting,” but “silence is often the best answer.”“I am confident that the people who have an authentic interest in my work will develop the capacity to see through propaganda and slander. I don’t have to counter it time and time again,” he explained.“This is what I consider the ultimate outcome of prolonged and perseverant practice of this art of speech: the intuition that tells you infallibly whether someone’s speech is sincere or not.”Even so, the author of the 2022 book The Psychology of Totalitarianism said people should watch their words. “We are psychological beings and we are in the grip of language. Words rule the world. And they can do so in both a positive and a negative way. Language can be used in a sincere or a manipulative way. A willingness to reflect on your own speech and to admit mistakes, flaws and shortcomings in its ethical qualities is paramount. More and more people are becoming aware of this,” he explained.It seems Desmet watched Tucker Carlson’s interview with Alex Jones on Twitter ("X") as did 23 million other people.“I heard him (Carlson) admit that he too disseminated incorrect information in the past and that he felt sorry for it. In a similar vein, Alex Jones has apologized for mistakes he has made. Both are examples of people being diabolized by mainstream discourse. However, it seems to me that so far they are braver in admitting their mistakes than the mainstream experts,” Desmet said.Desmet says the fear of making a mistake should not intimidate people.“The man who makes no mistakes usually makes nothing at all, as Edwards Phelps said. What matters is having the courage to admit your mistakes. Your critics might take advantage of that and abuse your openness. I have experienced that myself in the past,” Desmet said.“Don’t worry too much about such people. They might weaken your Ego, but they will make you stronger on another level…the level of the Soul. When you speak the words that are truly your words, you become stronger as a human being and more connected to other human beings. Sincere speech is the ultimate antidote to existential loneliness.”Speech, Desmet explained, is the most relational when it is expressed with vulnerability to a listening, open mind. The speaker gets past their “superficial shell” to form connection and even union as “the phenomenon of resonance manifests itself and the strings of their ensouled bodies start to resonate and their being merges ephemerally.”All this means people should speak without the fear of what others think.“Don’t mind too much about opinions. Ultimately, what matters is not our opinion, but our openness to opinions that differ from our own. Every time people come together on the basis of an opinion, they form a mass. And every time people join on the basis of tolerance for different opinions, they form a group,” he explained.“We see a globalist mass united by a propagandized, ideological opinion, but also counter-masses united by other fanatical narratives. On the other hand, we see the emergence of a group based on resonant speech, a group that connects people with the most divergent opinions, that prioritizes open-mindedness and sincerity.“Once the group becomes energetically stronger than the mass, the era of totalitarianism is over.”