Character assassination

Character assassination is the process of harming a person's reputation enough to cause rejection of that person from their community. The phrase "time heals all wounds" doesn?t apply, which is why it's called an assassination.

Humans, by nature, work and live in groups and have criteria for acceptance and rejection. It's a mechanism for justice, and a way to enforce standards of behavior in group members. The threat of rejection is the enforcement muscle.

Humans, by nature, also have the ability to rationalize and 'toe the line'. One definition of power is be able to get your community to think the way you want them to think. The threat of force (loss of job, for example) is very powerful in getting people to see things your way.

Character assassination is the predatory use of this power to cause a person to be rejected from his/her community. It is characterized by; a moral rationalization of the community to reject the person based on character (or 'rumors' of bad behavior), not allowing the accused a voice in the discussions (or even to hear the charges, if possible), and the abuse of power to further this goal.

Related topics

Mind control