As I fell asleep, I reflected on how this is actually a great example of what Jung meant by the collective unconscious. It was never anything mystical or inherently new age. The mechanism is simple:

A significant portion of the population has had common experiences that shaped us, particularly to do with being taken for granted and exploited by abusers and capitalism now in late stage collapse, and feeling generally powerless to defend ourselves. Add this to our common cultural background (Aesop, Grimm, Untitled games with a previous meme cycle), and our knowledge of the properties of reality (cute animals but loud and fast with long necks and built-in weapons and will attac).

These ingredients mix together similarly for each of us, such that we instantly understand a meaning that wasn't intended by its out-of-touch corporate creator. This validation, in addition to a particular irony that makes our oppressors look like fools, gives us a common emotional and creative response.

(There's a similar effect that underlies the concepts of the "zeitgeist" (also a Jungian idea) and the attitudes of generational cohorts.)

Of course there are exceptions. Some may lack one or more of these ingredients due to diverse experiences, backgrounds, sensory processing, trauma copes, sense of humor, and exposure to the source materials. But that doesn't change that it happens, or why.

And I'm here for it.

#goose #goosetodon #gooseWasNotValued #AbuseCulture