Nowadays, we think this is because they were "dumb" or "primitive". In reality, they were just referring to a phenomena which we've all witnessed, but just didn't know what we were seeing.
Our cities, our churches, our corporations, our clubs, these are all "social constructs". They are made up of individuals, but once together, they take on a life of their own. No, they are not "sentient", but they are susceptible to manipulation.
While it's been speculated that some Magicians earned the title by knowing of and having access to some herbs or potions, and while that was true in some cases, in other cases, these men simply knew how to pull the levers of power in the various city/states and Empires and temples of the time.
Your average peasant - and 98% were country-bound peasants - had no idea what these "cities" were or how they worked. And when a man with a sword told them "Give me some of your grain!" was he robbing them, or was he the man appointed to guard the gate trying for a bribe, or was he exacting the King's Entry Tax?
The peasant could not know - but the "Magician" could. And if he knew the guard was just engaged in a shake down, he could wave his hand and mutter in that city's home language (not the trade language the guard used for the peasant) "Let us pass, we've business with Lord Urias.", and the knowledge of the local language, the local custom and the name of a powerful figure within would have the fearsome guard let them pass unrobbed.
Of course the peasant just heard the "incantation", just saw the wave of the hand, and it may well have seemed to be a Jedi "These are not the droids you're looking for!" mind-trick to him!
In the city, the magic could continue. You will be hurt by the King's Court, unless you know the words to say to deflect that. Any Lord might summon you, but if you know the laws and customs, then what would be a calamity for another would be nothing for you.
You would observe other peasants visiting and tripped up by 1,000 different dangers, but your escort - really, just a guy who knew all the customs - would get you safely through, your grain sold for a reasonably fair price, and you back to the farm.
Magic.
This carries on today, but we do not call them Magicians. Lawyers, Accountants, Insurance Agents, Realtors, Brokers, Loan Officers, Landlords, Bosses, Government Bureaucrats - these are the men who know the Words of Power, and who against you will always win, unless you can pay one of their own to be on your side, and say back the counter-spell to get you out of your jam.
The City's Bureaucrats write words on a piece of paper delivered to your home, it says you need a new roof. And you will lose your home and all your assets if you do not bow to them and do as they say. But when you know the right counter-spell, you can write other words on a paper, and if you send it back correctly, you have yet more time to do it, or sometimes, do not need to now do it at all.
The scam I am speaking of then is where Evil Magicians, who are well versed in the Dark Arts - er, the "customs" of our age - use their knowledge of the Words of Power to harm you, safely knowing that you do not know how to ward off those Words, nor can you afford any of their own who could tell you those Words.
Thus a City Bureaucrat - "Evil Magician" - might send a spell your way to compel that roof fix, even knowing that the law allows you more time. But he hopes to scare you into giving up, and then he gets to seize your house. But you either learned of the secret Words of Power, or can scrape up enough money to hire a Magician - er, Lawyer - who can, and so you back him off.
It's a scam because they know that they have no right to what they want of you, but they're counting on you not knowing what words to say back to get them to lay off of you.
Businesses do this to screw you. They'll say that while you think the service you got for your money was lousy that there is nothing you can do. But file the right words at a local courthouse, and all of a sudden they will give your money back. Because they have repented of their evil? No, because they see you know the counter-spell, and can hurt them back, and they only go after those with no "magic".
The weak. The defenseless. The uneducated. The poor.
These have always been the Evil Magicians targets, from days of old to now. And they can only be fought with magic, if you try and use force, it always fails. For they use more spells/words to summon the fighting forces of the City/State or the police of the town to stop you from fighting off their robberies by force.
No, when an Evil Magician is stealing from you, only magic counters it. When a modern day non-violent thief tries to scam you, only knowing the words that frighten them work.
"Civil suit". "Small claims". "Redress". "Tort". "Actionable". "Remedy". These obscure words and related phrases may as well be incantations, and they work nearly as fast.
Peasant/Citizen: "Will you please refund me, as you did not give me what I paid for?"
Evil Magician/CPA: "No, that's what you paid for. Sorry you were unsatisfied, there's nothing to be done about it."
Peasant/Citizen with no magic: *walks away broke*
Peasant/Citizen with magic: "I've noted and marked the number of errors, any of which would have had my application denied by law and my fee not refunded. These are actionable under IRG 9128:12(a). I am prepared to file a small claims suit in pauperis formis, which will cost me nothing, but will cost you twice what I'm asking just to defend against. Therefore if you have not refunded me in X number of days, the filing will occur."
Evil Magician/CPA: "Without admitting liability, we will settle this as a courtesy to avoid further hassle. Expect the check in X number of days."
So, yeah, in case any of you are wondering, why yes, I did get the CPA who screwed me to agree to a refund. But what if I had not those words of power?
What a sick and sad society we live in, where we can all know that if you are small you are screwed - and we do nothing about it. We say the little people have a representative government, but do the schools teach them how the law works? Do the courts offer legal advice to those who by their taxes pay their salaries?
Did you know that when the police tell your teenage son, "If you don't answer our questions, you're Obstructing Justice, a felony?" that this is but a spell to get him to wave his 5th amendment rights? Did you know that the counter-spell is "I will gladly answer all your questions in the presence of my attorney, please arrange for me to have one quickly so that your investigation is not unduly delayed."?
It's the difference between one kid going to jail - having incriminated himself - versus the other going home, as he really had been innocent any way and failed to frame himself for what they thought he did.
Did you know that when I petitioned a law firm for a refund a few years ago that they would not give it to me until I could prove to them by correspondence that I knew enough to file pro se against them? That had I failed to demonstrate my knowledge of the Words of Power that they'd have kept over $1,000 from me?
Did you know that when nearly anyone tries to make you do something, it's based on their hope that they have the right words and you do not? That you can do almost anything - it will even truly seem magical - if you have the facility and education to come up with the right Words of Power on the spot?
Police Officer: Could you come down to the station, answer a few questions?
Me: Are you investigating a crime?
Police Officer: Well...yes.
Me: I'll need an attorney present before I answer any questions.
Police Officer: You can bring an attorney.
Me: I'm too poor to afford one. Will you be providing me one?
Police Officer: No, Mr. West. Thank you for your time.
Does it always work? Well...yeah, actually. Quite a bit of the time. Understand, it's not truly "magic", obviously the cops had to know that there was little or no evidence of any supposed guilt of mine. But what a terrible night it would have been for me "proving my innocence" if I had not known what to say. 3am, a small room, and the officer saying, "Let's go over this one...more...time...!"
But note that in each case, "powers that be" are trying to get a little guy to do something he does not wish to do and he deflects them not by force, but by knowing the right words.
If you can understand this lengthy explanation, really understand it, you will start to notice instances in your own lives where this happens. Where you are swayed or deterred or otherwise harmed by the words of others, because you did not know what to say to get your way.
Now, it is no scam that you do not always get your way. But again, as I mentioned, it IS a scam for you to be unjustly deprived of liberty, property and such because an Evil Magician knew the right words, and knew you were unlikely to have the counter-spell.
Go to our courts - and all courts are just two magicians flinging words at each other, with a "Judge" to decide which one's words are most likely to resonate with those above him. Or which words weave a story that allows a judge to do what he wanted to do.
Haven't you wondered how two lawyers can fight each other in the first place if the law is clear and objective? Well, the law is never in any case "clear" and "objective". So one lawyer can argue "community standards" as a reason for you to not paint your house purple and the other lawyer can argue "private property" as a reason for you to be able to. And then the Judge decides which words he likes better, as either set of words could be said to be valid.
A government then of men, not of laws. A government - and a whole culture - based on who can phrase things the most cleverly, who can weave the best narrative. Was it you who dropped your phone who is owed no refund? Or you who dropped a defective phone who is owed a refund?
Who phrases it better? Who knows what to and what not to admit? The company may well know there is a defective batch. You may well know you dropped it. Both may have took place. Who's phrasing it better?
The corporation will usually win, as they are large and have staffs of magicians - lawyers - on stand by. You must either hire a free-lance magician or know the words yourself.
VISA's local counsel to my wife a few years ago: We are suing you over a debt of $1,200. Show up at such and so court in 30 days or the judgment will be entered in against you.
Me writing up a pro se motion back as if I was my wife: You are suing in State court, but your listed headquarters are in Virginia while I am a resident of Illinois. Citing therefore diversity of jurisdiction, this matter needs to be at once transferred to Federal Court. I also declare that I desire a jury trial, as is my right as the Respondent. I also will be seeking to subpoena the records of each merchant that alleges charges were made at their establishment. And I will be seeking to depose the various employees of your corporation who approved such purchases.
VISA's local counsel to my wife: At this time we are dropping our suit at law while retaining the right to file at some future date.
And they never then did. Words of Power. They had no right to what they sought, but had I not known the counter-spell, my wife would have had a judgment entered against her.
I've pulled stuff like this all my life. I suppose it makes me a minor magician. But what of those who don't have my facility with words? Can you even begin to calculate the human misery, and throughout all of history, due to the powerful knowing these words and these games and these spells and knowing most of all that the poor are helpless in the face of them?
All of it is a scam, a pretense that we have all gave up violence for justice, when in reality we've all gave up violence so that the physically weakest - but mentally most predatory - can prey on all of us without fear of being gave bodily harm. Not a one of them would dare try this type of thing should the System falter for a moment.
This is why the Supreme Court says what the laws mean - instead of a dictionary. This is why courts will not aid citizens in how to file the appropriate motions and counter-motions. This is why public schools will not teach children how to exercise their rights. This is why corporations have 21 page contracts and floors of lawyers on stand by.
It's a scam, then. Of the over-educated and against the regular Joes working for a living. You've heard of the maker, takers and fakers?
You're the maker. The random street thugs who 95% of you have never encountered are the takers. And the Evil Magicians, who have got over you your whole life in every way conceivable, are the fakers.
No real surprise - the word "faker" comes from the word "fakir" - meaning "magician".
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