Ken Nutter

Years ago, while doing some consulting for a company that was looking to tighten up its security, I asked them to show me their most secure and restricted areas. I asked “How satisfied are you will the effectiveness of your ability to secure these areas and to keep those with no right to access, out of these spaces?” They assured me that they were very satisfied when it came to these particular restricted areas. Their concern was about some other security issues. I returned that evening wearing the standard black shirt for a Priest, with a white collar tab at the throat, and carrying a bible. With no required security visitor badge, and no previous mention to employees of a visitor being scheduled to arrive (as was standard protocol) I strolled right in to each and every restricted space, only being questioned in one of them, ever so briefly. I had changed the frame of reference that surrounded me, to one that people have been conditioned to see, not only as an authority figure, but one that….well….just isn’t appropriate to question. A Priest. They saw the frame I presented their other than conscious mind…..and boom, “come on through!” What is a frame of reference? We always present one. Always. The way we are dressed, the things we carry, jewelry we wear, hats on our head, the style, length and color of our hair, and much more…all come together in 1.7 seconds when they catch a glimpse of us, to form a rapid, unconscious first impression. It happens faster than they can think, consciously. By the time that part of their brain kicks in, the impression is already formed. I knew this frame of reference would get me in. It did. The next day the CEO was blown away, as we watched the security video footage of me being allowed into every restricted area. I didn’t have to lie. In fact, with the exception of three words spoken to the one person who asked me a question, I didn’t talk….at all. The security in these areas needed to be tweaked. Set the wrong frame, and almost nothing else you do will register with your target audience. Set a useful frame, however, and you can stumble through the rest, and be wildly successful. The frame is that powerful. You can set a frame in many different ways. Even with a simple word or two. The MAGA GOP has been using one particularly dangerous word for at least the last two years, to make some very dark and lethal feelings & behaviors seem acceptable. See, if I tell you about the CRIMINAL who assaulted a woman carrying a baby in her arms, the word “criminal” sets the frame for all that will follow. Thus, you’ll view the assault as unacceptable and illegal…as you should. If I tell you about the PATRIOT who assaulted a woman carrying a baby in her arms, “patriot” sets the frame for all that will follow. If you are the target audience, and my target audience is MAGA supporters, the moment you hear “PATRIOT” you’ll make a snap, unconscious judgement that the woman carrying the baby almost assuredly did something to deserve it. That’s how powerful a frame is, for shaping what something means. As long as MAGA frames an action someone took as something that was done by a PATRIOT, the ability to get otherwise rational people, to do horrible things, will always be there. It’s a dangerous frame when used in the manner that they use it. The MAGA GOP hijacked the word “patriot.” I once took pride in being considered a patriot; someone who served my country. Today, I do everything in my power to stay away from being thought of as a patriot. I want nothing to do with it “Patriot” is now the word that gets used to grease the wheels on the Kremlin Carriage, and make people feel good about doing things that just six years ago, they’d have recognized as wrong, and would have resisted doing. Not now. Now, they WANT to do it. They’re “Patriots.” Think about what you’ve read, and think about the frames that have influenced you….possibly in a “not so good” kind of way.