Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt - FUD

I was first exposed to this concept during a job interview with Digital (rip) Corporation for a technical sales support role.

While I did not get the job, I have never forgotten the acronym FUD that was used:

FUD is the tactic of instilling fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the minds of potential customers about a competing product when your own product is not competitive.

This is very close to the quotation provided in the linked wiki article  and more importantly FUD is basically an "appeal to fear" fallacy.

The FUD strategy works by planting a seed of doubt in the mind of the listener, then nurturing that doubt with further insinuations.

It is remarkably similar to the method of conspiracy theorists.

Conspiracy theories are unsubstantiated, less plausible alternatives to the mainstream explanation of an event; they assume everything is intended, with malignity.Crucially, they are also epistemically self insulating in their construction and arguments. (PsyPAG)

The key word is 'unsubstantiated'.

The real problem with conspiracy theories occurs when a person believes so strongly in them, that when presented with proof that the belief is false, they will modify their perception  in order to retain the belief (see 'cognitive dissonance')  .

The persistent belief that Bishop Fellay is going to 'sellout' the SSPX / Tradition is a good example of cognitive dissonance.

In this case, ever since the communications with Rome started in 2000, there has been a fear that the SSPX would compromise. This came to a head in 2012 when, by all appearances, it seemed that the Pope was going to accept the SSPX 'as they are'.  The predictions of 'sell out' were screamed, especially by Bishop Williamson, Fr. Pfeiffer et al.  When the predicted compromise did not occur, en-masse the Resistors switched to a number of alternative perceptions of the reality. Such as either the compromise has occurred or it is still in process.

This is a perfect example of cognitive dissonance and it is scary how close to the behaviour of Bishop Williamson et al (including lay resistors) match the theoretical predictions.

I believe that for Bishop Williamson et al, there is another belief that is the foundation for their 'cognitive dissonance'.  While Bishop Williamson et al's discourses normally stay at a superficial level, a few times they have shone a little light on their underlying reasons.  The defense of Bishop Williamson's 'Various Churches' article by Fr. Rua is just one such occasion.

Where is the error in Bishop Fellay’s theology? It is the ecclesiological model from which he draws his conclusions. He considers the visible structure of the church to be the Conciliar Church. (Fr. Rua - Resistance to What Rebuttal)

Bishop Fellay believes that the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church is the one united under the Pope (currently Francis, but at the time Benedict). Furthermore, he sees the 'conciliar Church' as a label for a movement within the Church. This is evident from his  speeches / letters and is completely consistent with Catholic theology and dogma.

Bishop Williamson et al, due to the scandals etc, cannot accept this belief. To the extent that they see any link between the SSPX and what they perceive as the 'conciliar Church' as a schism from Tradition.

I will examine this thought in another article, because it touches on a number of areas key to the Faith.

So beware of FUD, because a person who operates from misguided fear, abandoning Catholic princpiples is:

1. Susceptible to manipulation because their reaction is predictable (Sun Tzu comes to mind)
2. In danger of significant errors in judgment as the engendered mistrust will narrow the perceptions of situations requiring decisions based on limited information.

P^3
Prayer
Penance
Patience

Reference: wiki FUD article