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Comment by Alex_MJ | Hacker News Reader

I would argue more that the instilled mindset of "do as the authority figures say, you have no influence in the matter" that's pervasive in schools also does a huge amount to train adults to not feel like they have this option. That takes a lot to overwrite when it's instilled in you for the first 18 years of your life.

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Yes. I read someone recently who advocated for ensuring your child got in trouble in school quite early on - for something non-violent, minor (maybe uniform infringements or talking in class) so that they could see that the whole world won't collapse if they do something their teacher disagrees with.

One of my young child's (c.5-6 at the time) teachers made their claimed authority explicit in demanding that they be obeyed "first time every time" without the chance to question or consider what they were being asked - that's a bit too close to demanding mindlessness for my liking, terribly arrogant too.

Agreed. And adding to that, you have the general mindset of people telling their young adult offspring that they're "fortunate" to find a "good job" and they should, therefore, suck it up and live with whatever kind of injustice is forced upon them. All for that paycheck.

Agreed. I can see how that could be even more damaging to the development of healthy psychological defense mechanisms than a lack of aggression from peers.

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