I recall not liking music of the Beastie Boys when they dropped their album Licensed to Ill in 1986. Being that I didn’t like rock music back then, I wasn’t a fan of the rock rap style of Beastie Boys. Much later in life, as my musical tastes matured, I began to appreciate them.
This means that by the time I was in high school and the group’s forth studio album Ill Communication was released, I didn’t receive it well. Thus, I missed out on the musical atmosphere surrounding the track “Sabotage.” What a pity.
Now, all these years later, I’m reminded of the song following the 2024 United States (U.S.) presidential election that resulted in president-elect Donald Trump’s win over Vice President of the U.S. Kamala Harris in order to succeed President of the U.S. Joe Biden.
In particular, I view the track through the lens of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). To better understand my perspective, consider the ABC model which is one of the major techniques used in REBT.
This model illustrates how when Activating events (“Actions”) occur and people maintain irrational Beliefs about the events, these unhelpful assumptions – and not the actual occurrences – are what cause unpleasant cognitive, emotive, bodily sensation, and behavioral Consequences.
In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use: demandingness, awfulizing, low frustration tolerance (LFT), and global evaluations. In REBT, the process of upsetting oneself with these unfavorable beliefs is referred to as self-disturbance.
Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of these unproductive assumptions in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Noteworthy, Actions and Consequences aren’t Disputed, only unproductive Beliefs.
Before I proceed any further, it may be worth your time for me to define terms and share context. When you hear the word sabotage, what comes to mind?
Sabotage is defined as destruction of an employer’s property (such as tools or materials) or the hindering of manufacturing by discontented workers. It’s also defined as destructive or obstructive action carried on by a civilian or enemy agent to hinder a nation’s war effort.
Still, in common parlance, sabotage merely relates to an act or process tending to hamper or hurt, or deliberate subversion—a systematic attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system by persons working secretly from within. Is that what came to mind when you thought of this term?
For context regarding an ostensible act of sabotage, consider what occurred when former president Bill Clinton was succeeded by then president-elect George W. Bush. According to one source (June 12, 2002):
A yearlong investigation into whether Clinton administration aides left the White House in fraternity-party disarray as they vacated the presidential premises has turned up about $15,000 in damage, according to a government report released Tuesday […] Clinton staffers had ripped phone cords from walls, left obscene voicemail messages, defaced bathrooms and vandalized computer keyboards by removing the “W” keys when they left the White House. A number of items, including a 12-inch presidential seal and several antique doorknobs, were assumed stolen.
Removing the “W” keys from keyboards would cause a degree of inconvenience when trying to type “George W. Bush.” The Consequential behavior in this regard was due to unfavorable Beliefs, not caused by the Action of a Republican replacing a Democrat as president.
From a psychological standpoint, people disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.
As an example, removed “W” keys (Action) may result in the inability to conduct official government business via keyboards (Consequence). From an A-C perspective, sabotaging Actions can cause unhelpful Consequences.
Alternatively, when one’s preferred political party loses an election (Action) and one unhelpfully Believes, “I can’t stand Republicans and they shouldn’t hold office,” then one will likely self-upset into an angry disposition and ostensibly conduct acts of sabotage (Consequence).
In this example, stating “I can’t stand Republicans” is an LFT admission and expressing that “they shouldn’t hold office” is an admission of demandingness. Thus, self-disturbance is caused by a B-C connection.
To better understand how people self-disturb into consequential action in regard to sabotage, consider the first verse of Beastie Boys’ song “Sabotage”:
I can’t stand it, I know you planned it
I’ma set it straight, this Watergate
I can’t stand rocking when I’m in here
‘Cause your crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear
So while you sit back and wonder why
I got this fucking thorn in my side
Oh my god, it’s a mirage
I’m telling y’all, it’s sabotage
LFT narratives appeared twice in the verse and the rappers expressed disillusion with a system – presumably of a political nature, as Watergate was invoked – though not necessarily so. What’s clear is that self-disturbing beliefs were communicated by the artists.
Thinking about the U.S. presidential inauguration (January 20, 2025), there’s plenty of time for self-disturbed sociopolitical actors to sabotage the incoming Trump administration (admin). This suspicion isn’t without merit.
As an example, millions of U.S. citizens likely voted for an end to U.S. support in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Hamas (and whomever else Israel claims is a threat to its existence). The will of the people is, at least in part, to focus on our nation.
However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated five days ago:
We’ve obligated just recently and pushed out the door another $8 billion in security assistance for Ukraine – that was in September, another almost half a billion dollars just a few weeks ago, and President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20th.
Our nation has experienced train car derailments, natural disasters, toxic drinking water supplies, attacks on power transformers, and other infrastructure issues within the past several years. However, the current admin is now “making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal” is sent to Ukraine.
This is expressly being “pushed out the door between now and January 20th,” per Blinken, which coincides with Inauguration Day. It may be logical and reasonable to consider this an act of sabotage, similar to when the outgoing Clinton admin effectively sabotaged the Bush admin.
Perhaps more concerning is that one source reports, “Outgoing US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use powerful long-range American weapons inside Russia, according to two US officials familiar with the decision.” I’d rather pedantic keyboard sabotage than this.
According to a separate source, “The Kremlin warned Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles adds ‘fuel to the fire’ of the war and would escalate international tensions even higher.”
One wonders as to whether or not the Biden administration is sabotaging the economy and international order so that the Trump administration will be left to clean up the mess. I’m not the only person thinking rationally about this matter, as others inquire about the World War III (WWIII) implications.
Although I don’t self-disturb regarding this matter, because I practice unconditional acceptance on a daily basis, the issue is nevertheless within my circle of concern. I truly hope that self-disturbed sabotage doesn’t provoke the world into WWIII. May cooler heads prevail.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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