In my previous article, “The Art of Verbal Aikido,” I explored the tactical mechanics of de-escalation—how to use superficial compliance—to protect oneself during hostile encounters within power hierarchies. However, the true efficacy of this strategy lies not just in the words used, but in the internal philosophical posture one adopts. To master this art is to understand that survival often requires a bifurcation of the self: separating the external performance from the internal reality. This is not cowardice; it is the strategic dissimulation required to preserve sovereignty in any coercive landscape and/or society, whether that be a roadside stop, a corporate boardroom, or a tense family dinner.
They sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him. ~Mark 12:13-17 (USCCB)
We can find the archetype for this strategy in the biblical account of “rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” When Jesus was presented with the trap regarding Roman taxes, he avoided the binary choice of revolution or betrayal by drawing a distinction between the token and the substance. He identified that the coin bore Caesar’s image and thus belonged to the system, but the human spirit bore God’s image and belonged to a higher order. In modern encounters with the “Caesars” of our daily lives—whether they wear a badge, a tailored suit, or sit at the head of the holiday table—we must learn to hand over the token—the superficial appearance of compliance—while fiercely guarding the substance of our liberty.
The modern tyrant, much like the ancient one, demands tribute. Today, that tribute is often a sense of control and performative submission. When a police officer, a micro-managing boss, or a domineering relative demands obedience, they are primarily seeking a validation of their power or emotional significance. By utilizing verbal aikido, we offer them the “coin” of that transaction: a polite tone, a non-threatening posture, and the illusion that they are leading the dance. We give them the surface-level respect they crave, which satisfies their immediate psychological need for dominance, neutralizing their aggression before it escalates.
Substantive rights are the non-negotiable, inviolable principles of self-ownership—such as the right to life, liberty, and property—that reside at the core of one’s being, which no external authority or interpersonal pressure can legitimately annul, only coercively violate.
Crucially, however, we must distinguish this surface offering from the “soul” (substantive rights). In the biblical analogy, while Caesar owns the minted metal, he does not own the man. Similarly, while we may give an aggressor the appearance of cooperation, we never hand over the “substance,” which is a joinder (contractual agreement), the admission of guilt, or the waiver of natural rights. You can nod your head and speak softly, and agree to a superficial technicality, without ever consenting to an unlawful search, agreeing to an unpaid overtime request, or accepting a toxic family member’s framing of reality. By surrendering the form but withholding the substance, you maintain your status as a free being even while in the presence of those who wish to subjugate you.
To act under protest is to perform a coerced action while explicitly stating that your consent is withheld, thereby preserving your legal and moral objection to the force being applied against you. It is essentially stating that “since you have the ability to force me to perform this action, I will perform this action before you use force, but am only doing so because you have the ability to force me, and not because I am consenting to it.”
This creates the necessary space to employ the vital concept of acting “under protest.” This principle encapsulates the entire strategy of retaining one’s rights even when placed in a position to surrender them under coercive threats. If a tyrant’s threat of social ostracization, job loss, or violence compels a physical action, one can comply physically while explicitly stating—or internally holding the firm conviction—that the action is taken “under protest” or “under duress.” This declaration acts as a barrier; it signals that while the body is being coerced by the threat of force or consequence, the will has not consented. It is the legal and spiritual fortification that prevents the “soul” from being harvested alongside the “coin.”
This separation of the internal and external self aligns perfectly with Carl Jung’s concept of the persona. Jung described the persona as the mask we wear to interface with the world—a necessary compromise between the individual and society. While Jung warned against identifying too closely with the mask, in this context, we consciously weaponize it. We construct a specific persona—perhaps the “confused but polite citizen” or the “agreeable employee”—to act as a shield. When the tyrant attacks us while we are lawfully enjoying our rights, they are attacking the mask, not the true Self. This creates a necessary psychological distance, protecting your psyche from the trauma of a forceful interaction.
To the uninitiated, this might look like inconsistency, or being a liar. However, a chameleon does not change colors to become a leaf; it changes colors so the predator sees a leaf rather than a meal. This is a nuanced manner of acting like a chameleon not out of deceit, but out of biological necessity. By offering a reflection of what the authority figure expects to see—a submissive subject—you provide no friction for their aggression to latch onto. You become effectively invisible to their predatory instincts, hiding your true intent in plain sight.
This strategy merges the tactical “gray man” concept and how it relates to “gray rocking” narcissists. The gray man seeks to blend into the background physically to avoid becoming a target, while gray rocking is a psychological technique used to deal with narcissists by becoming unresponsive and uninteresting. Since institutional tyrants and personal narcissists often display identical traits, feeding them “gray” responses—polite but empty of substance—starves them of the drama and resistance they use to justify their abuse. You become a boring administrative hurdle or a dull conversation partner rather than a rebel to be crushed.
This is the ultimate act of rebellion because it exploits the tyrant’s greatest weakness: their own superficiality. Tyrants, petty bureaucrats, and toxic personalities are obsessed with optics and the feeling of power. They lack the depth to look behind the mask. If the persona gives them the visual and auditory cues of submission, they are often too blinded by their own ego to notice that they have walked away with nothing but a counterfeit coin. You have allowed them to feel powerful while you have retained the actual power of consent. You walk away free because the tyrant is too petty to realize that bowing without intent is just a movement of muscles, and not an act of submission. Consequently, they are left with a hollow victory and a nagging suspicion that something of value is missing, for while they captured the image of obedience, they failed to extract the vital spiritual energy they actually hungered for, leaving your soul intact and your sovereignty unconsumed.
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THE UNITY PROCESS: I’ve created an integrative methodology called the Unity Process, which combines the philosophy of Natural Law, the Trivium Method, Socratic Questioning, Jungian shadow work, and Meridian Tapping—into an easy to use system that allows people to process their emotional upsets, work through trauma, correct poor thinking, discover meaning, set healthy boundaries, refine their viewpoints, and to achieve a positive focus. Read my philosophical treatise, “The Logocentric Christian”, to learn more about how Greek philosophy, the law of identity, the law of non-contradiction, the law of reason, and Jesus of Nazareth all connect together.
