Lindsay Lohan blames Sandy on people "projecting negativity"
Apparently she's a Secret/Laws of Attraction devotee
You know your beliefs are in trouble when Lindsay Lohan - the notorious rolling disaster of Hollywood - espouses it. Lohan took to the Twitters recently to shake her finger at people who are "projecting negativity" regarding Hurricane Sandy. "Think positive and pray for peace," she urged.
Let's overlook the fact that "peace" is a weird thing to pray for with regards to a hurricane. (Could Lohan be getting the storm confused with the rioting in San Francisco?) By telling people to "stop projecting negativity," Lohan has signaled that she is one of the many of devotees of The Secret, a.k.a. the Law of Attraction.
This incident is an excellent example of the prime problem with The Secret, which is that it espouses a "blame the victim" mentality. More than that; the belief actually hinges on blaming the victim. If people on the Eastern Seaboard are injured or killed by Hurricane Sandy, it is because they - or too many people - projected negativity.
The strict prohibition on negative thoughts also has the side effect of crippling Secret devotees' ability to plan ahead for problems. By thinking about a hurricane, The Secret says, you are actually bringing it into existence. Therefore, the less you think about it, the better off you will be.
This is problematic, to say the least. It means that Secret devotees will be reluctant to stockpile bottled water, take time off work, or even stay indoors during the storm.
The flip side is that it encourages people to take risky behavior. Think positive thoughts: go into work anyway! You'll be fine! Don't think about the bad stuff. Just act like everything will be alright, and it will.
There is some truth to this in most people's everyday lives. Just like when you're gambling at a casino, you only win as much as you risk. The more you risk, the more you can win - OR lose. But according to The Secret, if you lose, it's because you (there's that "blame the victim" again) were thinking too many negative thoughts.
I certainly hope no one actually looks to Lindsay Lohan for advice. It certainly isn't worth dwelling overly long on the negative side of life. We all know at least one tiresome person who insists on constantly wallowing in the worst case scenario. But bad things DO happen to good people, and particularly in the case of massive weather events, sometimes you should "hope for the best but prepare for the worst."