by Jim Barton on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 6:16pm
I've resisted reading Steven Hassan's "Combatting Mind Control" because I sort of get it without the psychobabble. Kids are born into and vulnerable adults willingly submit to cults and cultlike organizations. The excruciating pain of exit from cults is the problem. The line from Hotel California applies:
"You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave"
That's the catch with cults. We're not forcing you to believe a certain way, but if you depart from the faith we will never speak to you again. Amish kids understand this. Fundamentalist Latter Days Saints running from a world of polygamy understand this.
Kids of Jehovah's Witnesses understand this. Shunning, disfellowshipping, excommunication effectively removes the departer from every friend or family contact he or she has ever known as the "faithful" family chooses the cult rules over the family member or lifetime friend.
Social activist groups use some of the same techniques to control and retain their members.
"You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave"
That's the catch with cults. We're not forcing you to believe a certain way, but if you depart from the faith we will never speak to you again. Amish kids understand this. Fundamentalist Latter Days Saints running from a world of polygamy understand this.Kids of Jehovah's Witnesses understand this. Shunning, disfellowshipping, excommunication effectively removes the departer from every friend or family contact he or she has ever known as the "faithful" family chooses the cult rules over the family member or lifetime friend.
Social activist groups use some of the same techniques to control and retain their members.
Fuck you, Jim! You were one of us and you betrayed us. We were Cheezmeh and you left us when you didn't need us anymore. How dare you call us a cult. The only cult I see is your cult of personality. You will fail! Goodbye Jim, or should I call you Jim Jones. FUCK YOU!
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous September 29, 2011 9:54 AM
ReplyDeleteYou mad? Keep in mind that once you start insulting people who don't agree with you, you loose all credibility, but I think you lost that a long time ago.
Insulting Jim wont garner you any new followers, it will only prove to people that you have anger management problems.
Quoting Socrates "When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."
Voter #6456
I say "Chingale Cheese". You were always better than that silly group of blowhards, Jim. Mikael Fisher
ReplyDelete