AustinEmigre
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Joined: 9/4/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Tristan
Speaking of brainwashing and cults, what ever happened to the Moonies and Krishnas? Not only were they fun to talk to on college campuses and airports, but there were also all kinds of crazy movies about how they took innocent college kids and brainwashed them into joining their cult. I remember one movie that was similar to the exercist with the main character being a deprogramer rather than a priest. The deprogrammer was paid to kidnap and deprogram a cultist.
I used to eat dinner with the krishnas at one of their weekly events on campus when I was in college. The fear of brainwashing was so great at that time that I was actually able to convince several of my friends that they brainwashed me. I had several other friends who so feared being brainwashed that they would never join me for the Krishnas weekly free vegitarian dinner, which was actually a great dinner. They may not have been very good brainwashers, but they sure were very good cooks.
Unfortunately, the Moonies are still going strong - and I don't know if you ran in with a "krishna-lite" crowd but many people in cults don't get out.
The Moonies, or the followers of Sun Yung Moon, actually weild an enormous amount of influence, including now ownership of the Washington Times and the UPI news service. They weild considerable influence with the Republican party, and was even able to get a dinner held in the Capitol building to Rev. Moon's honor with notable Republican elected officials (I'm not sure if Senators were there but Congressmen sure were) and their techniques haven't changed.
Unlike brainwashing like you see in the movies, cult brainwashing usually occurs with the partial help of the victim. This is not to say that the victim is any less a victim, or that the victim is somehow willing, because the victims are never explained the consequences of their actions, and cults almost NEVER reveal the beliefs and practices which make them unbelievable or dangerous until a person is firmly committed to the group.
Once committed to the group, it can be very hard to get someone out. Cults generally discourage contact with society outside the group (except for recruiting,) so that their ideas aren't challenged - when those ideas are challenged, almost every group has a "thought-stopping technique" taught early on to prevent people from thinking about the information they've recieved, contradictory to what they have been taught - for some, it can be prayer, meditation, chanting... the Scientologists use something called zeroing - which is the same damn thing. It all stops thought and returns people to a fugue state of repeated behavior.
As for recruitment, some cults have dinners, some groups have fake "business meetings" - any place where entering and leaving can be controlled and there is complete authority, for 48 hours or less... the "business meeting" is a favorite recruitment tool of the Scientologists in particular.
Scarily enough, the people who bear the worst wrath of cults are those who leave the group - especially those who leave and speak out about the group. This is because they don't want members to see that the group isn't "perfect," and they don't want people "who were in a position to know" to speak to potential recruits, shying them away from the group, or especially to the media, where questioning can prompt investigation and parents and other people who care might find out that that "dinner club" Timmy is going to isn't really just a quick get-together.
The main thing to remember is that even though it may seem this way on the outside, people in cults are generally unwilling, tricked victims who would not have signed up for the cult if they had known what it truly entailed.
One last thing: A cult is always an organization, not a religion. Do not be intimidated into not opposing cults by saying that you're "religiously intolerant." For example, there are people who have left the cult of Scientology - an organization - yet still believe the precepts of the belief system that Scientology uses - called Free Zoners. Now, I think they're nuts, but at least, I think, they're nuts of their own free will.
How this relates to BDSM: There is no way in the world that brainwash play is anywhere NEAR safe, sane, and consentual. By definition it is not "sane" and all brainwash eventually becomes non-consentual.
If you're looking for more information on cults and cult practices, I would reccomend one of the books by Stephen Hassan on how cults operate and why they do what they do.
Hope this helps.
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