re: OK, I want to talk about cults

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Could y'all not drag this into every goddamn thread?

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It’s an inherent aspect of the cult mentality.

You want people to follow something? First, you create victims of them. Make them Oppressed. Their problems are not their own, they are the victims of the machinations of the Other.

You offer them a righteous cause. You make them rebels, warriors against powers beyond their control.
You offer honey laced with vinegar.

Promise them salvation. Give them a jihad to fight for. This is easiest when they feel oppressed, powerless in their own existence.

And once they are hooked, committed, you erect the walls around them. Shut out other influences. And convince them that those who would try to reason with them are only trying to lead them astray, purveyors of lies. Set the hook so deep that even if their eyes tell them one Thing, your truth can overpower it.

Isolate them and make them evangelists to your cause. Force them to make enemies of those they once called friends if they don’t follow.

It’s rather simple in its complexity.