How the BLEEP did that happen?! - Episode 6
[I recommend going in numerical order with the Episodes. They build on each other.]
Episode 30 contains the full resource list.
Two kinds of shaming.
After seeing the Video from Episode 5, you might be horrified. It's funny... but by the end it’s plain creepy. Inside the mindset of the devoted, you might imagine how the group thinks about people that leave. They are weak. They are lost. They are criminals. etc.
Excerpt from Mind Control Made Easy or How to Become a Cult Leader
"Tighten your groups bond by creating scapegoats and enemies. Demonize outsiders as less than human, biased, corrupt or conspiring against the group. Develop an US vs THEM mentality. Tell them their critical thoughts are evidence they have committed crimes against the group. Start investigating them and make up crimes."
“I think I want to leave.”
“You must be insane.”
"Make them feel guilty."
“We're doing important work here
“You expect saving the world is easy?
“We're all called upon to make some sacrifices for the cause."
"Just when things get tough... you want give up."
“You’re weak."
“Do you want to move forward towards freedom and enlightenment or do you want to fall back into your old dirty ways?"
"Whats more important?"
“Our mission?"
"Our family?"
"Eternal salvation?"
"Or your petty grievances?"
"You're being negative…"
“ignorant…"
"selfish…."
"and sinful."
"Our leader is flawless."
"The doctrine is flawless."
"There must be something wrong with you!"
"There must be something wrong with you!"
"There must be something wrong with you!”
“There must be something wrong with me."
“There must be something wrong with me.”
“Yes, there is!"
Those who defect, are framed in the worst possible light. Also, those who escape have often been deeply mistreated and in some cases abused. Either psychologically or physically. They are victims of violence. The group then further victimizes them by shaming them for their ‘shortcomings’ (using their group-think).
This is the first kind of shaming. It can go on for years and sometimes decades.
Then there’s the second kind of shaming. From the rest of the world, outside the group. These are people assuming some kind of moral high ground, who shame these people for having been involved in the first place. For being idiotic, manipulable, stupid cunts…. that kind of unsavory thing. This can even happen from the victims' families.
What most don’t realize, is there is an additional and crucial wound these escapees carry. They were involved because they were likely led to believe they were part of something good and noble. They were enslaved using their own goodness, their own belief in a better world. Their belief in a compassionate society and in people's innate goodness. When the escapee realizes what the group is actually doing and the group turns violently on them, it is a moral devastation. They realize with growing horror that their goodness was misused, but even worse, they had everything backwards and upside down. This is a great injury to their moral psyche. One they may never recover from.
Let me give you a metaphor. You are in love with someone. They are the most incredible person and you know you have found the GREATEST LOVE OF ALL. You trust them utterly and completely. One night you wake up, tied to a your bed and they’re nonchalantly cutting pieces of your body off. One. By. One. You are completely confused but somewhere in the reaches of your muddled thoughts... NO...... You panic but there’s nothing you can do. You realize, what you thought was true love... was a ruse. You realize, they are not the paragon of virtue you dreamed of... but instead... something and someone horrifying. It's a betrayal so staggering ... you can’t even process it.
My advice to the second group of shamers? Climb off the moral high horse and join the rest of humanity. It can be terrible and real. And if you refuse, on behalf of all those that escape these kinds of groups… Fuck Off.
You might as well be part of the High Control Group that’s doing the shaming. Because you are doing the same thing.
To be continued…. (P.S. not all episodes will contain vulgarity or vitriol)
Mark Vicente @2017