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A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

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Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#51

Post by bambax »

This is the end of TFA:

> Emerson sees Sparks chiefly as an impostor, but she comes across as a true believer, both in evil and in her capacity to combat it by scaring teen-agers straight.

Imposter vs. True Believer: evil schemer or naive righteous soccer mom...

Mmm... Or maybe she was... an artist?!

I find it quite shocking and incredible that still today, she's casually dismissed as a fabricator. Every fiction is a fabrication. That's what artists do; that's the original meaning of the word "poetry": to make [0].

The fact that publishers decided to market that fiction as a true testimonial is irrelevant. (It is mentioned in the article that the "impostor"/anonymous part was the idea of the publisher, and that Sparks only reluctantly agreed.)

It's possible her ultimate motive was to save teenagers from the perils of drugs, but in the process she created works that obviously resonated with a lot of people. How hard would it be to respect her a little.

[0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of...

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#53

Post by brd529 »

woodruffw wrote: post #17

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

I was extremely disappointed to see this statistic trotted out in the New Yorker - almost as a throw away line. It’s such a weak claim for something to be “reputed to be” or “estimated by some” which is probably how it got past the fact checkers (I have not been able to find the source of the 1:100,000 estimate), but it’s stated with authority and smugness and contributes to national readers’ general misunderstandings of Utah and Latter-day Saints.

I know MLMs happen in and are more common in Utah than in other states for all the reasons people have identified in this thread, but it’s also true that high-trust communities have many many benefits, and though there are bad actors who figure out how to exploit these trust networks, the networks somehow stay resilient and help lead Utah to lead the nation on a number of wellness statistics such as the lowest unemployment rate in salt lake out of all big cities [1] and having the lowest income inequality other than Alaska and Wyoming (which have less than 1M people each) [2]

[1] https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/09/18/salt-lake...

[2] https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/income-ineq...

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#54

Post by supportlocal4h »

alex_sf wrote: post #33
woodruffw wrote: post #17

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

Utah has the strongest legal protections for MLMs/Pyramid Schemes/etc. in the country [1]. The demand for that safe harbor and the political will to pass it is largely a result of Mormonism. The hierarchy of the church discourages anyone from criticizing the next level 'above' them. There is also strong societal pressure for Mormon wives to be stay-at-home mothers, but the economic reality means they often need to fi…

I'm not sure about the "mission system" part. Most of the MLM people I encountered in Utah did not come through the "mission system." I kinda discount the church hierarchy theory, too. The point about stay at home moms carries water, I think. There aren't a lot of ways to make money while raising a 1, 4, and 7 year old. You can let somebody else raise them while you work. Or... you could have a playdoh party at your house. You can have your one-year-old on your lap while you explain to the other mothers (who are playing with their children as you talk) why they need the rainbow castle addon to the playdoh kingdom set.

A couple fingernail kit / vitamin / kitchenware / scented candle / whatever parties might promise to make you $500. That could pay for a month of piano lessons. Your old dental hygienist job didn't let you bring your kids to work and only work 4 hours on two Saturdays a month. I guess you could give it a try once. And who couldn't use a new cheese grater?

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#55

Post by supportlocal4h »

xahrepap wrote: post #50
wincy wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So as someone who grew up with lots of Utah Mormons (mother was a convert) I believe there was a strong evolutionary selection pressure for naivety to both become a Mormon and then remain Mormon through all of their “trials and tribulations” in the mid 1800s. If you thought it was all horse shit you wouldn’t have moved 1000 miles to Utah in the middle of nowhere. While members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter…

I think LDS folks have a little too much trust in other LDS folk. “Brother So-in-so works for doTerra, Sister So-in-so sells it and says it cleared up her eczema. These people wouldn’t lie to me!” And so they take whatever they say as truth. I don’t think it’s what I would describe as “childish gullibility”. But too much unchecked trust in members of their circles (still gullibility. But I wouldn’t call it childish).…

I sympathize a lot with the moms you characterize as "wanting to make an easy buck." How do you put in 8 hours a day as an accountant or hair stylist or fire fighter or HR rep between morning snack, potty training, reading time, nap time, outside play time, music time, etc.?

Maybe you try to get paid for raising your own kids by daycaring other kids at the same time. Is that also an easy buck?

Not everybody has a k8s genius spouse pulling down 6 figures. Any buck that can be gained in two or three hour increments a week is a lifeline.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#56

Post by pyuser583 »

woodruffw wrote: post #17

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

High levels of social trust. Makes for a good environment for scams - everybody wants to think the best of people.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#57

Post by pyuser583 »

thenerdhead wrote: post #27
woodruffw wrote: post #17

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

I lived in Utah. There’s plenty of MLMs and Ponzi schemes due to the religious culture. Oils, beauty products, blankets, weight loss solutions, workout pants, you name it. There are many stay at home mothers who get involved in these schemes to make a few dollars here and there. They end up buying plenty of product up front and not being able to sell it. Hope that helps.

Sorry to bicker, but MLMs and Ponzi schemes are really different things.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#58

Post by jiayo »

sn41 wrote: post #10
dhosek wrote: post #7

The podcast You’re Wrong About recently did a three-part series on Go Ask Alice with Carmen Maria Machado. Episodes are here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1112270 or pull them down in your favorite podcatcher.

Just a tangential request: is there any curated playlist consisting of such good podcasts? I have a difficult time discovering interesting podcasts. (Maybe that's an interesting project)

CBC Radio has a weekly program called Podcast Playlist: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastplaylist

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#59

Post by fumeux_fume »

bambax wrote: post #51

This is the end of TFA: > Emerson sees Sparks chiefly as an impostor, but she comes across as a true believer, both in evil and in her capacity to combat it by scaring teen-agers straight. Imposter vs. True Believer: evil schemer or naive righteous soccer mom... Mmm... Or maybe she was... an artist?! I find it quite shocking and incredible that still today, she's casually dismissed as a fabricator. Every fiction is a…

She found success in her time, but in retrospect and in a wider context her work is viewed negatively for obvious reasons. That doesn't seem shocking or incredible.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#60

Post by pyuser583 »

lmm wrote: post #23
woodruffw wrote: post #17

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

A relatively close-knit, high-trust society, with a lot of housewives eager to make themselves some money in a socially acceptable way?

You’re describing Japan. Does Japan have pyramid schemes and MLM?

I just watched the anime “Welcome to NHK” and there was an MLM subplot.

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