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We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

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Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#111

Post by mcv »

13of40 wrote: post #8
partiallypro wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, apply it to your political party. I've come to see both parties can be very cultish as of late. If you leave the herd, you are immediately attacked even if it's for the smallest topic. People leave their families over it. When you start to think about it...it's starts to fall a bit into that. I think that is a more compelling argument than saying family itself is a cult, which is at the human core more than…

I got basically a zero score when I did it for my company (except the separation one, which I guess is analogous to quitting) but when I tried my country I got a pretty good score - 8/10 (Edit: To be clear I'm not a member of a political party so I can't try that one.)

I decided to do it for my church, and got zero. I think most companies and countries score higher than that.

Although even for my country I could only honestly give a point for the title. (No idea if it's the king or the prime minister who counts as the leader here, but it's an impressive title. There's plenty of laws, but they don't restrict much on the relational front. Well, there's restrictions on marrying children, and criminal jobs are illegal, so that might be another point.)

Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#112

Post by goodpoint »

etchalon wrote: post #37
lazyeye wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good indication of a cult is that there is a shopping list of specific core beliefs (say 20) you are expected to believe. And you believe 19 of them but on the 20th you have a slightly different view. If this causes you to be banished and ostracised, then it's probably a cult. JK Rowling would be an example of this.

"I completely agree with the core tenants of Buddhism, but I think I should be able to eat babies."

*tenets

Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#113

Post by goodpoint »

Smithalicious wrote: post #88

This is a pointless article that baits the reader into thinking there is a point, as evidenced by the fact that you can read many comments here of people trying to extract meaning out of it and not find anything that is actually profound and not incredibly overwrought.

It's not pointless at all.

Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#114

Post by phao »

maxbond wrote: post #7

I was waiting for the part that would make it clear what was being satirized, and it never came? I feel like I'm missing context?

Maybe this is one of those things like cold reading.

IMO, the text may be seen as a piece of advertising for a fictional "de-programming" (like they call it) treatment from a cult. However, it's written for an abstract general kind of cult, described only in terms of what is common about several cults. It's not specific about anything. Just like well done cold reading: it's right, but unspecific.

I believe the idea is that you identify some of the things you're doing in your life as a cult (guided by the general features given in the text) and pay more attention to them. The text, however, is vague enough to classify a lot of things as cults, even though you/I/we may believe these aren't.

Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#117

Post by newaccount74 »

msla wrote: post #6

Aside from all the content-free "Everything I Don't Like Is A Cult" chuntering I already see, what is the point of this? I thought it was a dig at how cult-like the "anticult" deprogramming stuff was back during the last big scare in the 1980s, but it isn't that, because the victims of deprogramming sessions weren't free to leave. That was rather their big problem: They kidnapped people and held them in motel rooms a…

To me it sounded like they were offering people everything they need to get out of a cult, without forcing them to join a different type of cult. Maybe I'm too naive, but to me it sounds like they genuinely are trying to help.

Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#118

Post by b3lvedere »

d--b wrote: post #108

Meh… Culture = Cult. How deep. For those interested, read Bruno Latour, it’s a lot finer. It’s about how you compose with the various traits of your culture to make sense of the world. People build their own Frankenstein-like culture. A lot of scientists are also religious. We choose what we want to believe in, and how we do it is what is interesting.

Nice on a t-shirt: You can't spell culture without cult

Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#119

Post by sharikous »

mcv wrote: post #104
peepee1982 wrote: post #74

A lot of people here seem to be offended by this essay because of the literal definition of the term "cult" and start looking for potential cults they may be part of. I think they are mistaken. To me, this essay clearly speaks about the maladaptive conditioning we receive from our families and society in general during childhood and adolescence which causes us to suppress our feelings and authentic selves and treat t…

While reading it, I couldn't help but think: but what if this is the cult? I've got to admit I have no idea what the difference is between brainwashing and deprogramming.

Both things are programs that run in your head.

The difference is how much the program makes you search inside yourself and ALONE for the answers you seek as opposite to reaching for an external authority.

If you feel you are dependent on an external human the most likely event is that they or their group made you dependent on purpose via some sort of manipulation.

Re: We are sorry to inform you that you are in a cult

#120

Post by erklik »

causi wrote: post #67
rob74 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, the rest could apply to just about anything, but this brief phrase near the end makes it pretty clear that it's about religion. That, and phrases like "the cult has left noticeable marks on you". Somehow all atheists (or at least the militant kind) seem to believe religious people are all deeply scarred and twisted, no matter how "watered-down from its original form" their "cult" may be.

"the cult has left noticeable marks on you" Maybe they're talking about the child genital mutilation.

Then they're only talking about Abrahamic religions since largely, genital mutilation isn't a part of Hinduism, Buddhism etc.
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