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| Jumping for "Joy" |
Cults adopt policies that control members. One humdinger tool of control is shunning. This has played out with many modern-day cults adopting a my-way-or-the-highway shunning policy that shuts down and shuts out anyone who tries to exercise freedom of religion or freedom of conscience.
Fear-Mongering, Implicit Threat, Stigma
And up until recently, shunning was very effective at creating a climate of fear and dependency. The message was: disagree and you'll lose your friends and family, so you'd better not go there; intimidation: you know the consequences of leaving; stigma: those who disagree/leave are "mentally diseased," "apostates," "taken over by Satan." In all of this, the person was made an object of scrutiny and their motives questioned and invalidated. Never was the actual shunning policy itself ever called into question.
Psychological Torment, Isolation, Loss of Family, Pressure to Return
Shunning imposed perpetual psychological torment and isolation on any who actually broke away from the control, which, of course, was a thought control tool even on the back-end: the person was shunned until they "came to their senses" and/or if they ever wanted to see their family again, there was only way to accomplish this, go back to the shunning group.
A Tool of Silencing
Shunning was a silencing tool, as well, because no one would talk to you, so you were crippled from sharing your views or potentially influencing others. And it worked until...
The Internet.
The Information Control Has Ended
The information control has largely ended, folks, and the upshot is that more and more are seeing through the smoke and mirrors and eventually leaving groups that stand at the ready to rip apart friendships and families on the altar of human interpretation. People still trapped in high-control groups no longer have to settle for being fed just the predigested information, slanted to lead them to the desired viewpoint. They can go online and search out credible information and facts and can form their own opinions apart from the shunning group's propaganda. When this happens, many start to see through the self-serving smokescreen. And, if they decide to leave, they don't have to go it alone. They can join support groups and tap resources to help them cope.
Show Me The Money
When people leave, with them goes tithing/donations. As has been said so aptly, people are "voting" with their attendance, their time, their free labor, and their wallets. That alone will be enough to make some of these groups sit up and take notice. As the dollars dry up, high-control groups will be forced to realize that shunning is fast losing its power to retain membership.
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
It should come as no surprise that some shunning groups have re-branded, trying to present a hip and happy image to make their group appear more "fun" and "friendly"; however, when you pull back the curtain, you still have the same old intolerance and dogmatism, under the sleek logos, the catchy music, the misleading public statements, and all else.
Mainstreaming
This, in some cases, is the first step down the road to mainstreaming. Extremist groups attract a following by claiming they are different or special (the hook) but at the end of the day, to survive, many will do whatever it takes or risk losing the entire tamale.
The Information Control Has Ended
The information control has largely ended, folks, and the upshot is that more and more are seeing through the smoke and mirrors and eventually leaving groups that stand at the ready to rip apart friendships and families on the altar of human interpretation. People still trapped in high-control groups no longer have to settle for being fed just the predigested information, slanted to lead them to the desired viewpoint. They can go online and search out credible information and facts and can form their own opinions apart from the shunning group's propaganda. When this happens, many start to see through the self-serving smokescreen. And, if they decide to leave, they don't have to go it alone. They can join support groups and tap resources to help them cope.
Show Me The Money
When people leave, with them goes tithing/donations. As has been said so aptly, people are "voting" with their attendance, their time, their free labor, and their wallets. That alone will be enough to make some of these groups sit up and take notice. As the dollars dry up, high-control groups will be forced to realize that shunning is fast losing its power to retain membership.
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
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| Taken Your Happy Pill? |
Mainstreaming
This, in some cases, is the first step down the road to mainstreaming. Extremist groups attract a following by claiming they are different or special (the hook) but at the end of the day, to survive, many will do whatever it takes or risk losing the entire tamale.
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