Re:You're in a Cult
by mistermann on Tuesday November 22, 2022 @01:56PM
(#33709560)
> I do not have an absolute definition!
Unless you're being deliberately ironic for effect and it's going over my head, are you not saying religion is an absolute requirement for a cult?
> The usage of "cult" only works because we have a shared cultural experience with the notion of cult. and invoking that when referring to things like NXIVM is a rhetorical device, nothing more.
Another shared cultural experience is delusions of omniscience.
> If you could make a strong statement; "they exhibited the following cult-like attributes, and in consequence, like every organization with those attributes, they also exhibited these behaviors" then you're on to something; you're doing observational sociology.
Until our culture can take the distinction between reality and perception of it seriously, such observational sociology will operate on a platform of delusion.
That said, starting with this and dealing with the psychological issues later seems like a very reasonable strategy.
> But here all you're really saying is "they are super double bad", which is, okay, fine, but you can just call them fascists or communists or something else that people hate and it has the same impact.
A problem: this did not actually occur (this is an extremely common behavior that ideally would be persuaded out of people somehow....but I suspect you are averse to even discussing it).
Unless you're being deliberately ironic for effect and it's going over my head, are you not saying religion is an absolute requirement for a cult?
> The usage of "cult" only works because we have a shared cultural experience with the notion of cult. and invoking that when referring to things like NXIVM is a rhetorical device, nothing more.
Another shared cultural experience is delusions of omniscience.
> If you could make a strong statement; "they exhibited the following cult-like attributes, and in consequence, like every organization with those attributes, they also exhibited these behaviors" then you're on to something; you're doing observational sociology.
Until our culture can take the distinction between reality and perception of it seriously, such observational sociology will operate on a platform of delusion.
That said, starting with this and dealing with the psychological issues later seems like a very reasonable strategy.
> But here all you're really saying is "they are super double bad", which is, okay, fine, but you can just call them fascists or communists or something else that people hate and it has the same impact.
A problem: this did not actually occur (this is an extremely common behavior that ideally would be persuaded out of people somehow....but I suspect you are averse to even discussing it).