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In Reply to: Could you have done it? posted by Thinker on November 21, 2002 at 11:12:46:
I think this question is very similar to the question: Could you ever have joined a cult? This is a question that many people assure themselves the answer is NO. But we, having been in a cult, can understand that YES, you don't have to be demented or stupid or crazy to get into a cult. In fact, they usually prey on the vulnerable who are USEABLE. They have to have mental and physical stamina to withstand the constraints, demands and training of the group. What does the group offer? It offers the ANSWER to whatever need the vulnerable person has. For some a sense of belonging and true purpose. For another, perhaps a father figure or family. They propose to have the solutions for all problems, answers to all questions presented. Even if that answer is I don't know, there is still the reassurance that it (the cult) is the best and highest way to be living for a good reason or cause. All of the above were needs of mine. Pre-family, I became very disillusioned with war, etc. and was sure that one govt. would eventually cave to another via war and there was no hope as the cycle, as history shows, would just continue. I also was 18 barely and very vulnerable for many other reasons. Once in the cult, had I been surrounded like Jonestown or Waco, it is very possible that I would have either burned up or swallowed the kool-aid. Because at that point I would have probably felt trapped, either because my children or someone else I was with would probably be inside, too. It can be a "Sophie's Choice" sort of scenario. I think, in reality, joining a cult, dying in a cult could happen to just about anybody of who is a member if and when it came down to it. Perhaps our "one-up" is that we survived it, got out, and have awarenesses we did not, could not have then, and which other people would not be so knowledgeable about?
