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In Reply to: Cult brainwashing vs mental conditioning posted by Oldtimer on September 04, 2004 at 18:29:31:
A subtle form of mind-control. Heck, police use techniques to get confessions out of criminals - it's a psychological thing, kidnappers use techniques to get their victims to trust them, etc. There is a lot on the subject of mind control, coercion, etc. Assigning responsibility is another issue, IMO. I also think there are a lot of differences in each individual case.
Here are some questions -
HOw much did you know about the sexual deviances when you joined? I knew nothing, so that would nix the criticism that I joined a sex cult, Because I didn't.
How much outside literature or contact with family and friends was allowed?
No outside literature and very little, if any and usually monitored, contact with friends and family. This is an extreme measure of controlling a person.
Did you experience continuous nights of sleep deprivation? Most certainly.
A good source of research on this is Margaret Thayler Singer's Book, Cults in Our Midst. I'm looking forward to Perry's article/review.
I do believe the mind plays tricks on us and there are those predators that somehow have this uncanny knack for knowing how to use it to manipulate for their advantage. This happens a lot in spousal abuse situations. Should we blame the victim because they married an abuser - after all, it was their choice? I've heard that from a lot of people, even to this day.
We had a case in a law office I worked in where they were determining the truth in a particular incident involving some prison guards. There was a whole table of them and every guard swore the incident happened a certain way. There was one woman who disagreed and swore it happened differently than everyone else was saying. The meeting went on for hours with different testimonies and discussions until she relented and came to the conclusion that she must have been wrong and everyone else was right. Finally, someone arrived with a video of the incident and lo and behold, the woman was right after all. To me, that was an incident of some kind of mind control, mental conditioning, whatever you want to call it.
I don't swallow this idea that because someone joined they are guilty of everything and should be beating themselves up until the day they die. Maybe some should because they ARE the predators and manipulators, IDK, they know that. There were plenty of victims amongst those that joined. Many of us did not join a sex cult, did not want to participate in many things, but were beaten into submission and under fear, coercion and duress and under the power of others. It's just not a clear cut thing. Well, that's my opinion anyway.
