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redshirt posted:It always struck me as odd that the Christian Scientists have such an amazing HQ in Boston. It's beautiful, in a brutalist way. The Mapparium is awesome. They have a reading room in a nearby town’s Main Street, they have stuff in the windows about how great Mary Baker Eddy was but past that I’ve never seen any proselytizing. Do they just have some seriously loaded senior members? The JWs are frequently camped outside libraries in suits looking bored, is that a part of their doctrine? looks like they are just checking a box and even if I was in the market for a religion nothing about that looks fun.
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Nov 27, 2023 04:04
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JWs in Sweden on the street take a look at me and pretty much don’t bother, which I respect. JWs who knock on my apartment door better hope Jehovah is on their side if they get my partner answering. I’m the nice one. He is not. I put out a small sign on the newspaper holder in front of the door advising them and salespeople to not bother, in both Swedish and English. Noticeable difference, that’s for sure.
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Nov 27, 2023 12:12
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Helpimscared posted:I guess I just feel like there is so much information/awareness about their abusive practices out there now, especially with the internet being so easily accessible, that I don't understand how they could be pulling many new people in. I would also have to imagine that a lot of current members are probably at least peripherally aware of a lot of the news even if they aren't seeking it out. How they still have tax exempt status is beyond me. It's obviously a profit driven endeavor? But I guess that goes for a lot of 'religious' organizations. One of the things that kept a bunch of my mom's siblings in was sunk cost post-personality-testing. They straight up give you friends. It's all very veneered for a while. They then silo you off of media with smooth talking. Their success rate in recruitment is higher than it should be based on the fact that they go after lonely people that aren't tech savvy that also distrust both media and government. It's sinister as poo poo.
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Nov 27, 2023 15:21
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I put an inverted pentagram sticker on our front door that reads, "Drink water, hail satan." No solicitations since.
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Nov 27, 2023 15:30
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How about a pyramid cult founded by a guy named "Corky" which will mummify you or your pets: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summum
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Nov 27, 2023 15:51
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tbh i wanna get my cat mummified and entombed in a sweet casket when she dies all that other poo poo sounds weird though
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Nov 27, 2023 15:53
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the qcs crew
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Nov 27, 2023 16:04
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someone posted a seminar about this on my local subreddit, which appears to be some kind of woowoo cult run by a guy who looks like a character from Blark and Son https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLCxPyWl2Vo
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Nov 27, 2023 16:41
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Hey, now that I think about it I haven't had a Mormon or some Christian evangelical knock on my door in at least two decades. I'm in Australia, does everyone else just keep putting up with that poo poo?
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Nov 27, 2023 18:57
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LookieLoo posted:Hey, now that I think about it I haven't had a Mormon or some Christian evangelical knock on my door in at least two decades. Here in America, those same cults have, through largely right-wing media, created a social atmosphere wherein knocking on peoples' doors unexpectedly may be hazardous to your health. Kinda bit themselves in the rear end on this one.
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Nov 27, 2023 20:18
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teen witch posted:JWs in Sweden on the street take a look at me and pretty much don’t bother, which I respect. Must be the Juggalette look. Woop Woop.
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Nov 27, 2023 20:41
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OB-GYN Kenobi posted:Must be the Juggalette look. Woop Woop. I don’t think there’s a juggalo presence in Sweden. I genuinely cannot comprehend the idea of it.
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Nov 27, 2023 21:07
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I bet most JWs have never even witnessed Jehova
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Nov 27, 2023 21:43
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teen witch posted:I don’t think there’s a juggalo presence in Sweden. I genuinely cannot comprehend the idea of it. Yet 
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Nov 27, 2023 21:46
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teen witch posted:I don’t think there’s a juggalo presence in Sweden. I genuinely cannot comprehend the idea of it. There at least used to be https://swedenjuggalos.tripod.com/
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Nov 27, 2023 21:48
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Please tell me they pronounce it yuggalo
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Nov 27, 2023 22:00
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Sweden 2010 Juggalo population: 4 https://swedenjuggalos.tripod.com/shop.html quote:We've previously ordered Hoodies and T-shirt for the Sweden Juggalo group. teen witch posted:I don’t think there’s a juggalo presence in Sweden. I genuinely cannot comprehend the idea of it. 
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Nov 27, 2023 22:08
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teen witch posted:I don’t think there’s a juggalo presence in Sweden. I genuinely cannot comprehend the idea of it. be the change
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Nov 27, 2023 22:09
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El Macho posted:Does anybody have experience with the Landmark Forum? It’s a self help program that ticks several cult type boxes. Long seminars where you are berated and not allowed to leave the room, forced to adopt very specific language for things, lots of pressure to purchase additional motivational materials, etc. I had a friend who was a member for a while but left since they're a cult/con job thing. This was like 10 years ago so I don't know about Landmark today but what I learned was basically what you described. At that time at least they intentionally had no/extremely little online presence and would draw people in on the basis of it being like a self help program. Then the locked in meetings happen where you get screamed at that everything is your fault/etc. but you can fix it just buy this Landmark pamphlet for $75!!!! It's just breaking people down to tears to get them to buy the books/whatever. My friend go t into it because of a relative of theirs talking it up. Neo Rasa fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Nov 27, 2023 |
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Nov 27, 2023 22:10
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Helpimscared posted:I guess I just feel like there is so much information/awareness about their abusive practices out there now, especially with the internet being so easily accessible, that I don't understand how they could be pulling many new people in. I would also have to imagine that a lot of current members are probably at least peripherally aware of a lot of the news even if they aren't seeking it out. How they still have tax exempt status is beyond me. It's obviously a profit driven endeavor? But I guess that goes for a lot of 'religious' organizations. IIRC they have (had?) a large free luncheon once a week in Hollywood with a rotation of members in attendance. The jist of it I got was like if you're a new actor, a free good meal+you could potentially run into some major star in a casual context that actually wants to give you time (where you slowly get convinced to join over time after meeting someone) keeps people coming for awhile so they get drawn in.
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Nov 27, 2023 22:23
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the holy poopacy posted:Please tell me they pronounce it yuggalo When I say it like that it feels like it’s a slur, for who, I don’t know, but it’s a bad one. MrQwerty posted:There at least used to be The pics are really endearing and I miss Web 1.0. Anyway back on
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Nov 27, 2023 22:39
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Neo Rasa posted:I had a friend who was a member for a while but left since they're a cult/con job thing. This was like 10 years ago so I don't know about Landmark today but what I learned was basically what you described. At that time at least they intentionally had no/extremely little online presence and would draw people in on the basis of it being like a self help program. Then the locked in meetings happen where you get screamed at that everything is your fault/etc. but you can fix it just buy this Landmark pamphlet for $75!!!! It's just breaking people down to tears to get them to buy the books/whatever. My friend go My gf had a bunch of friends who were into landmark, so I had to research them pretty extensively to figure out if I should  or just get her to cut contact with those friends or what. It's apparently a rebranded therapy technique from the 70s and 80s. It's definitely branded as a self-help seminar; but the seminar is 14 hours with minimal breaks, minimal water/food in order to nurture a pretty vulnerable state. A lot of the treatment does involve people opening up in front of a crowd, getting yelled at, and the instructors picking out a specific person you wronged and attempting to get you to mend bridges with them in real time. My biggest problem came from the lack of psychological training the seminar leaders had wrt people's psychological baggage and the risks that this kind of treatment might have on folks unprepared for it.At the end of the seminar, you have to call someone you know and tell them about their miraculous breakthrough, maybe even get them to come to the landmark center right then and there to hear about it. And that's when the pyramid scheme comes in, as you're proselytizing about the experience in order to get them interested and sign up for a seminar. Later, they try to sell you on additional leadership experiences with higher price points, guilt tripped volunteering and, of course, evangelization to bring in more I ended up thinking it was less like a cult than any of the real cults, and just a pyramid scheme preying upon the emotionally vulnerable / self-help crew, and strongly advocated against my gf about participating in any of it. Most of the gf's friends have slowly phased out their involvement with little-to-no difficulty. NYTimes wrote an article about it some years ago, and, yeah, it sounds pretty horrific. But far less than JH or Christian Science or some of the other examples touted here. I'll see if I can dig up my research on it. E: est was the thing it was based off of and has a direct line to it in terms of heritage. And EST was derived from early scientology methods, so even if the two orgs have different surface missions, same grift going on. DisgracelandUSA fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Nov 28, 2023 |
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Nov 27, 2023 23:59
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the holy poopacy posted:Please tell me they pronounce it yuggalo Lol well done
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Nov 28, 2023 00:34
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Hyrax Attack! posted:They have a reading room in a nearby town’s Main Street, they have stuff in the windows about how great Mary Baker Eddy was but past that I’ve never seen any proselytizing. Do they just have some seriously loaded senior members? The religion is finally totally dying off as the believers die off. This is mostly a religion of well off whites, only they could be so stupid as to deny the reality of illness. What I have observed is they often do well physically from clean living until 60 or 70. Then age hits and all bets are off..... Many leave all their $ to the church. I've seen people rot while alive with facial cancer that ate their eye and forehead. The worst one of that type was a musician who knew Bowie. I wanted to ask questions about his life but more than a sentence or two wiped him out. Also, separately, when legs swell to a straight trunk and weep fluid death is then inevitable tho may take a few months. That's really common. The worst death was a slim woman my age who had been beautiful, I could tell. First she spat incessantly into a wastebasket and never ate. She started to look pregnant though? Then her room started to smell bad, no more visitors. Her laundry was so horrible with coffee grounds blood it was thrown out rather than washed. I heard a week later from a gossipy young nurse how she finally died. It took hours in her shower stall with multiple staff present, holding her upright while she choked to death on her own feces. My guess is she had a bowel or intestinal blockage? This is the cult of Christian Science and it blows my mind how antivaxxers are in lockstep with this kind of insanity.
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Nov 28, 2023 00:53
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Spinz posted:This is the cult of Christian Science and it blows my mind how antivaxxers are in lockstep with this kind of insanity. through Trump, all things are possible
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Nov 28, 2023 01:04
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teen witch posted:Teal Swan quote:Teal Swan has a unique ability to visually observe vibrations. In her world-renowned Synchronization workshops, she chooses an individual to come on stage whose question is most applicable to the progression of everyone present. That person will ‘light-up’ in a way that catches Teals attention. Whether you are in attendance on the day or watching the workshop at a later date, the knowledge and healing that comes through will be relevant for you. When tuned in, it is possible to perceive the energy of the group ascending throughout the day. Even if you can’t feel it you can rest assured that it is happening. The very nature of your attendance, online or in-person, means that you are a match to the shifts occurring from the questions chosen.  Apps are the new snake oil
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Nov 28, 2023 02:14
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Hyrax Attack! posted:The JWs are frequently camped outside libraries in suits looking bored, is that a part of their doctrine? looks like they are just checking a box and even if I was in the market for a religion nothing about that looks fun. I think I read somewhere that sending mormon youth out as missionaries is partially about letting them experience a world that is hostile to them [because they're trying to convert people], since it builds an us vs them defensiveness of the church. If they convert anyone that's nice, but galvanising the existing members has a value of its own. Could be something like that?
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Nov 28, 2023 02:27
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Computer viking posted:I think I read somewhere that sending mormon youth out as missionaries is partially about letting them experience a world that is hostile to them [because they're trying to convert people], since it builds an us vs them defensiveness of the church. If they convert anyone that's nice, but galvanising the existing members has a value of its own. It's also about reinforcement, those teetering on the edge of disbelief may be moved having these truly faithful young men over to bear their testimonies. Then you might be willing to finally pay your tithing "Brother" Rick.
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Nov 28, 2023 02:36
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I get people normalizing these cults when they grew up in them, because that's all they know, but I find it surprising that people would willingly convert to JW for example. What about that one polygamist cult in Texas that had that temple with the creepy white room and a bed and would do "spiritual marriages" and it turned out the leader was having sex with all the girls in the congregation?
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Nov 28, 2023 03:30
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Panfilo posted:I get people normalizing these cults when they grew up in them, because that's all they know, but I find it surprising that people would willingly convert to JW for example. Those were the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) one of several off-shoots of Mormons who refused to give up polygamy/incest/child rape. Their main compound is Colorado City, AZ/Hildale, UT and their "prophet", Warren Jeffs, remains behind bars for his crimes. Yes, they are as gross as you imagine.
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Nov 28, 2023 04:42
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Spinz posted:Yes that is it^ Holy cow I had no idea it was that bad. Computer viking posted:I think I read somewhere that sending mormon youth out as missionaries is partially about letting them experience a world that is hostile to them [because they're trying to convert people], since it builds an us vs them defensiveness of the church. If they convert anyone that's nice, but galvanising the existing members has a value of its own. A Mormon friend in high school who’d get annoyed if anyone spoke ill of the faith had been saving for his mission trip then abruptly changed course & bought a sweet motorcycle instead. Good for him. A super devout girl had been dating a “gentile” for a while before abruptly dumping him & going with someone in the religion. Went to their non-Mormon wedding reception where they had a photo montage playing, her former boyfriend pointed out as this new relationship had only been going for a few months the photo archive was limited & half of them were from one baseball game.
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Nov 28, 2023 05:01
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Vampire Panties posted:
My only major sticking point with The Deep End is that they didn’t go over the woo-woo-ier aspects of Swan’s messaging, because there’s QUITE a bit and it’s predatory as hell. Though to be fair, focusing on Swan’s personality was also a wise decision because my god, how do you see how she treats her inner circle and think “yes this is a spiritual leader that wants good for everyone.” She’s a terrifying mean girl.
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Nov 28, 2023 09:39
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Several of my family members have been watching that Twin Flame documentary and it's been a great opening to introduce them to the Final Fantasy House mythos
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Nov 28, 2023 12:22
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I feel like flat earth people and people really into the mandela effect being time travel are cultish
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Nov 28, 2023 16:07
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The AA talk made me search for information about evidence based alcohol cessation, and now Google's ads think I'm an alcoholic.
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Nov 28, 2023 16:50
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Hollismason posted:I feel like flat earth people and people really into the mandela effect being time travel are cultish There's gotta be some overlap of psychotic disorder and cult membership.
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Nov 28, 2023 16:52
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SonOfGhostDad posted:Here in America, those same cults have, through largely right-wing media, created a social atmosphere wherein knocking on peoples' doors unexpectedly may be hazardous to your health. Kinda bit themselves in the rear end on this one. Yeah they don't have to go door to door anymore since they seem to control a huge amount of online content
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Nov 28, 2023 16:52
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Hollismason posted:I feel like flat earth people and people really into the mandela effect being time travel are cultish Reading this too fast and my brain translated to "cuttlefish". I thought that was a pretty hosed up insult and then I reread and it became just regular post again. I'm kinda disappointed now. 
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Nov 28, 2023 17:01
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MrQwerty posted:There at least used to be dont forget to drop a comment at https://swedenjuggalos.tripod.com/MCL.html
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Nov 28, 2023 17:05
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Hollismason posted:time travel are cuttlefish Sounds like the basis for an educational/wildlife conservation cult that's a fun weekend for the whole family.
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Nov 28, 2023 17:08
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