Posted on 04/18/2019 3:06:20 PM PDT by rickmichaels
NXIVM has described itself as “a company whose mission is to raise human awareness, foster an ethical humanitarian civilization, and celebrate what it means to be human.” Critics have alleged other definitions for the group; definitions such as “sex-cult” and “pyramid scheme.” Federal U.S. prosecutors, meanwhile, are focusing on NXIVM’s alleged criminal activity: racketeering, wire fraud, sex trafficking, and forced labour, for a start.
The group’s spiritual leader and founder, Keith Raniere, goes on trial later this month, a bonus charge of possession of child pornography having been recently added to his already extensive list of alleged crimes. It’s ugly and confounding. How do people get away with this stuff and who falls for it?
Part of the answer is well established, if not well explained: women are more susceptible than men to falling under the control of exploitative movements. Or they do so more often, anyway. Research suggests as many as 70 per cent of cult members in the world are women.
In the NXIVM scandals, most of the worst stories emerge from something called “DOS” — a sort of sorority within NXIVM in which women allegedly recruited other women for all manner of abuse, including having their bodies physically branded with Raniere’s initials and submitting unconditionally to Raniere’s sexual wishes.
There are many theories about why women are disproportionately represented in the population of cult followers, perhaps the most common being that women are conditioned and/or wired to believe there is something wrong with them. The urge to self-correct to find outside acceptance is human, but it’s also familiarly female: lose weight, be gracious, be grateful, be obedient. Win without hurting anyone’s feelings. Be better than who you are.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...
You tend to wonder about the mental processes of people like John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Greta Van Susteren, etc., Scientologists all. With their money they finally got clear. Maybe.
Scam artists, especially those with a messiah complex, are very dangerous and convincing. I would wager that when they made overtures to people like Van Susteren it wasn't in the context of aliens in a volcano, but more likely a very touchy feely philosophical diatribe about how to grow as a person and be your full self, mentally, physically, and most of all, spiritually.
Everyone wants to be a better more complete person, and if what's being pitched sounds very reasonable, you might agree to go to a few meetings etc. (Well, most FReeper’s wouldn't, but that's another discussion.) From what I've heard from those who were part of Scientology previously, they make a very special effort to get celebrities into their ranks - plying them with adoration and give them special status.
Anyway, I'm not making excuses for poor judgment. Personally, I think it should be required coursework in high school to learn about scams and cults.
My cousin set out to be popular with women by playing guitar in rock bands. He became quite exceptional at guitar and a gifted musician. His fourth wife would probably agree.
IMO, that is because too many women are still thinking that they should be ‘taken care of’ & leave decisions up to the man of the household.
I know a couple that are reaching for 80, and neither one is in excellent health. SHE REFUSES to know how to write a check & pay a bill or where all the investments are.
They want all the romance bells & whistles, but don’t know how to put gas into the car or how to change a tire if they need to do that.
All that “Honey, please do this or that” drives me nuts.
They lose their survival skills & critical thinking skills.
Naaah. Really? I’d never have guessed.
“I know a couple that are reaching for 80, and neither one is in excellent health. SHE REFUSES to know how to write a check & pay a bill or where all the investments are.”
—
And he probably couldn’t prepare a good meal,know when to change the sheets,or take care of the laundry.
If it works for them,who cares?
.
Heart vs. Head.
In most cases.
You beat me to it
2018 saw a rash of mini-series on cable TV about …
Jim Jones and the Peoples' Temple
David Koresh and the Branch Davidians
Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist CoJC&LDS
All 3 of these men indulged in an over abundance of flesh.
I read the headline as “Women are more susceptible than men to falling under the control of cats,” and thought, doesn’t everyone know this?
My cataract surgery isn’t for another month.
“There are many theories about why women are disproportionately represented in the population of cult followers, perhaps the most common being that women are conditioned and/or wired to believe there is something wrong with them. The urge to self-correct to find outside acceptance...”
In the last ten years, male-to-female transgenders are up about 300 percent. Female-to-male transgenders are up about 4,500% (Yes - four thousand five hundred percent!). While it may not have one crazy leader, it IS a cult.
Women are more social than guys, leading to joining groups. They also are genetically prone to desire security more than men in their relationships, as they don’t want to get stuck raising children alone. Security often entails trusting other people to do the thinking on hard stuff, which makes cults appealing.
Most men in that age group know diddly about their own health, health care, prescriptions, or family medical history. Especially family medical history.
“Is there any history of cancer in your family?”
Man: “No, no, I don’t think so.”
Wife: “Of course there is! Honey, don’t you remember your brother Joe had colon cancer?”
Man: “Oh. Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Most men in that age group know diddly about their own health, health care, prescriptions, or family medical history. Especially family medical history.”
Exactly !
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But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.—2 Timothy 3:1-9 (NKJV)
Women are more susceptible to seduction - and consciously or unconsciously - want to be seduced. It is inherent in the female psyche.
That is largely the source of the Good Girl and Bad Boy dynamic. A cult leader is usually male, and definitely a very bad boy.
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