The Anti-Cult

Or at least the Anti-Destructive-Cult Guy, Steve Hassan, spoke at the conference I attended this week. If you need to help someone get out of a destructive cult, see his website, which also lists a number of groups that use "mind control" techniques to keep people mentally enslaved rather than having them think for themselves (a more widely edited list is included on Wikipedia).

For information and possibly a few chuckles, see http://www.xenu.net/ for the secrets of Scientology, exposed...this from a group dedicated to opening the inner secrets of this group to all for debate and discussion. Steve believes that groups that are not destructive allow debate on all tenets and do not cloud them with secrecy, making them available only to those who open their bank accounts to them and who agree not to leave the group ever.

Mind control techniques (from the Cult Information Center) include the following. If you are being subjected to such techniques, get out. This is not a legitimate enterprise!

Confusing Doctrine--Encouraging blind acceptance and rejection of logic through complex lectures on an incomprehensible doctrine.
Removal of Privacy--Achieving loss of ability to evaluate logically by preventing private contemplation.
Time Sense Deprivation--Destroying ability to evaluate information, personal reactions, and body functions in relation to passage of time by removing all clocks and watches.
Uncompromising Rules --Inducing regression and disorientation by soliciting agreement to seemingly simple rules which regulate mealtimes, bathroom breaks and use of medications.
Verbal Abuse--Desensitizing through bombardment with foul and abusive language.
Sleep Deprivation and Fatigue--Creating disorientation and vulnerability by prolonging mental an physical activity and withholding adequate rest and sleep.
Dress Codes--Removing individuality by demanding conformity to the group dress code.
Confession--Encouraging the destruction of individual ego through confession of personal weaknesses and innermost feelings of doubt.
Financial Commitment--Achieving increased dependence on the group by 'burning bridges' to the past, through the donation of assets.
Isolation--Inducing loss of reality by physical separation from family, friends, society and rational references.
Change of Diet--Creating disorientation and increased susceptibility to emotional arousal by depriving the nervous system of necessary nutrients through the use of special diets and/or fasting.
No Questions--Accomplishing automatic acceptance of beliefs by discouraging questions.
Fear--Maintaining loyalty and obedience to the group by threatening soul, life or limb for the slightest 'negative' thought, word or deed.
Replacement of Relationships--Destroying pre-cult families by arranging cult marriages and 'families'.

By the way, Steve agreed that the U.S. Military has aspects of destructive cults, particularly in bootcamp, but "how else are you going to train people to kill on command?", and at least there are grievance procedures and the like.

Sarah