Date Posted:15:36:46 10/27/04 Wed Author: Nick T. Subject: Re: SOT & the centrality of man in UBF In reply to:
PECAS
's message, "Re: SOT & the centrality of man in UBF" on 16:55:21 10/26/04 Tue
Hey PECAS,
I would say that the ubf environment is the main indicator of how long a person will be persuaded to stay.
I remember when I was first recruited, one thing that made a giant impact on me was the weekly student meetings, where a number of us were reviewed and trained and ordered around. It was easier to swallow the obedience training as part of a group. Watching others do it made it easier for everyone to follow along with the program.
Not sure if this would mean anything to you, but studies on North Korean and Chinese brainwashing strategies focus on the group process. They would force people (prisoners) to meet in groups and use the group as a platform for change. People yearn to fit in with those around them. There are articles about the group phenomena of brainwashing (this comes from Chinese words, that the Red Chinese used to describe their process. ubf and other cults use the same processes in many ways)
A cult group uses an outward image to attract people, making them believe that somehow something very good and important is going on in the group. We are lured into going there to learn how to become better or important. Once we are brought into the group, the group has to isolate us, so that they may break us and remake us. Exposure to outside influences during indoctrination could ruin the process.
Once we are isolated in the cult environment, the main forces working against us are the authority figures (we were always taught to defer all our thoughts to those of the leader) and peer pressure (we were always taught to adhere to the norms of the group in all aspects of life). A very visible and real system of rewards and punishments was in place to ensure that we deter and adhere.
I think the ubf leaders in these remote chapters can tell you that not having a guinea pig type person to lead the parade is their biggest concern. Once they can get one person to obey them, it seems to make it quite a bit eaiser for others to follow. In the small chapters, there is no environment to attract new people. There is no environment to assert isolation and peer pressure. There is nobody to use against us in reward an punishment scenarios.
The fact is that all people are somewhat vulnerable, and cults do recruit millions of people each year in the USA. Happily, most of the recruits also leave the cults.
