A neuroscientist warns: We're watching the largest and most dangerous 'cult' in American history

[William769]

I was dying…It was just a matter of time. Lying behind the wheel of the airplane, bleeding out of the right side of my devastated body, I waited for the rapid shooting to stop.

—Former Representative Jackie Speier in her memoir Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back recounting her experience after being shot five times during an ambush during her fact-finding visit to Jonestown, Guyana where Jim Jones and his cult, Peoples Temple, had built a compound.

It, combined with everything else that was going on, made it difficult to breathe…Being crushed by the shield and the people behind it … leaving me defenseless, injured.

—Metropolitan police officer, Daniel Hodges, describing being crushed in a doorway during the January 6, 2021, attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol

In both of the examples above, the individual speaking was the victim of extreme violence perpetrated by followers of a single person whose influence had spread to hundreds of people (in the January 6th case, thousands of people). In fact, Speier’s experience with the Jim Jones followers was part of the single greatest loss of American life (918 people) prior to 9/11/2001. These followings have been given an umbrella name, cult, and have involved what has been traditionally called “brainwashing.” The cult leader receives seemingly undying support as the Dear Leader or Savior. However, the term brainwashing suggests that indoctrinated members are robots without free will – behavioral scientists argue that this is not the case. It’s an oversimplification.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/a-neuroscientist-warns-we-re-watching-the-largest-and-most-dangerous-cult-in-american-history/ar-AA1eP9mH?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ENTPHB&cvid=adf70781206f4ce096054bc697ee2937&ei=18

[Irish_Dem]

1. "The GOP now has morphed into a domestic terror organization."

[William769]

2. I totally agree.

[617Blue]

3. It's not hyperbole

the party exists primarily to torment and intimidate those who are perceived as enemies. They'd kill us all if they could.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Yes the GOP is a now a crime syndicate.

And yes they would kill us all in our beds in their quest for power and wealth.
And not think twice about it.

[617Blue]

6. The fact that people with different lifestyles and values

are going about their business and trying to be free and happy absolutely enrages them.

There's no bottom here. No end other than violence or civil war IMO.

[Irish_Dem]

10. That is the base. Many GOP leaders don't care at all about the issues.

It is just a ruthless and vicious way to get the base riled up.
To raise money and get votes.

Like the mask issue, making their base anti mask all the while
the GOP leaders were wearing masks in private and sending their
kids to private schools with masks, getting vaccinated, etc.

We are already in a civil war and have been for some time.
Yes it is going to get more violent before it is all over.
And I honestly do not know how it will end.

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. I sincerely believe Ron DeSantis would take joy out of seeing me bleed to death in the streets.

I wish I was being hyperbolic. But an atheist progressive female Democrat in full support of her trans child? No doubt I'd be a prime candidate for a death camp if he had his way.

[Timeflyer]

11. He'd stand on your dying body and blame it on your trans child. Proud Moms against lib would cheer.

And they'd throw religion in there somewhere. Gotta justify the cruelty with religion.

[William769]

14. I feel the same way.

Living in Florida right now really sucks!

[radical noodle]

27. It does but...

I will not allow him to chase me off in order to turn this state even more red. I will vote against these fascists until the day I die.

[Irish_Dem]

15. He'd love to slit our throats and would enjoy it immensely.

He is a sadistic sociopath.

My family has a target on its back too.

[617Blue]

25. DeSantis spends much of his time thinking of new ways to be cruel

Trump and DeSantis are both horrid humans. One of the differences is that Trump will sign on to someone's else's cruel idea to further his own agenda while DeSantis takes joy in creating new ways to hurt people.

[PatSeg]

5. My father's party

I wonder what he'd think of his party today. I am confident that he'd be horrified.

[617Blue]

7. "Party of Lincoln" hardy har har

Last edited Sat Aug 5, 2023, 08:32 AM - Edit history (1)

Party of Jefferson Davis is more apt.

[PatSeg]

13. All the racists had to go somewhere

after the Civil Rights Act, being the Democratic party no longer represented them. Now they proudly proclaim they are the "Party of Lincoln", but before the Civil Rights Act, Lincoln was their enemy.

[Lonestarblue]

19. Party of Hitler is even more apt.

[Irish_Dem]

9. I wonder what my father would say, he was a dyed in the wool Democrat.

However he paid attention to what the GOP said and liked to hear all sides to an argument.

I never forget the time as a teenager, I asked him why he read both Newsweek and Time every week,
because Time was so conservative. He replied that he wanted to read about both sides.

I have a feeling today he would no longer read GOP trash.
Your dad and mine would be in agreement I think.

[PatSeg]

17. Oh yes, I think they probably would be

My dad was a very reasonable man with principles and integrity. I disagree with a lot of his then political beliefs, but he lived in a different time than I did, so some of his viewpoints were understandable. He did not have the advantage of hindsight when it came to World War II and the Depression.

When I was young, he was very politically active and served as Republican precinct captain for many years. After Watergate, he hardly talked about politics anymore. I think he felt betrayed by the man he'd supported so diligently for so long.

[Irish_Dem]

18. Your dad was "a very reasonable man with principles and integrity."

My dad would like your dad. He would not agree with his politics but he would respect him
and his beliefs and who he was as a person.

[PatSeg]

39. Most people liked my dad

He was very easy going and friendly. My parents were basically pretty liberal in most respects, which wasn't uncommon for republicans back then. My father was leery of government overreach and felt that FDR went too far. Of course years later my parents benefited from FDR's programs, as well as LBJ's.

Often we can't see the big picture when we are in the middle of something. I think that is true for most of us. Not to mention, I tend to forget how young my parents were in the 1940s and 1950s. Most of us have changed a lot since we were young adults.

[Irish_Dem]

46. Yes good points.

I was visiting family and just saw an old picture of my mother and myself as an infant.
I was really struck by the fact my mother looked like a kid who had no idea what she was doing.

[PatSeg]

47. I know

My parents were only 19 when they got married, so essentially they were just kids. A year later, they had their first child and though they looked like "adults", they really were so very young and I'm sure they thought they knew everything.

[Irish_Dem]

49. I was the first child.

And my mother didn't even look like she knew how to hold me.
I was only a month or so old.

But yes of course, my parents knew everything or thought they did.

[PatSeg]

50. Well, they certainly knew more than THEIR parents,

just like we did! And of course my grandmother knew more than her mother.

[Irish_Dem]

51. Yep.

Our kids and grandkids will know more than we did.

[tanyev]

20. With tentacles in every DA/AG office, law enforcement agency and branches of the military.

[Irish_Dem]

21. Also the Supreme Court and Congress are infested.

[dlk]

22. Ron DeSantis' threat to "start sliding throats" sounds no different than an Isis warlord

We can’t count on the mainstream media to warn/protect us. They’re too shortsighted and locked into their bothsiderism.

[Irish_Dem]

23. The media is part of the cult.

And yes the GOP would love to kill us all.

[mzmolly]

42. In large part thanks to Fox 'news'

and other enablers. I hope the ratings are worth it?

[MayReasonRule]

12. The Undying Love Of The Hardcore Believers, An Unshakeable "Faith" In The Fools And The Dreamers

A holy devotion to "sins" of the ages...

[ChazInAz]

29. Bierce: my man!

[MayReasonRule]

30. Gallileo: my man!

Galileo never relented, not even at his death...


Huge fan of Umberto Eco as well...

[ChazInAz]

31. Oh, yes!

As an actor, I played of them. Actually got to know Bierce's grand daughter.

[MayReasonRule]

32. That's Awesome! What Was His Grand Daughter Like?

[ChazInAz]

34. She lived in Bloomington, Illinois.

My college town. Name was Helen Cowden. Bore a strong family resemblance to Ambrose. Best of all, the basic Bierce attitude seemed to be hereditary! She was opinionated, sarcastic and scary smart. The elderly lady was a great research source for my one-man show "Almighty God, Bierce!"

[markodochartaigh]

36. Bierce's great "The Devil's Dictionary" is available free online

https://thedevilsdictionary.com/

[Aussie105]

16. Internal dialog, intelligence and choosing for yourself . . .

are characteristics that define humans over the lower animals.

But some humans will willingly delegate the thinking and decision making to others, and follow blindly.
Even if it is to the detriment of the individual.

How this is put into play is anyone's guess, not even the professionals can see inside the mind of a Jonestown dweller at the time they willingly drank the Flavor Aid and died.

But I agree, there is a large and irrational cult out there.

Not the first, not the last.
America has a sordid history of cults growing, and then imploding.

[mopinko]

28. actually

a lot of ppl DONT have an internal dialogue. i have no idea how that would work, but they’re out there. i think i saw 1 estimate of 20%. i have to assume a majority of them are rethuglicans.

[WhiteTara]

40. is that possible? No stream of consciousness?

That is a scary statement.

[mopinko]

41. ikr? it is true.

how that works, i’ll never know.

[WhiteTara]

45. In one way, good for them

meditaters work to reach that state

[markbark]

24. The only diff between Tr*mp and Jim Jones...

Is that Tr*mp would've charged 40 bucks for the Kool-Aid in a commemorative "MAGA" cup (made in "Chiner" of course)

[gordianot]

26. That is a winner.

Jim Jones finally drank his own kool aid. Do not expect Donald Trump to do anyone any favors.

[MayReasonRule]

33. We're All Relying On Jack Smith & Darwin - It's A Dead Heat Between Them Best I Can Tell

[gordianot]

35. The final proverbial Narcissistic meltdown is in play.

TFG still has something to lose as he realizes the final flush.

[Martin68]

37. I believe that it is a cult because nothing about it is logical. It is all centered on a cult leader

I'd be curious to know what percentage of MAGAts grew up with authoritarian fathers. Or, on the other hand, fathers so weak and ineffectual that they are looking for something solid to believe in.

[callous taoboy]

38. My family got swept up in it and we'll never recover.

Divorce and estrangement, and my brother’s insatiable thirst to take every opportunity to try to make me feel small, the miserable POS.

[WhiteTara]

44. We've got you now and you're valued

Welcome home and glad you're here.

[callous taoboy]

48. Much appreciated.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

43. For this thread

Link to tweet

[Phoenix1960]

52. The end is coming

I have read and studied these principles . Dr. Steven Hassan and others agree with this neuroscience. My concern is the followers state of health when trump and others like him fail or self sabotage. The Healthcare system is very different now. Less money less providers less time especially in mental health. Who will help these people? To fall under the spell of a narcissist and realize you did is devastating. And very hard.