How Cult Leaders Use Provocatively Loaded Language to Control Their Followers

I’m hoping it’s obvious why this is related to politics . . .

Dr. Erica Brozovsky, PhD of the PBS series Otherwords explained how cult leaders use provocatively loaded language with their followers to create an adversarial relationship with the “other side” of their way of thinking – an “us versus them” mentality. It also keeps them invested, obedient, and ready to defend their way of thinking to anyone who questions them

Loaded language is a general term for words or phrases that have deep emotional associations for the listener, like genocide, patriot, toxic, or vermin. …Through repetition, these leaders ingrained an intense emotional association in their follower’s psyche …They shut down argument and critical thinking, which is why they’re so handy to authoritarians who don’t like to be questioned.

MelodiousFunk, (edited )

Link to the mentioned video. I can’t recommend this enough. It’s really well done.

bolexforsoup,

“We know who we are by who we are not.“

doctordevice,

Sounds an awful lot like the political positions I hear all the goddamn time in the US.

bolexforsoup,

I mostly see it on the right but I definitely don’t like it when I see anyone, regardless of their politics, cheer because someone else lost in a way that doesn’t even impact them

rockSlayer,

It’s extremely obvious with words like “terrorism” and “anarchy”. In the 1910s to describe her actions in court, a radical feminist stated her actions were not anarchy, but terrorism. Imagine defending yourself by invoking terrorism now.

ininewcrow,
@ininewcrow@lemmy.ca avatar

They’ve been doing that for six thousand years

negativenull,
@negativenull@lemmy.world avatar

It’s how religion propagates as well.

ininewcrow,
@ininewcrow@lemmy.ca avatar

The only difference between religion and a cult … is time

negativenull,
@negativenull@lemmy.world avatar

Reminds me of a joke:

In a cult, there’s a guy at the top that knows it’s a scam. In a religion, that guy is dead.

ininewcrow, (edited )
@ininewcrow@lemmy.ca avatar

Reminds me of The Office

I’ve been involved in a number of cults both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower but you make more money as a leader.

Creed Bratton

… and I love the fact that with Creed Bratton quotes … they could be made up fiction or based on actual real life experience.

Crashumbc,

I think it is more like the Dread Pirate Roberts, the original guy is dead but the next in line just uses the name.

EpicMuch,

I also like myths are just religion + time

ininewcrow,
@ininewcrow@lemmy.ca avatar

I’m Indigenous Ojibway/Cree from northern Northern Ontario and I speak my language. The word we use to describe white people or Europeans is ‘Mistikoshoo’.

It’s a two part word … Mishtik is the word for ‘wood’ … or ‘stick’

adding the ending ‘ooshoo’ to the word changes it refer to or describe a person.

So in all … the word just translates to ‘man with a stick’

When we made first contact with Europeans, they were all so preoccupied with their religion that they just looked like people wandering around with a stick in their hands and around their necks which was very, very important to them.

Then they taught us this strange religion and all its rules and regulations that everyone glorified but no one seemed to follow. When you look at the Middle Eastern religious traditions and what they preach and teach and what kind of culture they have evolved into, you begin to realize that religion is just another tool to control and manipulate people.

I always enjoyed reading about the history of European colonization … especially by the Spanish

Before he was burned, a priest asked Hatuey if he would accept Jesus and go to heaven. Las Casas recalled the reaction of the chief:
[Hatuey], thinking a little, asked the religious man if Spaniards went to heaven. The religious man answered yes… The chief then said without further thought that he did not want to go there but to hell so as not to be where they were and where he would not see such cruel people.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatuey

treefrog, (edited )

Depends on what you mean by religion.

Buddhist monks and nuns shave their heads and don the robes as a ceremonial act of letting go of identity views such as ‘us and them’ and even self and other.

This and not holding onto dogmatic views in general is a big part of the practice and the teachings.

Not saying all Buddhists are perfect by any means. I’ve hung out in enough Buddhist online spaces to come across a lot of dogmatism and people using Buddhism itself as an identity view. Myself included when I wasn’t as far along my own path.

But the intention of the practice is to point these things out and help people to let them go. Not to cling to them.

Maeve,

The master's favorite teacup story comes to mind.

tearsintherain,
@tearsintherain@leminal.space avatar

Yeah on the not perfect bit, like Myanmar. All religions are prone to violence.

KevonLooney,

So you’re saying it’s “us vs. them”?

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