Haven't you found yourself surrounded by a group of people that you may find a little more enthusiastic than normal? _yes Like, euphorically enthusiastic and you see them gather around a person that is really charming... perhaps too charming, suspiciously charming _YES and if you challenge any of their ideas they immediately attack you? _{crap, this happened to me!} Well, if you survived that encounter _{well, of course, how else would you be able to read this... can ghosts read?} let me tell you that you dodged some of the most dreadful organizations on the planet... A CULT!!! And hold onto your Tom Cruise action figures because we're gonna go deep into them!!!

Source: GIPHY

We're not a cult is just what people in a cult say

Ok, this subject is a tricky one so we're gonna tackle the basic first, What the FUCK is a cult? I'm gonna spare you the Wikipedia thing for this one because it is especially boring and confusing _{even for Wiki standards} for this one but a Cult is basically a group of people with a common goal or objective that preaches an extreme ideology and that revolves around a charismatic and charming leader, these groups often are of religious nature but they can be political, economical or even focussed on being therapeutical for the people that form them, however, while most of them are harmless they have the potential to be really dangerous

Source: GIPHY

This danger comes into light when we talk about the basic characteristics of a cult, first, there's the charismatic leader, they demand to be the center of attention and often see themselves as a god or some kind of messiah and, of course, make everyone in the cult treat him as such, even to the point of making the members of the cult call him some religious-related name, like Lord, One, Master, Father _{THIS IS A FREUDIAN ALARM!!! THIS IS A FREUDIAN ALARM!!!} and many others _{if Dear Leader doesn't pop into your mind by now, you may be the Dear Leader}

The second important step to building your own cult is _{this was a joke, don't do this!} thought reform or like we like to call it ye ole brainwashing, this is actually hard to explain because different cults have a different way to turn initiates into hive-minded followers but the favorite ways to do this is through peer pressure _{If enough people say Adam Sandler's movies are good we all are gonna agree on that... don't do this either!} and getting rid of the followers' identities aka changing their names, isolating them from their families and friends and making them follow a strict hierarchy _{basically what McDonald's does to their employees} this way they are easy targets to molding their way of thinking to something more appropriate to the cult's needs

Lastly, we have the exploitation of the followers of the cult, of course, you need the previous two items to achieve this, only a charismatic leader can, through brainwashing, convince his followers to become the workforce, economic sustenance or, like in many cases, the sexual slaves for the cult or the cult leader particularly, when the followers are stripped of their individuality they are willing to do this kind of things and even more gruesome and horrible twisted shit _{Adam Sandler and McDonald's look good now huh?... Ok not good, just less bad}

Source: GIPHY

It seemed less crazy when I joined!

You may be asking yourself why would anyone join these cults if their leader takes advantage of their followers in such blatant ways? The reason behind this lies in actually two things, cults know very well who are their targets and they offer a sense of community and purpose, two things that people desperately crave for _{thankfully they don't offer pizza, I wouldn't be writing this post otherwise... LONG LIVE FATHER PIZZA!!!}

Cults target people that are going through a transition, vulnerable people that may have ended a relationship, lose their job, moved to a new place, or even just looking new connections or relationships, _{I don't understand this either, why would someone establish more relationships? that shit is exhausting!} these uncertain circumstances make them the perfect prey for a cult to approach to them offering friendship and support _{ha, humans... who am I kidding, I need a hug =(}

All of this works because, well, we're humans, we crave a sense of community and camaraderie, we love to feel supported and connected and cultists _{is cultists alright? I feel like it sounds a bit Dungeons & Dragons-ish} know this very well, they introduce you to a big group of loving people, that sounds wonderful, and all of the sudden you have a whole new group of friends, and right there is when the trap springs, when is harder to say no because you wouldn't say "no" to your new friends right? _{like that shit wasn't hard enough for people, c'mon}

And the most important trick is giving these people a purpose, most cults hide their ugly faces behind the noblest facades, they tell you you're the chosen one, that your group will change the world for the better, that you will counter global warming, you will leave a better world for your children. _{I mean who doesn't want to save the world? You could be your own anime protagonist with a big tiddy gf and everything!!!!} But there's more, most cults know very well our tribal brains and fabricate a common enemy to fight, they point out some other person or group as evil _{you may know a politician or two that uses this trick} and this will give you focus and at the same time, if you fall off the line you will be accused of being part of them _{shit is a bit scary if you ask me!}

Source: GIPHY

OMG MAKE IT STOP!

Fortunately, this kind of dangerous, sex-driven, money-grabbing, brainwashing, slaving cults often collapse on their own weight _{most of them, some show resilience as they're backed by powerful politicians and celebrities... oh wait} this is because their ugly antics come to the public eye, members massively just quit _{yes, this happens and it's sometimes ugly} or the cult leader goes coo coo for coco puffs and convinces the whole cult to commit massive suicide. _{you can google what happened in Jonestown but you won't like it} We, as all human beings, are susceptible to fall prey of these cults, but fear not, hope is not lost, we can always make good use of critical thinking _{as always} to be at prepared when they decide to pounce at us, just think carefully, observe, and if your new group of friends is really into some too friendly and charming guy and they want to "elevate" you to be part of them and are really into convincing you... you'll know what to do

Source: GIPHY

---

Other Sources

Cult | Wikipedia
Is it a cult, or a new religious movement? | Penn Today
What is a cult? | Aeon
Cults: an introduction | LSE
Why do people join cults? - Janja Lalich | TED-Ed
Full Episode: Cults, Explained | Netflix
Joe Exotic: The Cult of Tiger King | Wisecrack

THANKS FOR READING!

Source: GIPHY