Steven Hassan, PhD
@CultExpert
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World-renowned expert on cults. The creator of the BITE Model and Influence Continuum. I specialize in recovery & strategic intervention.
Newton, Massachusetts
Joined April 2010
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Unlock the power of your mind and take control of your life with the Freedom of Mind podcast. Join me, Dr. Steven Hassan, and my guests as we explore the world of cults, undue influence, and how to protect yourself from manipulation. Tune in now!
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I knew Ginni Thomas. Ginni Thomas was in a cult (the large group awareness training cult, Lifespring). Here she is in 1989 speaking at an event I hosted for former members. Until today, almost NO one has seen this video.
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A lot of people are beginning to wake up. I strongly recommend asking questions respectfully and gently. Hold back the urge to say, “I told you so” or “Why didn’t you trust me when I told you Trump was a crook!” Allow people their process. Be loving!
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Most of you probably know this, but I was in a cult. I was in the Moonies. The Moonies are lesser known today than they were in the 70's & 80's but did you know that the Moonies are STILL around? Know what they've made news for recently?
Storming the Capitol on Jan. 6th.
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Sadly, the people who helped deprogram Ginni were also apparently involved in right-wing causes. As is the case with SO many former members, she was overly susceptible and went from one cult to another (The Cult of Trump).
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Trump is done. Evangelicals are not supporting him in 2024. Trumps says they are disloyal. So he will seek revenge on the way down.
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Rep. Jamie Raskin (
@RepRaskin
/
@jamie_raskin
) said recently:
“The Republican Party is no longer operating like a modern political party, it is operating much more like a religious and political cult, under the control of one man."
Congressman, you are right and I want to help.
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For more on Ginni Thomas' time in a cult, her cult activism in the 80s, and her turn to right-wing causes, this
@washingtonpost
article from 1991 is surprisingly thorough.
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The Cult of Trump is actually comprised of MANY other Christian cults.
In this post, I will list these cults, will tell you prominent members, will tell you what they believe, and will explain how their Dominionist vision affects our political system.
Long 🧵 ahead! Buckle up:
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There are 9 justices on the Supreme Court. Want to guess how many are members of the ultra-right-wing Federalist Society?
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Yes. 6 of 9 Justices of our Supreme Court are members of this group.
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As you'll probably notice, Ginni seems likable (and she was)! After she left Lifespring, she got heavily involved in the movement to HELP former cult members exit cults. She also organized a cult awareness briefing for congressional staffers in the late eighties.
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When most people hear about the Moonies, they think, “what a crazy cult!” What these people might not realize though is how INTERTWINED this cult is with the modern GOP.
This past May, an offshoot of the Moonies held an event. Wanna know who spoke at this event? Scroll down...
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I continually get an infusion of hope every time I hear
@RepRaskin
speak! His integrity is so refreshing, not to mention he gives me hope for the future! I love his MLK quote at end! Thanks,
@StephenAtHome
@colbertlateshow
Eluding justice like a Houdini-style mob boss, Donald Trump has traditionally insulated himself from accountability.
But he's met his match with our
@January6thCmte
, where we're following the facts to the truth every day.
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To see the FULL video from this 1989 cult member support group conference, you can see that on my YouTube channel here (Ginni Thomas appears at the 17:30 mark):
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But don't be confused. This sect of the Moonies, is in NO way fringe. They are actively interwoven into the power structure of the modern GOP. Steve Bannon has spoken at church events, as well as Pennsylvania state senator Doug Mastriano, who organized “Stop the Steal.”
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A message to all Trump Supporters: If something is true, it will stand up to scrutiny. If it doesn't, and there is no proof to support a POV, an intelligent person realizes they must change their mind. Biden won the election, and there is no proof of widespread voter fraud. Think
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I retweeted a
@jk_rowling
tweet and weighed in as a mental health professional who has written 4 books on cult mind control and how to help those who have been harmed (and their families). I have spent over 4 decades in the field of research and helping those who have 1/15
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Different family members have created different offshoots. The youngest son of Moon, Hyung Jin "Sean" Moon is the leader of the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, more commonly known as "Rod of Iron Ministries."
Here's Sean Moon on Jan. 6th.
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Sean Moon wears a crown of bullets and his "church" worships with AR-15's. He purchased a 40-acre compound in Texas to serve as a "sanctuary" for what he says will be a war with the "deep state."
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Rod of Iron Ministries, along with the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers & loose configurations of the 3 Percenters was VERY active in organizing for Jan. 6th. They deployed members for a string of large rallies to build momentum for the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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My COVID symptoms have gotten increasingly bad so just started an anti viral. Hopefully modern medicine will help reverse this. Please if you are over 65 and immuno-compromised, avoid public spaces without N95 mask. This variant is nasty!
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Yes. The Moonies, as they've always been, are a far-right cult. When I was in the Moonies, I prayed & fasted for 72 hours on the Capitol steps to show my loyalty to Nixon during Watergate.
Since the death of Moonie leader Sun Myung Moon in 2012, the group has splintered.
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Everyone deserves to have freedom of mind. If we all commit to learning HOW mind control works, we could help rescue fellow Americans who've been CAPTURED by these bad actors.
For more on Sun Myung Moon & the Moonies, here's something I wrote;
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So this is where we are.
As I always say, PLEASE don't condemn true believers. I myself used to be one. I was in a far-right cult and once believed democracy was Satanic!
Let us instead focus on these manipulative groups and the leaders who WELCOME their participation.
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My sources in Japan tell me the Moon cult is going to have a press conference regarding the assassin. I warn the media that my former cult has a documented history of fraud and illegal activities and to be careful not to believe anything they say without verification. Also, the
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Okay everyone.
"Moonies," the authoritarian CULT I was a part of, later escaped and have been speaking out against for the last 45+ years is trending.
If you want a crash course on this cult & their ties to the modern GOP, read these blogs of mine. They will catch you up. 👍
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My diploma for my doctorate in Psychology arrived yesterday. Next up, framing and putting it on the wall. Feels so great to accomplish this effort! My goal is to help as many people in my lifetime!
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INSIDER: Scientology has been devastated by the pandemic and is coming apart at the seams | The Underground Bunker
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Like many cult events, this "Rally of Hope" was conducted under the guise of doing good, but this is subterfuge.
The Moon organization has wrought untold harm onto thousands. Their crimes are well documented yet the GOP continues to work with them.
Why do you think this is?
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According to Sean Moon:
"The internationalist Marxist globalists are trying to start a civil war here, so that they can bring in the U.N. troops and Chi-Com Chinese military to come in & destroy and kill all gun owners, Christians, and any opposition, i.e., Trump supporters."
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Ayn Rand was an authoritarian cult leader.
I don't use the word "cult" loosely here. I don't use the word in a pejorative way JUST because I disagree with Ayn Rand's ideas.
I use the word "cult" because Ayn Rand was a literal cult leader.
Let's get into it 🧵:
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To LEARN about undue influence, subscribe to my new podcast "The Influence Continuum." It's the culmination of 45+ years of experience helping people out of cults. 👍
Apple:
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To the untrained eye, the Washington Times may look like a credible newspaper. Their name sounds pretty newspaper-ee and hey, they're even on twitter.
Hey there
@WashTimes
! 👋
But did you know the Washington Times is a front group of the Moonie CULT? Keep reading…
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I am a former cult member from a right-wing authoritarian cult who has been helping people out of cults for the last 45 years. I've written 4 books on this subject and would be happy to HELP you understand this confusing and complex topic. I know how to help people out. 🙏
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Ayn Rand has been LIONIZED by prominent figures in the
@GOP
for decades.
Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have talked about how FORMATIVE Ayn Rand's work was for them. It helped shape their worldview.
And at the center of Ayn Rand's work:
The importance of selfishness.
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Hey friends, one of the speakers, Joe Szimhart, pointed out the conference was 1986, not 1989. My video was mislabeled and I apologize.
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First, let's define "dominionism."
Dominionism is the theocratic idea that Christians are called by God to exercise DOMINION over every aspect of society by taking control of political and cultural institutions. Believers see the world as a constant battle between God and Satan.
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It's time I addressed this.
I recently made a video in support of
@jk_rowling
new book, The Running Grave- a masterfully written novel about a destructive cult and how it was infiltrated and shut down. My book, Combating Cult Mind Control was referenced in Chapter Nine and when
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To learn more about "The Family," check out the work of
@JeffSharlet
and his books "The Family" and "C Street." He helped create the series on Netflix "The Family" that I HIGHLY recommend.
Okay. Next group:
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Revealed: leaked video shows Amy Coney Barrett’s secretive faith group drove women to tears (Please go to my website and see my blogs and interviews with ex members, and others who have worked with this PoP and other groups like it!)
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Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951): "The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) 1/2
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Membership is thought to include Mike Pence, Betsy DeVos, Chuck Grassley plus many others. "The Family" was thought to be instrumental in shaping Trump's cabinet-which included no fewer than 9 evangelicals.
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People who OPPOSE the policies favored by these groups are thus knowingly or unknowingly doing Satan's work.
(SIDENOTE: Anyone with a passing knowledge of cults knows to be suspicious of simplistic "good vs. evil," "black and white" narratives like this.)
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Trump is quite obviously an imperfect, seemingly un-Christian figure. He's a, known philanderer, a crook, and a pathological liar, but the Christian Right has been able to justify their support for him by casting him as a modern-day "King Cyrus."
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I am on the side of the Constitution and rule of law! Trump and others responsible need to be held accountable.
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Ok. Let's talk about some of the Christian cults that make up the Cult of Trump.
"The Family" (also known as "The Fellowship")-quasi-Christian org that connects influential people in D.C. (& around the world). Members hold group worship, Bible studies, prayer meetings + more.
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"The Family" hosts the annual "National Prayer Breakfast" which every president since Eisenhower has attended. Members of Congress, lobbyists, foreign dignitaries, even Russian spies attend. Political figures network and communicate mutual interests.
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These groups sometimes have apocalyptic beliefs about "end times."
This fosters a fear that further renders members MORE loyal, dependent, and obedient to leaders that offer DIVINE intervention.
Enter Donald Trump:
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Leo & The Federalist Society have long sought a right-wing takeover of the Supreme Court. Leo helped block Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland and campaigned to put conservative justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett on the bench.
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..restricting access to critical info and people, installing phobias + more.
(The BITE Model is a tool I developed to determine if a group/leader is exerting cult-like influence on someone. BITE stands for:
Behavior Control
Information Control
Thought Control
Emotional Control
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During the Holocaust, a scholar wanted to understand why some non-Jewish families harbored Jews vs. others who cooperated with Nazis & turned in neighbors.
The common denominator?
The families who helped/harbored Jews had a childhood where discipline was done WITHOUT violence.
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As a mental health professional and someone who has researched undue influence, I have interviewed 12 detransitioners M-F-M and F-M-F who have read my work on cults and mind control. Several told me they watched trans “hypno porn”. They gave me links to 1/4
PPS I've just realised the link to the excellent Charlie Evans piece on detransitioners isn't working. Here it is:
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William Barr (along with Pat Cipillone before he was appointed White House Counsel) was one of the 8 member CIC Board of Directors before becoming Attorney General. In 1992, Barr gave a speech calling for "the imposition of God's Law in America."
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But it is important to underscore that the political movement we call the Cult of Trump was founded and depends in part on a variety of other cults. It is the dominant force in a major political party and it is not to be underestimated.
Thanks for reading and learning. 🙏
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(In the bible, the pagan King Cyrus freed a population of Jews who were held captive in Babylon and helped to build the temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus is presented as a model for an ungodly man who carries out God’s purposes).
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The group was founded in 1935 by Abraham Vereide-a Norwegian-born Methodist minister. Veredie says he had a vision that God spoke to him and told him that Christians had been getting it wrong for 2,000 years by focusing on the poor and the weak. They saw Jesus as a STRONGMAN.
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"The Family" is heavily involved in working to shape domestic and foreign policy. They own a great deal of property including a $1.8 million 3-story townhouse in D.C. known as "C Street" (that also sometimes houses some Members of Congress).
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Revealed: Ginni Thomas’s links to anti-abortion groups who lobbied to overturn Roe
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This narrative helped inoculate Trump from attacks on his character.
Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders echoed this sentiment here. 👇
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"Opus Dei"-Secretive Catholic organization that operates in Washington DC out of the Catholic Information Center (CIC), a building located 2 blocks from the White House. They seek out the elite and wealthy and work to place the Catholic Church to the center of society.
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For years, the center was under the direction of Rev. C. John McCloskey (later relocated for groping a young woman). McCloskey recruited then-Senator Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Sam Brownback, & others.
On the board of the CIC, is VP of the Federalist Society, Leonard Leo.
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Veredie said that "godless communists" wanted to take over the world, so he created prayer groups of leaders that can help bring HIS vision of Christianity (the one where Jesus wants people to be rich and powerful) to the world.
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Young recruits live in a house where there is "no swearing, no drinking, no sex, no self." They are ordered to NOT watch TV, read magazines or newspapers. Recruits are told they are training to learn how to rule the world.
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Leaders promote a commitment to Jesus that they compare to the blind devotion that Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot demanded from their followers. Members are sworn to secrecy about their activities and leaders.
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"New Apostolic Reformation" (NAR)-contemporary movement of networks of ministries led by (what they contend) are modern-day "apostles." NAR largely comprises churches nominally or formerly associated with Pentecostal denominations & Charismatic movements.
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Under the right circumstances, even sane, rational, well-adjusted people can be persuaded to believe the most
outrageous ideas and leader. Learn more in my book, The Cult of Trump
#Cult45
#Trump
#CoT
#StevenHassan
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Most of these leaders eventually pledged their unwavering support & wanted action on their agenda. Trump made good on his promises. This included appointments & signing "Religious Freedom" executive orders (which many experts like
@FredClarkson
contend LEGALIZE discrimination).
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At the same time, Christian Right leaders launched a state legislative campaign known as "Project Blitz" (including many from the NAR) providing
@GOP
state legislators with a manual and model bills intended to further their goal of theocratic Christian dominion.
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second and third opinions. Take your time. Please visit my web site and learn about the Influence Continuum and BITE model and become a better listener. We all need to heal and come together- not be further polarized. 15/15
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Opus Dei demands secrecy & obedience among members who are ordered to "put away their scruples" to serve the group. They participate in secret initiation rites & some even practice self-flagellation (by wearing a cilice, a spiked thigh chain) to remind them of Jesus' crucifixion.
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started reading, watching documentaries, and asked to interview detransitioners to better understand their experience. I became convinced that in these people's cases, they were indeed socially influenced, much of it online, to believe they must transition. Some 4/15
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NAR Followers believe that their leaders receive messages DIRECTLY from God. Some NAR leaders have asserted that Trump was chosen by God.
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(For anyone who's aware of my work, this is the cult that I was a member of for 2+ years in the 70’s before I was rescued and deprogrammed by my family).
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The Jan. 6th Committee (
@January6thCmte
) has gone after the extremist Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. They also have a paramilitary group called the "1st Amendment Praetorian" in their sights.
But there's a group they STILL apparently haven't pursued:
The Moonies.
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Many experts contend that Barr's handling of the Mueller Report was consistent with the Opus Dei mindset to "put away your scruples for the good of the organization/mission."
For more on Opus Dei, see the book "American Kompromat" by
@craigunger
.
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I am very happy to see Hak Ja Han, Sun Myung Moon's wife, who took over the Moon cult after he died in 2012, featured in this article on Korean cults. She paid Trump $2 million for endorsing her cult- a few weeks after the Jan 6th attack on the Capitol.
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When it became clear Trump would be the GOP nominee, NAR leader Joseph Mattera (whose website's tagline is "Influencing the Leaders Who Influence Culture") helped organize a meeting at a New York hotel with more than 1,000 evangelical & Christian Right leaders.
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They also have roots in the shepherding/discipleship cults of the 1970s & 80s.
These networks boast significant membership-perhaps millions in the USA and a reported 300 million worldwide-and many fulfill criteria of the BITE model- such as deceptive recruitment practices,...
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In 2018, at least 75 bills were introduced in 20+ states which closely resemble these "model bills."
In 5 states, these bills were passed.
Okay, let's move on to the next group:
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According to the
@washingtonpost
, Opus Dei's small Washington Center has "an outsize impact on policy and politics." Membership in the group is small-only 3,000 in the U.S. and 85,000 worldwide, but the group focuses on "quality not quantity."
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Opus Dei is involved in trying to deny
@POTUS
communion. Love, not political power should be focus if religious figures- not lies, fear and violence.
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As a mental health professional who wrote The Cult of Trump, I have been asking to have this discussion. As you know George, chapter 3 is where I described Erich Fromm’s malignant narcissism and compared Trump to Jim Jones, Hubbard and my former cult leader, Moon!
Can anyone explain to me exactly why we’ve never had a serious national discussion about Donald Trump’s mental health?
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to taking hormones and some cases surgery and then, sometimes years later, realize they have made a big mistake to transition. For these people, detransitioners have told me they have been harassed, treated as a traitor- exactly what cults do to defectors. This is 12/15
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I am deleting my Facebook account.
Facebook has proven to be an unethical company that makes the world worse.
Mark Zuckerberg's utopian proclamation "to bring the world closer together” is utter nonsense. Facebook has only driven people further apart.
#DeleteFacebook
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Since SCOTUS Thomas’s wife has agreed to speak with
#January6thCommitteeHearings
I thought I would reshare my viral tweet thread about Thomas in 1986 (not ‘89) when I moderated an ex-cult member support group. She did congressional briefing on destructive cults!
I knew Ginni Thomas. Ginni Thomas was in a cult (the large group awareness training cult, Lifespring). Here she is in 1989 speaking at an event I hosted for former members. Until today, almost NO one has seen this video.
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Members are arranged in an internal hierarchy. Some members ("numeraries") are to remain unmarried and celibate. Others ("supernumeraries") can marry but must turn over a portion of their earnings. Numeraries live under high-demand circumstances, often cut off from family.
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against conversion "therapy." But what I have come to learn is that young people are not getting good ethical counseling regarding their traumas, their body image issues, their gayness- especially if they are raised in homophobic environments. They are being rushed 11/15
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After my CNN interview Tuesday, Hannity and other FOX people took some clips and spun the segment. My office has been getting some hate communications. For the record, I am not a Marxist, socialist nor am I brainwashed (since leaving Moon cult)! Watch whole segment, please!
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not right! So, I wish to add my voice to the mental health experts speaking up to say we need to stop the polarization and conflict and have a more educated nuanced point of view when it comes to human beings. Things are not binary- all or nothing (transition or die was the 13/15
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Sean purchased a 40-acre compound in Texas to serve as a "sanctuary" for what he says will be a war with the "deep state." In 2021 he hosted an event with Steve Bannon & former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.
Sean Moon also brought cult members to the Capitol on Jan. 6th.
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In my 45+ year investigation of mind control I've talked about cults. I've talked about trafficking, pimps, multilevel marketing, violent extremism + more.
But there's an area I HAVEN'T spoken enough about:
How colonizers used and still use mind control over Indigenous people.
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NBC news is reporting that in fact right wing Trumpers are pretending to be radicals protesting and BLM activists to incite fear and then use as excuse for violence and control
White nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on Twitter. Trump’s America will be the destruction of democracy!
#ONEV1
#DemCast
#TrumpTerrorism
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I am so frustrated and disappointed in mainstream media. I wish they would educate themselves and their people about social psychology and teach people things that are true and that will actually minimize violence instead amplifying it. Are they really ignorant about fundamentals
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I am thrilled to be able to say that I am now a Ph.D.! This morning I did my orals at Fielding Graduate University. The dissertation was on: The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control: Undue Influence, Thought Reform, Brainwashing, Mind Control, Trafficking and the Law.
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the phenomenon of young people being drawn into a cult-like situation where, all of a sudden, they thought they were the opposite sex. I was very skeptical as I have close friends who are gay and a few friends who are trans, but my philosophy is to be "open-minded" and 3/15
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