The Vulnerabilities of a Cult

Community

Instead of asking ourselves about the vulnerability of people, let’s ask about the vulnerabilities of a totalist indoctrination system. Let’s talk one very effective prevention tool: community.

Isolation is the enemy. Isolation is critical to the brainwashing technique of a cult or abusive partner. Like a friend of mine used to say, “It’s one of those damn balance things.” You have a whole life. Anyone or any group that tells you to disconnect from friends, relatives or groups of people wants to muddle your thinking.

The problem is this pandemic. Isolation has become the default.

So many people are alone these days. The new normal leaves us vulnerable and sometimes hopeless. Certainly, alcohol consumption and overdose deaths have risen dramatically, commonly called “deaths of despair.” Mass shootings are back, and the police are no longer required to protect the public, as the last school shooting has shown us.

Survival

We need each other. It’s how humans got through …