#as an ex mormon ive thought about going back to the church more than once | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hareofhrair · 1 year ago

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It's so important to remember that people who get sucked into cults and conspiracy thinking aren't just stupid or doing it to piss you off. This stuff serves a need for them that isn't being met elsewhere. For a lot of older folks, it's community, a hobby. It offers a sense of control over a world that feels chaotic and terrifying because You know what's Really Going On. You have the Secret Knowledge to keep you Safe. The ultimate appeal of conspiracy thinking is the underlying assumption that someone is in control of all this. That someone CAN control all of this. For a lot of people, they find these things when they're at their lowest- drowning in medical debt, struggling to stay afloat, fighting with addiction or untreated depression. Cults will often offer actual physical support that these people desperately need. Conspiracy circles at minimum give them someone to blame, and a community that sympathizes with them and commiserates with them.

These people aren't stupid, they're hanging on to something they believe they need.

One day you might be desperate enough to believe you need it too.

#hate the cult not the cultist #as an ex mormon ive thought about going back to the church more than once #just because of the material support I know they'd offer to rope me in #when you're drowning and there's a life preserver in the water #who can blame you for grabbing it without looking too closely at the strings attached #or even if you knew what strings were attached #what else are you supposed to do #drown?#And as a society we so regularly undervalue what a biological need we have for community #People can become so lonely and stressed and afraid without realizing how desperate they're becoming #because they're told that need isn't really a need #You *need* to know you have people close by you can rely on if something goes wrong #You *need* to have someone you can turn to who will say “don't worry I can take care of things for a while” so you can rest #these things aren't optional #and without them you become increasingly susceptible to mental illness and magical thinking trying to fill in the gaps #Reach out now! Before it's too late!#Before the only people willing to take your hand are people who want to put you in chains!

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