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literaryvein-reblogs · 1 month ago

Note

hey, do you have anything on writing about cults you could share, please?

Writing Notes: Cults

Cult - A religious or quasi-religious group characterized by unusual or atypical beliefs, seclusion from the outside world, and an authoritarian structure.

They tend to be highly cohesive, well organized, secretive, and hostile to nonmembers.

Also: The system of beliefs and rituals specific to a particular religious group.

Cult of Personality - exaggerated devotion to a charismatic political, religious, or other leader, often fomented by authoritarian figures or regimes as a means of maintaining their power. Also called personality cult.

Characteristics of a Cult

Each cult has its own distinctive focus, but almost all of these groups share at least some elements in common, such as:

Authoritarian control: Cultism hinges on encouraging maximum dependency. People in the cult must feel incapable of living an individual life outside the norms of the group. These beliefs often go hand in hand with a worshipful attitude toward the group’s authoritarian leader.

Extremist beliefs: Cult members hold to very dogmatic and extreme beliefs. They also are unable to question these belief systems without fear of reprisal or punishment from the leader or other group members.

Isolation from society: As soon as new members join a cult, other adherents work hard to isolate them from family members and friends. This helps fulfill the mind control aspirations of the leader. It also creates a hive mind of sorts between the new person and the other members.

Veneration of a single individual: Charismatic leaders are often at the center of most cults. Consider the Manson family of the late 1960s. As their name suggests, they adopted the beliefs of their leader, Charles Manson, and fulfilled his requests. The same pattern repeats in almost all other cults, albeit to less violent ends in many cases.

Types of Cults

There are many different types of cults focusing on different end goals or beliefs. Here are just a few general groupings:

Doomsday cults: Certain cults come together to prepare for the allegedly imminent end of the world. For instance, the Branch Davidians stockpiled firearms and explosives in a Waco, Texas, compound over the 1980s and ’90s to prepare for the apocalypse. This led to an infamous standoff with the federal government.

Political cults: Political groups on both the left and right can morph into cults. Janja Lalich wrote an entire account of her own experience in such an environment.

Religious cults: Spiritual beliefs serve as the bedrock for many cults. Some cults are offshoots of mainline religions while others offer brand-new dogmas and theology.

Sex cults: All types of cults might have a component of sexual abuse, but some focus on sex as one of their primary functions. For instance, New York–based NXIVM encouraged rampant sexual behavior between its group members before dissolving.

Examples of Cults

Cults have made headlines over the years due to their outrageous and sometimes tragic behavior. Some notorious cultic groups:

Heaven’s Gate: Inspired by the Book of Revelation, Bonnie Nettles and Marshall Applewhite formed Heaven’s Gate as a doomsday cult with a focus on UFOs. In 1997, all the members died by mass suicide in an effort to ride a comet passing by the Earth.

The Peoples Temple: Jim Jones, a charismatic preacher from the United States, formed the Peoples Temple to spread his own flavor of Christianity before moving to Guyana. There, he founded Jonestown, a compound for his religious group of followers. They died by mass suicide in 1978.

The Unification Church: A new religious movement that began in South Korea, The Unification Church spread to the rest of the world. All adherents follow the teachings of Sun Myung Moon, hence their colloquial nickname (the Moonies).

Why People Join Cults. People join cult movements for various reasons, most of which revolve around a desire for meaning and community. Many who become part of such organizations have troubled backgrounds and difficulty fitting into society. They might also feel mainstream culture has no place for them and nothing of spiritual value to offer either.

Former cult members often describe the long-lasting sense of loneliness and nihilism they felt prior to becoming part of something bigger than themselves.

This encourages them to put down their defenses and accept the stranger elements of their new communities.

Of course, this has sometimes led to horrific and even deadly outcomes in extreme circumstances.

No one joins a cult voluntarily; they are recruited into it.

There is lack of informed consent.

Everyone has vulnerabilities.

Possible situational vulnerabilities include:

illness,

the death of a loved one,

breakup of an important relationship,

loss of a job, or

moving to another city, state or country.

Individual vulnerabilities may include:

high hypnotizability,

strong ability for concentration and vivid imagination,

learning disorders, or

autism spectrum disorders.

Excessive use of hypnosis, meditation, and other activities can induce an altered state of consciousness. These, in turn, increase susceptibility to being recruited by a cult unless there are strong critical thinking, media literacy and good supportive network, which can help a person stay grounded.

Other risks consist of:

Learning and communication disorders

Drug or alcohol problems

Trauma

Unresolved sexual issues

Phobias (fear of heights, drowning, sharks, aliens, terrorists, crime, etc.)

There are even recent 21st century contributors:

COVID-19/pandemic

Severe economic disruption

Isolation, lack of touch, social distancing

Social/political polarization

Increased time online

Internet addiction

Recruitment into extreme conspiracy theories and cults/scams

"Cult" as a Word

In recent years the word cult has been most commonly used as a pejorative term for a religious group that falls outside the mainstream and, by implication, engages in questionable activities. Many new religions are controversially labeled as cults.

In historiography, there are no negative connotations to the term cult.

It is especially common in works on Classical history, as the ancient Mediterranean world was home to a large variety of mystery cults.

These were small groups whose elite members were initiated into secret rituals for a particular deity.

Far from existing at tension with the society at large, many Roman cults were heavily integrated into the surrounding society.

In Pompeii one of the most lavishly decorated temples was of the cult of Isis.

An inscription records that the individual who paid for the temple’s refurbishment was rewarded with a position as town councilor, indicating a strong interconnection between this mystery cult and the civic order of the city.

Furthermore, one of the most prominent Roman cults was the imperial cult, which was dedicated to the worship of deceased and deified Roman emperors and their deified family members.

Imperial cult worship reinforced the power of the dominant political system, and most or all of pre-Christian Roman society had some degree of membership in it.

Other groups referred to as cults can also reinforce the dominance of a religious and social order.

Within the Roman Catholic Church, the cult of the Virgin Mary and cults of other saints have gained many adherents and a high degree of influence, especially artistically.

Even today, people who intensely worship particular saints are sometimes identified as being members of that saint’s cult.

In more recent decades, groups designated cults have been those at tension with the rest of society.

However, beyond this feature, there is no general consensus about what differentiates a cult from any other religious group.

Some scholars have argued that, by the simplest definition, many, if not all, religious sects originated as cults.

Over time, some cults became culturally accepted and the tension between them and society resolved, leading to the cult being recognized as a sect or church.

Recent examples of this transition from so-called cult to religious group are Seventh-day Adventists and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Other scholars have advanced a more narrow definition of the term cult as a religious group with some or all of the following characteristics:

a charismatic leader who exercises total control;

an apocalyptic vision (doomsday cult);

isolation from society;

an emphasis on a transcendent spiritual experience;

rigid rules governing group members’ behaviour; and

the exploitation of members, including sexually and financially.

In popular use, the term cult has accumulated a strong negative connotation and is often used to cast aspersions on a religious group’s validity as a form of religious practice.

From the 1960s onward, a number of new cults developed in the United States and attracted large numbers of worshippers.

The actions of these cultists, who sometimes isolated themselves from their families and oriented their lives fully around the cult, triggered widespread alarm.

So, too, did the actions of violent cults such as the Peoples Temple, headed by Jim Jones, and the Manson Family, which was led by Charles Manson.

The anti-cult movement reached its peak in the 1970s, when the idea emerged that cult members were being “brainwashed,” having their free will systematically taken away.

The trial of Patty Hearst—an heiress kidnapped by leftist radicals in 1974 and allegedly brainwashed into committing crimes—played a key role in the growth of this belief.

According to the brainwashing theory, cult members are not choosing an alternative way of life but are instead victims of exploitative and dangerous fanatics.

This justified the rise of forcible deprogramming, which involves the kidnapping and holding of cult members until the deprogrammer judges that they are no longer in the thrall of the cult.

Many deprogrammed former cult members went on to launch challenges in court.

Some sued the cults that they had been members of, accusing them of brainwashing. A few psychologists and psychiatrists testified in support of the deprogrammed cultists at those trials.

However, other former cult members sued their deprogrammers, claiming to have been kidnapped and abusively coerced into giving up their “brainwashing.”

With brainwashing accusations at the heart of these cases, a variety of medical researchers as well as such organizations as the American Psychological Association researched cults and cult members during the 1980s and ’90s. Their conclusion was that accusations of brainwashing and coercive persuasion against cults lacked a factual basis.

Studies which suggested proof of brainwashing were methodologically flawed or based on insufficient data.

After a cult member won a lawsuit against his deprogrammer (Jason Scott v. Rick Ross) in 1995, the practice of forcible deprogramming was largely discontinued.

Academic research has revealed a more fluid and varied reality than the one advanced by the anti-cult movement.

In fact, many people who join a cult choose to leave it.

Other members of cults do not become entirely isolated from society, maintaining jobs and relationships outside the cult.

In addition, some studies have suggested that those who leave a cult and experience psychological damage are more likely to have left involuntarily.

A wide range of religious groups fall under the definition of cult, and the vast majority are benign or even have a positive impact on society.

Given the continued negative associations with the term cult, many sociologists and researchers now prefer to use the term new religious movement (NRM).

It is used to describe groups previously called cults.

This term is meant to dissociate NRMs from the connotation that their forms of religious expression lack legitimacy, an idea which is now perhaps permanently ingrained in the term cult.

Lasting Effects of Cults. Prolonged and intense coercive persuasion can cause identity disturbance. Commonly, there are many additional after-effects:

Extreme identity confusion

Panic and anxiety attacks

Depression

Psychosomatic symptoms (headaches, backaches, asthma, skin problems)

Anger, guilt and shame

Decision-making dependency

Fear and phobias

Sleep disorders/nightmares

Eating disorders

Fear of intimacy and commitment

Distrust of self and others

Grieving loss of friends and family

Delusions and paranoia

Loss of life meaning or purpose

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

In an era when cult mind control is ever present and growing, it is essential to better understand the basics of cults, in order to combat their influence.

The first goal in educating yourself is prevention, for yourself and others. But, if you have been affected, recovery is possible.

And if your friends or family are involved in a destructive group, you can help rescue them from harm.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Choose which of these references would be most appropriate to incorporate in your story. Hope this helps!

#anonymous #writing notes #writing reference #writeblr #dark academia #literature #writers on tumblr #spilled ink #creative writing #writing prompt #light academia #writing inspiration #writing ideas #writing resources

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esters-notepad · 7 months ago

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Possibly relevant background: my family is Lutheran, and I still call myself that. But I've been to many different churches. I was a member of a Baptist church for a while. Then a united Calvinist/Lutheran church. I'm still formally a member there, but for the last couple of years, in practice I belong to a Catholic parish.

I wish all Christians would come together into one Church. But I never thought that this one Church would be the Catholic Church (such as 'everybody converts to Catholicism and all other churches cease to exist for dearth of members'). Nor did I imagine the one Church to be the Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church or any other current denomination. I was rather surprised today, when I learned that this is how some people picture unification.

I always thought that if the divided churches come together, they would form something new. To pick the two traditions I know best, if the Catholics and Lutherans were to come together, I always imagined the resulting church to be neither Catholic nor Lutheran, but something which has kept the best of both. I don't think any one human being has all the right answers about God, and I also don't think any one church has all the right answers. I think all the right answers are out in the world, but in a way that the Orthodox got some things right, the Catholics some other things, and the various Protestant denominations yet other things. I don't know exactly which parts Luther got wrong, but he was a fallible human, I'm sure there was something. I think if everybody were to convert to being Lutheran, then everybody would make the same mistakes, and we would lose the parts that other churches have gotten right but Lutherans got wrong.

When I say that I want the denominations to come together into one Church, I don't mean that I want to declare all theological differences to be unimportant. I mean that I yearn for God to give us love (drawing us all together) and humility (to realize that I might be wrong and the other might be right) and wisdom (to actually percieve what is right and what is wrong).

I don't believe that God's true Church is any one of the denominations. I believe that it's all of them, taken together. That's the universal apostolic church I think about when I say the Creed.

Of course, all of the above could certainly be one of the things that I personally have gotten wrong.

#christianity #ester tries to reason theologically

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spurgie-cousin · 10 months ago

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The Unification Church is confusing. Is it a Korean cult? In some pictures, the crowds look mostly Korean, but in others, they look mostly white.

The Unification Church was founded in South Korea around the time of WWII, and spread pretty rapidly there and in neighboring places like Japan until the late 60s and 70s when it started to branch out to Russia, eastern Europe, South America and eventually the United States (esp in areas with big south Korean populations).

One of their big things is to "promote intercultural, interracial, and international cooperation through the Unification world view" which sounds innocent enough, but it's just a PC way to say that they put a big focus on finding people to convert. Once they find someone who they deem convertible (preferably of a different race compared to the majority members of the church) they pull a "Married at First Sight" and marry then to a random church member, in a huge ceremony with tons of other couples, where they basically get married and converted officially at the same time.

So that's why sometimes you see large homogeneous looking congregations with only a small bit of diversity, or vice versa, because diversity is the main thing they're looking for when looking for converts and some church are better at it than others lol.

#unification church

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thatsonemorbidcorvid · 3 months ago

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“UNIFICATION CHURCH (MOONIES)

Probably the best-known of the post 1960s New Religious Movements, the conversion (and de-conversion) histories of members have been documented by Galanter et al. (1979), Barker (1984), Bromley and Shupe (1979) and others. Long and Hadden (1983) suggested that the Moonies' conversion methods developed throughout the 1970s, until they were quite effective at gaining and incorporating new members, although they were less effective in retaining members.

• initial contact with unattached - potential new members would be identified in public places by features like their youth, and not being in a hurry. A member would engage the potential recruit in conversation on a plausible pretext like offering something for sale or asking the time. As the conversation developed, the potential recruit would be offered friendship or possibly the hope of a sexual or romantic involvement. The potential recruit would be invited back to 'my place, which proved to be the crowded communal dwelling of many Moonies. There was often initial disappointment that an intimate encounter was not going to happen, but this disappointment dissipated under the impact of so-called ...

• love-bombing - a meal would be served and the new recruit would feel overwhelmed and impressed by the affection and esteem offered by the new friends. Thereafter s/he would report that they 'always seemed to be running into one or more of these new friends. The recruit would be invited round again, and eventually invited to a country retreat, where ...

• incorporation would continue - isolated from other social ties (work, family, friends - no telephone or letters) and from other sources of information (television, newspapers, radio) the new member would join in group rituals and be taught secret doctrines of the group.”

- Kate Loewenthal, The Psychology of Religion

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lumsel · 3 months ago

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You are aware that Shinzo Abe is not a member, let alone a leader, of the Unification Church? Like, the guy just murdered him because he’s a prominent figure, to spread his message further. It seems a lot of the the things you’re saying are predicated on the idea that Shinzo Abe was in some way *responsible* for the misery of his assassin, but he wasn’t. He just murdered an unrelated innocent man.

Assuming you're a different person than the last guy based on clues. If you ARE that guy, OI!! I told you to come back another day!

Anyway, I assure you that moral culpability is only, like, loosely a link here. I'm well aware that Abe's shooter acted in pure naked pragmatism when he picked his target.

Nobody deserves to die. This isn't really about culpability. In a system of utilitarian ethics, one must acknowledge that sometimes that one death can prevent greater harms elsewhere. That is the only scenario in which violence can be considered to be justifiable, to me.

On a basal personal level I must admit I am something of a hypocrite here, because it is indeed harder for me to mourn someone when they appear personally responsible for some kind of sin. But on the level of intellectual ethics I try to live by... it's all just trolley problems, right? Pull the lever, reduce casualties. Alas, if only real life had the clarity of foresight of two diverging train tracks...

(As an aside, though, it's not fair to say Abe had nothing to do with the moonies. The man's links to the unification church are well documented.)

#asks

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brookstonalmanac · 6 months ago

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Holidays 9.18

Holidays

Aging Awareness Day

Astronomy Day (Armenia)

Big Brothers Big Sisters Day (Canada)

Celebrate Your Name Day

Celebration of Talent (French Republic)

Chiropractic Founders Day

Clemente Day

Day of National Music (Azerbaijan)

Deceased Motorcyclists Remembrance Day (Ukraine)

Dieciocho (Chile)

Eleven Days of Global Unity, Day 8: Human Rights

European Heritage Days (EU)

Feast Day of the Walloon Region (Belgium)

Festival of Inner Worlds

Festival of Labour (French Republic)

Fiesta Patrias (Chile)

First Love Day

Global Company Culture Day

Hug a Greeting Card Writer Day

International Equal Pay Day (UN)

International Pitt Hopkins Awareness Day

International Read an eBook Day

Island Language Day (Okinawa, Japan)

Jeannie in a Bottle Day

Jitiya Parwa (Only Women Employees; Nepal)

Jonny Quest Day

Long Playing Record Day

Mickey Mantle Day (New York)

Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday (Taiwan)

Mountain Meadows Massacre Anniversary Day (by Mormon Church Members; Utah)

Mukden Incident Anniversary Day

National Cannabis Day (Germany)

National Ceiling Fan Day

National Colton Day

National Day of Civic Hacking

National Fitness Day (UK)

National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day

National Museum Day [also 5.18]

National Music Day (Azerbaijan)

National Play-Dough Day

National Rehabilitation Day

National Report Kickback Fraud Day

National Respect! Day

National Science Reading Day

National Tree Day (Canada)

Navy Day (Croatia)

New York Times Day

918 Day (Oklahoma)

Persian Literature and Pony Day (Iran)

PCOS Awareness Day

Scouring of the White Horse (Wantage, Berkshire, UK)

Shima-kutuba Day (Japan; Okinawa)

Top Ten List Day

U.S. Air Force Day

Victory of Uprona (Burgundy)

Vulver Awareness Day

World Bamboo Day

World Knot Tying Day

World Medical Ethics Day

World Water Monitoring Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Brett Day

National Cheeseburger Day

National Chocolate Day

Rice Krispies Treats Day

Independence & Related Days

Buddie Union (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Chile (a.k.a. Dieciocho, 1st Gov't Junta, 1818)

Free Republic of Silbervia (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

3rd Wednesday in September

Banned Websites Awareness Day [3rd Wednesday]

Ember Day (Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches) [Wednesday after 9.14]

Human Resource Manager Day [3rd Wednesday]

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

Mouth Cancer Awareness Day (Ireland) [3rd Wednesday]

National Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness Day [3rd Wednesday]

National Rehabilitation Day [3rd Wednesday]

National School Backpack Awareness Day [3rd Wednesday]

Quarter Tense (Ireland) [Wednesday after 9.14]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Wandering Wednesday [3rd Wednesday of Each Month]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Wiener Wednesday [3rd Wednesday of Each Month]

Weekly Holidays beginning September 18 (3rd Full Week of September)

Wear Cotton Week (thru 9.25)

Festivals Beginning September 18, 2024

Eurofurence (Hamburg, Germany) [thru 9.21]

Festival du Film Merveilleux et Imaginaire (Paris, France) [thru 9.20]

Lost Lands (Thornville, Ohio) [thru 9.22]

National Cattle Congress (Waterloo, Iowa) [thru 9.22]

Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, Kansas) [thru 9.22]

Feast Days

Amoeba Assimilation Day (Pastafarian)

Anton Mauve (Artology)

Arcadius, Bishop of Novgorod (Christian; Saint)

Ariadne of Phrygia (Christian; Martyr)

Bidzin, Elizbar, and Shalva, Princes of Georgia (Christian; Martyrs)

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (Artology)

Castor of Alexandria (Christian; Martyr)

Constantius (Theban Legion)

Ear Wig Fitting Day (Shamanism)

Edward Bouverie Pusey (Episcopal Church)

Eleusinian Mysteries begin (Ancient Rome; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Eugene’s, Bishop of Gortyna (Christian; Saint)

Eustorgius I (Christian; Saint)

Ferreol (Christian; Saint)

Feast of Ceres (Roman Goddess of Agriculture & Grain Crops)

Festival of Labour (French Republic)

Foundation Day (Unification Church)

Hilarion of Optima (Christian; Saint)

Joe Kubert (Artology)

John Harvey Kellogg Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

José de Rivera (Artology)

Joseph of Cupertino (Christian; Martyr)

Juan Macias (Christian; Saint)

Konstantin Kakanias (Artology)

Leonardo da Crunchy (Muppetism)

Lord Berners (Artology)

Lynn Abbey (Writerism)

Mark di Suvero (Artology)

Methodius of Olympus (Christian; Saint)

Plataia (Ancient Greece)

Richardis (Christian; Saint)

Rosmerta (Celtic Book of Days)

Samuel Johnson (Writerism)

Scouring the White Horse begins (Everyday Wicca)

Sophia and Irene of Egypt (Christian; Martyrs)

Third Nostril of Christ Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Thomas of Villanova (Christian; Saint)

Tzom Gedaliah (Fast of Gedalia; Judaism)

Vanaheim Day (Pagan)

Vondel (Positivist; Saint)

Zay Day (Sus God Zay) [Wear red or purple hoodies]

Lunar Calendar Holidays

Chong Chao (Macau)

Chusok (South Korea)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [38 of 53]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [31 of 37]

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [24 of 30]

Unlucky 18th (Philippines) [3 of 3]

Premieres

Abacab, by Genesis (Album; 1981)

Abou Ben Boogie (Swing Symphony Cartoon; 1944)

The Addams Family (TV Series; 1964)

Birthday, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1967)

A Bully Frog (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Film; 1958)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Animated Film; 2009)

Continental Divide (Film; 1981)

Crazytown (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Film; 1951)

Dog Daze (WB MM Cartoon; 1937)

Enough Said (Film; 2013)

The Farm of Tomorrow (MGM Cartoon; 1954)

Fatal Attraction (Film; 1987)

Five and Dime (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1933)

The French Lieutenant’s Woman (Film; 1981)

Funny Girl (Film; 1968)

Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss (Albums; 1978)

Get Smart (TV Series; 1965)

Goldfinger premiered in UK (1964) [James Bond #3]

Goo Goo Goliath (WB MM Cartoon; 1954)

The Gullible Canary (Phantasies Cartoon; 1942)

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

Heartache Tonight, by The Eagles (Song; 1979)

I Likes Babies and Infanks (Fleischer Cartoon Popeye Cartoon; 1937)

In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak (Children’s Book; 1970)

The Japoteurs (Fleischer Cartoon; 1942) [#10]

Jennifer’s Body (Film; 2009)

Jonny Quest (Animated TV Series; 1964)

Making Money, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 2007) [Discworld #36]

Maple Leaf Rag, by Scott Joplin (Song; 1899)

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Film; 2015)

The Moffatt Translation of the Bible (Bible; 1922)

More Than a Feeling,, by Boston (Song; 1976)

New York Times (Daily Newspaper; 1851)

Old Rockin’ Chair Tom (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1948)

Pain Strikes Underdog, Parts 1 & 2 (Underdog Cartoon, S2, Eps. 1 & 2 1965)

Pink in the Clink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

The Road to Ruin or Mine Over Matter (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 55; 1960)

Rockin’ with Judy Jetson (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Movie; 1988)

Rush Hour (Film; 1998)

School Daze (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner (Novel; 2010) [Maze Runner #2]

Serve It Forth (Art of Eating), by M.F.K. Fisher (Food Essays; 1937)

Severed Relations or How to Get a Head (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 161; 1962)

Sicario (Film; 2015)

Singles (Film; 1992)

Smiley Smile, by The Beach Boys (Album; 1967)

Strange Little Girl, by Tori Amos (Album; 2001)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Film; 1951)

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (TV Series; 2006)

Superman: Doomsday (WB Animated Film; 2007)

That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles or Me and My Chateau (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 162; 1962)

Tired and Feathered (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

Two Flying Ghosts or High Spirits (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 56; 1960)

Wagon Train (TV Series; 1957)

War Pigs, by Black Sabbath (Song; 1970)

Where’s Wally, by Martin Hanford (Puzzle Book; 1987)

WKRP in Cincinnati (TV Series; 1978)

Today’s Name Days

Herlinda, Josef, Lambert, Rica (Austria)

Alfonz, Irena, Jonatan, Josip, Sonja (Croatia)

Kryštof, Oskar (Czech Republic)

Titus (Denmark)

Tiido, Tiidrik, Tiidu, Tiit (Estonia)

Tytti, Tyyne, Tyyni (Finland)

Nadège, Véra (France)

Alfons, Herlinde, Lambert, Rica (Germany)

Ariadne, Ariadni, Evmenis, Kastor, Romylos (Greece)

Diána (Hungary)

Eumenio, Giuseppe, Maria, Sofia (Italy)

Alinta, Elita, Gizela, Liesma (Latvia)

Galmantė, Mingailas, Stefa, Stefanija (Lithuania)

Henriette, Henry (Norway)

Dobrowit, Irena, Irma, Józef, Ryszarda, Stefania, Tytus, Zachariasz (Poland)

Eumenie (Romania)

Elizaveta, Raisa (Russia)

Eugénia (Slovakia)

José, Sofía, Sonia (Spain)

Orvar (Sweden)

Irene (Ukraine)

Clint, Clinton, Corbin, Corwin, Corwyn, Korbin, Korvin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 262 of 2024; 104 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 38 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 18 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Guy-You), Day 16 (Yi-You)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 15 Elul 5784

Islamic: 14 Rabi I 1446

J Cal: 22 Gold; Oneday [22 of 30]

Julian: 5 September 2024

Moon: 99%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 10 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Racine]

Runic Half Month: Ken (Illumination) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 91 of 94)

Week: 3rd Full Week of September

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 28 of 32)

#Holidays

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newx-menfan · 2 years ago

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Interesting analysis of Prodigy’s appearance in X-Factor…if anyone wants to give it a read.

*Honestly…I don’t know HOW I feel about that plot point, if I am being honest.

It’s obvious Williams ending was rushed and she was hurried to explain how Prodigy died. Would more care have been made if there had been less pressure to tie up all the loose ends? Probably.

On the “Battle of the Atom” podcast, Williams more or less admits writers and editors were making changes to the last issues (basically more or less saying the same things Kelly Thompson/Sina Grace/Jeff Lemire have said over the years about lack of control writers really have with the X-Men line).

It’s not like real world stories HAVEN’T popped up in X-Men before- Chance’s church in Fallen Angels Vol.1 was very clearly based off of the Unification Church. Magneto is a concentration camp survivor….just to name a couple examples.

Still- using the name “Buck” Thatcher, essentially making it a very clear it is meant to be Ed Buck…felt and feels a little bit questionable, since we don’t know how the family members of the victims would feel about this…

When reading this issue the first time back in 2021, I did find myself thinking about Rosenberg’s representation of Wolfsbane’s death as an allegory for violence against trans people a few years ago…and the question of whether comics SHOULD be the space to talk about honestly a pretty complex and sensitive issue…

But I do also see the other side of it- in a world where there’s a LOT of debate about LGBTQIA+ rights- isn’t it important to talk about the reality that LGBTQIA+ identities often face a higher likelihood of being victims of violence?

(https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/nation/study-finds-lgbtq-people-much-likelier-to-be-crime-victims)

(https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-lgbt-violence-press-release/)

But I also see fans feeling tired of every LGBTQIA+ story focusing around depression, violence, death, suicide, and repression…

The originally planned but ultimately shelved story of Anole killing himself, IS, I think a good example of this problem. Anole HAS been pretty positive representation and the idea of using Victor’s death as a wake up call for Elixir when looking at it now- IS pretty problematic…

I am personally GLAD editorial cut the Anole story and I prefer the direction D+W took instead with Academy X.

I personally didn’t find the issue as graphic as many were critiquing it for online, when it first came out…but I do feel a tad bit uncomfortable that it is based on a real case, in a situation where again, you don’t know how people close to the victims would feel about it being incorporated in fiction….

While I definitely don’t think Williams meant any harm with issue #10…I think the reality is there isn’t a clear answer on this issue of representation, other than if you ARE going to tell these kinds of stories…make sure you are doing it in the most sensitive way possible.

#Prodigy #David Alleyne #x factor #x men #Marvel #new xmen #new x men #academy x #new x men academy x #Leah Williams #Matthew Rosenberg #Ed Buck #lgbtqia+ representation

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scotianostra · 1 year ago

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On February 11th 1659 William Carstares, the radical Scottish Presbyterian cleric was born in Cathcart.

William was the son of Rev John Carstares who was a member of the Covenanting party of Protestors. He was classically educated by John Sinclair, the minister of Ormiston, before entering Edinburgh University to study for his Bachelor of Arts, which he received in 1667. Due to the dominant Episcopalian nature of the University at the time, his father encouraged him to study theology at Utrecht.

He moved to London in 1672, probably as an agent of William of Orange, and was held in Edinburgh Castle 1674-9. During 1682-3 he helped to organise a rising by the Whigs and the earl of Argyll. He was captured in 1683 and under torture made a partial confession on the promise that it would not be used as evidence; but it was used in the trial of George Baillie of Jeviswood, who was executed.

Carstares was exiled because of his involvement in the “Rye House Plot” to overthrow King Charles II. He became chaplain to William of Orange, and after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, he headed the Church of Scotland during the reigns of William and Mary, and later Queen Anne. Carstares was instrumental in securing Scottish support for the Act of Unification between England and Scotland.

On his release from prison he went to the continent in 1685 and became minister of a Scottish congregation at Leiden. He accompanied William of Orange as chaplain to England in 1688, and on campaigns in Ireland and Flanders, 1689-1702. He took part in drafting the legislation for establishing Presbyterianism in Scotland as part of the “Glorious” evolution Settlement of 1690

From 1695 he began meddling in Scottish politics, earning himself the nickname of 'Cardinal Carstares', though his power waned abruptly on William's death in 1702. He was Principal of the University of Edinburgh, 1703-15, and a minister of Greyfriars Church, then of St Giles, 1707-15. Carstares was also four times Moderator of the General Assembly.

He died in December 1715, a strong supporter of the Union to the last, he is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, he also remembered with a plque in St Giles in the Old Town.

Much more on Carstares, in which they describe him as "a scoudral by any standards", can be found here https://bonniedundee1689.wordpress.com/.../birth-of.../

#scotland #scottish #history #scoundral #cleric

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whatisonthemoon · 2 years ago

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2nd Gen Research in Japan

Another post taken from a thread made by Twitter user @nowwarmom https://twitter.com/nowwarmom/status/1642383646848962560

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Morsko and the team of 2nd-gen former Unification Church members have compiled, mapped, and published a database of information on election candidates whose relationships with the Unification Church have been reported in the media. The data includes →

candidates for governor and ordinance-designated city mayor, as well as candidates for prefectural assembly member and ordinance-designated city assembly member. It also provides links to media reports on what kind of relationship the candidates had with the Unification Church.

More info (in Japanese):

https://twitter.com/morusukochan/status/1642000925232594944

#second generation #ex-second generation #ex-members #former members #former moonies #unification church in japan #japanese politics #politics #japan #ex-blessed children

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interactivemediayear1cd · 1 year ago

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My favourite cults and secret societies,

Our first terms brief is about cults and secret societies set in the 19th century and so I am researching and laying out here my favourite societies and cults, why I personally find them interesting, there beliefs and finally there often swift falls from grace.

1.Heaven’s gate:

Heaven’s Gate was a cult founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles in the 1970s. They believed in extraterrestrial salvation and that a spacecraft would transport them to a higher plane of existence. Members adhered to strict rules, including celibacy and cutting ties with the outside world. The cult gained notoriety in 1997 when 39 members, including Applewhite, committed mass suicide, believing it would allow them to board the spaceship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet. This tragic event marked the cult’s downfall, highlighting the dangers of extreme beliefs and isolation from society. I really like this cult due to their resolve and tenacity with their two surviving active members still running their website all these years later, a website you can visit at https://www.heavensgate.com/ ( I neither endorse nor condone the actions committed by the members of the heavens gate cult, neither do I support there beliefs.)

2. The Ant Hill Kids:

The Ant Hill Kids cult, led by Roch Thériault in Ontario, Canada, during the 1970s and 1980s, engaged in extreme practices. Thériault claimed to be a prophet, promoting a mix of Christianity and apocalyptic beliefs. Members endured physical and psychological abuse, including amputations as punishment. The cult's downfall came when Thériault murdered one of his followers during a ritual, leading to his arrest in 1989. The trial revealed the cult's gruesome activities, resulting in Thériault's life imprisonment in 1993, marking the end of the Ant Hill Kids cult. Many gruesome and horrific acts where committed by Roch that I won’t detail here but this man was pure evil and I truly wish that if there is something after death for him I pray there is only torment. I don’t like this cult per say but it is of great interest to me due to it displaying what a master manipulator can do when given power and what people will do when they think god has ordained it.

3.The Order of the Pug (Mops-Orden):

This secretive society offer a breath of fresh air from the last two entries, containing not a hint of violence or death however there isn’t much information written online on this organisation, there is a rather good video essay on YouTube detailing its history and activities (https://youtu.be/nWkn2yWU9aU?si=AoG7Jev-Nu102QUp), The order of the pug was a para-Masonic society founded by Roman Catholics in 1738. The constitution of the Order of the Pug allowed women to become members, as long as they were Catholic. The Pug was chosen as a symbol of loyalty, trustworthiness and steadiness. Not only do I personally adore pugs but I admire the society’s willingness to stand against the largest religious figure at the time the pope.

youtube

4. The Unification Church:

The Unification church also known as the “Moonies” due to their founder Sun Myung Moon, where founded in the 50’s. It mixed a lot of Christian ideals and teachings with Moon’s own teachings, Moon proclaimed himself as the messiah and sought to establish a world of peace which one wouldn’t necessarily think given a lot of their doings and beliefs, a breakaway faction within the church even believing Jesus Christ, yes the Jesus Christ son of god, had an AR-15 not like some allegory for one a literal Armalite assault rifle.

#Youtube

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spurgie-cousin · 1 year ago

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So I think there’s an argument to be made that none of the other sects that share characteristics of Mormonism are Christian cults either. A lot of sects, including Mormonism, seem to be rooted in the, um, proclivities of their founders, who cherry-picked Bible verses to justify their actions/look legitimate at the time they were founded (Or if they’re Joseph Smith they just write a whole ‘nother set of scriptures).

Despite the Mormon church’s official name, Jesus isn’t THE singular key to salvation, and that’s what defines Christianity IMO. Mormonism has too many extra steps and pretty different concepts of heaven and hell. Even Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, right?

Oh I don't disagree with you necessarily, I'm just operating on like the Southern Poverty Law Center definition of a 'Christian' cult. Really all you need to be one is to be a high control group and have a Christian background, or have co-opted Christian theology in some way. The Wikipedia definition even adds that to be considered a cult, the group has to be "considered to be theologically deviant by members of other Christian churches."

That's what can make the line between cult and denomination so razor thin sometimes. I mentioned in the last ask a little, but a lot of what we consider legitimate denominations have cherry-picked parts of Christianity to fit whatever narrative the founders wanted to push, and some have altered the theology to the point where it barely resembles mainstream Christianity (like the Appalachian Pentecostals who handle snakes, or again Unitarians who deny the trinity and kind of downplay Jesus in general, among other things).

But yea really what it comes down to is how much control the group wields over the members. And I totally agree that Mormonism and like, the Unification Church, The Twelve Tribes, etc are in a league of their own even compared to some other cults.

#i think bc mormonism's wildness is so well known and all the other cults aren't it can be hard to compare them #but i totally agree Mormonism is unique in some ways #honestly all the big cults are they have similarities but none are exactly alike

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randomnameless · 2 years ago

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since you like rhea hc, where do you think cap got his idea about rhea cooking for wileilm in his fic?

how the crap should i know lol

In canon, there's the note about a meal served at the Emperor's coronations, but given how it includes adrestian salt Leicester herbs and Faerghus water (iirc) unless during Nemesis era there were trade routes between Enbarr and the rest of war torn Fodlan, it could only have been served after the unification (Faerghus and Leicester would be names of provinces that would later be independant?) or after all three states became something.

Granted, I also like the idea of Rhea cooking stuff - FEH said she bakes cookies ! - but more the idea of cooking misshaps with Willy, like giving him a raw carrot or a turnip and poor Willy, not wanting to make her feel bad, eating them just like that. It's only when Cichol's wife joined the gang that she told her "why don't you cook something instead of giving turnips to that poor guy ?"

After 10 years of approximatively cooked stews - Lycaon, who didn't know what was acceptable social behaviour, loudly said he didn't want to eat his veggies because they were raw and "bleh", Seiros the Warrior greatly improved her culinary skills (and made her own ketchup to "un-bleh" veggies).

Seiros the Warrior took cooking as hobby to dissociate and distract herself from the battles, war and "why the frick isn't mother talking to me I've recovered her?" - whenever she returned "able to cook" she insisted on preparing the meals for everyone (some church members sighed, but Seiros the Warrior took their sigh as a sign of relief). She ultimately managed to recreate - as far as she could remember since Noa figged away and no one was alive to share the exact recipe - a nabatean recipe from her youth and wanted to serve it to Lycaon for the 7th birthday of his reign, but then he "mysteriously died" :(

#anon #replies #fodlan nonsense #rhea stuff #as if i know what is the insipiration for every little quirk of the aeneid #willy always jumped first on zanado fruits sure they are inedible and taste like crap #but whenever he's out cold afterwards Seiros personally tends to him #so it's a win situation #let he be her son or not Lycaon called her cooking shitty #not enough sweets and too much veggies #and there are bones in the fish! He doesn't want that!#but then he died #is it wolf (fe16)'s hour?

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mariacallous · 2 years ago

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Before being ousted in Montenegro’s presidential runoff election on April 2, incumbent President Milo Djukanovic sounded the alarm about a revival of Serbian efforts to establish a “Serbian world” in the Balkans, linked to the ideology driving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The ‘Russian world’ project in the Balkans is called ‘Serbian world,’” Djukanovic warned before being ousted, arguing that Serbia views Yugoslavia’s successor states in the same way that Russia views post-Soviet independent states: ripe for political control and even annexation.

Over the past several decades, the idea of a “Russian world” has shaped how Russia sees the populations of former Soviet countries. The Russian language, Orthodox Christianity, and a common culture and history are all viewed by Moscow as ties that outlived the collapse of the Soviet Union. More than three decades later, Moscow still sees these countries as belonging to its sphere of influence despite being independent states—a perception shaping policy. President Vladimir Putin justified Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea by referring in essence to the effort to reclaim the Russian world. His 2022 invasion of Ukraine seeks to reestablish “the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians.”

The Russian world reflects a tension between “actual Russian Federation state borders and the mental maps of ‘Russianness’ that exist in the minds of many Russians,” said Igor Zevelev, a global fellow at the Wilson Center. The concept of the Russian world, Zevelev said, “allows Moscow to keep boundaries vague, at least rhetorically, with uncertain consequences for regional security.” Timothy Garton Ash recently observed that “the ideology of a Russian world was always closely associated with the Russian imperial project, the Russian Orthodox Church … and autocracy.”

Similarly, the idea of a Serbian world casts doubts on the borders of Yugoslavia’s successor states and aims at their reunification. The concept was first articulated in September 2020 by Serbia’s then-defense minister, Aleksandar Vulin. At that time, Vulin stated that Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, “should establish a Serbian world. Belgrade should unite all the Serbs. President of Serbia is president of all Serbs.”

Vulin’s views were not a gaffe. Serbia’s national security strategy of 2021 stated that the country’s objective is the “preservation of the existence and protection of the Serbian people wherever they live.” In other words, Serbia considers itself responsible for promoting and guaranteeing the political interests of Serbs living outside its borders.

Most ominously, this strategy declared that the “preservation of Republika Srpska is one of the foreign policy priorities of the Republic of Serbia.” Republika Srpska is an administrative entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, a result of the Dayton peace accord hammered out in late 1995. Serbia and Republika Srpska are allowed to have “special parallel relations” under the Dayton Agreement; what is a cause for concern is that Serbia is taking it upon itself to defend a part of Bosnia’s territory. Perhaps in no other country’s national security strategy is its interference in a neighboring state so officially laid out—and well received. Last weekend, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik called for a unification of Republika Srpska and Serbia, adding that “this century is one of Serbian unification.”

Former Bosniak member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency Sefik Dzaferovic warned in 2021 that talk by Serbian politicians of a Serbian world was reminiscent of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic’s “Greater Serbia” project: the effort to incorporate all Serbs into one state which brought years of war and suffering to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dzaferovic’s colleague in the presidency, Bosnian Croat Zeljko Komsic, told the European Parliament in March 2022 that the “Serbian world was identical to the so-called Russian world” in scope, aims, and strategic reasoning.

As if to show his commitment to Serbia’s overreach, Vulin—as interior minister—declared in June 2022 that “the formation of the Serbian world is a process that cannot be stopped.” The following month, he was even more direct: “I dream of the unification of Serbs, just as all my ancestors dreamed of it,” adding, “I know that one day it will be completed, peacefully, without violence and conflict.”

Vulin even called for the unification of all Serbs in the Balkans “in one state,” though how exactly he plans to redraw borders and incorporate Serbs living in other independent states without violence remains unclear. In emphasizing that borders are vague and fluid, he echoes proponents of a Russian world, such as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who also think post-Soviet borders are vague and accordingly take it upon themselves to redraw them. In July 2022, Lavrov said that Russia’s military goals in Ukraine would expand beyond the country’s eastern regions, adding that at the invasion’s five-month mark “the geography is different.” Vulin met with Lavrov when he visited Moscow the following month.

Taken together, Serbia’s 2021 national security strategy and Vulin’s 2022 statements are cause for concern. Even more worryingly, Vulin served under Slobodan Milosevic’s wife, Mira Markovic, in the 1990s, has visited Milosevic’s grave on the anniversary of his death, and pays homage to the former Serbian leader. Vulin’s rhetoric and his living link with the Milosevic years have raised suspicions in Bosnia that the Serbian world is, as political scientist Jasmin Mujanovic termed it, “‘Greater Serbia’ 2.0.” Vulin’s boss, Vucic, also served under Milosevic in the 1990s and has not disowned the idea of a Serbian world.

Though the idea is gaining institutional support, many in the region saw Djukanovic as a brake on it. This month, though, 36-year-old economist Jakov Milatovic won 60 percent of the vote to Djukanovic’s 40 percent, becoming Montenegro’s new president. On the surface, these election results may seem like nothing out of the ordinary: A veteran politician long accused of corruption was replaced by a youthful candidate with international credentials promising change.

But Djukanovic’s defeat is a major victory for those who believe in a Serbian world and support its aims, because it removes barriers to Belgrade’s influence in Montenegro. Djukanovic had been critical of the rising rhetoric of the Serbian world idea and the danger it poses for the rest of the Balkans, lamenting the West’s failure to respond to Vulin’s aggressive rhetoric. After elections in August 2020, a coalition of opposition parties formed a government, turning him into a lame-duck president. On April 2, this array of anti-Djukanovic parties joined forces to oust him.

Milatovic, who got his start in politics as an economic development minister in a coalition government of pro-Serbia, pro-Serbian Orthodox Church parties, won the election with the support of Andrija Mandic, one of the leaders of Montenegro’s pro-Serbian Democratic Front. Mandic, who ran against Djukanovic in the election’s first round, was tried in 2019 for his alleged role in an attempted coup joining Serbs, Russians, and Montenegrins in overthrowing Montenegro’s government. He flanked Milatovic during his victory speech as supporters in the streets greeted the new president with Serbian flags.

Djukanovic’s defeat also opens the door for Serbia’s religious influence in Montenegro. The runoffs featured a clash between the Serbian Orthodox Church and Montenegro’s Orthodox Church. The Belgrade-based Serbian Orthodox Church holds jurisdiction throughout Serbia, Bosnia, and Montenegro, and its control over properties in Montenegro —which Djukanovic opposed—was at stake on April 2. Djukanovic’s ouster will reduce the power of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church in its own country, strengthening the Serbian church’s hand even more.

Milatovic himself has dismissed the idea of a Serbian world, but observers in Montenegro perceive that his victory enables it. Seki Radoncic, a journalist based in Montenegro, sees the new president as a “puppet” of Belgrade, stating that Milatovic represents a Greater Serbia to Montenegro. Senad Pecanin, a lawyer and journalist based in Sarajevo, recently observed that Serbia will do away with Montenegro’s identity and “may change the character of its statehood.” And Avdo Avdic, an investigative journalist in Sarajevo, weighed in that “the Serbian world now has access to the sea.” He meant that Serbia, through its control over Montenegro, has gained access to the Adriatic Sea, which it lost when Montenegro opted for independence in 2006.

With Milatovic in power, Montenegro will keep its territorial integrity but lose the political independence Djukanovic helped secure for it. The 61-year-old veteran politician dominated Montenegro’s politics for over three decades and was first elected prime minister at the age of 29. In the 1990s, he was in league with Milosevic as he launched his wars of conquest on Croatia and Bosnia. When he saw that Milosevic’s fortunes were declining, Djukanovic distanced himself from the strongman and chartered his own course, eventually leading Montenegro to independence from Serbia.

He has since become a champion of a pro-Western Montenegro and presided over its closer integration with the European Union. In 2017, Montenegro joined NATO. At home, ethnic minority rights were largely respected. Djukanovic was happy to declare his country a leader in the European integration process in the Balkans.

With Djukanovic gone, fears of a rising Serbian world are spreading beyond Montenegro. Serbian officials in Bosnia are effectively blocking the country’s NATO accession. In a Serbian world, key political and military decisions about states in which ethnic Serbs live outside Serbia would be made in Belgrade, negating the independence of post-Yugoslav successor states and placing Serbia as the center of political gravity in the Balkans. True to form, Bosnia’s Serb member of the presidency, Zeljka Cvijanovic, mandated that the Bosnian Armed Forces must hold exercises with Serbia before they can do so with Germany and the United States.

What “Greater Serbia” failed to achieve by brute force in the 1990s may now be attempted by hybrid means. Political state capture from within independent states, rather than military incursion, seems to be Serbia’s preferred method for pursuing the dream of a Serbian world. For now.

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dissociacrip · 1 year ago

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don't love that this post proceeding to give some pretty weird definitions of at least 2 of these terms because it's really not helping the "pop psychology" thing to not be bringing up any history or expert opinion or citations and just give your own definitions off the top of your head. it's ironic of me to quote wikipedia after saying that but to be frank wikipedia is doing a better job than this post in explaining what these things mean.

love-bombing was a term originally used for cult recruitment tactics, as in, cults quite literally came up with the term themselves:

The expression "love bombing" was coined by members of the Unification Church of the United States during the 1970s[4] and was also used by members of the Family International.[5][6] Psychology professor Margaret Singer reported on the concept.[1] In her 1996 book, Cults in Our Midst, she writes:

"As soon as any interest is shown by the recruits, they may be love bombed by the recruiter or other cult members. This process of feigning friendship and interest in the recruit was originally associated with one of the early youth cults, but soon it was taken up by a number of groups as part of their program for luring people in. Love bombing is a coordinated effort, usually under the direction of leadership, that involves long-term members' flooding recruits and newer members with flattery, verbal seduction, affectionate but usually nonsexual touching, and lots of attention to their every remark. Love bombing—or the offer of instant companionship—is a deceptive ploy accounting for many successful recruitment drives."[7]

there are some cult survivors (edit: when writing this i didn't know op was a cult survivor, but that's also why i specify 'some,' bc obviously cult survivors are not a monolith) who dislike that it's been appropiated to refer to a certain dynamic in abusive relationships. a similar term to describe this dynamic is honeymooning:

The first phase is the “Honeymoon Phase”. This phase is how the relationship starts. The abusive individual creates a safe space filled with love and a sense of security in the relationship. This phase holds a significant draw for the person who is experiencing the abuse as feelings of love are very powerful. The abusive person acts in ways they know their partner will desire and appreciate.

[...]

After the abusive event, the abusive partner tries to get the relationship back the “Honeymoon Phase” by becoming the partner the other fell in love with. In order to do this, the abusive partner is often sincerely sorry for the abuse and many promises are made, saying “I’ll never do it again.”, “I’ll go to marriage counselling.”, “I’ll quit drinking.” However, in time, the tension begins building again and another explosion occurs.

as for trauma-bonding, it doesn't refer to a deliberate act per-se, so much as a consequence of cyclical abuse. sure, sometimes creating a trauma-bond is something that abusers will do on purpose because they know it makes it easier to continue the abuse, but trauma bonds 100% do not have to be intentional. this definition you've provided also gives a very narrow idea of what trauma-bonding can look like. trauma-bonding is more accurately described as the emotional attachment a victim can form with their abuser via intermittent abuse and then intermittent reinforcement, which can be an incidental cycle rather than a deliberate one:

Trauma bonds are formed in abused-abuser or victim-victimizer dynamics. A victim can form a trauma bond with an abuser in the presence of a perceived threat from the abuser, the conviction that the abuser will follow through with the threat, the perception of some form of kindness from the abuser, isolation from perspectives that do not serve to deepen the trauma bond, and perceived lack of ability or capacity to leave the situation.[16]

[...]

For a trauma bond to persist, a power differential must exist between the abuser and the victim such that the abuser is in a position of power and authority whereas the victim is not. Inequity in power can produce pathologies in individuals that can fortify the trauma bond. Upon experiencing intermittent punishment from the abuser or dominator, who is in a position of high power, the victim may internalize the abuser's perception of themselves.[2] This may result in a tendency for the victim to self-blame him/herself in situations of violence perpetrated by the abuser, which can negatively impact the victim's self-concept.

A negative self-appraisal can maximize the emotional dependency on the abuser and the cyclical nature of this dependency. Negative self-concept can eventually lead to the formation of a strong emotional bond from the victim to the abuser (i.e., from the person who is in a position of power and authority from the person who is not). Furthermore, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse can be used to maintain the power differential. This dynamic is also maintained via the interaction of the abuser's sense of power and the victim's sense of powerlessness and subjugation.[2]

[...]

Intermittent reinforcement of rewards and punishments is crucial to establishing and maintaining a trauma bond. In trauma bonding, the abuser intermittently maltreats the victim through physical, verbal, emotional, and/or psychological abuse. This maltreatment is interspersed with positive behaviors like expressing affection and care, showing kindness, giving the victim gifts, and promising not to repeat the abuse. Alternating and sporadic periods of good and bad treatment serve to reinforce the victim intermittently.[2]

so yeah, this post does a not so great job at describing these concepts, and watering stuff down like this is part of the issue of pop psychology in the first place.

A lot of pop psychology gets thrown around and since I already have a headache, here's preventing you lot from making it worse.

Love-bombing: A manipulation tactic of increasing affection and grand gestures before or after doing something abusive, specifically to weasel one's way out of consequences.

What it is not: A streak of affection and generosity towards friends/loved ones.

Trauma-bonding: Knowingly traumatizing someone to take advantage of their vulnerable state, to then act like the "hero" or the one who cheers them up.

What it is not: Bonding over similar traumas.

Gaslighting: *Knowingly* convincing someone they cannot trust their own perception of a situation in pursuit of one's own narrative.

What it is not: Misaligned perception of events.

Narcissist: Someone afflicted with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, a traumagenic cluster B disorder, that struggles with self-obsession, paranoia, craving validity from the public, delusions of grandeur, and social disconnection.

It is not: Your rubbish ex that cheated on you.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

-Xanthe

#community #abuse -

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