Fear of Equality, Part 7. 03/17/2013

The Value of Inequality

Equality is not truly understood because its significance is caught up within  destructive definitions which renders the definition of Equality incoherent. When people see the word, “Equality” – pictures of being corralled into internment camps, loss of individuality and having their money taken away and given to the homeless arise like hideous black goblins within their minds.

This is a fantastic example how effective of producing a mind-controlling narrative built upon the crippling definition of commonly – held beliefs leads to ignorance, resistance, self-deception and fear.

This is a curious psychological reaction based on the deep dilemmas, conflicts and contradictions that is inherent within what we call the “Human Condition.”

There have been many differing views of what the Human Condition consists of; the worldwide systems of the Social, political, economic, environmental… these are outward and external factors that help shape our identities, while the internal factors are psychological, suffused with emotions, feelings, thoughts about self and the external world – and the values we place upon these things.

When it comes to a subject like Equality, it appears that the principle is undervalued, especially within the paradigm of Capitalism. This is because Equality is seen as antithetical to Capitalism (and its perceived qualities of Liberty, Freedom and Individuality), the value of Capitalism is based on certain assumptions – and since people have become the essence of Capitalism within their minds, they are willing to defend that position no matter what.

These assumptions are based on culturally – transmitted ideas of high – minded principles that look good on paper and appear grandiose in the mind, and we have gone through many of them in this series already. But it must be understood that these ideas are but a front that stands as a buttress against these existential fears of Equality.

Nestled within the mind is the impulse that self-preservation must always come first, whether it is the identity or the body. There exists a psychological resistance to change, to question, to investigate, to excavate or examine the layers of being – and it doesn’t matter if something, like Capitalism, actually compromises the self or doesn’t ultimately makes sense. What is important and valued above everything is validating the point one has become.

So the calculus, the equation is that we have all become the fear of Equality and the value of Capitalism. To exist as Equality then one must become Equality which would cause a partial deletion of one’s accepted identity, which is terrifying to the mind, which we have also become. The fear is that in the best case scenario, Equality will fail, and in the worst case the world (and the self) would effectively cease to exist.

It appears to be a vicious circle, where one is forced to accept what one has always known, until one chooses to step outside the circle, which takes a great amount of self – belief that there exists an identity outside that circle.

A helpful analogy… Take the laptop that I am banging these messages out on. It consists of hardware and software. Used together – very effective means of communication and purpose. But without the software, without the programs – the laptop is just a hunk of metal, circuits, glass and plastic. When I’m using this word processor, I can communicate and become the program – using the computer as an interface to the outside world. But without the hardware, there is nothing to give shape and form to the medium, and I end up in the same position of uselessness.

Point: people become the programs that they have invested in and have been broadcasted to – and do not see any other way of existing. Not only that, we must value what we become, because the key programs we value are self-preservation (hardware) and identity (software). And even if we hate ourselves and wish to destroy ourselves (or others), we still act in a way that values the negation of life, the nihilistic purpose to erase our being (or others) from existence, and the problem with that is we do not (or care) that we are in danger of erasing all life from this planet.

This reveals the pathological nature of the human mind – that it can place so much value, significance and  importance in a world system that is purportedly a means to ensure our survival – but in reality is actively working towards the ends of our destruction. It is like we are sailing and steering our planet into the jaws of a nightmare without any consideration or consciousness of the consequences. Not only that, but be careful if you point out these murderous, suicidal tendencies of human consciousness to others; you will be called “suicidal cult member.” And yet, we are all one collective suicidal cult members of the Church of Conscious Consumer Capitalism that is busily destroying our people, animals, plants, air and water. But if one brings that up, you’ll be labeled a “communist.” We don’t need Equality because we have the Next Big Thing that we value even more; another bright, shiny product that promises to make our lives even better! The media completely understands how to program and brainwash the human mind into accepting a cheap imitation of life while promulgating “liberty,” “lifestyles” and “freedom.”

Of course, the critics of Equality fear Equality and do not give a shit about anything else but what they can get out of their lives, which is money and the things money can buy. Oh, and making sure to defend this murderous, suicidal system against any criticism because they do not want to hear criticism of what they have in fact become. Everybody and everything else can go screw. Multiply that mindset several billion times and you should be able to see why the world is in the state it is today.

To them I say, take a breath and consider what Equal Money  and an Equal Money System offers. A way out of the box.

Fear of Equality, Part 6. 03/15/2013

The Natural Law Argument Against Equality

When we speak of the Fear of Equality, we notice that most opponents of Equality will use various arguments to contradict or invalidate the benefits and rewards of Equality. The most popular is the  Natural Law argument, due to its claims of representing the best features of human nature and best represents the ideals of human freedom. Above all else, Natural Law has been appealed to justify and legitimize and promote Capitalism. But does the Natural Law argument against Equality succeed in overturning the basic tenets of an egalitarian – based society?

“God is not separate from the world; He is the soul of the world, and each of us contains a part of the Divine Fire. All things are parts of one single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with Nature. In one sense, every life is in harmony with Nature, since it is such as Nature’s laws have caused it to be; but in another sense a human life is only in harmony with Nature when the individual will is directed to ends which are among those of Nature. Virtue consists in “living in agreement with Nature.” (Zeno, 4th Century, BCE).

It was the Stoics who are credited in formalizing the theory of Natural Law, where they believed that certain insights existed behind the natural order that could be ascertained through the application of reason and logic. This ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno (c. 300 BCE). According to Zeno’s teaching, the Universe is based on laws of the fiery mind of God. The Universe actually IS “God.”  It is the highest virtue (or moral good) that is based on knowledge, and that the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason that governs nature (because “God” IS Nature), and since life on Earth can cause various, detrimental episodes, to be indifferent to the reversal of fortunes that result in success and failure is “virtue.”

Principles of Natural Law have been embedded into Western philosophical thought accorded a special universal significance, since it has been viewed as a basis for ethical human interaction. Natural law is seen as a “special” branch of  the legal system, especially in the Western tradition  because of its reductive relationship to the natural world from which these universal principles were derived. In other words, it was believed that there was some kind of rational, comprehensible system that existed behind the natural world.

Darwin, Hebert Spencer and others used the Natural Law conceptual framework to build their systems of evolutionary change in biology and sociology. Over time Natural Selection came to be equated with “survival of the fittest,” the Capitalist Law of the Jungle where the only morality could be found in competition, adaptability to the environment and specialization.

During the Middle Ages Thomas Aquinas, the great Christian Church theologian, appealed to Natural Law principles when he proposed that proof of the existence of God did not require faith or belief, but only through the  rational exercise of the reasoning mind.

In the 16th Century, the Dutch jurist, Hugo Grotius, asserted that nations and individuals were subject to natural law principles. Grotius wrote that laws of men should be in accordance to natural law principles. Grotius and other writers and philosophers of the period in the 16th and 17th Centuries, used natural law propositions that helped topple the feudal system in Europe by pointing out that the feudal system was in opposition to the universal principles of Nature (and by extension, “God.”) Natural Law precepts helped shape important historical events and documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Rights of Man documents of te French Revolution, and formed a major stream of thought within the philosophy of Classical Liberalism, Capitalism and religion and science.

By the time we get to Herbert Spencer’s “survival of the fittest” and Charles Darwin’s “natural selection” memes in the 19th Century, natural law had become the theological system of Capitalism. The Law of the Jungle and the law of  laissez-faire Capitalism where the winner takes all are one and the same. There was nothing “immoral” about a lion killing and eating a gazelle as it was just fulfilling its role as part of the natural world of survival within a certain environment. Same with letting the poor starve and die; no immorality there, for if the weak are unfit to survive the law will remove them from this reality. It is simply science.

It has been the theories of Natural Law that has legitimized the structure of Capitalism and helped give it shape and direction. But is this linkage of Natural Law and Natural Selection able to accurately describe a rational order in this world or is it merely a theory based on a false impression of reality? What is the argument of those who fear Equality goes against the principles of Natural Law?

Orders of Equality and the Limits Imposed by “Liberty”

For example, justice is considered to mean equality, It does mean equality, but equality for those who are equal, and not for all. (Aristotle)

Since nature does not endow all men with equal beauty or equal intelligence, and the faculty of volition leads men to make different choices, the egalitarians propose to abolish the “unfairness” of nature and of volition, and to establish universal equality in fact—in defiance of facts. Since the Law of Identity is impervious to human manipulation, it is the Law of Causality that they struggle to abrogate. Since personal attributes or virtues cannot be “redistributed,” they seek to deprive men of their consequences—of the rewards, the benefits, the achievements created by personal attributes and virtues. It is not equality before the law that they seek, but inequality: the establishment of an inverted social pyramid, with a new aristocracy on top—the aristocracy of non-value. (Ayn Rand, The Return of the Primitive)

The arguments against Equality are based in essentialism [1] and limitation. The first argument goes like this: people are inherently un-equal, blessed or cursed with different strengths and weaknesses that yield different results of success and failure in life. To award Equality to all is to reward failure. It is against the Law of the Jungle, Natural Selection and “survival of the fittest.” The Natural Law argument is also one that is embedded through the Classical Liberalism conceits of “Individualism,” “free will” and “Liberty,” not to mention the biggest conceit of all: competition. While the other items are vague, shapeless and subject to multiple interpretations, everyone understands competition.[2] And everyone understands that a Capitalism without competition ceases to be Capitalism. Removing competition removes motivation to participate in Capitalism (so it is believed). And what is feared is the collapse of the entire system due to non – participation. Equality in this way is seen as a subversion to the Natural Order, which leads to the next point.

The Limitation argument is also based on Classical Liberal philosophy, economics and even science. As we have seen in the previous blogs, there’s an inherent, irrational fear that (1) Equality is impossible due to the evil, selfish nature of humanity, and (2) Equality can only be imposed through Draconian, authoritarian means. It is believed that your money must be taken away from you and redistributed to others “who don’t deserve it.” In Capitalism, and this is a point Capitalists are loathe to admit on moral grounds, it is acceptable for a person or group of people to exploit others for profit. The initial economic surge of Capitalism was generated by the harnessing of slave labor and exploitation of the working class. People actually died for the right of working a 40 hour week (Less than 100 years ago, it was common for a factory worker to toil 16 hours a day in dangerous, life – threatening conditions. One can see how Capitalism would have liked to treat its workers). The Limitation of Liberty is the limitation of the liberal’s right to choose to exploit another for profit. (When speaking of “liberal” in this context, I’m referring to the classical economic dimension of the term, not the political definition. Thus, all Capitalists are ‘liberal’ in that Capitalism is a liberal economic system).

So if you mine this equation for any logic, you can only come up with this: at least within Capitalism, Liberty sets limits on equality because Liberty is inherently inequitable, the argument being, “Surely one wouldn’t allow everyone to study at Harvard, would they? It wouldn’t be fair to those who actually can afford it or have the educational level to study there.” There has to be obstacles and impediments in place (like access to money and connections) or else the value of Harvard is rendered spoiled. This value is tied to what we cherish and despise – the life and death principles of success and failure.

We are now moving into another murky territory. The value of a Harvard education is analogous to the value of Capitalism.

NEXT: The Value of Inequality

NOTES

[1] Essentialism is the philosophical belief that things have a set of characteristics that make them what they are (their essence), and that the task of science and philosophy is their discovery and expression; the doctrine that essence is prior to existence.

[2] This is why a result of a tie or draw in a soccer match infuriates American sports fans. There should always be a winner who takes all.

Fear of Equality, Part 5. 03/12/2013

THE impression forces itself upon one that men measure by false standards, that everyone seeks power, success, riches for himself and admires others who attain them, while undervaluing the truly precious things in life.

Thus begins Freud in his book, Civilization and its Discontents. We can speculate some other time about what the “truly precious things in life” may be, since such things are wholly subjective and would prevent us from cleaving to the matter at hand. But Freud does reveal a tendency or a trait within human beings, that we are often given to measure our relationships, environment and thoughts by false standards, through manipulation, ignorance and wishful thinking.

This has been my thesis so far: people fear Equality because differing groups of people fear the domination or misuse by other Groups.

There can be no vast accumulation of wealth within a system of relationships of equal cooperation. There is no rational explanation of how massive social inequality could exist within cooperative relationships within the Group. Thus, the idea of Competition, rather than cooperation, was used  to justify and protect the wealth and property of the haves from the have-nots; a framework that makes sense only within the paradigm of Capitalism.

This fear of the Group is channeled and misdirected into elevated, metaphysical conceptions as values of competition, liberty, free will and Individualism. Of these, liberty, free will and the Classical Liberal deification of the Individual are thought experiments that can only be measured and compared through the signification of vocabulary or artful terminology. Of these, only competition can be considered an event taking place in reality, since competition has very real consequences and effects that can be measured, seen and experienced. The others are mental projections that are used to justify the means and ends of competition.

Managing the Trinity of Fears

There is a Trinity of great Fears that predominately exist within human beings, and they are:

(1) knowledge that each one of us has needs that must be met in order to survive.

(2) Nobody can be trusted, and,

(3) Survival is wholly dependant on access to money or those with money.

To deal with these fears, and more importantly, matters of survival, it is believed by social scientists that early social Groups were formed within relationships of cooperation to deal collectively with the issues of survival. As Society grew more complex and advanced, competition was introduced. How did this occur? The easiest answer has to do with man’s capacity for greed and desire for power over other groups and the environment. Wars and establishing controls over groups became the accepted standards for managing people and resources. There is even a saying about the realities of war that confirms this: to the victor goes the spoils. [1] Capitalism provides the incentive to compete, survival is the motivator, the point between life and death, as well as the attainment of value through the fulfillment of desire via “winning” (acquiring property, sex or fame).  The “loser” is accorded the loss of value, since the loser’s value must be extinguished and consumed by the winner.

It was a very neat and fiendishly clever trick to convince the Group that an existential “winner – take – all” competition for survival was the best and most efficient mode of living. Yet for over 500 years, modern Capitalism has reigned as the winner over all other economic systems. But it required a lot of help from the philosophers, economists and science to do so.

Conceptions of Society

Philosophers, scientists and churchmen have all had their own ideas about forming the perfect society; The major thinkers include Plato, Augustine, Marx, Lenin, etc.. In Plato’s Republic, the cornerstone of society would be “justice.”  Plato’s perspectives were informed by his aristocratic status in Athenian society, and he had a suspicious and disapproving view of democracy, preferring his utopia to be ruled by elite philosophers.

Augustine believed that the ideal society would be one entirely devoted to Christian principles in order to gain entrance into the City of God in the hereafter. Augustine believed that if the State followed the teachings of Jesus Christ, justice and peace would ensue.

By the 18th Century, philosophers like Jean – Jacque Rousseau and others proposed that a perfect utopian state existed before being debased by European culture. Rousseau envisioned a future community that linked political “freedom” with education, but at the same time was pessimistic that self-interest could be overcome to a point that would allow such a reality to unfold.

Karl Marx proposed that “true freedom” could not be found through individual means, but only through the community. Marx’s ideal community would be a classless one of equally shared property and resources, which would only emerge after the conflicts that will cause the collapse of Capitalism.

Amazingly, small – scaled experiments of egalitarian communities were formed in Europe and America in the 19th Century by Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet and others.

Despite the failure of these communities to survive, the common notions of economic and political equality would never completely be lost, although these principles would live on in diluted and distorted forms within the various stripes of socialism (which has never escaped the gravity of market capitalism, thus keeping the social inequalities in place).

The fear of Equality is based on a false, mental reality that has produced severe material and physical consequences for humanity and the environment. These consequences are fast approaching the line of no return that will endanger our civilization in ways that are scarcely imaginable, most likely in permanent, unpleasant ways. We need to find a way out of this date with a dystopian destiny before that line is crossed. Perhaps, if we could finally see and understand how a community based on common sense and Equality could become a workable, comprehensible reality, we can begin to fashion an alternative that will be to the benefit of all.

NEXT:The Natural Law Argument Against Equality

NOTE

[1] A peculiarly American political idiom that arose in the mid – 1800′s to describe a rewards – system that benefitted the winning candidate’s supporters with government jobs.

Why I am Voting for Obama

I’m registered to vote in my state and it will be the first time I voted in a presidential election since 1988, 24 years ago.  I wasn’t really enamored with the Democratic candidate and I remember voting more against George Herbert Walker Bush  and not voting for Michael Dukakis. Dukakis could have been the Man from Mars, it didn’t matter to me,  it was Reagan’s Vice-President I despised. 

I find myself in a similar position this election. I’m not voting for Obama as much as I am voting against Mitt Romney. Regular reader will know that my fervor for Obama is less than lukewarm. Since my last Presidential vote, and in fact, long before, I had long-held a distrust towards the electoral process. I was nominally raised a Democrat by default since it was the Democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill while the Republicans largely opposed it. However, I eventually lost all kinds of love from the Democrats, who seemed unable to run anyone (except for Clinton) but the lamest of stiffs. I also began to see that the two-party system was outdated, corrupt and hopelessly locked in a bicameral conflict that renders the system to be unable to respond to the ills that face this country. I have a suspicion that Washington likes it this way. So I developed my distrust and ambivalence towards the political system into a viewpoint that s voting doesn’t matter.

Now I was out of the country for the last election, so I don’t know if there was the same kind of naked politically fueled racism that I’m seeing now. And what I am seeing now is a rebroadcast of the Old Politics of a new War between the States led by Romney as the Great White Hope and Obama as a foreign Muslim Socialist.

Actually, this internal conflict between the North and South has never abated. Apparently, this rift cannot be mended. Mitt Romney has been championed as the last Great White Hope. If you look at the political map of the US, you’ll see an interesting thing; the southern states align to Romney and the Northern states to Obama. Since 1964, the year the Civil Rights bill was passed, southern white voters have typically voted Republican, especially for President. The republicans, starting with Nixon’s Southern Strategy, have become adept at race-baiting and playing on prejudices of white Americans (To be white in America means that one is an American Prime).

The Republicans are attempting to throw one last Hail Mary pass into the end zone of the Presidency by targeting a shrinking white electorate. More than ever America has become victimized by racial divisions.  91% of likely Romney votes will come from whites. Minorities and women will vote for Obama. With the U.S. population becoming more multiculturally diverse along with the shrinking numbers of white men, the Republicans realize with their internal fragmentation between neocons, tea-baggers, Christian Right and fiscal conservatives, their time is about over. This is the last election where white males will have a chance for a favorable outcome. The fear for white males voting for Romney is that their unearned privilege and influence of their birthright is destined to end.

Of course, this has exacerbated racial tensions and the Republicans are milking this dysfunction for all its worth. Polls are showing that most whites in America have racial dislike for non-whites.

But none of these  things are reasons why I am voting for Obama. Mitt Romney lies too goddamn much. I get that all politicians lie. But Romney has so willingly stretched to superhuman lengths of mendacity, it’s frightening to think about what he would lie about in office.  I am not voting for Obama because he’s black. I’m voting against Romney because it seems he can’t open his mouth without lying about who he is, what he really stands for or what he intends to do.

I know he’s fond of saying he has a “plan” to create 12 million jobs. Really, what kind of jobs and how much do they pay and how does he plan to do this? He hasn’t said. He’s probably lying. Romney’s etch-a-sketch style of morphing into another personality when circumstances change is just weird, and it may bite him in the ass yet.

That being said, I remain as skeptical and suspicious of politics and this phony-baloney hand-wringing pandering to the middle-class. It’s a false, pernicious narrative and only serves to keep both the elites and underclass in their place. Both Obama and Romney are guilty of this pandering to the middle class, which is just so much promise-making towards a majority who identifies with the otherwise meaningless term. Making specious promises to the Middle Class will only guarantee the status quo. Only an Equal Money system will level the playing field, and one day we will have a candidate running on that platform.

So until then, I’m voting against Romney, and voting for the lesser of two evils in Obama. Obama left a lot on the table. He could generate enough power with a Republican Congress stopping his every move. Maybe Obama can get more things done in a second term. But in any case, this election will be the last, hopefully, of cynical, race-baiting politics casting disgrace upon our dishonored land.

2011/09/20 – Was Marx Right? – Umair Haque – Harvard Business Review

 

 

 

 

 

With all the economic turmoil that threatens to implode Capitalism into something either more sinister or more beneficial in relationship to humanity, some people are looking to see why the Capitalist system is hopelessly caught in a perpetual cycle of boom-and-bust until that last boom when everything gets wrecked. Who knows what will arise from the ashes of Capitalism? How did we get here? The first question depends on a sea-change in human nature. The second question had been asked over 150 years ago by Karl Marx, who saw how Capitalism would end: not with a whimper, but a BANG.

 

 

 

 

2011/09/17 – Ivan Rauscher Channels his Inner Hitler

Ivan Rauscher at play

“Ivan Rauscher,” a regular contributor to the Desteni Cult blog recently made  a lazy comparison that should reveal to anyone with even a modicum of discernment the deliberate smear campaign underway against Desteni. The only question that remains a mystery for these faux-logical contortions is, “why?”

We see and understand that any group that offers a different point-of-view from the mainstream will be called a “cult,” even groups such as Greenpeace and Zeitgeist will be called “cults” even when there is no metaphysical underpinning within their platform. But in Ivan Rauscher’s fevered imagination, he is clearly trying to link Desteni within  Nazi and Neo-Nazi philosophy in oder to smear, not to produce any kind of objective perspective involving Desteni. Watch Ivan as he does his thing:

To say that Adolf Hitler is an example of ‘self-forgiveness’ verges on support for Nazism.

This strange comparison , if it means anything, can only mean that the demonic has more power and fear over man’s common sense. A figure like Hitler is apparently far too evil to ever experience remorse or a desire for forgiveness. Such a notion of the forgiveness of Hitler is metaphysical But this description would only hold if Rauscher was serious about self-forgiveness and Nazism. In any case, this is a disgusting smear, which  Rauscher hopes that if he and his Anti-Desteni Watchdog Cult repeat often enough, people will believe it. Anyone familiar with Nazism would understand that the political thrust of Nazism was fear, racism, social Darwinism, conspiracy and vengeance, principles which not-so-ironically features a lot within the perspectives of the Desteni Cult Watchdogs. Another feature is an appalling disregard of dignity. Rauscher is quite satisfied to resort to common slander and misinformation against Desteni when he knows  what he’s saying isn’t true. I must assume that he understands what he is doing, because the alternative is that he’s lost touch with reality and needs to seek professional help.

I will go further and give Rauscher a pass and assume that he is “serious” when he says self-forgiveness of Hitler “verges on support for Nazism.” But how does the principle of self-forgiveness, a subject  that Rauscher clearly doesn’t a damn about, which focuses on self-acceptance, self-responsibility and correcting self to become clean in one’s dealings with others and within self, have to do with the political ideology of Nazism? We’ve briefly laid out Nazi principles earlier and I don’t see any connection between supporting  that specific, early 20th Century European movement based on the above factors of racism, fear and vengeance and with self-correction via self-honesty.

 If a member of ‘desteni’ made such a statement in a place of work where, as in the UK,  there are laws in support of Equal Opportunities, they would lose their job.

Well, I guess you must be sorry to live in the UK, Ivan, because in America, we are (for the moment) allowed to speak about any subject we like. But then again, censoring speech of others is apparently something neoliberals like Ivan have no problem imposing on others. This is counterintuitive, for freedom of speech is a liberal principle, and as we know, Hitler’s Germany limited speech in a big way. Another indication that the Anti-Desteni Watchdog Cult is more authoritarian than they understand themselves to be. They are the true “Nazis.”

Poolman’s romanticisation of himself as the redeemer of the Nazi leader is a crude  attempt to rehabilitate the historical figure of Adolf Hitler in the minds of  impressionable people.

It is nothing of the kind. To take the most reviled being of the 20th century and declare that even someone like that can apply self-forgiveness and be forgiven is actually a test of one’s own humanity. Simply put, anybody in Hitler’s shoes would have done the same thing. There were economic and cultural forces in the world that produced a Hitler, and nobody stepped in and helped him out before he became a monster. This is why we link self-forgiveness with self-responsibility and self-honesty. Nobody is innocent and everyone is responsible for what the world has become. There is a Hitler at the core of every single being in this world. Hitler wasn’t more “evil” than a “normal” human being. He just expressed it more fully than anyone would. It is beyond belief that Rauscher would stoop to inveigling that Desteni supports Nazism because we believe everyone has the capacity to forgive oneself and become self-responsible and clear within themselves. Rauscher’s agenda is to attack Desteni. We don’t know why. Maybe he needs something to feel superior to, like Hitler. Maybe he just wants to destroy something that he disagrees with. Like Hitler. Maybe he thinks the only way to bring his desired result to fruition is to spread and repeat lies eternally so people will believe what he believes.  Like Hitler. Seems to me that Rauscher is the one who supports Nazism, since he uses so many Nazi propaganda techniques to demonize Desteni.

Poolman’s fan club have claimed that ‘what Hitler did for the German people was full  employment and no crime’, when full employment and ‘no crime’ were brought about  in Germany by the Nazis waging all-out war against other nations and legalising the  terrorising, torturing and killing of Jews and other minorities.

Hitler rebuilt the Germany economy before he went too far and began to wage war against Europe, and he did it without using the Western banking system or their money. Hitler did kick the Jews out work to reach full employment in prewar Germany (by 1938). It wasn’t right to do, but as I’ve said earlier – Nazism was racist. Desteni does not support any policy that is racist and unequal. What Desteni supports is that any person, no matter how evil or vicious they may have become in life – we support the idea that even the worst among us can  be forgiven. And I fail to see how such a position can be twisted into “support of Nazism.”

But in Poolman’s ‘desteni’, Hitler’s economic policies are meant to show how an ‘equal  money system’ might work, and ‘equality’ involves seeing Hitler as a model of ‘self- forgiveness’. It means denouncing friends and family as ‘demonic’ and damning  outsiders as psychopaths who are ‘unworthy of life’ — as if such notions could be of any  use to anyone.

What if science backs up our assertion that Family is the cause of war? “Social scientists have claimed that the American family “is also in a continuous state of war. Conflict between husband, wife and children is a constant source of unhappiness. Behavioral symptoms of these conflicts are rape, violence, murder, physical and verbal abuse. Emotional symptoms of these internal conflicts include frustration, jealousy, arrogance, anger and hate.”  We were all subjected to the conflict in our families and of the conflict that scrambles our inner self. Breaking away from the family construct is necessary because of the psychic pull and influences damage and  distort one’s view of self. It isn’t done out of hate or malice. This is another charge against Desteni being made by a hater with no direct experience to self-forgiveness or self-honesty. Everything his head in just lies. Such charges betrsay a psycopathic personality, Wikipedia describes “psychopathic” tendencies.

A psychopath “is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness.”

Doesn’t that sound an awful like the Anti-Desteni Watcher cult?

These psychopathic  symptoms begun in the family  are later played out in wars all over the world. The manifestation of War begins within the family unit, where all members are potential Hitlers all thrying to get their way.

They all revolve around the ridiculous idea that dead movie and rock stars, occultists,  dictators, reptilians, mythical beings and various inanimate objects have told Mr.  Poolman — via some waitress he picked up in a café — that they have ‘forgiven’  themselves in the afterlife or in ‘the dimensions’ — as if that were an unquestionable  revelation of ‘equality’.

See Rauscher mangle and confusing the entire Desteni message in a typically ill-researched and sloppy  manner that he tries to pass off as “truth.”Rauscher also can never verify his suspicion that the portal is a fact. This is something that he knows he can’t prove, so what he has  to is resort to opinion, lies and smears. Not very clever and very easy to see through.

Mr. Poolman tries to hijack liberal concepts of equality to try to make his financial  scams, bigotry and tawdry fantasies about famous historical or fictional characters  seem relevant and appealing. But he is unconvincing.

Liberalism has long ago betrayed the principle of Equality and disfigured it to such an extent that people fear the very word. Equality is a threat and a joke, so all Desteni is doing is to revive the meaning of the word and remove the layers of deception, fear and ignorance from the damn word that has infected its meaning. Not that you or your fellow cult-members would be able to understand anything Desteni says.

‘Equality’, the ‘equal money system’, the so-called ‘lifestyle concept’ of the Desteni I  Process MLM scam and requests for donations at desteni.co.za are all so many tacky  marketing devices to raise funds to maintain the ‘lifestyle’ of the people who live on,  and sell holidays at the Desteni farm in South Africa.

And this is another meme that the Anti-Desteni Watchdog Cult is fond of exploiting. Desteni  is apparently too weird to be able to exist in any form, and anyone who supports Desteni financially is a weak-willed duped that must be saved by clear thinking anti-cultists. This kind of reasoning is clearly fascist. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism ) Isn’t it odd that what the haters rail about Desteni is in fact how they operate?

Just as Poolman has never met Hitler or anyone else in ‘the afterlife’, heaven or in  ‘demon dimensions’, he, Sunette Spies and all their buddies and deluded, obedient  sycophants have nothing whatever to do with equality.

Big words that sound impressive but signify only a opinioned, anti-intellectual feebleness. The problem is simple for Rauscher – he has no evidence what is “fake.” He only has ideas about Desteni. He has no authority to pass judgment on what Desteni is about because he clearly is nothing but a bandwagon jumper on the Anti-Desteni Propaganda Express. Why does Rauscher believe he can make a name for himself by attacking something he has no clear understanding of? He proves that one does not have to understand something to have an idea about something, because in Rauscher’s world, only his perspective and experiences matter. This is, of course, a reflection of Rauscher’s intellectual fascism. Yes, Ivan Rascher is a small-minded and deceptive Hitler, or at least a Mussolini.

And here is the winner. The decrepid mind-poison central to the tenets of Anti-Destonianism. It is a catechism that must be murmured in solemn tones:

Desteni’ is a fraudulent organisation. It only exists to promote Bernard Poolman’s  xenophobic, misanthropic world view. Its members misrepresent, abuse and pervert  principles of equality in support of their own enslavement under his totalitarian fantasy  of an ‘Equal Life Party’. In spite of their empty claims that they are a ‘threat to the  system’, they are a threat only to themselves and the naïve, idealistic New Ager  conspiracy theorists they try to prey on, groom and recruit.

Amen. Shades of “Sandman,” Sean Munger, Thom Darc, Robert Lester and Laura Corsetmacher.  A distillation of the Anti-Desteni Cult Watcher meme, repeated in orgiastic excess that would  make Goebbels blush. Carry on, fuckers. You cannot destroy that which you don’t understand.

The point is this: if Hitler cannot be forgiven, them nobody can be forgiven, and the commandment of Jesus to forgive another is lost forever, Because as Ivan Rauscher has sufficiently revealed, everyone has a Hitler within.

2011/09/16 – A Reply to Sean Munger (AKA “MUERTOS!”)

 Sean Munger AKA “Muertos!” Why?

I haven’t really had the time to check on what the League of International Desteni Haters Cult has been up to lately, what with all the You Tube banning of Desteni and the accompanied internet attacks against us. But now that things have calmed down, it has been brought to my attention that the white racist Desteni  Hater Cult (why are almost all of them white males?) might not be aware that Desteni doesn’t die — we MULTIPLY. Desteni is STILL ON THE INTERNET. Must bug the hell out of the racist Desteni Hater Cult that they couldn’t complete their mission.

Why do I call them “white racists?” Because that’s how they’ve chosen to portray themselves. Look at the “comments” they leave on their insipid message boards. And one of the principal white Desteni haters is of course, the doughty meta-conspiracy theorist, “Muertos!” Of all the white Desteni haters on the formerly-called “Conspiracy Science (recently renamed to the somewhat less goofy “Skeptic Forum”), perhaps none was as gleefully gloating as Sean Munger, who also has the most threads started on the “Skeptic Forum” about Desteni.  Weirdly obsessive, isn’t it?

The month of August has not been kind to the conspiracy theorist cult known as Desteni. Indeed, while it’s probably too early to declare the impending extinction of this bizarre group, they are undoubtedly reeling from a series of recent disasters, one of which may well strike at the cult’s ability to reach new members.

And then again, it may NOT, Sean. After the You Tube banning of Desteni, we experienced another surge in subscriptions to the Desteni I Process and let me tell you, it was very gratifying to witness that some people can see right through the elaborate paranoid fever dreams you and your ilk take so much satisfaction in creating.

This move by YouTube is very possibly a stake in the heart for the cult, as YouTube is their main recruiting portal.

Hahahaha, wrong again, Sean. There are still many Desteni channels – dozens and far too many for you to wish for their demise. The Bernard Poolman and Desteni channels (not all of them, though) were targeted by an affiliation of racist white haters who couldn’t care less about the “poor, hapless dupes” that were “too mentally unstable” to think for themselves. This affiliation was cobbled together to form an “anti-Desteni movement” out of sheer hateful ignorance, jealousy and cultural brainwashing. This group was merely a ”sleeper-cell” of system-zombies that like the good robotic anti-bodies they are, attack the “cult” who has the nerve to state things as they are. The “MLM-cult” smear was something that Desteni could not overcome, so there has been a change in tactics, although the details aren’t for public consumption yet. The You Tube banning was the best thing that could happen to Desteni, because now we see what is allowed to be said and what isn’t. Desteni is shown that YouTube and Google are instrumental in curtailing “free speech,” not that Destonians believe in such a quaint notion, it’s just that speaking about Equality has consequences, but it is too late: millions have watched Desteni videos and won’t forget them. They have been marked in way that aren’t understood, but has all to do with the almost-dead seed of honor and human dignity that will find a way to break out of this ever-tightening noose around the throat of humanity. And there’s nothing white racist sleeper-cell zombies can do about it. There is a shit storm coming their way with their names on it. Remember these words when it finally falls upon you, and understand it was the consequence you created for yourselves.

While Desteni uses Facebook to a lesser extent to spread its message, its main strategy has always been to reel in the gullible via YouTube videos spouting their bizarre philosophy and promoting conspiracy theories. Indeed the use of YouTube to appeal to a conspiracy theorist demographic is no accident. Conspiracy theorists are uniquely attracted to YouTube, for reasons I explained in another blog on the SkepticProject site. [...] Furthermore, Desteni has always marketed itself using a uniquely visual interface. Blogs and even Facebook posts just don’t have the same visceral appeal.

Sean Munger, the only conspiracy theorist in this conversation is yOu. I mean, it would take someone with a racial-superiority mindset to be opposed to equality just because of the deep-seated desire to be ‘superior” to someone else. Yes, I am sure the subject of Equality is a “bizarre philosophy” to someone who hates Equality. How else would they see it?

The cult’s indignation at this move was palpable. In an “official statement,” the Desteni cult, mere hours after the channel closures, was already crafting its take on this event: it is (naturally) claiming this is censorship and an attempt to prevent Desteni’s pure message of equality from getting out. The statement read in part:

“We can only assume the real reason for this. One thing is certain – Desteni is hitting the nerve of some people and it’s hitting hard. It also shows the nature of the system we live in. I mean what we deal with in our material – self-forgiveness, self-perfection, establishing and Equal Money System for all. Points that everyone can benefit from, points that are best for all. Many people have been supported by this material and shared their results publicly. Yet, this is not recognized and even fought against. Shame.”

Desteni immediately launched a counter-strike, commanding its members to spam YouTube with a form email protesting the closure. Not surprisingly, the form email blames the whole thing on Desteni’s external enemies–the “haters” with whom the higher-ups in the cult seem bizarrely obsessed:

“Hereby we declare, as the individuals that have received the support and assistance from the material provided by these channels, our discontent and discomformity with the decision that youtube has taken based on the false-flagging done by people that have been opposing our stance in relation to world equality.”

We have seen evidence online that a concerted effort was made to remove Desteni from YouTube, and since you are one of the Desteni-obsessed haters who exhibit that smugly superior attitude that people who don’t share your personal perspective, must be in a “cult.” You sound a lot like Rick Ross. Are you a “cult-watcher,” Sean Munger? No, you’re worse than that. You’re a ‘conspiracy-cult-watcher.’ Yet you belong to a similar cult that Rick Ross and Thom Darc and Rob Lester belong to. A cult that protects the status quo. Or maybe the world looks alright to you. All your conspiracy-cult-watching as done fuck all to improve the state of this world. And yet you and your white, racist conspiracy-cult-watching pals probably surf the internet for porn while keeping one hand on the keyboard scouring the internet for ‘equality cults.’ No, you don’t look for equality cults. I was kidding. Equality is like fucking kryptonite to zombie sleeper-cells. And you think Destonians are “indignant?” Wait until this world gets ahold of you. You’ll know what “indignant really means, although, it will probably be too late for you.

Although there is some precedent for reversing YouTube channel closure decisions, it has now been 11 days since the closure and the hundreds of emails sent by dutiful Destonians seem to have come to nothing. None of the channels have been reinstated.

Fuck YouTube.

Desteni spokesperson Darryl Thomas, who I suspect (but do not know for sure) is #3 in the cult hierarchy after leader Bernard Poolman and New Age whack job Sunette Spies, took to his blog with an even more defiant statement denouncing the closure, as well as reinforcing the cult’s narrative that it’s all the fault of “haters.” For the record, Darryl once told me he “enjoys being in [my] head.” I wonder if I and other Desteni critics were not in his head as he fired off this seething invective:

“It is so unfortunate that these misled fools will one day realize after it is too late, that they stood on the wrong side of history. They have unwittingly – in their misguided zeal to stand against equality for all – unleashed demons that will return to devour them in madness and direct them to a fitting end. And the beautiful thing is they brought it on themselves. How fitting.

And to all the Haters, do not gloat so loudly. DesteniProductions is not dependent on YouTube for our continuance – Desteni has its own websites and forums, and so, still lives. And even though equality-speech is apparently strictly verboten on YouTube, Desteni finds this entire affair little more than a nuisance. The Desteni Material will soon be released as book and DVDs and the thousands of texts and videos will still be available on the Desteni website for anyone who wants to watch them.

I know it will sound strange to some people who believe that Desteni is defeated by this treacherous activity by YouTube, but we haven’t gone anywhere and in time, this alleged “setback” will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to the Desteni Group.”

YOU “suspect (but do not know for sure) ” that I am “Number 3?” Is this more of your “research” or more opinionated twaddle that you are better known for? Besides, for all you know (or suspect), I could be “Number 1″ in Desteni?  I use Bernard to throw cult-watchers like you. But, who is the conspiracy nut here? Careful…

The closure of the cult’s YouTube channels was evidently enough to bring cult leader Bernard Poolman out of hiding on his South Africa ranch. Two days ago Poolman uploaded a video that is remarkably shrill even for him, urging followers to flag as inappropriate any video on YouTube that they don’t like for any reason–regardless of copyright or privacy status. The video is here, but as the video itself violates YouTube’s terms of service I doubt it will be up for very long; I’ll therefore link you to another blog that ran a story on the video. Essentially, Poolman is, in evident desperation, commanding his followers to create such havoc on YouTube through the flagging process that the video website giant will be brought to its knees. Somehow I don’t think this is likely.

“Desperation?” If you knew Bernard Poolman (and we both know you don’t), you’d understand why he doesn’t experience “desperation,” and why the You Tube banning was the best thing that could happen to Desteni. Again, “Fuck YouTube.” There are plenty of Desteni channels and blogs on the internet.We’re STILL HERE, Munger. You and your white racist friends on the Skeptic Forum (lol) can waste your time being against us if you want to, but as long as there’s an internet, we’ll be here.

The second blow to the cult fell just this morning. As you can see from Darryl’s defiant statement, the cult clearly did have plans to relocate to another web video service, though of course being denied access to the vast numbers of YouTube users must be galling. Desteni attempted to move over to Vimeo. Today, however, Vimeo suspended Desteni Productions’s account. Why? Because promotion of multi-level marketing schemes is not permitted on Vimeo.

Fuck Vimeo, too. Nobody watches anything on that lame-ass site, anyway.

In short, it seems that efforts to promote awareness of the fraudulent and destructive nature of the Desteni cult are finally bearing fruit. While we have no idea what’s next, I wonder if Facebook may be the next social network outfit to ban them. Facebook’s terms of service, like Vimeo’s, expressly forbid the promotion of MLM schemes, and Desteni watchdog bloggers are already spreading the word that Desteni violates Facebook’s guidelines.

Ahh, God bless the White Religious and Racist Desteni Watchdog Cult. And yet, nearly 2500 Facebook users have chosen to identify themselves as being proponents of the Equal Money System. And as of today, Desteni members are all STILL ON FACEBOOK. “Oh my GOD! It’s the END OF CIVILIZATION! DESTENI MUST BE STOPPED!!!” We can’t be stopped. Deal.

It’s not inconceivable that in the near future Desteni may be reduced down to its own website and a much less-centralized structure of communication. Individual Desteni users are still as thick as fleas on YouTube, but the authoritarian coordination of their message seems to have already suffered a serious disruption. Their bizarre “Anti-Hate Response” ritual, for instance, has ground to a halt. [Scroll to the bottom of that blog for the update that discusses that issue]. Without central coordination from YouTube, marshaling the Destonians in the future is going to be a much tougher slog than before.

I know that is what you would like to believe, Munger. but the past events has shown us that Desteni is all the more conspicuous in its absence. Tell a lie long enough, and people will believe it’s true, and that is all the Desteni Watchdog Cult has been able to do, although they did their job well. Goebbels should be so proud. The orchestrated and deliberate misinformation campaign, smears, slanders and out-and-out lies was only made because certain fools thought that Desteni was an “easy mark.” Yeah, that foolish miscalculation will be your downfall. Already the consequences are drawing closer to you. You brought it on yourself with your deliberate deception.

It almost goes without saying that this has nothing to do with Desteni’s message of “equality,” as much as Destonians would like to make it about that. Instead, it’s about the fact that Desteni is a fraud and has been using social networking tools to make money, possibly illegally but certainly spuriously, through a remarkably transparent pyramid scheme. It is certainly not against YouTube or Facebook’s terms of service to use their services to promote belief in conspiracy theories. And it’s ludicrous to believe that the owners of these services give a whit about messages of “equality.” They just don’t want to get tagged with advancing fraud and illegal activities, and rightly so.

“Almost goes without saying that this has nothing to do with Desteni’s message of “equality?” Yes, Sean Munger, it does have everything to do with the message of equality. And we have all seen your true relationship with the “facts.” You are delusional if you believe you know squat about Desteni. If it is a “fraud,” then why don’t you fucking PROVE IT? Or is it that since trumpeted your deliberate twisting and misinformation of Desteni so much that you’ve finally believe your lies are “true?” You just don’t get it – making false statements about a subject that you are ignorant of doesn’t make it “true,” no matter how much you want to believe it. Your grasp on reality is becoming confused. I suggest you seek out professional help to deal with your obvious mental issues before you become a danger to your community.

2011/09/14 – The Cult of the Deprogrammer: Rick Ross

The Cult-Deprogrammer Hall of Fame

“Anticultism can turn out to be as narrow minded and dangerous as cultist. Worst of all, it often exacerbates the cultic mindset of those they oppose, and can worsen situations that are already bad at the outset. The irony of it is that they are the ones supposed to know better, but are also the same who, more often than not, exemplify cultic behavior better than cultists themselves.” [1]

Believe it or not, there are people who hold the opinion that self-proclaimed “cult buster” and “cult deprogrammer” Rick Ross is an “expert” on “destructive cults.” The so-called Ross’ “Institute” [2] of “Cult Awareness” and his “Cult Education Forum” are devoted to scour the news in search of so-called “destructive cults.” These misguided folks who consider Rick Ross’ singular campaign against “cults” as a worthy or heroic pursuit probably haven’t investigated Ross or his “Institute” or know anything  about his criminal background as a convicted felon. They may have taken at face value what others have said about Ross as being an “internationally known expert regarding destructive cults” (Bond, 2005). An online article about Rick Ross at the Religious Freedom Watch site offers an unbiased view on Ross’ activities, background and his “Institute.”

It says that, “Although Rick Ross promotes himself as a professional “cult expert”, a review of his educational background shows that quite apart from being anti-Christian (he refers to Christians as “Bible bangers”), Ross  has no religious educational credentials whatsoever.’ Rick Ross, who’s apparent religious intolerance may be informed by his Jewish upbringing, allegedly began his “cult-busting” career working in his grandmother’s nursing home. The date of this event is not given, but could have occurred anytime during his troubled youth.  Ross had undergone many years of psychiatric therapy starting at age 6. After his second arrest and imprisonment, Ross was seen and evaluated by psychiatrist Dr. Domiciano E. Santos of Arizona State Hospital who found Ross to be, “an arrogant, self-centered individual with some hostile tendencies” who “does not seem to profit from his past experiences and cannot realize that what he does is socially unacceptable and dangerous … He does not seem to identify himself with society and its laws, and believes that punishments are an injustice.” According to Religious Freedom Watch, “A September 10, 1975, report from Dr. Jerome J. Kaye, stated that Rick Ross had been under his care from 1957 through September 1971. In 1965, at age 10, Ross was put on the psychiatric drugs “Deaner” and “Librium” which he took daily in an attempt to suppress his anti-social behavior.”

Rick Ross’ Pro-Jewish, Anti-Christian Religious Paranoia: “The Missionary Threat”

We have mentioned Rick Ross’ Jewish heritage before, but it is telling that his efforts to stand against “destructive cults” carries a potent anti-Christian charge.

In Ross,’ The Missionary Threat, a treatise published by the Institute for First Amendment Studies in 1995 (now defunct), the first sentence reveals the that the incident involving his grandmother being targeted for “conversion” in 1982 has never been far from his mind.

“Jews around the world are now faced by the greatest missionary threat in history.”[2]

Further into this shrill and alarmist screed, Ross lays out his starting point for becoming an anti-cult crusader. ” Missionaries associated with a “Hebrew-Christian” group called the “Jewish Voice” once infiltrated the Jewish nursing home where my grandmother was a resident. As a direct result, I became an activist and helped to stop this unwanted intrusion.”

This reveals that at the heart of Ross’ “cult-busting” crusade is the expression of religious paranoia that Jews are being forcibly indoctrinated into Christianity against their will. Ross further claims that, “…there are many Jews swimming in troubled waters. Some may become captured within the drift nets of fundamentalist and evangelical missionaries. Predatory sharks proselytizing as “messianic Jews or “Hebrew-Christians” may stalk others. How many Jews with the potential to make a meaningful contribution to Jewry have been, or will be, lost because no “rescuers” were there for them?” [3]

Thus the heart of Ross’ crusade against cults, besides  the economic point, is his religious hatred of bible-based Christianity, who he blames for destabilizing Judaism through deceptive missionary means. Yet we wonder how many of Ross’ faithful followers know of his anti-Christian program?

 ”Everything we need to know and believe in is already here on earth: from homosexuality to Judaism, as I practice it, the truth is already here. Nobody is going to add one jot or tittle to it… and those who try – are trying to brainwash innocent people and create cults and that’s a fact…” - Rick Ross

The Strange Case of Jason Scott 

The reported “hostile tendencies” and “anti-social behavior” would emerge in Ross’ criminal activities as a young adult through thefts and forcible kidnappings. According to court testimony, Rick Ross masterminded the assault and abduction of Jason Scott, a Pentecostal Christian who was handcuffed, and taken to a remote house for 5 days under 24 hour surveillance to be deprogrammed. Scott escaped, and sued his captors. On Sept. 29, 1995 the Washington state jury found that Mr. Ross “intentionally and recklessly acted in a way that is so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to be beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community. The federal judge remarked that, “the defendants seeming incapability of appreciating the maliciousness of their conduct towards Mr. Scott …”   eerily echoing Dr. Santos’ warning of Ross’ anti-social behavior. An effort to challenge this judgment was unsuccessful. While Ross was able to evade criminal charges, he was unable to dodge a civil suit by Scott. Ross was found liable for violations of Mr. Scott’s civil rights and ordered to pay $2,500,000 in punitive damages, which led to Ross’ bankruptcy and the loss of CAN, which was bought and taken over by Scientologists. It also marked the end of involuntary deprogrammers seeking to make money through kidnapping.

Being forced out of the involuntary deprogramming business (which Ross admits to have performed “two dozen involuntary cases”) and losing CAN, the Cult Education Forum is the latest scam that Ross has been able to mislead people into believing that he has the credentials to back up his claim of being an “expert” on cults. However, Rick Ross has NO professional credentials other than a high school diploma. His “Institute” is apparently nothing more than a post office  box.

The “Cult-Watching Groups

Ross’s “Cult Education Forum” and his “Institute” place him firmly within the “anti-cult movement,” which has become a field of academic study. “

The Wikipedia article on ACM states, “According to sociologist Eileen Barker, cult-watching groups (CWGs) disseminate information about “cults” with the intent of changing public and government perception as well as of changing public policy regarding NRMs. [New Religious Movements].

Barker has identified five types of CWG:

1. cult-awareness groups (CAGs) focusing on the harm done by “destructive cults”
2. counter-cult groups (CCGs) focusing on the (heretical) teaching of non-mainstream groups
3. research-oriented groups (ROGs) focusing on beliefs, practices and comparisons
4. human-rights groups (HRGs) focusing on the human rights of religious minorities
5. cult-defender groups (CDGs) focusing on defending cults and exposing CAGs

Barker is an active participant on the subject of cult watching groups.”

Another scholar, the late Jeffrey K Madden, claimed that opposition to cults presented two rewards (among others). That is, “protect members from heresy and to make the group stronger. Thus Ross’ Anti-Cult Crusade ( an Anti-Christian Crusade, really) must be exposed as a religious deception, as well – which is in essence, an attempt of asserting mind-control in his followers. How ironic.

Others have ideas why Rick Ross had dedicated his life to “cult-busting.” It is strange that someone with a documented history of  anti-social behavior would care a fig about anyone other than himself. So maybe we should as what Ross considers to be a “cult.” We get this from a page critical of Ross: “A cult, according to Rick Ross, is ANY group of people (or particular persons) who will choose to submit parts of their life and a big proportion of their energy to someone who either isn’t popular enough or teaches things that the majority would perhaps disagree with. To put it simply, if you choose to change your worldview in a radical, or original way which is little known to the public and you actually stick to it and call others to it because you believe that is the best way to be, you are setting up a cult.”This is a good analysis of Cult-watchers. The author continues:  ”Rick Ross seems to have dedicated his life to this cause. What does it offer? It offers money, fame and acknowledgement, but most importantly of all, it offers authority. What Rick Ross is really after is this exactly. It is the taste of power that they get when they watch themselves becoming a turning point to another person’s life. If you compare him to his own profile of cult-leader, you will see it matches perfectly.

It is a perverted instinct but it makes perfect sense, if you consider the people he hates the most (people with authority) and the practices he uses (imposed authority). The deprogramming has this goal exactly, as is shown by the example of the Stockholm Syndrome. What it wishes to accomplish is the shift of loyalty from the “cult” to the deprogrammer. This is obvious as the only way a “cult member” will let go of his (or her) own worldview and probably a cause that he has sacrificed a lot to achieve, is to fully trust and bow – so to speak – to the deprogrammer. Consider torture victims, victims of rape and abuse and kidnapped people and the Stockholm Syndrome. What happens is that the victim gives in unconditionally to exactly what their abuser imposes: full control.” [5] (Emphasis added)

Rick Ross’  credentials. as we have seen before, are completely worthless, and yet he manages to convince unknowing dupes that he’s a “cult expert.” However, Ross has been on the shit list from other “cult deprogrammers” for years. “For a variety of reasons, many cult experts refuse to work with – or to refer people to – Rick Ross. Much of that has to do with Ross’ behavior toward those experts whom he disagrees with – as well as his attempts at getting others involved in those disagreements.” [6] ~Apparently, Ross has burned many bridges within the Cult-Buster movement over his inflammatory, anti-social religious bigotry.

Ross and the Waco Siege 

“…your stock cult leader. They’re all the same. Meet one and you’ve met them all. They’re deeply disturbed, have a borderline personality and lack any type of conscience…No one willingly enters into a relationship like this. So you’re talking about deception and manipulation (by the leader), people being coached in ever so slight increments, pulled in deeper and deeper without knowing where it’s going or seeing the total picture.” - Rick Ross in interview to the Houston Chronicle on Branch Davidian leader David Koresh.

 “I’d been in touch with Rick Ross, who was acting as an independent cult ‘deprogrammer’ and informant to the ATF and FBI. When I got to know him in Waco, I understood that he was instigating the most negative aspect of the situation because he wished violence toward David Koresh. He never said he wanted him to be helped out. He wanted him wiped out.” – Article for “The Nation” by Alexander Cockburn, quoting Balenda Ganem, the mother of Davidian survivor David Thibodeau.

Did Ross’ desire to “wipe out” David Koresh out of existence stem from Ross’ militant Jewish bigotry, or was it just another manifestation of his anti-social behavior?

“Nancy Ammerman, a Visiting Scholar at Princeton University’s Center for the Study of American Religion, was one of the outside experts assigned by the Justice Department to evaluate BATF and FBI’s handling of the Branch Davidians. She was particularly critical of Rick Ross and the Cult Awareness Network. “Although these people often call themselves `cult experts,’ they are certainly not recognized as such by the academic community. The activities of the CAN are seen by the National Council of Churches (among others) as a danger to religious liberty, and deprogramming tactics have been increasingly found to be outside the law. . .Mr. Rick Ross, who often works in conjunction with the Cult Awareness Network (CAN), has been quoted as saying he was `consulted’ by the BATF. . . The Network and Mr. Ross have a direct ideological (and financial) interest in arousing suspicion and antagonism against what they call `cults’. . .It seem clear that people within the `anti-cult’ community had targeted the Branch Davidians for attention.” (JDR:Ammerman:1)

Ammerman’s report  also mentions Rick Ross trying to inflame the government against the Branch Dividians and points out the “ideological and financial interest” Ross had in “arousing suspicion and antagonism.” against what he calls, “cults.” We’re not going to side on whether the Waco Siege was a mass-suicide or a massacre, but those who wish to have more info on what went down can look here. A profile on Koresh is here. The culmination of the Waco Siege where over 70 people – including women and children – perished in the fire ultimately paved the way for Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing. One wonders what plans karma has in store  for Mr. Ross.

The Cult Education Forum

“I want the whole world to be free of cults. maybe someday there will be a deprogramming machine and the government will require brainwahsed cult members to be cleansed in it.” – Rick Ross

Not many people are prepared to face the sheer, brutal wackiness of Rick Ross’ Cult Education Forum when they first attempt to post their views. There is the general perception among objective people that as long as one condemn and attack others that have been labeled, ”cult.” one is free to post as much hate speech as they like. If one tries to reason with them, they are banned and ridiculed. Andrea Roussow relates her experience with the Cult Forum. Rick Ross has said about his own website: ““If you follow the linked discussion section to the entry about me you can see that this popular place on the Worldwide Web can become a venue for those that wish to attack someone or something they don’t like.”

Thus it should be no surprise that Rick Ross labels Desteni a “cult.” Anything that can’t be reduced to his Judaic bias must necessarily be a “cult.”

Here is a brief exchange by Ross and Bernard Poolman after a few Desteni members responded to the outrageous lies promulgated on the CEF. Here is Rick Ross’ “expert opinion.”

“There seems to be an organized effort by destini [sic] devotees to post here.

And each of the devotee posts is eerily the same sing-song of mantras and slogans that reflect a group mindset.

Not exactly a good reflection, but rather a cult-like demonstration of destini [sic]  dynamics.

People here don’t have to go a participate at destini [sic] to have an opinion about the group.

This is again a typical response from cult members. That is, if you have not directly experienced the group first-hand your opinion is discounted.

But the first-hand evidence here through recent posts does seem cult-like.”

Bernard Poolman: “It seems to me that the anticult devotees spew the same stuff as every one belonging to any group — by definition all groups are cults –even those on this forum – The question is whether this actually benefit humanity or the egos of those unwilling to look critically at us as human beings and how we live and what we allowed this world to be.”

“Thanks for all the exposure –obviously would be nice to know who is funding this and who benefits from this attempt to misdirect mankind from real issues that has an effect on so many daily. Desteni is preparing to enter the political arena under the economic banner of equal money — with guaranteed results — In this world where one man has one vote — this is the end of elitist manipulation of words and constructs to keep mankind in poverty with the few benefiting through control of knowledge – obviously all political groups are also cults — so lets plat cult and establish a culture where there is a win win for all the people with basic needs. Poverty according to the law of attraction are the result of visualized self creation. For the anticultees there must be a fear button so great that self respect and self trust as a responsible person becomes impossible.

“Please share with us how you fund this — we are not non profit — non profits are controlled by donors — we generate what we require to do what we do — and for politics –we are in the process of establishing the necessary foundations. There will be a non profit part that will operate only to educate with the focus on law and psychology –that will make for great relations with you guys in the future.”

No doubt.

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[1]  The Anticult Movement Mindset.

[2] “The Ross Institute is Ross’ latest money scam. The “Institute” is actually a mail drop just across the street from Ross’ apartment in Jersey City… While Ross promotes the “Institute” as a tax-exempt, non-profit organization and solicits donations from the public, the “Institute” is clearly a front and promotional arm for Ross’ deprogramming business.”  Buyer Beware if you get involved with the Rick Ross Anti-Cult Scam Cult.

[3], [4] Ross, The Missionary Threat.

[5] Rick Ross and the Deprogrammers

[6] Rick Ross – Problems with Various Cult Experts

2011/03/17 – Glenn Beck: Earthquake a Message from God?

Glenn Beck: Apocalypse? Grins and Shrugs.

You know… I don’t like piling on celebrity goobers and their ridiculous thought processes about the Japan earthquake, but I have to mention the latest pile of poo extruding from the lips of right-wing radio show host and Fox News infotainment host, Glenn Beck who claimed that the earthquake that leveled northeastern Japan may have been the result of mankind not behaving nicely.

“I’m not saying God is, you know, causing earthquakes. Well — I’m not saying that either.

“What God does is God’s business, I have no idea. But I’ll tell you this: whether you call it Gaia or whether you call it Jesus — there’s a message being sent. And that is, ‘Hey, you know that stuff we’re doing? Not really working out real well. Maybe we should stop doing some of it.”

Never mind that earthquakes are a naturally occurring process that has happened since the planet became physically solid, Beck for some reason (higher ratings = $$$) ascribes a paranoid, theological reason behind it. God is so unhappy, is such a spite, human-like crybaby, He has to destroy a part of his creation because the people there didn’t do the right things for Him. To me, it’s nothing but religious lunacy, but the sad thing is that many equally psychotic and paranoid people in America agree with him, which is the only (frightening) explanation why Beck is still on the air. Who knows if Beck actually believes what he says. The point is that anyone can ascribe any reason to anything at all. If one needs a reason, it’s because one is fearful of not having control. However, what Beck shows is that within the story of Japan Earthquake, there is indeed a blank  slate, a tabula rasa, that one can conjure up a “reason” or “message” to stick on it. Here’s mine: the earthquake has shown us that the physical reality, and not the spiritual, has the final say on what is created and destroyed, remains and removed. You need a God, look to the Earth. It cannot be that happy with humanity, either. But at least it’s real. So let’s step up and deal with her with integrity and respect, or else, she’ll step first.

2011/02/12 – US Foreign Policy. An Incredibly Ironic Piece of Work

 

So the Revolution was televised after all. Hell has frozen over and Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as the strongman… er, “President” of Egypt, after repeatedly telling the world to go screw, he was staying put and nothing would ever dislodge his grip on power. Until yesterday. Something happened and now Mr. Mubarak has stepped down. The entire blogosphere is bursting with exultant giddiness, trumpeting their posts with titles such as, “The Triumph of Leaderless Revolution,” “Listen to Egypt Roar,” “Toppling the Autocrat,” and ” Ain’t that Good News!” It appears the Egyptian people have “won.” Let’s see what they won.

1. Military Rule. This does not bode well. Anything named the “Supreme Council of the Armed Forces” can’t be a good thing, or even an improvement. While it seems that eroding military support for Mubarak may have contributed to his sudden departure., these guys will be instituting law and order soon enough.

2. A Spy Chief as President. Derisively called, “Mubarak’s Twin,” Omar Suleiman was instrumental in getting America into the Gulf War where Suleiman’s agents so viciously tortured a man into “confessing” that Iran had trained terrorists in the use of biological weapons, which the tortured subject later recanted as a forced confession.

3. A Poor Man’s Democracy. Corruption, poverty and scarcity will still be around for a long time.  It remains to be seen if the Muslim Brotherhood gets a shot at power in Egypt under military rule. You know which side the US and Israeli governments are hoping will come through. Oh, did I say corruption, poverty and scarcity will still be around?

3a. American politicians talking shit and invalidating the liberal democratic principles that they are sworn to uphold.

Florida GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released a statement urging “the unequivocal rejection of any involvement by the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremists” in the transition of power.

Egyptians should reject those who “seek to exploit and hijack these events to gain power, oppress the Egyptian people, and do great harm to Egypt’s relationship with the United States, Israel, and other free nations,”[1]

That’s right, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen. Democracy is only for those who know how to support anti-democratic dictators in a twisted game of geopolitics. You weren’t worried about the oppression of the Egyptian people while our country was supporting their dictator, you incredibly ironic piece of work.

4. Unintended Consequences. America looks like an hypocritical fool as a country constantly preaching democratic values to the world while supporting strongmen and autocrats around the world when it’s in our national interest. The world, not even mentioning your average Egyptian, ain’t gonna forget which side the United States was on.

5. Who the hell know what else will happen to these unfortunate people? They aren’t ready for the Equal Money system because the haven’t heard of it. What will likely happen until they do, is a replay of the other “revolutions” that made things worse for the people who wanted something better. That’s why revolutions never work, and why the Egyptian people will feel that they’ve been duped.

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[1] “Obama praises Egyptian revolution“

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/11/egypt.us.reaction/index.html

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