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| Charlatanism | ||
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| LiquidCreek42 |
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I was a dog, but because I was really good, they moved me up to human being status.
Registered Member #382
Joined: Thu Aug 10 2006, 11:16PMPosts: 150 |
My tea time story / Food for thought **REPOST** Once upon a starless midnight there was an owl who sat on the branch of an oak tree. Two ground moles tried to slip quietly by, unnoticed. "You!" said the owl. "Who?" they quavered, in fear and astonishment, for they could not believe it was possible for anyone to see them in that thick darkness. "You two!" said the owl. The moles hurried away and told the other creatures of the field and forest that the owl was the greatest and wisest of all animals because he could see in the dark and because he could answer any question. "I’ll see about that, "said a secretary bird, and he called on the owl one night when it was again very dark. "How many claws am I holding up?" said the secretary bird. "Two," said the owl, and that was right. "Can you give me another expression for ‘that is to say’ or ‘namely’?" asked the secretary bird. "To wit," said the owl. "Why does the lover call on his love?" "To woo," said the owl. The secretary bird hastened back to the other creatures and reported that the owl indeed was the greatest and wisest animal in the world because he could see in the dark and because he could answer any question. "Can he see in the daytime, too?" asked a red fox? "Yes," answered a dormouse and a French poodle. "Can he see in the daytime, too?" All the other creatures laughed loudly at this silly question, and they set upon the red fox and his friends and drove them out of the region. They sent a messenger to the owl and asked him to be their leader. When the owl appeared among the animals it was high noon and the sun was shining brightly. He walked very slowly, which gave him an appearance of great dignity, and he peered about him with large, staring eyes, which gave him an air of tremendous importance. "He’s God!" screamed a Plymouth rock hen. And the others took up the cry "He’s God!" So they followed him wherever he went and when he bumped into things they began to bump into things, too. Finally he came to a concrete highway and he started up the middle of it and all the other creatures followed him. Presently a hawk, who was acting as outrider, observed a truck coming toward them at fifty miles an hour, and he reported to the secretary bird and the secretary bird reported to the owl. "There’s danger ahead," said the secretary bird. "To wit?" said the owl. The secretary bird told him. "Aren’t you afraid?" he asked. "Who?" said the owl calmly, for he could not see the truck. "He’s God!" cried all the creatures again, and they were still crying "He’s God" when the truck hit them and ran them down. Some of the animals were merely injured, but most of them, including the owl, were killed. -James Thurber Moral: You can fool too many of the people too much of the time. This relates to: The Science of Charlatanism, Or how to Create a Cult in five easy steps. Ill give a few sentences of each step: 1) Keep it Vague;Keep it Simple. To create a cult you must first attract attention. This you should do not through actions, which are too clear and readable, but through words, which are hazy and deceptive. Your initial speeches, conversations, and interviews must include two elements: on the one hand the promise of something great and trans formative, and on the other a total vagueness. This combination will stimulate all kinds of hazy dreams in your listeners, who will make their own connections and see what they want to see. 2)Emphasize the Visual and the Sensual over the Intellectual Once people have begun to gather around you, two dangers will present themselves: boredom and skepticism. Boredom will make people go elsewhere; skepticism will allow them the distance to think rationally about whatever it is you are offering, blowing away the mist you have artfully created and revealing your ideas for what they are. You need to amuse the bored, and ward off the cynics. 3) Borrow the Forms of Organized Religion to Structure the Group Your cultlike following is growing; it is time to organize it. Find a way both elevating and comforting. Organized religions have long held unquestioned authority for large numbers of people, and continue to do so in our supposedly secular age. And even if the religion itself has faded some, its forms still resonate with power... To emphasize your gathering's quasi=religious nature, talk and act like a prophet. 4)Disguise Your Source of Income Your group has grown, and you have structured it in a churchlike form. Your coffers are beginning to fill with your follower's money. Yet you must never be seen as hungry for money and the power it brings. It is at this moment you must disguise the source of your income.. By surrounding yourself with luxury you become living proof of the soundness of your belief system. Never reveal that your wealth actually comes from your follower's pockets: instead, make it seem to come from the truth of your methods. 5)Set Up an Us-Versus-Them Dynamic First, make sure your followers believe they are apart of an exclusive club, unified by a bond of common goals/ Then, to strengthen this bond, manufacture the notion of a devious enemy out to ruin you. Most of this is very true to life obviously, and there has to be some ways you can put it to your own - With friends, or really with yourself trying to obtain a certain goal.. I think everyone is guilty of this system in some way or another - There are some other sections that seem interesting, about how creating your barriers/walls to seclude yourself, while it creates security, you are no longer close to those around you listening on the good and bad gossip , etc. Where you can expand your mind within the space you have chosen, but become disconnected with the rest of society. But I am curious - Would you start a cult ? Do you think its better to follow than lead ? Or is it really just not your thing ? |
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| Noname|Boom |
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That one guy...
Registered Member #250
Joined: Tue May 09 2006, 11:59PMPosts: 2603 |
I don't really LIKE stuff like this; it makes me feel like the world is smaller than it is, or something like that... Secluding myself from society isn't my top priority at the moment. I just go in life going head on with whatever comes at me, I guess, so no, I wouldn't start a "cult" or "posse/group," etc. Just not my thing. |
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| Buddha |
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Boodz
Registered Member #528
Joined: Tue Jan 02 2007, 11:41PMPosts: 1085 |
I do not like most cults, because they are like religion except they take out the most important and valuable part of a religion, morals. | ||
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| Zero |
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I want to fuck your hand.
Registered Member #571
Joined: Thu Feb 15 2007, 09:59PMPosts: 2809 |
the only cult type thing I would start is like a society type thing. Like the movie "The Beach." they were kindof forced into it, but I think if I bought a certain piece of land with alot of acreage, cut it off from the outside world like M. Night Shamalans**?SP "The Village" and had it as like a self sustaining society. I would have state of the art technology and we would still have "Power" and electricity, but we would completely live off the land. I think that's fucking cool, and I hope someday with our technology we can use are resources to go back to older society but still keep renewable technology. |
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| DarkNarf |
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Surf Owner/Operator
Registered Member #29
Joined: Tue Nov 29 2005, 01:47AMPosts: 409 |
interesting read | ||
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| NoSkill |
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Sir
Registered Member #457
Joined: Tue Oct 10 2006, 01:13PMPosts: 2628 |
Cults are surprisingly easy to pull off... I mean shit... just look at Scientology. People want to desperately believe in something. Something they can understand & connect with. No matter how bizarre or untrue it may be, if you say it with conviction, loud enough & often enough and appear to believe it yourself... people will come around. And when they do... their minds are at your disposal. |
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| Rusty |
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FTS Server Op
Registered Member #159
Joined: Wed Mar 01 2006, 06:33PMPosts: 2682 |
FSM to say the least, is my favorite cult. -[link]- |
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| doctorphate |
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doctorphate
Registered Member #724
Joined: Wed May 30 2007, 03:50AMPosts: 699 |
Buddha wrote ... I do not like most cults, because they are like religion except they take out the most important and valuable part of a religion, morals. Really? 1. Crusades 2. 9/11 k thanks |
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| Buddha |
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Boodz
Registered Member #528
Joined: Tue Jan 02 2007, 11:41PM Posts: 1085 |
doctorphate wrote ... Buddha wrote ... I do not like most cults, because they are like religion except they take out the most important and valuable part of a religion, morals. Really? 1. Crusades 2. 9/11 k thanks There's a difference between a religious person and an extremist phate. |
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| LiquidCreek42 |
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I was a dog, but because I was really good, they moved me up to human being status.
Registered Member #382
Joined: Thu Aug 10 2006, 11:16PM Posts: 150 |
I figured most people would find this material offensive because I think most of it is very self centered. | ||
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