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From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: *est-holes*
Message-ID: <1596@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Aug-85 20:24:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxd.1596
Posted: Mon Aug 26 20:24:27 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Aug-85 21:01:14 EDT
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Organization: Whatever we're calling ourselves this week
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>>Hmm... has anyone considered comparing the EST-like groups to 
>>the Hare-Krishna-like groups?  There seem to be some points of
>>similarity.

> 	In his book "MOONWEBS" Josh Freed makes exactly this comparison.
> Essentially, the book documents the experiences that he and a group of friends
> had while trying to rescue a mutual friend from the clutches of the
> Unification Church (a.k.a. The Moonies).  He then goes on to try to
> explain (in lay terms) the psychological process by which the Moonies
> and other groups massage people's minds into a "suitable" form.
> Its REALLY scary when you realize that *anyone* is susceptable to such
> mind control.  (This ain't no Count Floyd guff either).  Freed makes the
> point quite clearly that preparadness will help you very little.  The biggest
> mistake you can make is thinking that you are "strong" enough to "resist"
> their techniques.

I think MOONWEBS was made into an excellent movie about cults called "Ticket
to Heaven", a Canadian film about the religious seduction and subsequent
deprogramming of a young man despondent over a broken relationship lured
into the web.  (I'm not positive that MOONWEBS was the source material for
this movie.)

I wonder if people who talk about the "psychological process by which the
Moonies massage people's minds into suitable form" think that this is a
technique unique to "cults" and other such groups (political, religious,
etc.) rather than something that goes on in our everyday lives.  Is
"deprogramming" nothing more than "reprogramming"?  I'm not denying for
one split second the manipulativeness, shrewdness, or deceptiveness of
such groups.  I'm just mentioning that a lot of the values promulgated
by society are perpetuated in much the same way.  The Moonies and such just
have to cram THEIR re-programming into one weekend instead of a lifetime.
-- 
"There!  I've run rings 'round you logically!"
"Oh, intercourse the penguin!"			Rich Rosen    ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr