Sydney Harris’s Reviews > Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism > Status Update

QAnon is one of the fastest multifaceted successful modern day cults. This is do to the age of social media and curated algorithms. Qanon uses words and phrases that connect to other movements that already exist in order to show up on peoples feed. Slowly bread crumbing you into this dark vortex of conspiracy theories. It started out with extreme right wingers, but has now evolved into every sub genre of politics.

Social media is a great place to connect, but the easiest place to get disconnected in. Algorithms are curated to sell you on something. If you start clicking on things that bring you divine callings, then social media is going to flood your page with content and ads that follow that point of interest. This is dangerous when it comes to conspiracies. Next thing you know you’re following qanon loyalist and believe.

Absolutist language is something to be aware of when stumbling across online gurus. If they are speaking in terms of everyone experiences this and needs to do x,y,z to change or evolve, then they don’t have the credibility to speak on something/ are only here to try and sell you on something.
Also, make sure you do a deep search on people who claim to have credentials that back up what they’re saying.

“Cult fitness” is something that can and does happen. When leaders get to ahead of themselves and take advantage of the power they hold, and by the specific language and environment that is created through these programs. As long as you don’t attend these classes with the idea that you will find greater purpose by pushing too hard and are able to leave without the feeling of losing everything, you’ll be okay

Creating a fearful work environment might be good short term for profit turnover, it is a poor business model for the long term success of a business. It creates a lack of moral and innovation, which then leads to a company becoming stagnant and end up losing revenue.

MLMs and western capitalism go hand in hand by because of americas “toxic positivity.” After WW2 when women got sent back home after being in the workforce while the men were off at war, women missed the opportunity to make their own money and be successful individuals. That’s when Tupperware came in and changed the game for them. Promising them their own success from home, with Tupperware parties.

MLMs are a glorified pyramid scheme. You have the one founder at the top and the 10 people under them and the 10 people under each of them and so on and so forth. You are brought in to make money for your up-line, or people above you by profiting off of your downline, or the people below you. You expect this big payout by the end of it but you end up losing money and are extremely codependent on your team.

Multi leveled marketing otherwise known as MLMs are organizations that are built off of affiliates, mainly rich white men, who run off of their sales reps, mainly stay at home middle aged women, to sell over priced products and get their customers to start up their own business. It’s a pyramid scheme that has legal loopholes to keep them up and running.

Roses are red
Money is green
The American dream
Is a pyramid scheme

Children of God is another 70s Christian cult, that equivocated gods love with sex. All men’s in the congregation were allowed to have sex with whomever they pleased, even young girls. And women and even little girls were taught to use their body to bring in new members. It was called “flirty fishing” otherwise known as “prostitution for Jesus.”