07-01-2003, 06:44 PM
Lots of cults/groups do the same sort of thing. Isolation, childish regression, enforced confession, enforced conformity, it's all been done before. It's a nasty, evil business that will only be stopped by exposing it to the sunshine of publicity.
On Lifton's thought reform criteria, I'd score it like this:
Milieu Control: Oh, yeah. This one's a slam dunk, with the isolated and tightly controlled environment.
Mystical Manipulation: Not so clear on this one, but with the establishment of the "family groups" with authoritarian figures, along with the deliberate childhood regression, I count htis a "yes".
Demand for Purity: Scored conformity placed this one a solid "yes".
Cult of Confession: No doubt, there. Obvious conditioning in a secret-free environment.
Sacred Science: No questions allowed, so I've got no question this is "yes".
Loading the Language: Yep, no doubt there. They've got their own little cultspeak going.
Doctrine over Person: Yes. It's always the child's fault, never the program's if the scores don't improve.
Dispensing of Existence: The kids can't leave until they believe in their hearts that they would be dead without the program. Gotta say "yes" on this one, too.
Looks like a textbook case of thought reform, or "brainwashing". Completely contemptible. I'm glad it's getting some publicity, but I'm terribly afraid that this "camp" and others like it will continue. Some people would rather control their children than parent them.
On Lifton's thought reform criteria, I'd score it like this:
Milieu Control: Oh, yeah. This one's a slam dunk, with the isolated and tightly controlled environment.
Mystical Manipulation: Not so clear on this one, but with the establishment of the "family groups" with authoritarian figures, along with the deliberate childhood regression, I count htis a "yes".
Demand for Purity: Scored conformity placed this one a solid "yes".
Cult of Confession: No doubt, there. Obvious conditioning in a secret-free environment.
Sacred Science: No questions allowed, so I've got no question this is "yes".
Loading the Language: Yep, no doubt there. They've got their own little cultspeak going.
Doctrine over Person: Yes. It's always the child's fault, never the program's if the scores don't improve.
Dispensing of Existence: The kids can't leave until they believe in their hearts that they would be dead without the program. Gotta say "yes" on this one, too.
Looks like a textbook case of thought reform, or "brainwashing". Completely contemptible. I'm glad it's getting some publicity, but I'm terribly afraid that this "camp" and others like it will continue. Some people would rather control their children than parent them.