Loading…
17
My uncle who left a group in the 90s asked me why nobody talks about the money anymore
My uncle got out of a group in Ohio back in 1994, and we got to talking at a family cookout last month, first real chat about it in maybe 20 years. He asked me why every documentary now spends an hour on the leader's weird beliefs but about 6 minutes on the books, and honestly he had a point. He pulled up the old numbers on his phone, members handing over 10 percent of their paychecks plus special offerings 3 times a year, and that group cleared close to $2 million in its last good year. What hit different was him saying the theology was just the sales pitch, the money was the actual product. I went back and rewatched two big docs from the last 5 years and counted, neither one names a single dollar amount for the whole operation. Has anyone else noticed the money side getting skipped in newer docs, and is there one that actually follows the cash?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
stella_scott968d ago
The theology was just the sales pitch, the money was the actual product. That line is the whole thing right there. Docs skip the cash because following it means naming banks, lawyers, real estate, the people still around who never got charged. The money side is boring to film but it's the part that explains why these groups keep popping up.
7