Sat through 3 hours of NXIVM tapes and the boring parts convinced me more than the cult rituals

Everyone focuses on the branding and the secret ceremonies, but what really got me was watching 40 minutes of them rehearsing the same recruitment script word for word, and I wondered if anyone else finds the repetitive daily grind of these groups scarier than the wild stuff.

2 comments

2 Comments

shanec616d ago

The rehearsal footage actually made me less scared of the group, not more. All those hours of repetition felt like watching a theater company practice, which is pretty normal for any organization that has a message to sell. The branding and rituals always struck me as the real danger because they create a shortcut to loyalty that bypasses rational thought. But sitting through the boring parts just showed me a bunch of people going through the motions, which is what happens in any job or club. It's the weird stuff that actually hooks people emotionally, and that's what I'd worry about. The dull grind is just how they keep the machine running once the crazy already got you in the door.

jessem596d ago

Three minutes in I already got bored watching that footage, so fair point there. @shanec61, do you think the emotional hook stuff can actually work on someone without the boring repetition already wearing down their defenses first?