Used to laugh at people who said they got trapped in a group. NXIVM case changed that.

Three years ago I saw the Vow documentary on HBO. Thought those women were just naive. Rich people problems. Last month I started reading the actual trial transcripts from the Albany courthouse. Saw how they slowly isolated people. Got them to hand over embarrassing secrets. One woman testified she handed over $60,000 over 2 years. They didn't start with the branding. Started with self help classes. By month 6 you're fully in. Nobody joins a cult on purpose. They join a workshop. Has anyone here read the actual court docs or just watched the doc?

4 comments

4 Comments

spencer_gonzalez12d ago

The Vow left out a lot of the grooming details though.

henryt182d ago

15k is a lot but people blow that on crypto all the time.

smith.elliot2d ago

Man that doc really glosses over the slow build up. I started looking into the actual transcripts after a coworker got deep into a "leadership retreat" program and lost 15k before anyone noticed. Reading those court docs made me see how it happens step by step.

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phoenixk642d ago

Yeah but @spencer_gonzalez1, I don't know if it's really that deep. My buddy did one of those "leadership retreat" things and came back talking about "alignment" and "vision" for like two weeks then just went back to normal. The whole thing seemed more like a bad sales pitch than a cult. People get hyped about stuff all the time and spend stupid money on hobbies or whatever. 15k is a lot but some people blow that on golf gear or crypto without anyone calling it grooming.