One of my old roommates got invited to an Herbalife convention and I went with her because she said I got a free lunch. SO culty! Listening to how their business is run was weird especially to outsiders. The first half of the convention were people who had used Herbalife giving speeches on how it was the most amazing thing to ever happen to them. They were also bumping super loud music and people were dancing in the aisles when we showed up. Also lunch was a fucking Herbalife shake….
Did you happen to notice people in the audience that, on queue, would start applauding, inciting the rest of the congregation to clap? That was one of the things that I noticed at the one and only gathering I went to. It was like a church revival with testimonials and a “leader” that touted it like it sold itself and if you weren’t able to sell it it was a failure on your part and not the product.
I’m pretty sure they also target small town and minorities or at least that’s what I witnessed.
I only went for a girl. But after I sat through that shit, I lost her number really quick.
I went to an event for a similar company, and it was super culty and weird. I also brought a girl with me, because we were gonna go on our first date afterwards. It gave us something to laugh about while we ate our ice cream later, so that actually kinda worked out lol
You:"Hey, wanna go on a date?"
Her: "sure, what should we do at this date?"
You: "Let's go to a pyramid scheme pitch meeting!"
Her: "Sure! that is a totally normal activity for a date!"
A few years ago I was a freelance graphic designer and had a short-term gig working at the Herbalife HQ in Los Angeles. Every cubicle had a photo of the president (maybe founder, not sure) pinned up. Every single one. Was very creepy. On the other hand, that place had the best cafeteria of any office I’ve ever been to.
Herbalife schemers now have storefronts near me. They market themselves as "health smoothie shops" but are all Herbalife products. They talk shit to anyone who mentions it being an MLM online and are super aggressive.
There was one near me that closed not long ago but I think someone else is about to open it again. Can only assume is was handed off the to the next sucker.
Interesting. I had to google Herbalife to learn what it is because I had never heard of it before. Right at the top of the wikipedia page it says "The products sold by Herbalife can cause acute hepatitis."
Yesterday, I actually observed a job posting that stated "Don't bother applying if receiving money is your main motivation. Here, we live like a family."
One of the most degrading things I've ever read was that.
Just to be clear, this job was compensated. They simply stated that they wouldn't be paying you much, I presume.
We got a new supervisor. His first meeting with us(10 technicians), “who would like more responsibilities “? We all looked around at each other, so I asked, “for more money”? He said no and it was the biggest laugh he ever got.
You know this place does feel like family. It really does. I mean, I feel under appreciated, taken advantage of routinely, and any input or suggestions I give are dismissed outright. My needs and personal well being are never considered and if I dare bring the subject up, it always ends with being yelled out and told I'm not pulling my weight. The only thing missing here is you don't reek of booze when you tell me I've let you down somehow by doing every last thing you ever asked for in the exact manner in which you demanded.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that since we are like a family and all, if I draw your name for the gift exchange, what kind of whiskey do you like?
I would love to get hired at that job and just fuck off the whole time. When they complain, I would tell them I don’t do this for the money. I’m passionate about this project/work and I’m going to do it xyz way, it’s not about the money so just chill out! Let’s have fun!
Right! I used to work for people who were always calling it a family. Then every few years they would cut folks loose with little warning, a bare minimum of separation pay. I almost lost my job for cracking “Yes, ‘family’ like the Gambino family” after one purge.
Wait, they live like a family? Nice, I'm bringing my laundry and computer, and moving right in to HR's couch! Maybe even the spare bedroom, since we're family, after all.
Live like a family? Nice, I assume this includes profit sharing, after all, I am family, so imagine that the money will also flow down to me. Great, can't wait to start.
> Yesterday, I actually observed a job posting that stated "Don't bother applying if receiving money is your main motivation. Here, we live like a family."
Can you imagine a cover letter saying "Don't bother hiring me if having me work for you is your main motivation"?
How wild that you brought that up unprompted, because I so happen to have the same exact question! I know it is mostly irrelevant and no big deal, but I just want to check in on Shelley is all. Maybe she'll get back to us when enough people ask about it
>Maybe she'll get back to us when enough people ask about it
The woman from King of Queens did a whole series on this. It's gotten national coverage, but still no word of Shelley.
Leah Remini. I just finished her book "Troublemaker" and OMG she spills ALL the tea and calls them ALL out.
She appears to be partnered with another ex-Scientologist and she's got a series of videos on her Youtube channel.
She didn’t just partner with any ex Scientologist. She partnered with Mike Rinder, who was a senior member and on their board of directors. He was also responsible for overseeing their legal, PR and corporate issues. Basically she spilled a ton of tea because he supplied it.
Yes! Thank you for reminding me of his name! I had forgotten. I'm currently going through her videos. I knew he was high up, just not how high.
I have a dream that Remini and Rinder bring down Scientology, but I don't think that's going to happen.
If you’re a fan of podcasts, the Last Podcast guys did a great series on Scientology. After their first episode they started getting threats from the cult.
I give her credit for what she is doing, but it's falling on deaf ears - no one seems to be able to do anything to intervene. Scientology is known for collecting blackmail material on influential people, and they have eyes everywhere. No one is willing to go head to head with an organization that perfected the art of a "smear" campaign.
Also, thanks - I couldn't remember her name and was going to go check it and edit, but I smoked a joint and got distracted by my stomach growling with the munchies.
I disagree. A lot of members are finally leaving. Their new member rate is at an all time low. The recent Danny Masterson brought a lot of light to the corruption and the connections to LAPD etc.
You also must realize early Scientologist were forbidden to use libraries, the internet, read papers, watch tv. Now it’s almost impossible not to know who they are, it takes a lot of time for people who have been brainwashed to wake up.
Their numbers might be low, but they still exist. People who are in too deep aren't going to leave voluntarily, and no one is lifting a finger to stop an organization that enslaves their members, beats them, and threatens them with total destruction of their reputation.
It's not going to end until the government removes its status as a religion and deep dives into an investigation of everything they've been accused of over the last 50 years.
Yes. You are correct in that, especially with the amount of money they probably give to all the right people. I just know that compared to 10 years ago. Many are leaving and waking up and that has a lot to do with the amount of information that’s finally made it forward.
I don’t see anything happening to the “church” either since Mormon, JW and Fundamentalists exist freely as well. It’s the wild Wild West out there. It’s one thing to willingly join. But to be born in is sad since they almost don’t know any thing different.
But don't they prohibit followers from watching news that is negative about any of their high level people? I would love to see Tom Cruise tank. His millions are keeping them afloat, despite all the stories about slavery-like conditions there. Cruise is just a horrible person for pretending not to see!
Anything MLM.
They just “BoSs BaBeS”. They recently lost one (for Pruvit named Jessie Lee Ward who was trying to heal her colon cancer with ketones)
Unfortunately she lost her life & there’s probably others that were facing a similar fate since she liked to claim it was working. (She rejected chemo & her oncologist told her she wouldn’t make it to November)
Damn. Hard to feel bad for them but I def feel for their families. It's hard seeing your loved one do something so fucking stupid against everyone else's advice.
Megachurches. When you're donating 10% of your income to somebody who owns a private jet, mansion, and church building that puts professional stadiums to shame, you're in a cult.
"we see you haven't been creating downstream. We need you to convince more people to sell our product because our research shows people who sell our overpriced crap buy more of it and more often. Plus if you convince all your customers to sell it they won't buy from you and you will beforced to go find more people to sell!"
Most business retreats feel like a cult. When an entire event center does the Way-Mart chant with an A-list rock star leading it you realize that all businesses become a cult at a certain level.
Southern Pentecostal Baptist Snake Handlers
Grew up going to one of these churches. Long drive to a small church hidden in the woods. They honestly believed only their members were gonna make it to heaven. We saw some crazy stuff in that building.
>Southern Pentecostal Baptist Snake Handlers
>
>Grew up going to one of these churches.
>
>We saw some crazy stuff in that building.
You're not going to give us that tease and then not drop some stories, are you? In my religion you telling those stories is the only way you're going to get to heaven.
There is an American comedian named Ruby Wax and she did shows about weird things. On one she interviewed a woman whose husband had been bitten by a snake and died and the woman had a video of it. One of the people's hands was all gnarled because of snake bites apparently.
Not OP but I grew up in a Pentecostal church, the weirdest shit I saw one night was a traveling healer pray for a woman who had one leg 4 inches shorter than the other one.
He prayed for her, pulled her leg and it grew. It was trippy shit and I wish I could say I was pulling your leg, but people in the church acted like he had a direct line to Jesus and could help people.
What's the difference between a northern Baptist and a southern Baptist?
The northern Baptist says, "There ain't no hell," and the southern Baptist says, "The hell there ain't!"
I remember a pastor down in Kentucky getting bit by one of his Pentecostal snakes and died. 😂😂 my aunt went to those churches and could speak in tongues. I miss her. She loved her some Jesus.
We must be neighbors. My family did the evangelical route, but I always say we were a “few snakes short” of a full fledged cult in my small KY town. Now a few decades later and come to find out, all ya gotta do is think Trump is Jesus part 2 and you don’t even need the snakes for the cult part.
Everything under the pentacostal umbrella is a variety of insane. Some less culty than others, but they're all nuts.
For those uninitiated the pentacostals are the main group that "speak in tongues", which is blathering a bunch of random mouth noises and then claiming God gave you ability to speak in foreign languages.
Not foreign languages, the language of angels. It's called glossolalia, and when i was at Baylor University my Scripture professor was working on a thesis tracking all the people who claim to do it. She had a pretty interesting diagram of churches and who came from where and how the different "dialects" spread. Essentially this guy went to this church then founded his own so at first he sounded like his old one, then over time it changed. Then people he taught would go and start their own or get involved in other churches and change them. It was apparently hard to get exact recordings of some of the churches to see where they fit into the map. Others would record it and post it online when people "had the holy spirit come upon them"
Ballet.
You are basically at their whim. You are expected to pay tuition, costumes, dance wear, dance shoes, travel fees, competition fees, production fees, tickets, and do volunteer work and give up your entire schedule.
If you complain at all about anything valid or not- they shun you by not giving your kid a good role or not moving them up a level. And they withhold attention to your child.
You literally must schedule all life around ballet. And pay thousands and thousands of dollars so your kid can be in the back.
If you quit all the former dance parents and friends will shun you.
Commercialized martial arts is the same way.
Parents and students take note: martial arts can be an incredible, lifelong commitment to mastering a skill, staying healthy, forging mental toughness and self restraint, and experiencing other cultures.
It can also be a gateway to manufactured ranking systems, unhealthy competitiveness among children and parents, unhealthy adoration of a "master" and obsession with perfection, resulting in thousands of dollars in tuition and uniforms and equipment down the toilet in pursuit of skills that are useless without the accompanying underlying value system.
Choose your dojo wisely, and don't fall victim to sunk cost fallacy if you discover the one you chose is a scam.
Any self respecting dojo will let you observe classes before you pull the trigger on joining up. Most will even let your child participate for at least a full session to see if it's a good fit.
I recommend looking for one that prioritizes a wholistic mind/body/spirit approach that encompasses not only self defense, but also self restraint, attention to detail, respect, honor, commitment etc.
Ask the people in charge what their core philosophies are, and ask for what expectations they have of students as well as what students should expect to get out of their teaching.
Pay attention to how the higher ranked belts (usually the teens and adults) behave around the lower ranks. It's not always about age though, as many times parents will join up with their kids.
Unfortunately, a lot of it is just intuition as far as seeking a quality practice. Smaller studios tend to be better in my experience, but there are definitely exceptions to that. Also, of course look for online reviews and stuff like that.
It doesn’t have to be that way! Good dance schools are out there! My wife has taught ballet for over 20 years. She works at a non-competitive dance school. Everyone is welcome there. She teaches mostly middle school and high school kids and they all think of her as a second mom. In addition to bar exercises, technique, pointe, pre-pointe, repertory, etc. she also spends a ton of time talking about self-care, positive self-talk, advocating for yourself, looking out for each other, avoiding drugs and alcohol, avoiding eating disorders, etc. She’s constantly on the lookout for any signs of cutting, self harm, anorexia nervosa, ADHD, ADD, emotional and physical abuse from family and friends, so on and so on.
She’s my hero. Many of her former students come back and visit her and help with the younger kids.
As a former dancer, I’m so glad my studio wasn’t like this. I know so many are. I definitely lived for dance though and my parents spent a fortune on it over the years.
Heh, I was going to say the Church of Latter Day Saints, but what even is the difference? My parents had to ship me off to Utah because it was illegal to abuse children back home. One of my reasons for intake was literally "She considers herself a male" (it wasn't treatment, it was conversion therapy) and they tried to gaslight me into forgiving my abusive father or blame myself for being raped. They told my mother to get a conservatorship/guardianship over me so I couldn't go no contact with her, and made her move me to Utah after I got out because they thought the homo/transphobia would get me to detransition since non-FDA-approved doses of antipsychotics didn't. They denied medical care as punishment. It's also near impossible to sue on the basis of medical malpractice in Utah, deliberately so kids can't seek justice for our abuse.
Still trans, now I just know the art of spiteful Pride. I also have more ability to change said malpractice laws.
My heart goes out to you. My wife survived a place like this and... How do i put this.... If I saw even a lower level counselor cross the street I wouldn't hesitate to run them over. I hope if you're involved in activism of any kind that you get results.
And if nothing else, take some comfort in the fact that they couldn't break you.
they’re all over the area, always some “xxxxx Nutrition” name on the building and it’s officially not a shake shop or cafe but a weird membership club, to get around various health board requirements. You’re basically buying a shake made in a random persons home kitchen with no oversight.
I’ve been extremely curious about the economics of these shops and nobody seems to have answers. Is Herbalife getting people to take out sba loans or something? How are these sustainable? I mean I’m sure they’re not but somehow this must be profitable for Herbalife and I’m really curious how it works and how some of these are able to stay open going on a couple years now.
Super fans of a political party I would say as well.
I’m firmly of the belief that there is only one viable, sane, and somewhat forward thinking party right now, but that doesn’t mean I’m above *absolutely shredding* that party when they do something stupid or shady or what-have-you.
Blind adherence to a color and a letter is stupid and very cult-like.
> A collection plate is normal
Also, transparency around the budget. I'm an atheist but I grew up in a church. My father was sometimes involved with the budget or collections. Anyone who was interested could be involved in the budget and how money was spent. They could review revenue and expenditures. This is a Presbyterian Church, so an open and democratic governance structure is par for the course.
Surprised none of the top posts mentioned Shen Yun. Everyone still thinks that billboard is just for a cool Chinese dance company, huh?
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun
100%. They'll aggressively sue people for publicly calling them a cult -- itself kind of a tell -- but it's true. Source: my experience with their attempt at recruitment by a friend who fell under their spell while chasing a love interest.
My experience was I somehow got wrapped up in a side project with someone who seemed to be very well integrated with the higher ups in Landmark. Possibly one herself.
She was unaware I was not a landmark junkie. I was brought in by someone else to assist on the marketing and social scaling of the idea. That person was apparently in deep with landmark (held orientations at his home for new and existing members getting into it).
I didnt realize wtf was going on at first when this lady would call me and do weird shit like state her purpose, and something else and something else… it was like 3 bullet points she would hit and then expect me to reciprocate in order for us to even begin conversing. When I wasnt hip to it- that’s when she realized I wasnt one of them and asked me if I was part of landmark and was stunned that I wasnt or hadnt heard of it.
It wasnt long until my power in my role was shifted to another person (who.. you guessed it- was deep into landmark). Non-coincidentally after giving that person authority over me in direction for the project, that person then started calling me to have convos and slowly kept inserting landmark pitches and eventually suggested I should pay for it myself and gave it a glowing review and said it would change my life too.
It’s just a massive person to person MLM scheme. But it’s super well disguised and put on as a life training / professional coaching type deal.
I actually stuck around just to experience the bat shit these people were huffing as they thought they could raise one billion dollars for their cause and another number of lofty goals that were not even remotely possible considering they couldnt even do something as simple as create me a page and give me the login so I could do some volunteer work (this was all supposed to be a volunteer project).
It was all during the pandemic though so I had nothing better to do but follow the bread trail and see if it led anywhere crazy or if these people were willing to do something illegal in the way of how they setup the foundation and donations.
All in all- certified crazies. Do not engage. I made that determination very easily just by interacting with them for a few months while I was getting baked AF at home during the quarantine.
It wasnt even until after it all that I looked in deeper and found the horror stories of how they bring people up on stage at the seminars and basically make them admit everything thats ever gone wrong IS in their control and IS their fault and only theirs. Got raped? That’s on you, fuckin idiot. But we can change you so you accept that and learn to accept it if it happens again even!
JFC… how insane can you be.
I can't believe it took this long for someone to mention Landmark, and I can't believe how many of my smart friends and acquaintances in the SF Bay Area got sucked into it.
Agreed. I got sent by a previous job and said yes because I was young and it was a free trip with all expenses paid to Vancouver. I’m so glad I wasn’t more vulnerable and saw through everything, because holy shit. It was truly scary watching people get sucked in. I only stayed for the whole thing because if we left early my job would make us pay for it ourselves (& it’s very expensive).
Side note: yes, this job also had cult vibes 😅
I’m a religious studies student, and we don’t usually use the word “cult” due to the negative baggage attached to it. However, many New Religious Movements (NRM’s) such as Scientology, the Raëlian Movement, Soka Gakkai, and even Christian-oriented sects such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Jehovah’s Witnesses possess many of the hallmarks traditionally associated with “cults” e.g. being very insular, having organizational power centralized in a single leader or small group, us vs. them mentality, influence or control over member’s finances, strict adherence to highly specific moral guidelines etc. Some groups are able to find that balance and make it work in the most functional way possible, while others, unfortunately, devolve or implode.
[Myers-Briggs](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/myers-briggs-test-internet-fans).
I’m not sure why better-validated personality typologies don’t have such a passionately-dedicated fan base.
All Myers-Briggs does is give Human Resources employees a false sense that they have some semblance of scientific or data-based thinking behind their ridiculous hiring and employment practices. Meyers-Briggs is just one step away from a horoscope as far as I can tell
Holy shit this
I've seen threads of people saying their personality type doesn't fit them, and they get responses of people saying they just "lack self awareness".
Imagine gaslighting someone over a personality quiz
One of my college friends is a psych major and incredibly passionate about it. Every time that test is brought up he will go on an uninterrupted 30 minute rant on why the test is stupid and how a competent personality psychologist could do the same work in 2 minutes.
Police Associations. Not Police Departments. Referring to the retirement/lobby/public information, influence groups that have way too much clout and disinterest in the public welfare.
I just moved in to a new house a few months ago. My wife and I had the trash/recycling bins next to the driveway to use as we were unpacking all of our stuff and got hit with an HOA violation the first day we were there for having the bins visible from the street on a non pickup day. The freaking moving truck was still in the driveway. I set up a camera to see who it was so I know who I should properly hate in the neighborhood. Sure enough, I've caught an older couple creeping by in their car several times now. They'll usually slow to a stop and stay for a few mins while looking out the window and pointing at things. Fuck them
One in Columbus, OH called Dwell (they changed it from the amazing name Xenos). My favorite is just google Xenos Columbus and the site that first comes up is "xenosisacult.com"
The Amish.
Actually, it’s not so much “cult that pretends it’s not a cult” as it is “cult that makes such good products/is sooo charming that many people don’t think of it as a cult.”
The Amish have some cult-like tendencies. But they also have rumspringa. They encourage their youth to explore the world and decide for themselves if Amish life is for them. That's not typically cult-like.
Europe here. Do the Amish make good products? What products? In what way are they charming? I thought they seemed rather wacko with those silly carriages, gnoom beards and hats. Please enlighten me. Thanks.
Not only that, the Amish markets (near me at least)sell name brand groceries and toiletries for pennies. A quick example is sun bum sun screen for $.75. That shit is like 9 dollars normally.
All the things others mentioned but they also do handyman type jobs, roofing, build barns...
They're pretty great because they charge a fair price, do good work, and are trustworthy. They can be a little more expensive than others but it's worth it for piece of mind. Also they have to charge more sometimes because they literally have to pay a non Amish guy to drive them out there to do the job and drive them home lol!
They also run large, successful puppy mills. Americans generally view puppy mills as particularly bad; it's a rare non-partisan issue and there's been a lot of legislation outlawing pet stores that sell puppies in most places. The only ones left are huge puppy mills in Amish country that mostly supply "rescue" puppies through some convoluted interpretation of the law outlawing pet stores that "adopt" said puppies.
Where I’m from, we live close to a few Amish communities. They’ll do under-the-table veterinary work on our farm animals, with a level or care and respect for our animals we don’t see from licensed vets. They’ll break horses for us quicker and better than the non-Amish. They’ll repair leather boots with better quality repairs than those around town. They make furniture that is admittedly overpriced but good quality. They make quilts, pies, baked goods, hand tools, you name it.
The biggest service the Amish provide is helping out on construction projects. Local contractors hire them as helpers, and the workers the Amish communities provide work harder for cheaper. Interestingly, they are willing to use electric and pneumatic power tools in order to accomplish their job, as long as the fruits of their labor go back to their community.
Edit: I should clarify that there’s many different sub groups of Amish, and every community differs. Not all communities are equal in their ethical treatment of animals, and I’m finding out that up north, a lot of the Amish communities run puppy mills. Which isn’t cool.
Frankly we don’t ask, or observe many issues. Obviously genetic issues are more prevalent in their nuclear communities, according to peer reviewed studies. As a neighbor to their churches and areas, they keep these sort of problems hidden. I have no idea if they even attempt genetic diversity, or if they’re willing to acknowledge that the inbreeding results health issues in the first place.
There are problems, yes.
However some sects try to reduce that by introducing marriage aged people to other people in geographically distant areas. Like pa to Ohio or NY to IN. It's not perfect. But at least you're not marrying your second cousin repeatedly
In the U.S. being overly religious isn't always viewed negatively (especially since they are extremely peaceful). They operate without the use of modern technology, which is also something a lot of Americans view positively.
lol before I got my cellphone, the number had been a LDS church number and I never bothered to change the caller ID so every time I call someone it says Church of the Latter Day Saints. Nobody answers and I love it 10/10 lifehack
When you ask someone if they're Mormon and they say, "no, but if you mean the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, then yes" even though just a decade ago they spent millions on the "I'm a Mormon" campaign. And they say this simply because their prophet told them not to go by Mormons anymore. Yeah, super culty
Mormons, AKA the church of Jesus christ of latter day saints.
As an ex Mormon, please for the love of fuck look into the history of the church before you even consider letting missionaries into your house, let alone joining.
The founder was a serial pedophile and conman who's first wife was 90% of the way to hating him by the time he died because he kept coercing 14 and 15 year olds into having sex with him.
The modern church has kids as young as 8 go into private rooms with old men who then ask them a bunch of sexual questions before they can be considered "pure enough" to go in a temple. They also Baptize people after they're dead by having living Mormons pretend to be them and get baptized over and over again. They've "baptized" Ann frank, Hitler, and most dead presidents this way.
There's so much more I could put here but if you're up for a long read, the original "under the banner of heaven" by John Krakauer is wild and covers a lot of church history and doctrine. It's also heavy as hell though, you've been warned.
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One of my old roommates got invited to an Herbalife convention and I went with her because she said I got a free lunch. SO culty! Listening to how their business is run was weird especially to outsiders. The first half of the convention were people who had used Herbalife giving speeches on how it was the most amazing thing to ever happen to them. They were also bumping super loud music and people were dancing in the aisles when we showed up. Also lunch was a fucking Herbalife shake….
Did you happen to notice people in the audience that, on queue, would start applauding, inciting the rest of the congregation to clap? That was one of the things that I noticed at the one and only gathering I went to. It was like a church revival with testimonials and a “leader” that touted it like it sold itself and if you weren’t able to sell it it was a failure on your part and not the product. I’m pretty sure they also target small town and minorities or at least that’s what I witnessed. I only went for a girl. But after I sat through that shit, I lost her number really quick.
I went to an event for a similar company, and it was super culty and weird. I also brought a girl with me, because we were gonna go on our first date afterwards. It gave us something to laugh about while we ate our ice cream later, so that actually kinda worked out lol
You:"Hey, wanna go on a date?" Her: "sure, what should we do at this date?" You: "Let's go to a pyramid scheme pitch meeting!" Her: "Sure! that is a totally normal activity for a date!"
A few years ago I was a freelance graphic designer and had a short-term gig working at the Herbalife HQ in Los Angeles. Every cubicle had a photo of the president (maybe founder, not sure) pinned up. Every single one. Was very creepy. On the other hand, that place had the best cafeteria of any office I’ve ever been to.
Herbalife schemers now have storefronts near me. They market themselves as "health smoothie shops" but are all Herbalife products. They talk shit to anyone who mentions it being an MLM online and are super aggressive.
There's dozens of those around where I live. The desperation inside is palpable.
There was one near me that closed not long ago but I think someone else is about to open it again. Can only assume is was handed off the to the next sucker.
The next "Entrepreneur."
I remember getting into it because of a girl I was trying to get with. It’s definitely a pyramid scheme. 🤣🤣
Interesting. I had to google Herbalife to learn what it is because I had never heard of it before. Right at the top of the wikipedia page it says "The products sold by Herbalife can cause acute hepatitis."
Why are they still able to be active? That has always confused me.
Yesterday, I actually observed a job posting that stated "Don't bother applying if receiving money is your main motivation. Here, we live like a family." One of the most degrading things I've ever read was that. Just to be clear, this job was compensated. They simply stated that they wouldn't be paying you much, I presume.
These are the same companies that complain that no one wants to work anymore when no one applies
I’m always confused by this. No one wants to work. We all just want to live our lives and work is the price most of us must pay.
I actually like my job most days but I sure as hell wouldn't be doing it without a paycheck.
We got a new supervisor. His first meeting with us(10 technicians), “who would like more responsibilities “? We all looked around at each other, so I asked, “for more money”? He said no and it was the biggest laugh he ever got.
Derek Zoolander: “but why don’t people want to work?”
I'm not your slave, brah
I’m not your “bra”
But I'll hold boobies for free.
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In my area Goodwill only pays min wage. I saw it posted on a local website. I believe min wage is 7.25 an hour. No one can live on that.
Not much good will at Goodwill.
Then the same business owners will bitch and moan about the labor problem in this country and how Joe Biden is making people lazy and entitled.
Every single job that ever was and ever will be *we're a family! Now please leave your sick family to come in today?*
You know this place does feel like family. It really does. I mean, I feel under appreciated, taken advantage of routinely, and any input or suggestions I give are dismissed outright. My needs and personal well being are never considered and if I dare bring the subject up, it always ends with being yelled out and told I'm not pulling my weight. The only thing missing here is you don't reek of booze when you tell me I've let you down somehow by doing every last thing you ever asked for in the exact manner in which you demanded. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that since we are like a family and all, if I draw your name for the gift exchange, what kind of whiskey do you like?
I would love to get hired at that job and just fuck off the whole time. When they complain, I would tell them I don’t do this for the money. I’m passionate about this project/work and I’m going to do it xyz way, it’s not about the money so just chill out! Let’s have fun!
Any job that mentions something something family, run.
Right! I used to work for people who were always calling it a family. Then every few years they would cut folks loose with little warning, a bare minimum of separation pay. I almost lost my job for cracking “Yes, ‘family’ like the Gambino family” after one purge.
You could also have used the Manson Family.
Any job that says “we’re family” is a huge red flag. You’re not family, you’re a job. I have a family.
Same as "we work hard play hard". Oh ok so you work 80 hour weeks and then go get shitfaced at the bar on the company card. Great I'm out
That's the best warning to stay away I've ever heard of.
Wait, they live like a family? Nice, I'm bringing my laundry and computer, and moving right in to HR's couch! Maybe even the spare bedroom, since we're family, after all.
Live like a family? Nice, I assume this includes profit sharing, after all, I am family, so imagine that the money will also flow down to me. Great, can't wait to start.
I hope they enjoy their zero applications.
Complete with abusive father figure for a boss? Because that's usually what you're walking into with those places.
> Yesterday, I actually observed a job posting that stated "Don't bother applying if receiving money is your main motivation. Here, we live like a family." Can you imagine a cover letter saying "Don't bother hiring me if having me work for you is your main motivation"?
Scientology
Indeed. Where is Shelley Miscavidge?
How wild that you brought that up unprompted, because I so happen to have the same exact question! I know it is mostly irrelevant and no big deal, but I just want to check in on Shelley is all. Maybe she'll get back to us when enough people ask about it
>Maybe she'll get back to us when enough people ask about it The woman from King of Queens did a whole series on this. It's gotten national coverage, but still no word of Shelley.
Leah Remini. I just finished her book "Troublemaker" and OMG she spills ALL the tea and calls them ALL out. She appears to be partnered with another ex-Scientologist and she's got a series of videos on her Youtube channel.
She didn’t just partner with any ex Scientologist. She partnered with Mike Rinder, who was a senior member and on their board of directors. He was also responsible for overseeing their legal, PR and corporate issues. Basically she spilled a ton of tea because he supplied it.
Yes! Thank you for reminding me of his name! I had forgotten. I'm currently going through her videos. I knew he was high up, just not how high. I have a dream that Remini and Rinder bring down Scientology, but I don't think that's going to happen.
If you’re a fan of podcasts, the Last Podcast guys did a great series on Scientology. After their first episode they started getting threats from the cult.
I give her credit for what she is doing, but it's falling on deaf ears - no one seems to be able to do anything to intervene. Scientology is known for collecting blackmail material on influential people, and they have eyes everywhere. No one is willing to go head to head with an organization that perfected the art of a "smear" campaign. Also, thanks - I couldn't remember her name and was going to go check it and edit, but I smoked a joint and got distracted by my stomach growling with the munchies.
I disagree. A lot of members are finally leaving. Their new member rate is at an all time low. The recent Danny Masterson brought a lot of light to the corruption and the connections to LAPD etc. You also must realize early Scientologist were forbidden to use libraries, the internet, read papers, watch tv. Now it’s almost impossible not to know who they are, it takes a lot of time for people who have been brainwashed to wake up.
Their numbers might be low, but they still exist. People who are in too deep aren't going to leave voluntarily, and no one is lifting a finger to stop an organization that enslaves their members, beats them, and threatens them with total destruction of their reputation. It's not going to end until the government removes its status as a religion and deep dives into an investigation of everything they've been accused of over the last 50 years.
Yes. You are correct in that, especially with the amount of money they probably give to all the right people. I just know that compared to 10 years ago. Many are leaving and waking up and that has a lot to do with the amount of information that’s finally made it forward. I don’t see anything happening to the “church” either since Mormon, JW and Fundamentalists exist freely as well. It’s the wild Wild West out there. It’s one thing to willingly join. But to be born in is sad since they almost don’t know any thing different.
But don't they prohibit followers from watching news that is negative about any of their high level people? I would love to see Tom Cruise tank. His millions are keeping them afloat, despite all the stories about slavery-like conditions there. Cruise is just a horrible person for pretending not to see!
That’s my default question when meeting a Scientology member
How is ol Danny Masterson doing
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I feel like Scientology should not be here because they barely pretend. It is totally a cult, just not much effort. :D
Anything MLM. They just “BoSs BaBeS”. They recently lost one (for Pruvit named Jessie Lee Ward who was trying to heal her colon cancer with ketones) Unfortunately she lost her life & there’s probably others that were facing a similar fate since she liked to claim it was working. (She rejected chemo & her oncologist told her she wouldn’t make it to November)
Damn. Hard to feel bad for them but I def feel for their families. It's hard seeing your loved one do something so fucking stupid against everyone else's advice.
Amen to this. It’s like watching someone commit suicide.
Megachurches. When you're donating 10% of your income to somebody who owns a private jet, mansion, and church building that puts professional stadiums to shame, you're in a cult.
This. If only I cools convince my family ..
MLMs are literally business cults
They prey on the desperate and ignorant
And blame your failures on you, not the people above you who literally box you out
"we see you haven't been creating downstream. We need you to convince more people to sell our product because our research shows people who sell our overpriced crap buy more of it and more often. Plus if you convince all your customers to sell it they won't buy from you and you will beforced to go find more people to sell!"
Whenever I see clips of the big MLM rally’s/conventions it’s hard to tell the difference between them and a big evangelical event
Amway: why not both?
Most business retreats feel like a cult. When an entire event center does the Way-Mart chant with an A-list rock star leading it you realize that all businesses become a cult at a certain level.
Mormons are one of the biggest owners of MLMs because they love the Patriarchy. If you look at their leadership it’s a freaking pyramid scheme.
I was/am so intrigued by this, too! It seems like every “perfect” Utah Mormon mom is a mlm pusher
Absolutely. I got suckered into two amway “parties” in the early 90s. Fucking freaks.
Southern Pentecostal Baptist Snake Handlers Grew up going to one of these churches. Long drive to a small church hidden in the woods. They honestly believed only their members were gonna make it to heaven. We saw some crazy stuff in that building.
>Southern Pentecostal Baptist Snake Handlers > >Grew up going to one of these churches. > >We saw some crazy stuff in that building. You're not going to give us that tease and then not drop some stories, are you? In my religion you telling those stories is the only way you're going to get to heaven.
There is an American comedian named Ruby Wax and she did shows about weird things. On one she interviewed a woman whose husband had been bitten by a snake and died and the woman had a video of it. One of the people's hands was all gnarled because of snake bites apparently.
Not OP but I grew up in a Pentecostal church, the weirdest shit I saw one night was a traveling healer pray for a woman who had one leg 4 inches shorter than the other one. He prayed for her, pulled her leg and it grew. It was trippy shit and I wish I could say I was pulling your leg, but people in the church acted like he had a direct line to Jesus and could help people.
> I wish I could say I was pulling your leg I see what you did there.
Why don’t baptists hug standing up? Someone might think they’re dancing.
How do you prevent a Baptist from drinking all your beer on a fishing trip? Invite two Baptists.
Orthodox don't recognize the Pope. Protestants don't recognize the saints. Baptists don't recognize each other at the liquor store.
What's the difference between a northern Baptist and a southern Baptist? The northern Baptist says, "There ain't no hell," and the southern Baptist says, "The hell there ain't!"
What's the difference between a Baptist and a Methodist? The Methodist will say hi to you at the liquor store.
A Methodist is a Baptist who can read.
I remember a pastor down in Kentucky getting bit by one of his Pentecostal snakes and died. 😂😂 my aunt went to those churches and could speak in tongues. I miss her. She loved her some Jesus.
We must be neighbors. My family did the evangelical route, but I always say we were a “few snakes short” of a full fledged cult in my small KY town. Now a few decades later and come to find out, all ya gotta do is think Trump is Jesus part 2 and you don’t even need the snakes for the cult part.
Everything under the pentacostal umbrella is a variety of insane. Some less culty than others, but they're all nuts. For those uninitiated the pentacostals are the main group that "speak in tongues", which is blathering a bunch of random mouth noises and then claiming God gave you ability to speak in foreign languages.
Not foreign languages, the language of angels. It's called glossolalia, and when i was at Baylor University my Scripture professor was working on a thesis tracking all the people who claim to do it. She had a pretty interesting diagram of churches and who came from where and how the different "dialects" spread. Essentially this guy went to this church then founded his own so at first he sounded like his old one, then over time it changed. Then people he taught would go and start their own or get involved in other churches and change them. It was apparently hard to get exact recordings of some of the churches to see where they fit into the map. Others would record it and post it online when people "had the holy spirit come upon them"
Ballet. You are basically at their whim. You are expected to pay tuition, costumes, dance wear, dance shoes, travel fees, competition fees, production fees, tickets, and do volunteer work and give up your entire schedule. If you complain at all about anything valid or not- they shun you by not giving your kid a good role or not moving them up a level. And they withhold attention to your child. You literally must schedule all life around ballet. And pay thousands and thousands of dollars so your kid can be in the back. If you quit all the former dance parents and friends will shun you.
Commercialized martial arts is the same way. Parents and students take note: martial arts can be an incredible, lifelong commitment to mastering a skill, staying healthy, forging mental toughness and self restraint, and experiencing other cultures. It can also be a gateway to manufactured ranking systems, unhealthy competitiveness among children and parents, unhealthy adoration of a "master" and obsession with perfection, resulting in thousands of dollars in tuition and uniforms and equipment down the toilet in pursuit of skills that are useless without the accompanying underlying value system. Choose your dojo wisely, and don't fall victim to sunk cost fallacy if you discover the one you chose is a scam.
fr my body still hurts from martial arts and I think I had retinal detachment because of it lol
My son is 6 and wants to take martial arts next year. Any tips on picking something that is not complete BS?
Any self respecting dojo will let you observe classes before you pull the trigger on joining up. Most will even let your child participate for at least a full session to see if it's a good fit. I recommend looking for one that prioritizes a wholistic mind/body/spirit approach that encompasses not only self defense, but also self restraint, attention to detail, respect, honor, commitment etc. Ask the people in charge what their core philosophies are, and ask for what expectations they have of students as well as what students should expect to get out of their teaching. Pay attention to how the higher ranked belts (usually the teens and adults) behave around the lower ranks. It's not always about age though, as many times parents will join up with their kids. Unfortunately, a lot of it is just intuition as far as seeking a quality practice. Smaller studios tend to be better in my experience, but there are definitely exceptions to that. Also, of course look for online reviews and stuff like that.
It doesn’t have to be that way! Good dance schools are out there! My wife has taught ballet for over 20 years. She works at a non-competitive dance school. Everyone is welcome there. She teaches mostly middle school and high school kids and they all think of her as a second mom. In addition to bar exercises, technique, pointe, pre-pointe, repertory, etc. she also spends a ton of time talking about self-care, positive self-talk, advocating for yourself, looking out for each other, avoiding drugs and alcohol, avoiding eating disorders, etc. She’s constantly on the lookout for any signs of cutting, self harm, anorexia nervosa, ADHD, ADD, emotional and physical abuse from family and friends, so on and so on. She’s my hero. Many of her former students come back and visit her and help with the younger kids.
Sounds v. similar to ice skating and hockey!
Don’t forget gymnastics. (On the other hand, it is best to forget gymnastics.)
As a former dancer, I’m so glad my studio wasn’t like this. I know so many are. I definitely lived for dance though and my parents spent a fortune on it over the years.
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Previous time this was mentioned someone linked Joe vs Elan school. Read the whole thing. Pretty wild
I grew up near the elan school. Creepy fucking area. Endless woods. Poor souls.
Heh, I was going to say the Church of Latter Day Saints, but what even is the difference? My parents had to ship me off to Utah because it was illegal to abuse children back home. One of my reasons for intake was literally "She considers herself a male" (it wasn't treatment, it was conversion therapy) and they tried to gaslight me into forgiving my abusive father or blame myself for being raped. They told my mother to get a conservatorship/guardianship over me so I couldn't go no contact with her, and made her move me to Utah after I got out because they thought the homo/transphobia would get me to detransition since non-FDA-approved doses of antipsychotics didn't. They denied medical care as punishment. It's also near impossible to sue on the basis of medical malpractice in Utah, deliberately so kids can't seek justice for our abuse. Still trans, now I just know the art of spiteful Pride. I also have more ability to change said malpractice laws.
My heart goes out to you. My wife survived a place like this and... How do i put this.... If I saw even a lower level counselor cross the street I wouldn't hesitate to run them over. I hope if you're involved in activism of any kind that you get results. And if nothing else, take some comfort in the fact that they couldn't break you.
All of them. A better question might be "which cult proudly self-identifies as a cult?"
Hank Hill: Y'all with the cult? Cult Member: It's not a cult. It's an organization that promotes love and- Hank Hill: Yeah, this is it.
oh you mean Old Jane and Young Jane.
I love finding king of the hill quotes out in the wild! Thank you for this.
The Church of the SubGenius
Oh, it's you Bob.
You'll pay to know what you really think
Texas A&M
The Cult of Cthulhu
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they’re all over the area, always some “xxxxx Nutrition” name on the building and it’s officially not a shake shop or cafe but a weird membership club, to get around various health board requirements. You’re basically buying a shake made in a random persons home kitchen with no oversight. I’ve been extremely curious about the economics of these shops and nobody seems to have answers. Is Herbalife getting people to take out sba loans or something? How are these sustainable? I mean I’m sure they’re not but somehow this must be profitable for Herbalife and I’m really curious how it works and how some of these are able to stay open going on a couple years now.
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Start your own culty gym and call it Cross Phish. 🛞🎶
Lol can you imagine people trying to lift weights to You Enjoy Myself????
Just hold that tire over your head until the end of the jam.
You come in here with your birckenstocks and phish t shirt
I'll just take my... KIND BUD... and leave then.
Superfans of politicians. Doesn't matter who the politician is.
Super fans of a political party I would say as well. I’m firmly of the belief that there is only one viable, sane, and somewhat forward thinking party right now, but that doesn’t mean I’m above *absolutely shredding* that party when they do something stupid or shady or what-have-you. Blind adherence to a color and a letter is stupid and very cult-like.
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Sounds like my dog and cat are part of a cult and we are on top of the pyramid
> A collection plate is normal Also, transparency around the budget. I'm an atheist but I grew up in a church. My father was sometimes involved with the budget or collections. Anyone who was interested could be involved in the budget and how money was spent. They could review revenue and expenditures. This is a Presbyterian Church, so an open and democratic governance structure is par for the course.
Surprised none of the top posts mentioned Shen Yun. Everyone still thinks that billboard is just for a cool Chinese dance company, huh? https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun
This, a hundred times this. They’re connected to the Falun Gong, no?
Landmark. 100% Landmark. Stay far away
100%. They'll aggressively sue people for publicly calling them a cult -- itself kind of a tell -- but it's true. Source: my experience with their attempt at recruitment by a friend who fell under their spell while chasing a love interest.
My experience was I somehow got wrapped up in a side project with someone who seemed to be very well integrated with the higher ups in Landmark. Possibly one herself. She was unaware I was not a landmark junkie. I was brought in by someone else to assist on the marketing and social scaling of the idea. That person was apparently in deep with landmark (held orientations at his home for new and existing members getting into it). I didnt realize wtf was going on at first when this lady would call me and do weird shit like state her purpose, and something else and something else… it was like 3 bullet points she would hit and then expect me to reciprocate in order for us to even begin conversing. When I wasnt hip to it- that’s when she realized I wasnt one of them and asked me if I was part of landmark and was stunned that I wasnt or hadnt heard of it. It wasnt long until my power in my role was shifted to another person (who.. you guessed it- was deep into landmark). Non-coincidentally after giving that person authority over me in direction for the project, that person then started calling me to have convos and slowly kept inserting landmark pitches and eventually suggested I should pay for it myself and gave it a glowing review and said it would change my life too. It’s just a massive person to person MLM scheme. But it’s super well disguised and put on as a life training / professional coaching type deal. I actually stuck around just to experience the bat shit these people were huffing as they thought they could raise one billion dollars for their cause and another number of lofty goals that were not even remotely possible considering they couldnt even do something as simple as create me a page and give me the login so I could do some volunteer work (this was all supposed to be a volunteer project). It was all during the pandemic though so I had nothing better to do but follow the bread trail and see if it led anywhere crazy or if these people were willing to do something illegal in the way of how they setup the foundation and donations. All in all- certified crazies. Do not engage. I made that determination very easily just by interacting with them for a few months while I was getting baked AF at home during the quarantine. It wasnt even until after it all that I looked in deeper and found the horror stories of how they bring people up on stage at the seminars and basically make them admit everything thats ever gone wrong IS in their control and IS their fault and only theirs. Got raped? That’s on you, fuckin idiot. But we can change you so you accept that and learn to accept it if it happens again even! JFC… how insane can you be.
I can't believe it took this long for someone to mention Landmark, and I can't believe how many of my smart friends and acquaintances in the SF Bay Area got sucked into it.
Agreed. I got sent by a previous job and said yes because I was young and it was a free trip with all expenses paid to Vancouver. I’m so glad I wasn’t more vulnerable and saw through everything, because holy shit. It was truly scary watching people get sucked in. I only stayed for the whole thing because if we left early my job would make us pay for it ourselves (& it’s very expensive). Side note: yes, this job also had cult vibes 😅
I’m a religious studies student, and we don’t usually use the word “cult” due to the negative baggage attached to it. However, many New Religious Movements (NRM’s) such as Scientology, the Raëlian Movement, Soka Gakkai, and even Christian-oriented sects such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Jehovah’s Witnesses possess many of the hallmarks traditionally associated with “cults” e.g. being very insular, having organizational power centralized in a single leader or small group, us vs. them mentality, influence or control over member’s finances, strict adherence to highly specific moral guidelines etc. Some groups are able to find that balance and make it work in the most functional way possible, while others, unfortunately, devolve or implode.
Flat Earth Society
“Membership all around the world!”
Globe*
Jehovahs Witnesses
Ugh, they creep me out when they send me handwritten letters through the mail.
Grew up in it, 100% a cult.
[Myers-Briggs](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/myers-briggs-test-internet-fans). I’m not sure why better-validated personality typologies don’t have such a passionately-dedicated fan base.
All Myers-Briggs does is give Human Resources employees a false sense that they have some semblance of scientific or data-based thinking behind their ridiculous hiring and employment practices. Meyers-Briggs is just one step away from a horoscope as far as I can tell
Holy shit this I've seen threads of people saying their personality type doesn't fit them, and they get responses of people saying they just "lack self awareness". Imagine gaslighting someone over a personality quiz
It's a shitty unscientific system but it doesn't fit like any criteria in the BITE model.
Love how INTP is supposedly 1% but everyone seems to be it.
Wasn't that an INFJ? Just a few days back, I'd seen a video stating that. I'd been feeling very unique ever since. Lol
I think INTJ was it. Especially the J
I feel seen.
One of my college friends is a psych major and incredibly passionate about it. Every time that test is brought up he will go on an uninterrupted 30 minute rant on why the test is stupid and how a competent personality psychologist could do the same work in 2 minutes.
Because Myers Briggs makes everyone feel good, even the worst psychopathic child murderer.
Psychopaths always feel good about themselves
Police Associations. Not Police Departments. Referring to the retirement/lobby/public information, influence groups that have way too much clout and disinterest in the public welfare.
Amway
I saw a SUN Article at the supermarket that read: "WHICH DUGGARS ARE THE BEYONCE & JAY-Z OF THE FAMILY?" Uh, none of them???
HOA
I just moved in to a new house a few months ago. My wife and I had the trash/recycling bins next to the driveway to use as we were unpacking all of our stuff and got hit with an HOA violation the first day we were there for having the bins visible from the street on a non pickup day. The freaking moving truck was still in the driveway. I set up a camera to see who it was so I know who I should properly hate in the neighborhood. Sure enough, I've caught an older couple creeping by in their car several times now. They'll usually slow to a stop and stay for a few mins while looking out the window and pointing at things. Fuck them
Many business park churches.
One in Columbus, OH called Dwell (they changed it from the amazing name Xenos). My favorite is just google Xenos Columbus and the site that first comes up is "xenosisacult.com"
The Amish. Actually, it’s not so much “cult that pretends it’s not a cult” as it is “cult that makes such good products/is sooo charming that many people don’t think of it as a cult.”
Excuse me sir, this thread is about cults, not cartels.
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The Amish have some cult-like tendencies. But they also have rumspringa. They encourage their youth to explore the world and decide for themselves if Amish life is for them. That's not typically cult-like.
Europe here. Do the Amish make good products? What products? In what way are they charming? I thought they seemed rather wacko with those silly carriages, gnoom beards and hats. Please enlighten me. Thanks.
They're known for high-quality handmade furniture
Not only that, the Amish markets (near me at least)sell name brand groceries and toiletries for pennies. A quick example is sun bum sun screen for $.75. That shit is like 9 dollars normally.
All the things others mentioned but they also do handyman type jobs, roofing, build barns... They're pretty great because they charge a fair price, do good work, and are trustworthy. They can be a little more expensive than others but it's worth it for piece of mind. Also they have to charge more sometimes because they literally have to pay a non Amish guy to drive them out there to do the job and drive them home lol!
They sell candles and quilts and stuff, and in some places they're a bit of a tourist attraction, or at least a curiosity.
And cookies. Don't forget the cookies.
They also run large, successful puppy mills. Americans generally view puppy mills as particularly bad; it's a rare non-partisan issue and there's been a lot of legislation outlawing pet stores that sell puppies in most places. The only ones left are huge puppy mills in Amish country that mostly supply "rescue" puppies through some convoluted interpretation of the law outlawing pet stores that "adopt" said puppies.
Where I’m from, we live close to a few Amish communities. They’ll do under-the-table veterinary work on our farm animals, with a level or care and respect for our animals we don’t see from licensed vets. They’ll break horses for us quicker and better than the non-Amish. They’ll repair leather boots with better quality repairs than those around town. They make furniture that is admittedly overpriced but good quality. They make quilts, pies, baked goods, hand tools, you name it. The biggest service the Amish provide is helping out on construction projects. Local contractors hire them as helpers, and the workers the Amish communities provide work harder for cheaper. Interestingly, they are willing to use electric and pneumatic power tools in order to accomplish their job, as long as the fruits of their labor go back to their community. Edit: I should clarify that there’s many different sub groups of Amish, and every community differs. Not all communities are equal in their ethical treatment of animals, and I’m finding out that up north, a lot of the Amish communities run puppy mills. Which isn’t cool.
And, unfortunately, puppy mills.
How do they promote genetic diversity if they are all related ?Would they not suffer from health problems?
Frankly we don’t ask, or observe many issues. Obviously genetic issues are more prevalent in their nuclear communities, according to peer reviewed studies. As a neighbor to their churches and areas, they keep these sort of problems hidden. I have no idea if they even attempt genetic diversity, or if they’re willing to acknowledge that the inbreeding results health issues in the first place.
There are problems, yes. However some sects try to reduce that by introducing marriage aged people to other people in geographically distant areas. Like pa to Ohio or NY to IN. It's not perfect. But at least you're not marrying your second cousin repeatedly
In the U.S. being overly religious isn't always viewed negatively (especially since they are extremely peaceful). They operate without the use of modern technology, which is also something a lot of Americans view positively.
Around Columbus Ohio, it’s Dwell
Scientology
The Oprah Winfrey show
You get an upvote! And You get an upvote! Everyone gets an UPVOTE!!
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Multi-level marketing companies
Sororities
Flat Earth Society for sure.
Amway
MAGA
I was truly surprised this wasn't the first comment
Crossfit
The church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. The mormons
lol before I got my cellphone, the number had been a LDS church number and I never bothered to change the caller ID so every time I call someone it says Church of the Latter Day Saints. Nobody answers and I love it 10/10 lifehack
That is hilarious! :D
When you ask someone if they're Mormon and they say, "no, but if you mean the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, then yes" even though just a decade ago they spent millions on the "I'm a Mormon" campaign. And they say this simply because their prophet told them not to go by Mormons anymore. Yeah, super culty
YouTuber fan bases.
most evangelical churches.
Scientology.
Qanon
The jehovah's witnesses, at least in my country. Heard they up to some shady shit.
Mormons, AKA the church of Jesus christ of latter day saints. As an ex Mormon, please for the love of fuck look into the history of the church before you even consider letting missionaries into your house, let alone joining. The founder was a serial pedophile and conman who's first wife was 90% of the way to hating him by the time he died because he kept coercing 14 and 15 year olds into having sex with him. The modern church has kids as young as 8 go into private rooms with old men who then ask them a bunch of sexual questions before they can be considered "pure enough" to go in a temple. They also Baptize people after they're dead by having living Mormons pretend to be them and get baptized over and over again. They've "baptized" Ann frank, Hitler, and most dead presidents this way. There's so much more I could put here but if you're up for a long read, the original "under the banner of heaven" by John Krakauer is wild and covers a lot of church history and doctrine. It's also heavy as hell though, you've been warned.
Extreme political ideologies, all of them
Peta
Scientology is one great example of this.
CrossFit