In this interview Pearse Redmond shares some of his research and thoughts on Scientology and cults in general. What is a destructive cult, and why would anyone join one in the first place? A better question might be: what pseudo-cults have I, myself been involved in, and to what extent? Human nature is ours, but it is also the Garden from which the guru attempts to pick Forbidden Fruit.
Hey Pearse, thanks for this discussion with Aaron. I certainly found it interesting, but unfortunately, it leads me to conclude that your strength so far is in doing research on the skulduggery of intelligence services. That is to say, I disagree with some of your assertions about the toxicity of “cult-like behavior”, and I can see that you didn’t do your research in some areas (specifically, the area occupied by Molyneux). I’m not sure you want to look into these things further, so I leave the initiative to you. I’d certainly be glad to talk to you about it, in these comments or elsewhere. Believe me, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows over at FDR, but you may have fallen prey to some divide-and-conquer propaganda tactics.
You’ve got cults, cult-likes, pseudo-cults, politicults… Perhaps the term isn’t as useful as you think. Actions matter. Impact matters. Is some given group deceptive and manipulative, or are they open to correcting their errors? Are they peaceful or violent? Do they help or hurt people? This is the stuff that matters. I don’t think it makes much of a difference if a group is led by a person or a committee.
If you want to talk, let me know. You’ve made some erroneous conclusions based on some FUD you may have been fed. I might even know where it came from. And as for the “black kids getting shot” stuff — Pearse, I think you are failing to notice some serious media manipulation and divide-and-conquer tactics. Take a look at what Lionel (just ‘Lionel’) has to say on these issues. Mind the propaganda, and please mind the division bombs.
By the way, I’d still give you bitcoin if you want it.
Hey Bob sorry for the delay in writing back I have been super busy. I guess the main thing to say here is that I really sincerely believe that within the FDR community there is in fact a cult at the upper levels led by Molyneux. Tom Secker and I will be on The Bridge with Kira tonight and we will be discussing this issue in more detail. A man that advocates cutting off all ties from your family, donating lots of money to his website, and controls the lives of upper level members is a cult leader. This is not my speculative opinion, this is what many people who have left FDR have said. I don’t think that they are lying or acting as disinfo agents. The knee jerk reaction to defend someone who thinks that all people who believe in taxes are evil and want to kill you is just crazy to me. Molyneux can come across as really eloquent and smart, so many of his more extreme views become accepted by his followers. Every time some black kid gets shot Molyneux goes out of his way to excuse the State for their violent actions. For me I just don’t understand how you can be a libertarian and hold these views. Murray Rothbard has an excellent essay on the cult of Ayn Rand which in many ways mimics a lot of what former FDR members have exposed about Molyneux.
I personally am not sure if I would characterize FDR as a desctuctive cult. That is a difficult area to get into. There are at least a couple of people who have committed suicide after De-Fooing, which doesn’t mean that De-Fooing was the root cause of their own demise, but I think an unstable person who enters into a cult where you are told to disconnect from your family is more likely to hurt themselves. This is a worrying trend with in the alt-media dating back decades. There have always been cults that have sought to influence or control certain areas and factions within the alt-media. We should be upfront about this and not be afraid to speak out. For instance how come no one really discusses the fact that Antony Sutton was giving lectures on his books sponsored by Elizabeth Prophet and the Church Universal and Triumphant?
By all means Bob we can continue this discussion here in the comments section. I really do appreciate your feedback.
Porkins Policy Review 
Comments
Hey Pearse, thanks for this discussion with Aaron. I certainly found it interesting, but unfortunately, it leads me to conclude that your strength so far is in doing research on the skulduggery of intelligence services. That is to say, I disagree with some of your assertions about the toxicity of “cult-like behavior”, and I can see that you didn’t do your research in some areas (specifically, the area occupied by Molyneux). I’m not sure you want to look into these things further, so I leave the initiative to you. I’d certainly be glad to talk to you about it, in these comments or elsewhere. Believe me, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows over at FDR, but you may have fallen prey to some divide-and-conquer propaganda tactics.
You’ve got cults, cult-likes, pseudo-cults, politicults… Perhaps the term isn’t as useful as you think. Actions matter. Impact matters. Is some given group deceptive and manipulative, or are they open to correcting their errors? Are they peaceful or violent? Do they help or hurt people? This is the stuff that matters. I don’t think it makes much of a difference if a group is led by a person or a committee.
If you want to talk, let me know. You’ve made some erroneous conclusions based on some FUD you may have been fed. I might even know where it came from. And as for the “black kids getting shot” stuff — Pearse, I think you are failing to notice some serious media manipulation and divide-and-conquer tactics. Take a look at what Lionel (just ‘Lionel’) has to say on these issues. Mind the propaganda, and please mind the division bombs.
By the way, I’d still give you bitcoin if you want it.
Hey Bob sorry for the delay in writing back I have been super busy. I guess the main thing to say here is that I really sincerely believe that within the FDR community there is in fact a cult at the upper levels led by Molyneux. Tom Secker and I will be on The Bridge with Kira tonight and we will be discussing this issue in more detail. A man that advocates cutting off all ties from your family, donating lots of money to his website, and controls the lives of upper level members is a cult leader. This is not my speculative opinion, this is what many people who have left FDR have said. I don’t think that they are lying or acting as disinfo agents. The knee jerk reaction to defend someone who thinks that all people who believe in taxes are evil and want to kill you is just crazy to me. Molyneux can come across as really eloquent and smart, so many of his more extreme views become accepted by his followers. Every time some black kid gets shot Molyneux goes out of his way to excuse the State for their violent actions. For me I just don’t understand how you can be a libertarian and hold these views. Murray Rothbard has an excellent essay on the cult of Ayn Rand which in many ways mimics a lot of what former FDR members have exposed about Molyneux.
I personally am not sure if I would characterize FDR as a desctuctive cult. That is a difficult area to get into. There are at least a couple of people who have committed suicide after De-Fooing, which doesn’t mean that De-Fooing was the root cause of their own demise, but I think an unstable person who enters into a cult where you are told to disconnect from your family is more likely to hurt themselves. This is a worrying trend with in the alt-media dating back decades. There have always been cults that have sought to influence or control certain areas and factions within the alt-media. We should be upfront about this and not be afraid to speak out. For instance how come no one really discusses the fact that Antony Sutton was giving lectures on his books sponsored by Elizabeth Prophet and the Church Universal and Triumphant?
By all means Bob we can continue this discussion here in the comments section. I really do appreciate your feedback.