Where did the Watchtower Org learn its Mind Control techniques ?

by wobble 43 Replies latest jw friends

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  wobble

  This is a little where and when, I am not widely read in Chuck Russells stuff or Rutherfords,the former is quite looney and the latter makes me want to up-chuck.

  but I get the impression, I must admit more from isolated quotes rather than proper reading, that Chuck hardly used mind-control,apart from trying to convince that his strange interpretation of scripture was correct,and even Rutherford didn't use it so much,although the signs are there.

  So when,and where from ,did they learn the mind control methods they use,that are SO similar to all the other cults, is there a college course being run somewhere on how to build and control your own cult?

  and do the G.B take extra lessons in it, and pass them on to all members of the Writing Committee? and then down the ranks,the D.Os and C.Os certainly use it,and I don't believe it is un-consciously,they are taught.

  Any ideas ? I would like to start my own cult you see,it is a real money-spinner !

  Love

  Wobble
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  awildflower

  That's a great question. I've been trying to decide if what they do (this mind control stuff) is all deliberate or just part of the entity of religion/cults/collective ego, and therefore they themselves don't even realize what they are under, that they are just being used by something bigger. I'd like to know to............wf
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  sd-7

  I would say it all started with Rutherford, whether he did it consciously or not. "He became so powerful. The only thing he was afraid of was...losing his power." That motive led to the near-deification of the 'organization' concept. Once that was in place, and put into full effect, anyone who succeeded him was merely making the machine run more efficiently while at the same time trying to maintain an air of legitimacy. Rutherford practiced mind control, probably because of his arrogance or just because he saw the potential to gain power through it, consciously or not, then everybody after him practiced it on others and found ways to legitimize it.

  It's the Borg--get assimilated, assimilate others, make all else irrelevant and make resistance futile...

  Small Along the Watchtower,

  SD-7
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  leavingwt

  I've personally seen no evidence that anyone at WT sat down with Robert J. Lifton's eight criteria for Though Reform and then proceeded to consciously implement each of them. However, when examining the criteria, it becomes obvious that all of them are present with in the organization.

  This is one of those points on which apostates do not agree. I'm of the Ray Franz persuasion. I think the leaders are, for the most part, victims of victims. The concept of being a part of "God's Organization" keeps them in a fog, preventing them from fully recognizing their own responsibility in the lies and deceptions. (This does not -- in any way -- pardon them of their guilt.)

  I respect the opinions of those who feel otherwise.
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  JWoods

  I am going to go out on a limb and say that much of it (control of ordinary members) happened in the Russell >> Rutherford transitional era.

  Especially, when the Judge sort of put all the formerly elected elders under institutional control.

  What then came about under Knorr/Franz/and later was just a natural progression.

  Of course, Russell himself was indeed quite the control freak inasmuch as the corporation and magazine were concerned.
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  leavingwt

  Wouldn't it be true that without the shunning, there is not nearly the level of control we see today?

  So, when did the strict shunning of all ex-members begin?
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  villabolo

  Wobble, I don't think that there's a school that they can go to and learn mind control techniques. I don't think they're sophisticated enough to search out the few books that there are on the subject like Machiavelli's book The Prince. I think it's their nature to be natural born manipulators and the similarities between their kind is nothing more than an inevitable coincidence, parallel evolution so to speak.

  Now if you want to start your own cult or just want to entertain yourself with a (very thick) book on power and manipulation, I highly recommend Robert Greene's book The 48 Laws of Power and pray that this book never gets into the hands of the Bitchtower. This book is Machiavelli on steroids.

  villabolo
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  Mickey mouse

  They do what works. A man who is abusive to his spouse doesn't study the art, he learns by how his wife reacts to his actions.

  It's the same with the WBTS.

  I think most of the controlling stuff started under Rutherford's watch and I agree with LWT that the leaders are often victims of victims.
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  villabolo

  Like Mickey mouse said "They do what works" and learn informally. However I think that refering to them as victims of victims waters down what they are. Positions of power have a strong tendency of attracting individual psychopaths which in turn transform the whole group into virtual psychopaths.
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  leavingwt

  When I say, "victims of victims", what I'm trying to communicate is this sentiment: "Jehovah WANTS me to be an cruel, lying a$$hole. This is His will."

  It's the old Divine Command crap. If God say's it's OK, then it's OK, no matter how awful it is.

  That sort of thing.