I had an AHaaa moment last night. I'm traveling alone and I usually just eat at the bar instead of waiting for a table. One of the servers was getting drinks from the bar near me. He was a very outgoing, two-toned longer hair young man, just excited to be alive. He asks me about my hat, and I gave a short reply, and then off the top of his head he indicated that he probably won't be working there much longer because he was going to a small school to get educated for a mission trip.
I'm thinking about Steven Hassan's book, Combating Cult Mind Control. I'm asking myself questions. The young man returns to pick up some more drinks. So I asked, "so where are you going on your mission trip?" He said that he had to go be trained at a small school in west Texas, and didn't know where they would send him. And That after they get to know you they send you where they think it is most appropriate.
So I waited until I was leaving and started for the front door and saw that he was waiting a table near the front door. I established eye contact with him and then motioned for him to come over. I said, "Your mission trip sounds exciting and that I approached him knowing that this wasn't any of my business, but,.... that I had some concerns of his mission trip. He said, wow, well, tell me what your concern is, for a customer to take his time and tell me he has concern for me personally I want to hear what he has to say.
I said, at least do this: Get on the internet, google and research the group you are planning on going to get "educated" by. I then told him that I was born into a high control group that my parents were committed to and that it was 45 years later I realized that it was a cult, and that I wasted decades of my life working for them.
I then told him about Steve Hassan's book Combating Cult Mind Control and he took a pen out and wrote it down, and then I briefly explained the BITE methods used to keep you in their control. That's when I saw that this young man had an AHAAAAA moment cross his face. It was a blessing to see this.
The manager was a nosey twit that had his nose into everything and he started to hover around us to get a listen. The young man was very perceptive, as I motioned with my eyes that someone was behind us. So he said loudly, "Well have a safe trip, enjoy your evening here".
I think that the young waiter had a "Ahaaa, I've got it" moment and will go home and do his homework. So this was a mini-intervention I wonder what I spared him from?