Born in a cult family
How may one explain to their parents that their BELIEFS are inane and insane? My parents followed and still believe in their deceased cult leader. Am I an idiot for not talking with my parents?
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How may one explain to their parents that their BELIEFS are inane and insane? My parents followed and still believe in their deceased cult leader. Am I an idiot for not talking with my parents?
well readin this thread lookin at your username and what with the showbiz connection its obviously the clearwater jackasses
please dont go gettin this website shut down or taken over by them cause thats the kinda thing that bunch would do to silence or retaliate
I understand your humour. I was asking a serious question. Thank you for leaving a comment.
Ok. Serious this time. There are some interesting stories that pop up when you Google Oregon and cult. If they're following Osho that's gonna be tricky. Do they want you to be in the cult too?
Think that perhaps I should end my life today. My parents stole my earnings and savings.
I was on an extremely popular show.
I must be an idiot for asking advice on the internet.
Man you definitely do not want to do that. Believe me. I've been knocked down a few times and really felt like shit but things do get better. Call a friend or a hotline. The holidays suck for a lot of people. But just don't do anything dumb. Besides, how else am I gonna learn about cults? Hang in there man. Good luck to you.
The short answer is that there's nothing you can do to help people once they've deeply invested in a cult. There's no point in trying to convince K-pop fanatics that it's cheesy crap. You can't make Trump cultists see that the guy is a lying, greedy, narcissistic con-artist who's using them. You can't talk the members of Westboro Baptist Church into seeing that their world-view is nonsensical, toxic and harmful to themselves and those they come into contact with.
Once we are convinced that something is true, all sorts of psychological defence mechanisms come into play when that belief is challenged. It is possible for a cult member to come to the realisation that what they believe is a lie, but this is an internal process. Often, niggling little doubts accumulate until, one day, there's an abrupt shift in perception. But recognising that you've been conned is always painful; nobody wants to believe that they're dumb enough to have been fooled. Also, religions provide a framework for understanding the world, and the prospect of being set adrift and going back to understanding nothing can be so painful that a lot of people refuse to even think about going there.
The pernicious thing about cults is that the members constantly validate and reinforce each other's beliefs. The result can be what appears to be collective insanity to those outside the group, but it all makes perfect sense to those inside the group. Cults also provide a sense of belonging and stability, things that are in short supply in today's fractured, frantically-paced world.
Your parents are on their journey through their lives, and you're on yours. You have to accept that they're allowed to believe whatever nonsense they choose, but you don't have to accept or even respect the belief system they've signed up to.
I thank you for your insightful words.
The reason behind my not conversing with them is because they managed to take advantage of my finances and they are not sorry.
I am a middle child and I worked for my name and my career.
My parents managed to launder my finances to their benefit.
Ironically, my Dad called me today and is preaching about Christmas.
My parents stole so much from me.
I wish I could say my name.
And the truly twisted thing is that I'm sure that, in their minds, what they've done is all perfectly reasonable and entirely justified.
Some people aren't fit to be parents. You didn't ask to be born into your family, and while we all owe our parents something for having cared for us to the best of their ability when we were young (assuming they did indeed do that), I don't accept that everyone owes a lifetime obligation to their parents. (And I speak as a parent myself.)
Some parents are toxic. They have the right to screw up their own lives if they so choose, but they don't have the right to continue to attempt to manipulate and screw up the lives of their offspring once they've become independent.
Your parents are victims of whatever genetic and environmental influences and whatever chance encounters and deliberate choices they've made that have led to them to where they are today. But even if you are able to see them as victims, that doesn't mean the morally correct thing for you to do is to continue to give them time and space in your life and allow them to influence you in any way. And that includes ruining your Christmas day by preaching at you when you don't want to hear it (and have probably already heard exactly the same thing many times before).
If I were in your position, I would write them a letter saying that you'll be happy to hear from them if they should ever break free of their current delusional mindset, but until that happens, you don't want any further contact with them.
I have a coworker (at my lake ass retail job not my good job) who is so obsessed with k pop she spends 5 grand every year to go to some kpop convention where appearsntky the singers go meet fans stuff like that. She goes every freaking year. Doednt even speak Korean. I mean if your gonna be that invested at least learn the bloody language
Let people be enthusiasts for whatever hobby meets their fancy. It's weird but it's not the worst thing to be enthusiastic about.
Nothing wrong with listening to music with languages you dont understand. Tone is pretty universal.
Without a doubt but an obsession like that you'd think you'd bother to learn the language so you can fully enjoy it. Just my thoughts though
Some people cant learn other languages well. Hell I took a military test to see my probability of learning a new langage. They said it was a miracle that I managed to learn english.
Plus some J-pop and K-pop songs have english lyrics embedded in it.
Bad apple is my favorite J pop song.
if you're serious on this one, you're gonna have to provide some more details
The deceased cult leader youre referring to doesnt happen to be jesus christ does it?
I guess by definition yes, I think christianty, islam, and mormons can be defined as a cult after looking up the definition.
In the way we use the word though in America I wouldnt really call them that. When I think of cults I think of smaller groups like Jim Jones, Charlie Manson, Waco guys.
I call religions cults when they go far beyond the "normal" belief system of the original religion.
Theres no church of satanism. It's a cult, Since it's the church of christianity and they choose to worship the bad guy.
Independent cults are more extreme than ones loosely attached to the main religions.
I’m sure you’ve attempted to have a rational conversation with them before about it, but if they are so brainwashed and manipulative, it’s probably best to cut off most contact with them. In terms of them taking advantage of you financially, you could take legal action to try to get some money back, or just write it off as life experience, and move on if you’re otherwise financially stable and independent. I’m sorry for your situation, and hope there can be some reconciliation.
Thank you for your advice.
Unfortunately, my name will be in the media as usual.
I hope this thread goes viral.
They must think my money is monopoly paper money.
I thank you for your advice.
Not easy to understand how millions are gone.
Advice to people, DO NOT TRUST YOUR FAMILY.