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by Clyde_Archive
biscuitdough wrote: the long-con type of cult.It can't be stressed enough that this is essentially the M.O. of all cult leaders. They may be clinical narcissists or suffer from paranoid delusions but they don't usually believe the bullshit they're peddling. I thought Going Clear was mostly quite good but one thing that bothered me (other than not covering Operations Freakout or Snow White at all; and both of which are so nuts I would think they were far-fetched in a B-grade conspiracy thriller) was when Lawrence Wright implied that L. Ron Hubbard wasn't a con-man because even after he had a bunch of money he kept up the act. I believe it was Margaret Singer who stated that, actually, the difference between a cult leader and a con-man is the con-man takes your money and leaves but the cult leader sticks around. By the way, Scientology has been influential on a number of other alternately terrifying and hilarious cults including ones like Synanon and NXIVM. Not to mention this tidbit from Gawker:According to Manson biographer Jeff Guinn as excerpted in LA Weekly, while in prison, œCharlie adopted those aspects of Hubbard s teachings that lent themselves to manipulating others. œHis September 1961 report [by prison officials] noted, ˜He appears to have developed a certain amount of insight into his problems through the study of [Scientology]. Manson is making progress for the first time in his life. And speaking of Charlie, his website is an absolute hoot. Check out this highlight:China Declares War Against Pollution, Four Decades After Charles MansonNow that human society has apparently begun to wake up to the same reality that Charles Manson has constantly warned them of for many decades, will they be able to avoid the worst of consequences?http://www.mansondirect.com/