Friday, March 10, 2017

5 Signs of a Cult Mentality

1. Refuses to question leadership or berates others who dare question their chosen "messiahs" as being "agents, coons, traitors, sellouts, non-supportive, haters", and other derogatory slanders. Once they become emotionally invested in the personality they follow then they take such questions against the person as personal attacks against themselves, but will deny this.

2. Easily prone to emotional outbursts in defense of their icons without critically analyzing the facts. This behavior is most often characterized by trying to out talk or shout down others so they can't be heard as a control tactic to overwhelm any opposing view. 

3. Mob minded activity such as bandwagon jumping or piling on to condemn those who have an opposing position. Cults exhibit "herd" behavior that doesn't tolerate free thinking or any opinion that doesn't agree with their perspective and objectively questions their beliefs. 

4. THE REFUSAL TO HOLD LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABLE, AND ALLOWING THEM TO ABUSE ALMOST ANY PRIVILEGE OF THEIR POSITION BECAUSE OF THE PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THEY ARE BELIEVED TO REPRESENT. This is a major issue, especially in institutions of the Black Collective such as the Church, the Conscious Community, and the Pan-African Movement which leads to continual financial exploitation, brainwashing, sexual abuse, child molestation, and even physical abuse by leaders. The leader's corrupt character is given a pass while their victims are vilified as liars or traitors who are out to destroy them and whatever movement they claim by the leader's followers as unwitting accomplices to their actions.  

5. Expresses unreasonable anger over analytical critique of living or deceased people of note whom they hold in high regard. This often manifest as celebrity worship, "groupie love" behavior, the idol worship of famous persons with a skewed view of who they really are or were, the setting of double standards for their icons, and a fanatical belief that their hero/heroine is above reproach and beyond all criticism. Whenever confronted with an inconvenient truth about their icon they create a conspiracy.
An example of cult mentality are those who extol the late rapper "Tupac Shakur" and fanatically attack anyone who objectively questions his legacy as a community activist or revolutionary, while at the same time many of these same people denigrate the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a government agent and sellout. Another example is how many exalt former President Barack Obama to proverbial sainthood and make great haste to defend him against all who question his politics. Questioning important or famous figures doesn't mean they aren't loved or respected.  

When questioned about Tupac they usally can't name one thing he actually did to positively affect the lives of black people but give him credit for imaginary accolades out of feelings of nostalgia; while dismissing the contradictory behavior he displayed which led to his death. On the flip-side, they know relatively little about Dr. MLK, Jr. beyond erroneous information, YouTube videos, and misleading memes circulated on the internet. They talk with great verbosity and passion about what Tupac was planning to do, but have no true knowledge or respect for what Dr. King actually did. 
The 5 items listed above are only a few chosen to highlight at this time but there are others that can also be pointed out. If we truly believe in free speech, freedom of expression, and free thinking then we must not be so offended when someone actually exercises their freedom from a perspective we don't agree with. The only way you can properly refute an errant position is with a more intelligent one; not with an emotional one that responds defensively and insecurely. The "cult mentality" leads to mob behavior that always lynches the innocent. ~ Mr. Blaktastic 

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