Former Cult Member Answers Cult Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Dr. Janja Lalich, a sociologist who used to be in a cult, answers the internet's burning questions about cults. How did Charles Manson get a cult following? What's the best movie about cults? Why did everyone in the Heaven's Gate cult wear Nikes? How do people get brainwashed? Dr. Janja answers all these questions and much more!


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[jennyhaslayer]

"When are we ever gonna get a cult leader who's a good guy"? -somebody who's VERY susceptible to being brought into a cult

[JustinRohrerJr]

A cult with just two people is called an abusive relationship.

[sanfria]

I love how WIRED combines very interesting questions with absolute dumbest questions I've ever seen

[captainbirch.]

I grew up in a church that basically devolved into a cult. After my family got out, i was so legitimately shocked to find how kind and accepting other churches were in comparison

[FurikoMaru]

I love that she calls Manson 'Charles' like his disapproving grandmother.

[didodyondra]

"Maybe they just don't like you"

the way she said this is just pure gold LMAOO

[thirdpedalnirvana]

5:23 "maybe your neighbors aren't starting a cult, they just don't like you" 😂💯 SAVAGE AF wow

[jan-pi-ala-suli]

“Hi, I’m Dr. Janja Lalich. I was once in a cult”
crazy opening

[jagotiberan]

I love her completely logical life progression. I left a cult… now I’m a sociologist specializing in cults.

[ronewcombe]

As a person born in a cult, don't forget that some people are born into cults! It's often not a choice. The "average person" can get roped into a cult, too.

[dbappio]

As someone currently trying leave a cult (held back by parents), I appreciate all the different point of view with all these questions

[briyzzie]

What scares me about cults is that I recognize my own susceptibility to them. Like, I'm not saying I am going to join a cult tonight, but my humanity makes me vulnerable. Like, come five years down the road, I've lost my job, my partner has left, my finances are a mess and life has got me beat down. Here comes some narcissist that promises me heaven. How tempting would their offer of deliverance be? The reality is that I don't know, and that scares me, and should scare all of us. It's easy to make fun of cults, but we are not so different after all.

[zestybutterfly]

"Not every religion becomes a cult, and not every cult becomes a religion." I like that she said that.

[notdipperpines]

My dad always tells me "if someone tells you they have all the answers run the other way, thats a cult"

[elmartell]

I escaped a religious/family cult (Southern Baptist extremists) the day after I turned eighteen with the help of my then boyfriend. We planned it for four months, and to this day I think it's probably the scariest thing I've ever done. I didn't sleep for that entire summer leading up to it.
My dad desperately wanted to recreate his own Waco.
The shelf broke the day he threatened to lock me in a closet until I turned eighteen, feed me nothing but bread and water, and dump me in downtown Portland alone, with nothing, on my eighteenth birthday. Having grown up socially isolated and homeschooled, we both knew that might just get me killed.
They lost me forever that day.

[Ubercut]

Ending a cult by democratically voting out the dictator like leader is a surprisingly heartwarming story.

[TheCoco]

"Cult leaders are not gonna be chill."

seems fair.

[pandorabox]

10:48 I'm definitely not an expert, but I know people who'se family or themselves were part of a cult, and something she didn't point out is that some cults persuade you to join, not by offering you to change the world or a greater purpose, they simply grant you something they know you need with urgency. This initial offer may come in the form of financial aid, housing, a job, or just a general sense of safety and stability, at least in the beginning. This generates a sense of gratitude, debt or even reverence pretty quickly. That is part of the reason why some people have a hard time leaving, they are attached to the first impression of the cult being the generous benefactor/savior that helped them out of a tough situation or that they have a pending debt with them that they will never finish to pay.

[dompartida]

I remember reading in “Cultish” (by Amanda Martell) that the reason Heaven Gate’s followers wore Nike was because the leader got a good deal on bulk sneakers. No cap.

[kkrab]

Such an intelligent woman, she tells it like it is, but she’s never condescending