Can the Law be an Enemy of Cult Victims?
One thing I have believed for a long time is that the techniques used by cults on their victims are far more sophisticated and subtle than the techniques used by some of the early mind control techniques used by the CIA in its experiments, the re-education programs of China that Lifton researched.
Alan Scheflin and Steven Hassan started off immediately by validating that belief. There is no comparison. Physical torture is often not necessary for most cults. Mind you there are many who do use physical torture but it isn’t a requirement. There are many ways to torture someone without ever laying a finger on them.
Early programming techniques often relied on degrading a person or implanting various phobias.
Scheflin used the term “undue influence” and that alone on some individuals especially those who might be approached when they are particularly vulnerable, would certainly be enough to attain and maintain control over a person.
Another term used was “informed consent”. This too is a concept I have used many times. Certainly if people knew everything about a group right away few people would choose to join. Cults hide a lot of information from prospective recruits. They even hide a lot from their own members. History has a way of becoming irrelevant.
It isn’t surprising that many cults are campaigning to take the term “mind control” out of the DSM-V (the bible of diagnosing mental health issues used by professionals working with victims of abuse. The removal of this term would effectively nullify the main method that all abusers use on their victim – not just cult victims but victims of childhood abuse, spousal abuse, prisoners of war, etc.
Steven Hassan spoke emotionally and briefly about a young woman Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist who died after a car accident and the interference of Scientologists that led to her death. Hassan, choked up when he spoke of how Lisa had begged for medical care which was refused. Lisa died in their care after 3 weeks without the medical care she needed.