[ot] Karlbook [coercion]: Opening Our Minds by Jon Atack

Thu Oct 26 08:17:09 PDT 2023

# 2

## recruitment and seduction: the way to unhappiness

"The saddest thing about any man, is that he be ignorant, and the most
exciting thing is that he knows." ~ King Alfred the Great

The process of coercive control follows a predictable series of steps.
First comes _contact_. This will either happen in person or through
advertising, which comes in many forms: flyers, posters, mailings,
books, media ads and articles are all used by authoritarian groups to
lure new recruits. Many groups use street recruiters, and most have
their own publications; some, including Scientology, have hired
professional advertising agencies to refine their approach.[4] Public
relations experts speak of interruption as the first step. They make
contact by distracting your attention.

The Moonies and, more recently, militant Salafi Islamists, approach
college freshmen. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and LaRouchies knock on
doors. The LaRouchies -- followers of the late trickster Lyndon
LaRouche -- also use obituary columns to target grieving widows and
widowers. Pseudo-Buddhist groups, such as the New Kadampa Tradition,
have latched on to the craze for Mindfulness and use this in their
pitch.

Contrary to popular myth, authoritarian groups seek competent
recruits. Anyone with significant physical or mental problems,
including drug or alcohol addiction, will be weeded out at the outset.
There may also be certain groups that are not targeted -- Scientology,
for instance, avoids gay people, journalists, psychologists,
psychiatrists, therapists, disabled people and communists.

Authoritarian groups can and do recruit intelligent people. Many
followers are idealists, convinced that they are working towards a
better world. Studies show that authoritarian group members are often
middle-class and fairly well-educated.[5] They have higher than
average IQs and perfectly normal personality profiles. Authoritarian
group members do not present with any more emotional or psychiatric
problems than the normal population. The same is true of terrorists.
Detailed surveys of several terrorist groups have shown that member
show little difference from the general population for mental illness,
except for their practice of the anti-social beliefs of the group.[6]

Once contact is made, _rapport_ is developed. The recruiter looks for
common ground, agreement on cultural, political or religious biases.
In Scientology, this is called the "reality factor". The intention is
to create a friendly atmosphere.

An Al-Qaeda manual cautions the recruiter, "Don't criticize the
candidate's behavior. Thank him for any help, even if it is just a
little. Caution: don't disregard his opinion or his manner of
thinking, but let him express his opinion even if it opposes yours ...
Be close to him in order to get to know more about his character."[7]

Krishnas handed out joss sticks and then asked for a donation, which
follows the _principle of reciprocity_. One of my friends startled a
Krishna recruiter by refusing either to make a donation or to return
the recording of Temple songs he had just been given. Most people
simply reached into their pockets and overpaid for the few pennies'
worth of "Spiritual Sky" joss sticks. This approach is like a fishing
lure -- a bright object to attract attention. Moonies sold candy and
flowers on the street, at vastly exaggerated prices. Scientologists
offer a "free" personality test. There is no such thing as a free
lunch; there is also no such thing as a free personality test.

By answering the 200-question test, you volunteer private information,
and grant authority to the tester. The test was the work of Ray Kemp,
a merchant seaman with no training in psychological testing. It is
called the "Oxford Capacity Analysis" to give it a ring of authority
(Kemp had no affiliation with Oxford University).

Recruitment checklist

 - contact
 - reciprocity and rapport
 - flattery
 - test resistance to group
 - push fear of worsening
 - elicit confession to gain authority
(recruit following directions from here down)
 - show understanding and sympathy
 - bring to a peak experience
 - demand testimonials to reinforce consistency
 - induce guilt, phobias, and disgust

The prospective recruit will be _flattered_ -- called "love bombing"
by the Moonies. Your appearance, beliefs or talents will be praised to
the skies. Rapport is built and a false friendship is created.
Recruiters see nothing wrong in this trickery, because it is believed
to be for the greater good and it raises their own status in the
group. Moonies speak of "heavenly deception". For the recruiter, it is
another statistic, which will lead to praise from the group, just like
a salesperson selling another car. Recruits, however, feel as if they
have made a new friend, someone who resonates with their existing
beliefs. By the time they realize that the recruiter was simply
agreeing to be agreeable -- and make a sale -- it may be too late to
retreat.

### the buy-in

Any _resistance_ to the group is then tested, unless the group
represents itself under a false name (the Moonies have dozens of front
groups, and refrain from mentioning that they are a "religion" at
first contact). Scientologists are taught to dismiss media reports by
saying that the media is untrustworthy: "You can't believe anything
you read in the papers". Not one person _ever_ disagreed with me when
I used this line -- such is the level of public distrust of the media.

_Once rapport has been established, the recruiter will seek out the
most significant difficulty in the recruit's life._ In Scientology,
this is called the "ruin": "What is ruining your life?" If the
preceding steps have been followed closely, _most_ people will offer
up even their most secret troubles. Unless they've been hurt before by
exposing their secrets, most people welcome sympathy for their
problems. It is surprising how willing people are to share their
deepest longings with complete strangers, as if there is a need to
confess; this confession deepens rapport.

Scientology recruiters then push the target into _"fear of
worsening"_. The recruit is exploited to feel discouraged about the
"ruin". "I'm sure you've tried everything, but nothing has worked."
__Confession_ of troubles usually shifts the recruiter into a position
of superiority, of authority._ The recruit will be willing to follow
directions from this point, almost like Pavlov's dogs, which salivated
when a bell was rung, because they had learned to associate the sound
with the offer of food.

Next, the recruiter will use the information from this confession to
demonstrate that the recruit desperately needs the group to achieve
positive change; Scientology recruiters call this step _"bringing to
understanding"_. Sales manuals suggest that a story be made up to show
sympathy: "I know a guy who had exactly the same problem. He took a
few of our courses and everything started to work out for him." The
"understanding" is that the group can solve whatever problem is
presented -- whether it is romantic, financial, work-related or
spiritual -- anything and everything can be resolved by the offered
course, counseling or study program, so the recruiter has no
difficulty in inventing a supporting story: the ends justify the
deceptive means.

Various tricks can be used to convince a new recruit. Indeed, the
process of recruitment can begin by creating a euphoric or peak
experience. Simply focusing attention can bring about a euphoric or
high state.

This creates a state of awe, which is found in the love at first
sight, or infatuation (also called limerence). Awe can bring about a
belief in the authority of the person who introduces it.

_There are five routes to awe: vastness, beauty, skill, celebrity, and
inexplicable events._ The view from a mountain ridge or a vast night
sky, the beauty of a painting or landscape, the skill of a craftsman,
the allure of a film star, or an event that baffles us can all cause
an elevated state, in which we find it more difficult to reason, so
are more easily influenced.

Tricksters often use inexplicable events to capture a recruit. The
event is presented as a miracle or a transcendent state. The trickster
then seems to have special knowledge and may be seen as an expert
about everything.[8] They have achieved authority over the recruit
which can extend to every aspect of their lives.

The first course, seminar, or workshop will continue the love-bombing,
while often using a hypnotic technique to bring about a peak
experience. Given a long enough duration, any form of repetition,
mimicry or fixation can lead to a euphoric altered state. Chanting,
drumming, group singing, visual fixation -- as in meditation or
mindfulness -- repetition of a word or phrase ("mantra meditation"),
repeated movements, such as rocking or "davening", shaking, or walking
meditations, all lead to an altered state. It is easy to mistake the
feeling of euphoria for psychological or spiritual progress. But just
because we feel high doesn't mean that we've actually achieved
beneficial change -- as any cocaine addict can testify.

Most people in western society are unfamiliar with the effects of
eastern meditation, so they are delighted and surprised by the sense
of wellbeing that floods them. Almost every former member of an
authoritarian group that I've talked with had an initial peak
experience and spent the remainder of their time in the group trying
-- and failing -- to repeat it. It is likely that the peak experience
is simply a release of dopamine or serotonin. These neurochemicals are
the "reward" system of the brain, and are released during sex and by
alcohol and drug use. In a group setting, surrounded by approving
people, carefully designed techniques can lead to a powerful high in
the new recruit. Yuval Laor has defined the fervent attachment brought
about by manipulating awe.[9]

Testimonials are demanded for _reinforcement_. In Scientology these
are called "success stories"

[stopped here and sent document.
in the last book club for this book, the author came in to speak and
answer questions.
i recorded this in my poor quality manner to arweave. i haven't tested
the download (or if i have forgot), but it looks like the data is
supposed to be below
$ cat zAXcl1NxJ3BunzDRAE-95EECu3PQq--8kt0tg5OUCGk
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$ curl -L https://arweave.net/jJ6CqX-8HShDuPx9N04qE70YDLvbyQfD8rTSqk774j4
[[6561, {"ditem": ["377rcyj4P35wCcPNaytq0X8Hc8q7ygbDnjDTzguQIsk"],
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# references

4: The Hill and Knowlton agency and Jack Trout have been on the
Scientology payroll.

5: Margaret Thaler Singer with Janja Lalich, _op._ _cit._ While "cult"
groups in western society tend to consist of educated seekers, this is
not true of popular movements, from football hooligans and gangs, to
the grass roots support for Nazism. In the US, Identity Christians do
not fit the profile of other more sophisticated groups, either. Groups
such as the Watchtower Society -- or Jehovah's Witnesses -- restrict
education for their members, and actively recruit from prison
populations.

6: "the outstanding common characteristic of terrorists is their
normality," Martha Crenshaw (1981 study of the Algerian FLN),
"terrorists do not show any striking psychopathology," McCauley and
Segal (1987) cited by Jerold M. Post, _Leaders and Their Followers in
a Dangerous World_, New York, 2004, p.128; see also Marc Sageman,
_Understanding Terror Networks_, Philadelphia, 2004; Anne Speckhard &
Khapta Ahkmedova, _The Making of a Martyr: Chechen Suicide Terrorism_,
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Volume 29, Issue 5, pgs. 1-65.
2006: See also Ariel Merari, _Driven to Death_ (OUP, 2010), and
https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201602_clat_policy_paper_1_v2.pdf
which estimates mental illness at 27% in the normal population and 35%
in terrorists

7: _A Course in the art of Recruiting_, Abu Amru Al Qa'idy

8:  Yuval Laor, PhD thesis, _The Religious Ape_.

9: _ibid_. See also Yuval's work on our jon atack, family and friends
YouTube channel