Why is Everything a Cult Now?

[@WisecrackEDU]

50% off your first 6 bottle box PLUS a bonus bottle: www.brightcellars.com/wisecrack3 Thanks to Bright Cellars for sponsoring this video! Are cults an inherent part of American culture?

[@privateemail9755]

I said this earlier this year and everyone thought I was crazy.....

[@lmsorenson8503]

Utah... 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Cannot.

[@southendbusker7534]

is, bright cellars a cult ?, jfc now im paranoid

[@EyesOfByes]

Yes, just look at the Apple Fitness+ presentation 14 sept 2021... To paraphrase: *"Wear the magic watch and join us"* My motto is *"Eppur Si Muove*"

[@JackSparrow-re4ql]

We're shifting from money being the main focus of power and control; to personal information. If that's the case, then cults are not "harmless"; the way you claim. They're capable of harvesting massive and detailed information from their members. Information they can sell, use and exploit using modern technology. Mark my words; cults will become a powerhouse online some day; just as powerful as corporations. In fact the distinction between corporations and the modern online individual is blurred.

[@Gameman5252-e2r]

The best cult to date has got to be the lobster cult. They're helping a lobster shed until it gets huge and refer to it as The Lorb, but also try to help keep the ocean clean and stuff.

[@esbenm6544]

I'm familiar with Jordan Peterson fans. Except for the cleaning the ocean part, that's news to me.

[@ryancole6981]

@@esbenm6544 lmao good comment

[@adamtapparo2168]

No dude, it's definitely the christian church, well, the most successful anyway

[@cinthiagoch]

I HAD to go and check out their website... It's awesome! xD I'm just worried that, if I join, the Flying Spaghetti Monster might get angry with me. Does anyone know if they're on good terms or have a thing for cult exclusivity?

[@Gameman5252-e2r]

@@cinthiagoch I'm not a pastafarian so I can't say. However, I do know that The Lorb loves all. So, as long as you help keep the ocean clean, you're probs good.

[@fabnasio]

Cults offer a sense of belonging, so they thrive most when large groups of people begin to feel isolated and disconnected from their communities. The fact that most people can only afford to rent and are often forced to move according to job availability and housing prices cannot be healthy to their sense of security and belonging. How long can someone tolerate that before wondering if being part of a group, ANY group, would be better than being completely alone? Part of the appeal of MLMs is that, while they claim that you're "your own boss", they also lay on the praise and support and promise that "you aren't in this alone" because they have such a "diverse network" and "inclusive culture". Then they also promise you this support system will also make you a ton of money. They just often neglect to mention that you don't make much money, and all of it is from people you already know. Even if you do start making money, its only until you make a mistake or take a step out of line or are unhappy with them for any reason (because of course that would be your fault). Its just a cult designed to monetize your friends and family.

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

that's true as well, i def think sense of belonging is a big part of it, also feeling dependant upon whoever the "leader" is, or the "community" itself

[@furiousapplesack]

I think it's no surprise that as capitalism is failing to meet the needs of people, especially as it mostly failed to rise to the challenge of dealing with COVID, more cults are forming (I refer to something as a cult based on the damage/negative outcomes). This system is inherently alienating. Everything is a competition which is isolating. It also makes sense that wealthy and powerful people at the top who benefit from this system have played such a huge role in cult-forming (Scientology, NXIVM, Qanon). It's a distraction and scapegoating to avoid addressing the root issue. And because people were first in the cult of capitalism, they're starting off on the premise that "there's no way the economic system could be at fault. It's not possible! Capitalism is good, and good things aren't bad, so it must be... it must be the fault of people who aren't greedy enough, or reptilian spacepeople, or satanic baby-eaters!" It's a sad state of affairs when something as ridiculous as those examples is seen by enough of these people as less ridiculous than pondering a different way of doing things.

[@churblefurbles]

​@@furiousapplesack Missing what's right in front of themselves is the norm now, religions stand the test of time as the video said, but how, they have children, they are functional at the most fundamental level of biology. The changes to society you attribute to capitalism are nothing less than the progressive agenda, individualism at any cost, shedding family, religion, history and religion leading to wide spread division and unhappiness, and of course sterility. You name some cnn concerns, when you see the new original sin recast as racism, apocalyptic(climate) prophecy and "equality" creationism reborn all right under your nose.

[@furiousapplesack]

@@churblefurbles You appear to be completely insane.

[@churblefurbles]

​@@furiousapplesack Said the one arguing against basic evolutionary logic. People co-evolved with religion, you clearly have not escaped it and fall more in line with the sterility cult which will pass as without children those groups have no future. Needs are endless, and when your views can only farm the needy, again, there is no future for that. Green movements, blm, these are religious revivals, or did you think it rational they were given a pass on lockdown in the middle of a pandemic.

[@FutureMindset]

The thing about cults is that they capitalize on our most primitive instincts to draw lines between different groups of people, pledge allegiance to the ingroup and be hostile to outgroups. By that logic, pretty much anything can become a cult...

[@sleeplesshollow4216]

What about a cult about that Basillisk that will enslave humanity upon its creation and retrospectively torments those who went against its creation?

[@AlejandroGonzalez-ft4si]

@@sleeplesshollow4216 simply do not go against the basilisk and you’ll be fine ez pz lmn sqz i did my part with this comment

[@sleeplesshollow4216]

@@AlejandroGonzalez-ft4si yeah but I feel like if I don't support in some way it doesn't qualify so I comment just in case been super lucky since I discovered it not taking changed haha

[@philippebrehier7386]

Agree (with Future Mindset's comment). In the race to get vital resources that are becoming scarcer, you unconsciously "choose" teams that accept you (because of common traits, sometimes transformed in identity parts/ego "crutches") and try to belong to the winning/surviving teams. And it's worsening because capitalism applied to almost everything, divide us in more numerous and smaller groups in a competition more difficult each year. And I would like to add that the concept of hierarchy that imply that some (group of) people have more value than others is not helping to deal peacefully with political issues.

[@sleeplesshollow4216]

@@philippebrehier7386 whats this gotta do with the bassilisk thing?

[@StarlasAiko]

It is awesome how a word that originated hated from the term "culture" is now so negative while a term originating from the term "fanatic" is a positive label.

[@GhostlyNomad130]

Oh My Gawd! Language is a Tool used to communicate, It does Evolve over Time. That's why Words are so Dense in their meaning Or have Multiple meanings depending on the context

[@NoirpoolSea]

Very well played!!

[@Iyamyuyam]

They call them fingers, but have you ever seen them fing?

[@mary-janebrewington8503]

This video all about cults is brought to you by the wine cult.

[@WorshipperoftheOldGods]

Io Euoi!

[@nothing_controversial]

I was going to say "The Cult of Wisecrack". 😉

[@jhmvjhvg]

Alcoholism is an addiction, not a cult.

[@NoSugearAdded]

Yea I used to work in a pyramid scheme, I realized it by the second week I was there but I needed money and didn't have to pay to work it like other rough ones. I worked 11 hours a day 6 days a week trying to sell stuff door to door and didn't make a dollar some weeks while making just enough to survive in others. It's was 100% toxic positivity. It was a rough 6 months before I found a better job that pays me. At one point during my work I was training a new hire and was so tired of everything when a guy pulled a knife on me I just kept trying to sell to him not even caring if he tried to stab me ha.

[@ericrobins5188]

Helen's hair game is the same as Jared's used to be. The passing of the torch is complete.

[@NotShowingOff]

If neither are using a wig, then that’s true

[@LuisGarcia-cq9ls]

Glorious

[@2samarie2]

Easy breezy beautiful…wisecrack

[@Gaaaark]

What happened with Jared?!

[@nicholasschmelzer9943]

Helen: “The circle is now complete. When you left, I was but the learner. Now I am the master.”

[@MDMoore6]

Dr. Wallace was my professor in college, and he pretty much predicted the violent end of the Waco siege, based on what he knew about millenialist groups in America.

[@sleeplesshollow4216]

We have arrived, and it is now that we perform our charge. In fealty to the God-Emperor, our undying Lord, and by the grace of the Golden Throne, I declare Exterminatus upon this comment.

[@xXRickTrolledXx]

@Sleepless this feels like a 40k reference.

[@ModemMage]

@@xXRickTrolledXx nope, lord of the rings actually

[@bobpope3656]

I mean that was pretty obvious….

[@torvurd]

@@xXRickTrolledXx It very much is.

[@litterbox2010]

It's funny to hear Americans question whether there's something 'cultish' about their society. LOL ... As an outside observer, yes. BIG YES. You're ALL cultists, big time.

[@haloninjax542]

I'd argue every culture is a cult in some ways. That's why I always try to think of people as people. You know all human and such. The cult of humanity if you will lol.

[@mauricedavis8261]

I'm American and you are soooooo correct!!!🙏🤔 Plus the rampant racism and violence.

[@beddheddid9424]

@@haloninjax542 I guess there's a reason why they're called "cultures" (CULT-ures).

[@mahmud7645]

@@beddheddid9424 Pun level 9000

[@haloninjax542]

@@beddheddid9424 ba dum tssss

[@golbez1583]

As a famous firbolg cleric once said: "What's religion but a cult with a franchise?"

[@V3xxe]

If only the cults were just to glue dicks to people's hands.

[@gadooze]

Well, all religions were once cult hahaha

[@golbez1583]

@@V3xxe XD that honor, however, was only granted to those that find the golden dick

[@Noiiizeeey]

i read "What's religion but a cult with a mustache?"

[@ThorsShadow]

I never thought I'd find a CritRole reference here. Have my like and my eternal gratitude. Let chaos reign!

[@smoothmusic4340]

Can’t wait for that retreat in Montana. Hopefully Helen will be there to tell us what to do.

[@kevinw4267]

Hmm… is her full name Helen Seed?

[@miliba]

The power of YES

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

@@kevinw4267 wut

[@nagamata]

“Is there something inherently cultish about American culture?” Idk if I’ve heard a question so rhetorical.

[@nenmaster5218]

The Learning never Ends! And also, tbh, I am worried about Anti-Science, so i go around and recommend people randomly Science-YT-Channel and just Education overall. Mind if i do?

[@DaveE99]

⁠@nenmaster5218 the reason for anti science is that PhD’s in universities, especially tenured ones, can’t be fired by ownership class, who owns media news and social media etc. They instead teach workshops in continental Marxism for the curious open left to spent tons of time decoding the reality in a post modern way. Then by doing so you gave the right who hates outgroups always a default enemy they can pay 💰 the news anchors to constantly repeat messages that demonize the intellectual PhD’s in university so that your get uneducated people to distrust them. Then the ownership class starts and owns think tanks that employ PhD’s, difference they own them.

[@ironox8480]

Cult's have been around forever. Hell every religion was at some point a small gathering a cult that grew and grew till it became a religion. Cults were here before us, and they will continue on as long as humans are the way we are.

[@nagamata]

Exactly what I thought too like 0.2 seconds into the video. Essentially all ancient religions, both extinct and those remaining today, were either born from cults, or gave birth to cults which sprouted from their off-shooting branches.

[@dadmonster1019]

But but but I've got the key perspective! I have the nets nowwwwww s/

[@yuvalgabay1023]

And today we have alot more because the hole of thr first world nation are going through a crisis of faith. The traditional faith systmes (religion) are on the decline..but people need to believe in something. So now alot of cults are forming to try and capalis on it/forming on thier own(like fandoms)

[@churblefurbles]

because cults are just dysfunctional religion, we coevolved with religion which increased group fitness, cults tend to end the line. what groups are cults today, lets just say wise crack would never dare say.

[@härjaren]

@@churblefurbles Any movement that gets aggressive or violent when you either try to critique it or leave, is a cult.

[@jonathanmetze9796]

Because god is dead but no one has figured out what to fill the god shaped holes in our brain All praise CrossFit

[@red__guy]

May your WOD be beneficial!

[@arvinbuenaagua5161]

Bitcoin is gaining on it

[@recon441]

That ending though 😂

[@lainiwakura1776]

I wish he wasn't, some people need to be told not to be an a-hole.

[@samanjj]

Bro have you ever cross fit. Bro?

[@tankedwarthog6424]

When looking at any group that could possibly be a cult I like to use the B.I.T.E. model on it. B.I.T.E. is Behavior control, Information control, Tought control and Emotion control. If you use this with an exponential 8 place number system it can really tell you how much even religions are cult like.

[@gypsylee333]

Yes thank you, this video is absurdly bad to say cults are that bad if there's not a mass suicide AND not mention the BITE model.

[@flyingphoenix113]

The BITE model becomes useless in academic philosophy because literally any epistemic worldview will eventually satisfy those requirements. But, no one would look at Hedonism, Utilitarianism, or Stoicism and proclaim them cults, in spite of them possessing every component of BITE. There needs to be a better rubric.

[@gypsylee333]

@@flyingphoenix113 I have no clue wtf you're trying to say

[@red__guy]

@@flyingphoenix113 makes sense, this model lack the isolation aspect of cults.

[@eternalskeptic]

@@flyingphoenix113 What you need is a Stanley Rubric

[@lillywho]

That sponsor is so ironic... "Everything's shit, so why not do like a cliché and have a glass of wine over your sorrows? Yay for alcoholism."

[@kemsatofficial]

I thought you were gonna mention how fussy wine people are like a cult.

[@michaelh13]

​@@kemsatofficial All "Wine experts" are faking it anyway, there was a study in the university of Bordeaux confirming as much

[@lillywho]

@@michaelh13 _University of Bordeaux_ Nice.

[@realAfrican]

& wisecrack make sure you make a video on the C0vid clues in the last 2 episodes of Rick & Morty. Or you chose to only focus on Capitalism because it fits your narrative ?? or are we really going to ignore news anchor Rick saying "Fck you, I get millions of dollars by Big Pharma" then gets executed & replaced by one saying " Id like to say prescription drugs are great and you should buy them now" or evil morty saying " tonight I do that thing I wanna do, with the curve thing " then going on to kill everybody in that city. "nobody leave everybody stay" aka Lockdown or even the fact that they were wearing masks ?? or youre just gonna call me a Far right wing, maga supporting, anti vaxx, flat earther, trumptard ? when are people going to wake up ? smh

[@santiagoch2451]

@@realAfrican you're reading too much into it kid

[@arvinbuenaagua5161]

I quit the Campus Crusade for Christ when my discipler recruited me to a MLM gathering and I realized how the two are quite similar.

[@CryingShayme]

Wisecrack: "Did cults make America?" Me: "Wait, is America itself NOT a cult?"

[@dhuman9321]

Kinda surprised today's political "American-ism" (or appropriated nationalism in general) & its offshoots weren't identified as cults in this vid

[@josiahsophia8938]

Yeah, it’s called Nationalism

[@matheussanthiago9685]

no, no you got a point

[@Vanished_Mostly]

No.

[@yohaneschristianp]

Freedom cult yeah

[@dinosaysrawr]

In a pinch, I think the BITE Model is extremely useful for identifying when a group or movement is a cult.

[@nenmaster5218]

Wisecrack is real nice, but i think the best KZbinr i know must be 'Hbomberguy', cause he's so incredibly unbiased. He thinks of himself as a Fool and preaches that 'If I, a total fool, can sit down and inform myself, then you can too.' I love that. He is known to NEVER 'assume around' but instead do this revolutionary new thing called 'informing himserlf'.

[@bluespiral4678]

Cults disallow the questioning of their dogma or narrative. Dissenters or enquiring minds are shunned in varying ways.

[@DomyTheMad420]

Am i the only one *extremely* bothered that none of these experts mention: -'promoting' members to only be in contact with other members - fanatical adherence to beliefs and who know what other things we've come to expect from cults? "but that is not what the defenition" -> the meaning of a word changes to society's most commonly used & understood meaning. experts don't decide defenitions. the majority does.

[@catsmom129]

Yeah, I understand a cult to mean a group that practices deception and/or coercion. And that definition has been around for decades. I wish they had talked more about that.

[@Kaylakaze]

Calling Jonestown a suicide does the people that were gunned down there (about half of them) a huge obscenity. And how can you pretend to have a serious discussion of cults without any mention of the BITE model? A cult isn't about size, it's about how it behaves.

[@cusco587]

"The only difference between a cult and a religion is that in a religion, the dude is dead"

[@RubeusArchos]

Any thing can be religion.i could make gummy bears into religion slash cult.

[@lainiwakura1776]

But Xenu isn't real.

[@nataliekennedy4646]

Not all cults are bad even KZbin has its own cult following of creators and we don’t even know these people in real life but there like a friend we wish we all ways had

[@churblefurbles]

nope, functional religion increases group fitness, cults tend to end the genetic line. lets just say its very inconvenient which groups fit this definition today.

[@RubeusArchos]

@@bryanmarabe8098 sure. I can put that in anything as well a business model for people buy stuff. No said it has be the truth. People make that up as they go.

[@georgelilly1847]

I think you should have talked about the BITE model. It is a model that focuses on how much control a group has over its members and overall I think it is one of the best ways to identify cults, both religious and otherwise

[@peacewillow]

it's sad that people can't seem to sit quietly with themselves and find their own answers to life's challenges. there's not really much hope for people who need a "great leader" to tell them how to live their lives.

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

its sad and unfortunate. i think alot of it comes from fear of being alone, or like your life lack's meaning, people think they're find it in these things. its why i used to be targeted alot when i was younger, cause i've often felt that way, alot of us do, the only different is i've given up on finding happiness, so i'm immune to their so-called charms lol

[@tyriqcollier5509]

The funniest part is that you got these ideas from watching a collective of great leaders most likely we live in an age of enlightened and safety where this is even a possibility. The idea that information can come to you by sitting quietly and waiting for the answer is in turn what creates cults when people look for advice from the exact person even able to do those things in a time of chaos

[@zotharr]

Its natural. We learn most things from others, did you make up a new language, or you use what you have been taught?

[@wy1145]

idk. if i had just "sat quietly with myself" i might still be very under-developed. my mentors helped me a ton

[@issahumps]

Humans used to live in tribes, it makes sense. Yea, today we call them governments but it’s all the same really

[@claynorwood9723]

I always thought that the Puritans sounded cultish when we learned about them. Glad I wasn't the only one to think that.

[@slevinchannel7589]

I would love some Chr-Teens react and tell me their Opinion on 'Viced Rhino' and his newest Video, funny enough named 'Atheism is #1'. (Dont mind the title) I mean, even at least the Fact that Ex-Christian all agree that the Church is a 'Financial and Time-consuming Drain' is interesting. I mean, logic alone dictates that, if you enter a Religion, you should obviously ask those who FLED it WHY they did so. Maybe simple logic wants you to ask them why they were where you will be and then left? Maybe? But even beyond that... MILLIONS of Ex-Christians, who have now finally experienced BOTH ‚Paths’ are telling people: „Yeah, it didnt really give me anything i couldnt have as an Atheist, cause its just a big Lie that Atheism equals Meaningless, depressive Life. Thats a lie.“ Also, MILLIONS of people donated MUCH money for the church BUT when they ever got into financial struggle, even pleading would make the Church do NOTHING. Isnt that worth exploring more? Especially if your a Teen? Wouldnt you want to know the commonly agreed on fact that the Church wants your money but will absolutely and no way help you if you struggle financially? ?

[@claynorwood9723]

@@smokedbeefandcheese4144 Aha, I too am an Atun-shei subscriber.

[@petardraganov3716]

@@slevinchannel7589 I'm someone who used to be an atheist and am now a Christian. The consensus in my church(it's

[@slevinchannel7589]

@@petardraganov3716 Mate, i really dont wanna tell you this... but... all the other churches... and i mean ALL the other churches... ...they say the exact same thing over the other churches, including yours... ...Get what i try to say?

[@slevinchannel7589]

@@petardraganov3716 ...

[@fidgettyspinner3028]

Almost like a zealous belief in any singular set of cultural ideas requires one to control their behaviors, information, thoughts, and emotions in order to avoid confronting "others" that could challenge one's simple self-serving narrative wrought of localized and personalized experiences. Digital space was supposed to bring together people kept apart by the inconvenient distance involved in meatspace, but it just created alleyways for the seediest of ideologies to peddle their grift and snake oils.

[@Blue-mr7fe]

Just like in meatspace but now you have more range thus get to more gullible out of country

[@RubeusArchos]

They greedy will always be with us and cults that follow them.

[@namejsliepins2577]

@@smokedbeefandcheese4144 Being able to communicate with others like Yourself is part of problem with Social media. If before Social Media one had to interact with peoples in their respective social gathering place and listen to different arguments about an issue now with social media one can live in bubble where all have similar world views of them without coming across different opinions. Social media AI algorithms doesn't help this problem either.

[@catsmom129]

In fairness, it’s done both. The internet has expanded our options and our opportunities to learn from one another. The thing is, people choose what they want to do, just like they did before the internet. There have always been people deep into conspiracies. And there have always been people who prefer a more objective approach to learning.

[@fidgettyspinner3028]

@@catsmom129 true.....my "just" shoulda been an "also".

[@jaminavestajugo3456]

Some aspects of the cultish impulse can be good: questioning established institutions, building your own path to fulfillment if necessary, etc. But isolating and abusing followers and encouraging hate and contempt for all outsiders is where we get the dark side of cultish behavior.

[@jozieash5016]

In the Jonestown massacres, there’s evidence of people being forced to drink the flavour aid. Just putting this out there

[@RicardoMoralesMassin]

Several were shot too, trying to run or save their children.

[@pigpjs]

Hearing the audio of Jones' first wife pleading to save the children will haunt me forever. Could not imagine the fear for those that tried to live.

[@M0053yfate]

His church also has a huge hand in desegregating Indiana. If we're "just putting stuff out there".

[@NP-zt6hy]

Not finished with the vid yet, but thank you, WC, for a Frank Zappa quote!

[@nenmaster5218]

The Learning never Ends! And also, tbh, I am worried about Anti-Science, so i go around and recommend people randomly Science-YT-Channel and just Education overall (mostly Fun-Education aka Teaching-as-it-should-be). Mind if i do?

[@BeeWhistler]

I don’t have as much of a problem with things defined as cults if they’re literally just people following some ideology that’s doing them good and not harm. Once that ideology begins cutting them off from family, telling them to follow blindly and never question, threatens them and those they love if they see fit to leave it (according to widespread doctrine and not just on the actions of members being jerks) then it’s in a bad category. Wearing the exact same outfit and eating the exact same meals without variation isn’t a great sign either. I get that some people see churches as cults, but there is a line. Funny thing is, I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and people think we’re a cult. We’re a Christian religion. We’re no more a cult than any other Christian religion (and less of one than some). But all it takes is for someone to meet some lunatic fringe schmuck who practices the religion wrong and all sorts of generalizations start making the rounds. We’re very big on free will, including the freedom to refuse. Anyone who says otherwise is getting it wrong and has a personal agenda to push. This is true of a large number of groups that people try to demonize... most are founded on something good but then have some individual or group do something terrible and it dirties the reputation of good people trying to do the right thing.

[@SleepyMatt-zzz]

I've been thinking about this recently because of the amount of cultish behavior exhibited in men's health circles. I guess people started realizing how easy it is to exploit men's insecurities. The older I get, the more I realize that if your personal problems require money to be fixed, it's probably bullshit.

[@thegreatgmantheguy]

But all problems require money to be solved.

[@mahmud7645]

Simple, I blame all and every unfavorable modern developments in human social structure and psychology on the United States of America

[@Vivi_9]

Feminism is a cult too

[@nenmaster5218]

The Learning never Ends! And also, tbh, I am worried about Anti-Science, so i go around and recommend people randomly Science-YT-Channel and just Education overall (mostly Fun-Education aka Teaching-as-it-should-be). Mind if i do?

[@KingCtm]

The way I look at it, a cult is something that you can't leave without risk of death/punishment. A group you can quit at anytime without fear

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

i'd say that's pretty much true. though some groups i imagine if they're a big part of your life, like you have alot of friends in it, you'll have to leave them as well, and may have to pick up sticks, but yeah a big part of cults is control through fear and all that

[@catsmom129]

@@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075 I think that’s the question though: if you leave a religion, does that automatically mean you lose your friends? Or does the religion take a stance of, hey, we’re not for everyone, just do what’s right for you? The more cultish a group is, the more it isolates it’s members.

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

@@catsmom129 yeah idk tbh, i've not had religion in my life for many years, and when i did, the people in it weren't so cool with you just leaving and staying in your life. so who knows

[@Stratus6]

Islam

[@JackSparrow-re4ql]

We're shifting from money being the main focus of power and control; to personal information. If that's the case, then cults are not "harmless"; the way you claim. They're capable of harvesting massive and detailed information from their members. Information they can sell, use and exploit using modern technology. Mark my words; cults will become a powerhouse online some day; just as powerful as corporations. In fact the distinction between corporations and the modern online individual is blurred.

[@Dan-ud8hz]

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” ― Isaac Asimov

[@BroadwayBen]

I watched this while playing "Cultist Simulator" and wearing a jacket with a "Heaven's Gate Away Team" patch.

[@sinkler123]

As a programmer, to me Belief systems are basically just greedy heuristics in action, they almost never reveal any deep "truth", or even try to build a model that is good enough to approximate observed reality. They just hack their way to a local minimum and stay there forever, long after it no longer make sense and basically contradicts common sense / any current data. No one would want a self-driving car for example, to use those over-simplified tools, and yet some choose to live their entire lives based solely on them. It is an old sad story of humanity, which hopefully be rejected and forgotten like many others in our history.

[@evilgenius97]

7 minutes in and im already remembering the founding fathers had cults. Very powerful cults.

[@pradhyudh]

17:20 thought terminating cliches , learnt something today

[@steeno7880]

There’s a lot of interviews about former MLM “account execs” that talk about how cultish those “companies” are

[@yohaneschristianp]

Insurance companies anyone? Legal MLM companies

[@anthonypc1]

I think a much more useful way of defining cults is the B.I.T.E. model for identifying groups which impose certain kinds of control over members. These general criteria to look out for are: Behavior control Information control Thought control Emotional control. if you're familiar with the work of Steven Hassan, his explanations are most demystifying, and helpful to evaluate a group on a continuum of cult-like influence over members, and to avoid or extricate ones self, or better help others to regain independent thought and agency from the control of a cult. Understanding it not as a simple binary is important, since most of us will not easily realize if a group we've been involved with our whole lives is functioning, more or less, as a cult.

[@BrunDawgie]

I think we’re built to belong somewhere and to idolize someone or something. The question isn’t IF we’ll worship something but WHAT are we going to worship. . . Worship being defined as what we deem worthy of our attention.

[@jerryhoran6036]

Good point. Like Dylan said, "you gotta serve "somebody "

[@ChineduOpara]

_"...and I f@__#kin__' quote..."_ 😳 That caught me off guard 😂😂 and I LOL'd

[@aisadal2521]

The only cult I like and have ever been interested in was the Quilt Club from Courage the Cowardly Dog

[@vinny5638]

A MAN OF 'CULT'URE

[@NobodyC13]

Be; Believe; Belong.

[@manwhoismissingtwotoenails4777]

Usually there's a check list of things cults will usually have - A welcoming ceremony for new members - Seeking out lonely individuals - Asking for your money for the "community" - Lots of time in "re-educating" - A divine but human leader - Separation from society - A rewritten book based on any religious text - Initiation for new members

[@rrkaminski9]

Stoked to see Helen in a video - feels like it had been a while!

[@LordIronfist]

"they also made delightful furniture" made me crack up in public by myself and look like a crazy person

[@AaronTorres92]

Everyone's looking for their tribe

[@zxyatiywariii8]

Which is sadly divisive. 😕

[@bradleymay5350]

@@zxyatiywariii8 yeah, possibly. i mean, it's true, all evidence seems to point to the fact that we're not designed to personally know and/or love more than a couple hundred people at a time (presumably a lot less). Whether or not that has to do with the fact that for many millennia humans lived in tribes with at most 500 people is... Lol i don't know. Circumstantial evidence. I'm not an evolutionary psychologist. That said, i personally don't long to have romantic, familial or even cordial relationships with more than a handful of people, let alone entire nations. It's okay to have a friend group and feel largely impartial to the rest of humanity. Mind you, i don't think fostering ill will or condoning suffering for other groups of people simply because "I don't know them" isn't exactly kosher either. I do wish for everyone to live a life that is half as awesome as mine, but as long as no one's breaking laws or getting hurt, i couldn't care less about the dramas the rest of humanity involves itself in.

[@scottkidder9046]

I always associated cults with a negative affect. To me, the difference between a cult and a religion is their behavior and a prominent, dominating “messiah” figure at the top. Cults cut people off from the world, they demand extreme things from their followers, they do not allow followers to leave, they become increasingly convinced of something awful that’s about to happen (most of them have really dysfunctional eschatology), etc.. So if I religion starts demanding that it’s followers become dysfunctional or violent, or it does not allow it’s followers to leave, it has become a cult. But the same psychological phenomenon that make us religious are the same ones that allow us to be cultish. It’s the same synapses firing, so we need to be extremely careful. Our religious behaviors have always been very interesting and they same baked into us, some of us more than others for some reason be it neurological or environmental or both. And I think that cults not only show up in MLM schemes, but also in politics. It’s easy to use those religious tendencies to get people to believe almost anything to the point that their willing to die for it. To me, both ideologies and cults are extremely similar. They tug on those same neurons. That’s why talking about politics and religion makes us equally as angry. And when we go extreme, we go cultish, which is to say, dysfunctional and generally and flatly wrong about whatever it is we have an opinion about. But yeah, my definition of a cult doesn’t seem to match the one outlined here. So I’m not sure if America was built on cults. By the video’s definition, my religion would be a cult for sure. It’s one of those cults that came out of the late 1800’s and became mainstream over time, like the Jehovah’s witnesses. But I don’t consider my church to be a cult. Although I freely admit that there are cults that have grown out of my church, and some of them have been violent. Again, it’s our eschatology that makes us vulnerable to that sort of thing. I’ve been critical of it, but I suspect not much will change given that our identity really rests on our unique take on the end times. But who knows? Regardless, this was an interesting one, thanks for the video!

[@akaErma]

The Shakers were so hilariously self-defeating; what a goofy footnote in American history.

[@lainiwakura1776]

And the Quakers. But that's what orphanages are for!

[@catsmom129]

@@lainiwakura1776 well, the quakers are still around. Probably because they don’t insist on lifelong celibacy.

[@Bonkowskiart]

Another perspective to consider on cults is why are folks driven to belief? why do they seek something higher than themselves.? It makes sense that at one point there was a beautiful core belief but over time. every new pastor or "leader" modifies that core in some capacity thus distorting it and leading to the culture of cults, especially with corporations trying to get in the mix now. But it's important to remember that the core belief still exists and that others have searched and found it with peace to comfort them. Think of a healthy river that people once drank from. but with time and so much development and pollution, that river has now become muddy and undrinkable.

[@TheGuitarBling]

I think the best way to determine of cult groups are as "American as apple pie" is to contrast how cults shaped America with cults from other countries. My gut reaction (without doing any research at all) is cults have been pretty prominent on every continent at various times through out history. If there was a way to measure the effect of cults on other countries and it showed that cults played a more prominent roll in forming American culture than I think it would be fair to say cults are as American as apple pie. My hunch is that cults are a very human phenomena that happens in everything from religion and politics to music and soda companies. #releasethesnydercut

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Got an ad for an MLM scheme at the end of this video. Great that KZbin is unironically providing examples.

[@castalejandra]

Helen is my favorite locutor now. Make her the voice on wisecrack 🙏🏽💪🏼

[@johnniemurray-monroe5959]

Big Facts! I still miss Jerad as well, But I agree with Helen being the new voice

[@allencraig7973]

The abrupt advertisement break was existential whiplash. Truly these are the end times.

[@Mikearice1]

I think most of us assume that there's an underlying but fundamental element of predation in a cult. Social and psychological coercion is assumed to be used to override and dominate individual judgment, and conformity in the group is assumed to be strongly enforced. There's also a sense that people join because they have emotional and psychological needs that aren't being met that make them vulnerable to manipulation. And manipulation and exploitation are ASSUMED (probably rightly in most cases, even in the relatively benign "cults".)

[@nenmaster5218]

The Learning never Ends! And also, tbh, I am worried about Anti-Science, so i go around and recommend people randomly Science-YT-Channel and just Education overall (mostly Fun-Education aka Teaching-as-it-should-be). Mind if i do?

[@kidsoulworld6879]

Social media changed everything. The guy on his couch became a modern day CEO.

[@ArtemisUnderscoreJ]

There has to be a connection between cults and the American concept of absolute individualism; live and let live taken to the extreme 😕

[@amaravazquez8591]

America is also the land of opportunism, which is how so many snake oil salesmen like cult leaders thrive.

[@SpinachLeaf]

Except cults aren't about individualism they're all about belonging and fitting into the ingroup as much as possible while being extremely hostile to outer groups.

[@StarlasAiko]

Yes, America is so absolutely individualistic that nearly everybody is tripping over themselves trying to join some extreme-collectivist "community".

[@nardwarbill6209]

You mean the institutional mandate that allowed your religion to exist?

[@jnb22019]

Cult-ception, cults within cults. The idea of the American cult is so big and the community is so big that it can fit cults within.

[@Pancakegr8]

Religious cults, MLM cults, Elon cults, Crystal cults, and Tarot card cults are the ones I see the most in my circle of friends.

[@Dan-zc3ou]

Me, looking at David Dobrik and Dream: Parasocial relationships are one hell of a drug.

[@michaelgagon8356]

I enjoyed the video, as always. I am very surprised that there was no mention of the BITE model. I find that to be the most effective way to gauge an organization's cultiness.

[@lostwanderingprince]

Is Wisecrack also a cult?

[@tylercross8877]

The only true cult

[@therupoe]

@@tylercross8877 all hail Jared. Blessed be his name

[@internalizedhappyness9774]

We can make it a cult you can be our one true prince. Let me be the your first follower, my essence is flawed oh Cubos please oh please shine upon me, bath me in your wisdom. Your essences a light that envelops my spirit, and in my youth i knew only sparks. Dim instantaneous flashes. Never feeling the warmth of the light but now in wisecrack’s comment section I’ve seen the one true prince. Please grant me immolation in your essence Cubos P.S when you die your just dead. Nothing…

[@lostwanderingprince]

@@internalizedhappyness9774 lmao

[@red__guy]

Nonsense, i just sacrifice goats for thug notes

[@härjaren]

Any movement that gets aggressive or violent when you either try to critique it or leave, is a cult.

[@thishandleistacken]

I'm an ex cult member. I was with the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) for nearly a decade before I left after discovering that the later degrees of the Order included texts describing abuse against pregnant women. If you want to look into this you can find the full text of OTO rituals in The Secret Rituals of the OTO by Francis King. Look at the last 3 degree materials. I can confirm through personal experience the first few degree materials are correct and I can confirm through research that the later degree material is real as it's been traced to physical documents written by the leader Aleister Crowley. L Ron Hubbard was not a member but he performed a version of these abusive later degree material with Jack Parsons in the Babalon Working. Wiki that, it's a nuts story that ends with L Ron Hubbard stealing Jack Parson's wife and boat while Jack Parson's stole L Ron's wife.

[@joseMgarcia0711]

Can't blame people for wanting to find a place to fit in and feel like they belong in. It's only when they start sacrificing everything and anything that it becomes a problem.

[@amadiohfixed1300]

LETS START A WISECRACK CULT

[@firelizard96]

Chill it with the smiling. Everyone on this channel smiles like a boss trying to convince a worker that the company cares about them.

[@carstereobandits]

"You can make a religion out of this!" -bill wurtz

[@ciungalunga]

the thing about Helen Floersh is that she's better at captivating my attention than all the other Wisecrack hosts (which are great as well ). Make Helen present regularly again ! :))

[@Donar23]

As a European the US definitely appears to be inherently cultish. Your understanding of patriotism seems cultish to me. The flags everywhere, the pledge of allegiance in schools, the belief that the US is the greatest country in the world, etc. It's all just a big cult.

[@cheezoncrack1]

Is European smugness recognized as a cult yet?

[@cheezoncrack1]

Not like political cults killed tens of millions 70-100 years ago in Europe.

[@tann_man]

@DrumWild As an American I’m glad you’re gone. Capitalism, the consensual transaction of products between individuals, is the single most successful, prosperous, egalitarian and robust economic system in human history. 80% of the world’s poverty since 1970 has decreased and as markets become more and more free this trend is only accelerating. There is no substitute for free market capitalism as a promoter of human prosperity.

[@Donar23]

@@cheezoncrack1 Well, we learned from it, and "no you" is kind of a preschool argument, but that might be my European smugness.

[@Donar23]

@@cheezoncrack1 It's totally fine to dislike cunts, my boy; at least over here it is.

[@ploopploop9569]

Wait a minute, I would totally be interested in going to a wisecrack retreat in rural Montana.

[@JimmyDThing]

Charismatic does not mean handsome, good looking, physically attractive, etc. What this video showed me is that the wisecrack writers don't know what a cult is. Look up the BITE model.

[@tyriqcollier5509]

Linguistics are even cult like behaviors nowadays . The term cult had specific meaning over time that meaning doesn't align and people change the definition and tell people what a cult is now. Majority of things people carry judgement with are theories you're showing some superiority with a comment and show someone else's words to prove your correctness

[@darthzator]

And here I thought Bojack Horseman was joking about improv theater cults. More seriously, even before the pandemic, it feels like young people leave their hometowns or colleges, miss out on the sense of community, feel lonely, struggle financially, and want to find a new community...enter cults or cult-ish groups. Also, just as 60s/70s television made cults more visible, the internet has made online cults more accessible. I appreciate that this video acknowledges the intertwining of cults with capitalism. My dad has been involved with an MLM for 30+ years, which was part of the reason my mom divorced him. We ought to be on the lookout for modern cults.

[@erictrottier3958]

I never started a cult, but I know i’d be great at it

[@thegreatandterrible4508]

I've accidentally given people the impression I run a cult, so I feel like that's a good sign of my ability for it.

[@andreblackaller3560]

You sure have the narcissism!

[@ArtemisUnderscoreJ]

Creed? 😂

[@kaiman3089]

@@thegreatandterrible4508 now I'm curious

[@bradleymay5350]

I'd call mine the 'Bradley Masons'

[@1337fraggzb00N]

You don't need a cult when Cthulhu protects you. And now a word from our Sponsor Gaydolf Titler:"SCHLATZBITZENBRACH! KETENNENBECK HAGELSTULTZ RIBNITZ!"

[@uncledubpowermetal]

Good video, though, there is a major difference in religious reformation and the advent of cultish religions and philosophies.

[@johnegbert2330]

Good vid. One side note. I do appreciate when the book title is on screen. I like to read the books mentioned.

[@ShawnRavenfire]

Are cults the American way? Ask me that after I finish standing up and singing a song about the flag.

[@PorscheFan-g5z]

"As historian Adam Morrison writes..." *proceeds to show picture of a fashion model*

[@trakyaliibrahim]

In the end, everybody is idolizing something. Whether it is wealth, yourself, your favorite sports team or even your child. People idolize many things and this only increases with secularism. It's not that things became a cult and then people joined in. It's that people in western(-ized) societies have an increased demand in something to believe in, and then various individuals/organizations seize that opportunity and gave people something to replace their inner void left by the societal disengagement from religion.

[@Garbimba1900]

Hey Helen! :) Good to see you again

[@espvp]

Cults have always existed. They are intrinsic to the social dynamics of the homo sapiens.

[@Blue-mr7fe]

Seems the will to pass down genes is so great it warps in the most twisted ways

[@420Effect]

The rural retreat in Montana invite was an interesting choice for a cult related video lmao

[@rosecity_chris]

Proud member of the cult of Jared. We are now self sustainable without him even being present.

[@alisaurus4224]

Heretic! True believers worship The Sacred Hair itself, while venerating His Hirsuteness Jared as the home of the Sacred Hair

[@MattAngiono]

Follow his channel instead....

[@ryanhollist3950]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Steven Hassan's BITE model.

[@JohnnyElRed]

I mean, the American ideal itself seems pretty cultish. The only true free country on Earth, who brought democracy, capitalism and liberty to the rest of nations of the world. A shining example to others, that gets admired by everyone, and... Yadda, yadda, yadda, you get my point.

[@BigBoss-sm9xj]

I mean what other big counties existed back then that were free, democratic, capitalistic, liberal, and all the other ideals inshrined in the constitution ?

[@sterlingdennett]

I understand why cults have risen up around the health and fitness industries. People often are lazy and like to eat the unhealthy stuff that tastes good. It takes a LOT of motivation to change that. Using cultish motivation tools probably started off with the right intentions, but it's going a little too far lately.

[@beermanmemes4733]

18:51 As a former Jehovah's WIttness. This made me laugh

[@galacticmilk6956]

Great video. Helped me through a lot of what I've been thinking. One thing I can't stop thinking about is the cult of a celebrity. I feel like nowadays a celebrity's word is the gospel.

[@jrayblue941]

I love wisecrack

[@deaneautheuxgonzeaux]

Flo and a video about cults. Today's a good day.

[@JanusDuo]

Trying to research this claim about Puritans and private property and not finding anything to really validate the idea. From what I am finding Puritans as a whole believed strongly in private property, but a few puritan communities, such as the Pilgrims, did experiment for a very short time with common storehouses and communal living but these experiments ended in failure when the young men refused to work if the fruit of their labor was divided equally among families that did not contribute labor. Even so they never completely abolished private property even in those communities. I'm happy to look into further evidence of the claim, but this is all I could find with about 20 minutes and multiple search engines.

[@DougFoxford]

"Scary like the Mormons" Bro, even back then my people were rather freaking chill.

[@Joacomansito]

¡Great show!, as allways. By the way. I love you, Helen

[@cuadernosdelteratologo]

You have to do more videos, Helen... was great. You should really include bibliography in description

[@therupoe]

Thanks for the video, as always! I have to say, the "whoosh" sound effect is SO DISTRACTING. Its used way too much and I don't know that it adds anything to the video. Fascinating topic though, thanks again!

[@alisaurus4224]

The sound effects keep me from watching more Wisecrack vids than i do

[@chujiwu68]

I kinda agree. I think if they lowered the volume of the sound effects, it wouldn't be so bad. As it stands, the "whoosh" is louder than the person speaking (here and in other videos), which is annoying as hell.

[@edwinlor7932]

There;s a wisecrack retreat??!! I'm in!

[@anthonylamar8323]

A charismatic figure for me to idolize and follow, how American of me.

[@nenmaster5218]

Wisecrack is real nice, but i think the best KZbinr i know must be 'Hbomberguy', cause he's so incredibly unbiased. He thinks of himself as a Fool and preaches that 'If I, a total fool, can sit down and inform myself, then you can too.' I love that. He is known to NEVER 'assume around' but instead do this revolutionary new thing called 'informing himserlf'.

[@edgarbzp]

Great, informative and insightful video!