Gangs are cults too, but you don’t care.
Women make up 70% of cult members worldwide, while men make up the majority of gangs. The highly-publicized HBO’s Documentary series the Vow showcases Cult leader Keith Rainier’s NXIVM cult. Disguised as an “Enlightenment self-improvement group, NXIVM members were overwhelmingly white women. Through seven episodes, one can see the similarities to gang culture and vice versa. Both have negative stigmas, yet most will sympathize with those in cults as opposed to gangs. Here’s why gangs are cults too, but you don’t care.Â
An NBC article titled “Cults are terrifying. But they’re even worse for women” highlights women’s inability to control their reproductive choices in cults. While this is terrible, gang culture has existed for over 5 decades in black communities, several generations within a family. Have you ever wondered why you’ve heard of this comparison before?
White women have been that standard of beauty for at least the last 100 years. What We deem beautiful were naturally taught to protect and sympathize with, even subconsciously—for example, Hollywood, t.v. Commercials and magazine cover reinforce this on an hourly basis. However, society teaches us the exact opposite for black gang members.
The black plague, black magic, praying to white Jesus, the black market, and the black doll experiment all are examples that reinforce negative stereotypes. Here are examples, of the harmful psychological effects of racial stereotyping.
Even these subtle forms of racism can be detrimental to adolescent’s self-esteem. But numerous studies have shown that doctors believe blacks have a higher pain tolerance than other races. We made it through slavery, right?. On the contrary, white women have been portrayed as damsels in distress ever since the original king kong. Ironic considering ex-NXIVM members weren’t taken seriously by authorities and media until the peak of the #metoo movement..
Mastery of playing the victim for their own decisions enabled radio and t.v. Shows for ex-members to finally expose the cult. Ex-members of gangs and cults often express remorse and have difficultly understanding how recruiters manipulated them into joining. Many cult experts feel that humans aren’t as rational as we’d like to think we are.
For instance, people with low self-esteem often join cults, and we can say the same for gangs. Negative stereotypes contribute to low self-esteem in black males. This makes them prime candidates for gang/cults, Yet how many ex-reformed gang members do you see on national t.v. News?
Why people join gangs are the same as why people join cults. To fill an emotional void, to replicate the family they never had. To add meaning to their life and feel like their apart of something bigger than themselves. All of the above is more than enough for a person to be persuaded to do the wrong thing.
The infamous Milligan experiment exposes its subjects to high voltage during a study due to peer pressure. Because everyone else was doing it. Subjects increased voltage even if it went against their morals, while white women in cults do the cult leader’s bidding, no one is ever pressured to join.
On the other hand, black males can come from broken homes, poverty, and live in violent areas. The threat of violence from rival gangs is enough peer pressure alone to influence anyone to join. As they say, “I didn’t choose this life, the life chooses me.”
The game becomes the new family, and similarly, cult members must cut off all ties with potential outside influencers. Once your in, your language and daily habits are reprogrammed. But the most telling example of why gangs are cults too is the symbolic similarities.
NXIVM’s most ridiculous act was branding the leader’s initials on women’s private areas. Likewise, gang members have gang tattoos. Both are life commitment symbols that displays the dedication to the family. It also gains favor amongst the peers of the gang/cult.
Lastly, according to experts, all cults use the B.I.T.E. method to prime new members for brainwashing new recruits. This is meant to control behavior, information, thoughts, and emotions. Below is a summary are some of the B.I.T.E methods used in cults taken from “The cult of Trump book” which we will be reviewing soon.
Behavior control-
- Control types of clothing
- Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates.
- Financial exploitation, manipulation, or dependence.
- Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals.
- Use rewards and punishments to modify behaviors, both positive and negative.
- Instill dependency and obedience
Information control-
- Compartmentalize information into Outsider versus Insider doctrines.
- Allow only leadership to decide who needs to know what and when
- Withhold forgiveness
- Control information at different levels and missions within the group
Thought Control-
- Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
- Adopt the group’s “map of reality” as reality
- Instill black and white thinking
- Organize people into us versus them
- Use loaded language and cliches to constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts, and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzzwords,
Emotional Control
- Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings-some emotions, and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong, or selfish
- Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault
- Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as; your family is deficient.
- Instill fear, such as the fear of Enemies, the outside world, thinking independently.
- Threaten harm to ex-member and family
All of the tactics used above are used in gang culture as well; the similarities are undeniable.Â
In conclusion, despite the violence and brainwashing used in cults and gangs, one is more sympathetic. Both use subtle means to seduce potential recruits, family, and protection from the outside world. Despite the similarities, racism is what separates the sympathy our society has for cults over gangs. And this is why Gangs are cults too, but you don’t care.
Your thoughts on the similarities between cults and gangs?