Cultic group dynamics

Some thoughts on cultic group-dynamics:

Ingredients:

A charismatic leader who believes in his own vision & followers in search of answers.

If the group is developing into a closed one, the dynamic of group-thought will take over. 

Both leader & follower will be caught by the dynamics.

Power corrupts, therefore the leader will be corrupted; it is almost inevitable he will mis-use the power he is given by the consent of the followers. 

It is too easy to shift the burden of guilt to the leader, forgetting the role of the group-members who consented.

On the other hand, it is too easy to blame the group-dynamics only.

[quote]A group does not have to be religious to be cultic in behaviour. High demand groups can be commercial, political and psychological. [unquote] 

http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/cultdyn.htm

Remember, remember eleven september....1973

Salvador Allende' last stand against the CIA-backed fascist coup of Pinochet!


My friends,

Surely this will be the last opportunity for me to address you. The Air Force has bombed the antennas of Radio Magallanes.

My words do not have bitterness but disappointment. May they be a moral punishment for those who have betrayed their oath: soldiers of Chile, titular commanders in chief, Admiral Merino, who has designated himself Commander of the Navy, and Mr. Mendoza, the despicable general who only yesterday pledged his fidelity and loyalty to the Government, and who also has appointed himself Chief of the Carabineros [paramilitary police].

Given these facts, the only thing left for me is to say to workers: I am not going to resign! Placed in a historic transition, I will pay for loyalty to the people with my life. And I say to them that I am certain that the seeds which we have planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans will not be shriveled forever.

They have force and will be able to dominate us, but social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history.

Workers of my country: I want to thank you for the loyalty that you always had, the confidence that you deposited in a man who was only an interpreter of great yearnings for justice, who gave his word that he would respect the Constitution and the law and did just that. At this definitive moment, the last moment when I can address you, I wish you to take advantage of the lesson: foreign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction, created the climate in which the Armed Forces broke their tradition, the tradition taught by General Schneider and reaffirmed by Commander Araya, victims of the same social sector who today are hoping, with foreign assistance, to re-conquer the power to continue defending their profits and their privileges.

I address you, above all, the modest woman of our land, the campesina who believed in us, the mother who knew our concern for children. I address professionals of Chile, patriotic professionals who continued working against the sedition that was supported by professional associations, classist associations that also defended the advantages of capitalist society. I address the youth, those who sang and gave us their joy and their spirit of struggle. I address the man of Chile, the worker, the farmer, the intellectual, those who will be persecuted, because in our country fascism has been already present for many hours -- in terrorist attacks, blowing up the bridges, cutting the railroad tracks, destroying the oil and gas pipelines, in the face of the silence of those who had the obligation to act. They were committed. History will judge them.

Surely Radio Magallanes will be silenced, and the calm metal instrument of my voice will no longer reach you. It does not matter. You will continue hearing it. I will always be next to you. At least my memory will be that of a man of dignity who was loyal to his country.

The people must defend themselves, but they must not sacrifice themselves. The people must not let themselves be destroyed or riddled with bullets, but they cannot be humiliated either.

Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Go forward knowing that, sooner rather than later, the great avenues will open again and free men will walk through them to construct a better society.

Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!

These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason.

Santiago (Chile), 11 September 1973 

London Riots: the voice of the colored people

Who owns the Wheel?

Long time ago, I dreamt about wheels...

Years later, I saw one being made and got a deja vue feeling.

Using my dream and my observation, I made my own version of wheels.

Am I a thief now?

Is it ethical for a tribe to claim sole right on the use of wheels, just because they were the first to make one?

If that tribe would come over to destroy my wheel to protect their copyright, would'nt I be allowed to defend my creation?

Remember: never pay any one Dane-geld

Danegeld

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
"We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:

"We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"

Rudyard Kipling -

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Remember the Afghan War

THE YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER

When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.

Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
So-oldier ~OF~ the Queen!

Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
A soldier what's fit for a soldier.

Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . .

First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --
An' it's bad for the young British soldier.

Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .

When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
An' it crumples the young British soldier.

Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .

But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You ~must~ wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.

Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .

If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.

Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .

Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.

'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .

If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! -
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.

Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .

When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.

Front, front, front like a soldier . . .

When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are --
you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.

Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .

When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.

Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .

If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.

Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.

Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier ~of~ the Queen!

Poetry of Rudyard Kipling, full-text; Rudyard Kipling's poems, at everypoet.com

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Rotterdam banned Tariq Ramadan while Geert Wilders has unlimited free speech

“Barring people from the country because of their ideas skews and impoverishes political debate"

American Civil Liberties Union : ACLU Challenges Patriot Act Provision Used to Exclude Prominent Swiss Scholar from the United States

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what you resist, persists?

Just a nice excuse to look away whenever fascism reincarnates again, it worked in the past...

"I don't know from what spiritual tradition the "what you resist, persists" slogan originated, but I often want to ask those who blithely repeat it, "What's your evidence?
When it is so patently obvious that what you don't resist persists like hell and spreads all over the place.
In fact, good, strong, solid resistance may be the only thing that stands between us and hell.
Hitler didn't persist because of the Resistance -- he succeeded in taking over Germany and murdering millions because not enough people resisted."

Starhawk

Fighting for justice, what else?

Nonviolence is an ideal, as shown by Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama...
But sometimes I feel some fighting is needed to destroy structures of injustice!

We are all human and our belief systems regardless of their contents are polluted by the usual human load of crap.
The only straight-forward belief in this world is a feeling of justice, one that we can conceive by instinct, and express bluntly with no nuance. Only this is worth fighting for

Abou Jahjah comments تعليقات أبو جهجه » what’s it all about?

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The consequences of of Muslim-bashing in Europe

Burkah's and head scarves are being banned, rationalized:  a terrorist can hide in a burkah, a headscarve is the symbol of suppression (never mind the jewish headdress)

"violent acts are the result of the criminalization of Muslims and of their religion, and the stigmatization of women with headscarf that is taking place all over the old continent"

Abou Jahjah comments تعليقات أبو جهجه » Amidst media silence, racist killings in Europe, again and again!

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Amidst media silence, racist killings in Europe, again and again!

We should put an end to neofacist populist movements in Europe!

Amidst media silence, racist killings in Europe, again and again!

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Racist attack on foreigners in Ireland

It happened before the War, history repeats again ad nauseam

BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | PM condemns Romanian hate attacks

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the Dalai Lama will visit Holland 4 & 5 JUNE 2009

While the whole world almost forgets TianAnMen 04-06-1989, the Dalai Lama will visit Holland.

Is the Dutch Government courageous enough to honour these historical important happenings?

http://www.dalailamanederland.nl/

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911 a Zionist inside job?

Yeah right, another conspiracy theory for April fools!

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the Palestinian version of Gandhi tactics

Starhawk says:

As I write, my friend Tristan lies hovering between life and death in an Israeli hospital, shot in the head, hit with a tear gas canister at a nonviolent demonstration in the West Bank town of Ni’lin, protesting the wall the Israelis are building to isolate the West Bank.
...
Why don’t the Palestinians adopt the tactics of Martin Luther King or Gandhi?
And the answer is simply this—they do.
For the last six years, they have mounted an ongoing campaign of civil resistance against Israel’s apartheid wall, which snakes through the West Bank, confiscating Palestinian farmland without compensation, destroying the life and livelihoods of whole villages, literally setting in concrete the fractured geometry of Israel’s incursions, her illegal settlements that eat away the integrity of any potential Palestinian state.

Tristan Shot in the West Bank

Comment:
How many peaceful protesters have to be hit by the zionist Apartheids troopers?

..Sie erkennen's nichts, haben's nicht acht...(ps. 82)

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Tibet: after 50 years of Han occupation

May all sentient beings live in peace and happiness!

March 10th Statement of H.H. the Dalai Lama

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Free Tibet

One World, One Dream:


Free Tibet

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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Celebrating Barack Hussein Obama inaguration 20-01-2009

There is still hope for America, a New Hope for the World arises!

Amsterdam united in Peace

I, resident of Amsterdam, raise my voice for Peace in Palestina
Amsterdam united in Peace , yes we can!

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