9-11 Truth Movemant Cult?

[parky76]

this is something that i have noticed and been concerned about over the past few months.

the 9-11 truth movemant seems to be taking on some of the qualities of a cult.

-they have a leader personality (alex jones and others).
- they openly admit that they have lost friends, been fired from jobs, divorced from spouses, all because of their new views.
-they talk about making new friends..in their new movemant.
-they refer to those who disagree with them or who will not buy into their views as zombees, sheep, slaves, blind, etc.
-they try left and right..to convert others to their new beliefs. their lives become consumed by the goal of convincing others everywhere of their new ideals.
-many of their beliefs are based on irrational fears and paranoid assumptions. "that could have been planted", "he could be an agent", "that could have been faked", "she could be a liar", is commonly used to justify their skepticism of evidence.

maybe not a cult...but perhaps more like a new religion. kind of like how christianity first started. a small segment of society...shunned and ignored by most of the larger society around them. but rather then being detered by their rejection...they see it as an affirmation of the profound "truth" that they alone hold...and confirmation that they are the ones with sight...while everyone else is "blind".

im very curious to see where this movemant will be in 5 years.

[Kiwiwriter]

this is something that i have noticed and been concerned about over the past few months.

the 9-11 truth movemant seems to be taking on some of the qualities of a cult.

-they have a leader personality (alex jones and others).
- they openly admit that they have lost friends, been fired from jobs, divorced from spouses, all because of their new views.
-they talk about making new friends..in their new movemant.
-they refer to those who disagree with them or who will not buy into their views as zombees, sheep, slaves, blind, etc.
-they try left and right..to convert others to their new beliefs. their lives become consumed by the goal of convincing others everywhere of their new ideals.
-many of their beliefs are based on irrational fears and paranoid assumptions. "that could have been planted", "he could be an agent", "that could have been faked", "she could be a liar", is commonly used to justify their skepticism of evidence.

maybe not a cult...but perhaps more like a new religion. kind of like how christianity first started. a small segment of society...shunned and ignored by most of the larger society around them. but rather then being detered by their rejection...they see it as an affirmation of the profound "truth" that they alone hold...and confirmation that they are the ones with sight...while everyone else is "blind".

im very curious to see where this movemant will be in 5 years.

Well, I hope they aren't killing themselves with Kool-Aid in Guyana or committing mass suicide to take a ride on a comet. But, yes, it is taking on semi-religious overtones.

Aren't some of the DVDs on this subject prattling about their appointed bad guys being involved in occult rituals?

When I see George Bush's head spin around on TV, I'll believe it.

[PerryLogan]

You're right--it's very cult-like thinking. Truthers and Patriots and CTs like to talk about when they "woke up." They openly speak of themselves as enlightened beings.

What a hoot!

But the Truthers are too paranoid and divisive to form any kind of sustained cult. Far from joining together, the Truthers are doomed to just keep dividing into smaller and smaller groups. They can't even agree on the story. Look at how the Scholars for 9/11 Truth are split on the no-plane theory. Then there's the death-ray theory and the Reptoid theory and the theory that your mother did it.

So while the CTs exhibit cult-like thinking, they are just too confused and paranoid. They believe everyone who disagrees with them is an agent. Each of them has his own specific version of the theory. These guys could barely schedule a meeting, much less form a cult.

[jon]

So while the CTs exhibit cult-like thinking, they are just too confused and paranoid. They believe everyone who disagrees with them is an agent. Each of them has his own specific version of the theory. These guys could barely schedule a meeting, much less form a cult.

I'd pretty much agree with that. Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum's worth a read - the truthers seem more like the type of esoteric movement he described there than what we'd now call a cult, looking for a secret that always lies 'beyond' but lacking some of the organisation (or certainty) that tends to come with cults.

btw, the 9/11 cult watch site (http://www.911cultwatch.org.uk/) seems to be interpreting the truthers here in the UK very much as a cult.

[T.A.M.]

parky76:

Welcome to forum. Your name is very similar to a CTer who created a lot of trouble here, so if occasionally someone reads it quickly and takes you for that person, dont be surprised.

As to your comments:

I agree, very much, that the 9/11 "truth" movement is cult-like. Your comments were dead on the mark.

TAM

[PerryLogan]

They are definitely cultish enough to screw things up. Alex Jones's followers think vaccines are part of a secret government plot to kill us all. So they may bring polio back to Austin.

[parky76]

polio back to austin...thats a scary thing. i hear its the best city in texas.
someone on the LC and Pilots forum also posted a video saying that AIDS is not caused by HIV, AZT actiually causes AIDS, and if you have HIV there is no reason to be treated. i could see people watching this video and telling themselves "now i dont have to use protection". not only will we have more aids patients, but more unwanted pregnancies too.

[Triterope]

The word "cult" is way too strong here.

Members of the 9-11 denial movement aren't brainwashed zombies living in a compound. They're a collection of people who share a belief, and have occasional meetings to discuss and reinforce it. And like any belief system, some people will go too far with it and become irrational, closed-minded fanatics. That's all that's happening here. I suppose the phrase "cult-like thinking" would apply, but that's just a simile.

And I think it's incorrect to call the whole movement a cult. The 9-11 denial movement is loose and disunified, and exerts too little control over its members to qualify as a true cult. Yes, they have leaders, but you're free to disregard their advice, and stop listening to them at any time. Let's save the c-word for things like Jones Town.