My daughter brought a book home from her library called "Do not open". It has a bunch of weird facts and such. My daughter was going through it, and found two pages on brainwashing, (pgs. 158 and 159), that I thought were interesting. It mentions a psychologist named Robert Jay Lifton, who claims brainwashing happens in three stages:

"1. Breaking you down

The first stage is breaking down your sense of self. Brainwashers verbally attack you for weeks until you're exhausted, telling you that you're not who you think you are. Next they make you feel guilty by continuously reminding you of the bad things you've done. Finally they get you to agree you must be the world's worst person. You end up having a nervous breakdown, asking yourself the questions "Who am I?", "Where am I?", and "What am I supposed to do?"

2. Offering help

As you wallow in a state of confusion, the brainwashers offer to help you. They tell you that you can help yourself by admitting where you've gone wrong, and they explain that this is the root of your suffering.

3. Building you up again

Now your brainwashers are ready to show you a bright new path. Why not forget your bad old ways, they say, and come and join us? We can show you the right road to take, and you'll feel a lot better. So you do as they say. Soon you are utterly convinced that they were right all along. You are a new person. And so the brainwashing process is complete!"

There's also a small section on the side that shows some brainwashing techniques:

"Isolation: There's nothing like keeping you on your own, away from family and friends, to make you feel vulnerable.

Sleep deprivation: When you're very tired, keeping you awake with repetitive music will make you feel disoriented.

Hypnosis: By pretending to relax you with soft light, gentle music, and monotonous voices, brainwashers can hypnotize you.

Peer pressure: They'll put you in a group of people and then make you feel left out unless you join them.

Removal of privacy: With no time or space on your own to think, you don't realize you've been brainwashed.

Disinhibition: They make you feel that anything is acceptable, no matter how strange or silly it may seem.

Imitation: They encourage everyone to dress in the same way to ensure that no one has their own identity.

Chanting and singing: They get you to sing and chant together in order to drive all other ideas from your head.

Guilt trips: They make you feel incredibly guilty for all the foolish things you did in the past.

Threats: They scare you with nasty threats whenever you step out of line.

I'm thinking about photocopying these pages and putting them in my tbm family members' mailboxes. They probably wouldn't see the parallels though.

I first encountered in when a very-TBM junior civics teacher played a tape by him, describing the experiences of the repatriated Korean War POW's... BTW, this was in 1970...

I'm not usually a big fan of Wiki, but it looks to me like they've got it right here, and the picture is much more complex than you've outlined. I note "Friend of RFM" renowned cult expert Steven Hassan is mentioned...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jay_Lifton

I would examine the heading "Theory of Thought Reform" and the ideas outlined there; my guess is Lifton would see things as more complex and nuanced than the source you cited...

It was very helpful when I was first trying to explain the problems of Mormonism to the kids because it was a kid-level book.

The rest of the book is pretty fun too.

If so, do you know the author?

Thanks!

I think it's the same version the OP refers to:

http://www.amazon.com/Do-Not-Open-John-Farndon/dp/0756662931/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319309684&sr=8-1

Yes this is the same book. :) Cheryl, my daughter borrowed the book from her school library and is the same age as your grandson.

OMG this describes my life at home with parents until i was 17. horrifying. This happened over and over again on some level all of my childhood. Seeing that makes me realize what a miracle it is that i've had the tenacity to get the hell out of there. both home and church. this has been an aha moment for me

That was the hook in the 70's --

1st, they pose the un-answerable cosmic questions

what is the meaning of life? what happens to us after we die?

2nd, they tell you that Mormonism has all the answers.

Quite a disturbing list of brainwashing techniques there, udontknowme.

I had an abusive tbm spouse who used at least 6 of those techniques on me. It certainly did break me right down and I was defenseless because any protest about the injustice of it was met with 'You have a problem with the priesthood'. Because I was still a believer i had no answer to that, so much of tscc supports and backs up an abusive tbm male.

I don't think I will ever be the same or the person I had the potential to be. The devastating loss of confidence had crippled me in many ways. I still live a comparatively isolated life with little belief in myself.

I have made some progress, the realisation recently that the reason I had made mistakes in my life was because I am human and humans make mistakes; rather than because I was a bad, weak person who needs constant 'guiding' and control, was hugely liberating. I don't know if I will ever 'recover' though.

Sounds like a number of cult-like organizations: the Morg, the JWs, the Army...

There are several branches of military service. If I had to choose one that I thought was really culty, it wouldn't be the Army. Not that I think military service is cult-like in any way.

All military organizations brainwash their recruits. It's called boot camp.

But why did you specifically pick on the Army? Did you have a bad experience as a recruit? Are you feeling "brainwashed" because you went to boot camp?

I can think of other groups that "brainwash" or indoctrinate newcomers. Fraternities and sororities do it to an extent. In fact, since you brought up the military-- a legitimate profession, by the way-- what about a person who wants to be a doctor? New doctors go through a fair amount of indoctrination. In fact, I'd say they might have it worse than people in the military do. What happens to a new doctor with a brand new M.D. degree? He or she goes through a year of internship, chronically overworked and overtired and in debt. It takes a long time to build up enough clout not to have to work insane hours for relatively low pay... at least when compared to the student loans a lot of people have to take out.


By and large, people choose what profession they will practice or what fraternity or sorority they join. But a lot of religious folks are born into their faith and have that pressure from birth. And not complying with that "birth rite" leads to a lot of heartache. That's what this site is all about.


When it comes to the military, at least in the United States, people make a CHOICE to join. That's more than I can say about military service in a lot of other countries around the world.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 09:07PM by knotheadusc.

Because the army, in general, annoys and angers me. Because I was raised a pacifist during the height of the Vietnam War and I still hold to that principle. Because I feel that the military exists simply to perpetuate itself, not for any real good purpose. Because I hate what they do to people in the military, both in their indoctrination (boot) camps and in their activities around the world. I'm not good with any organization whose ultimate purpose is brainwashing people into being ready to kill other human beings over ideological differences or resources.

Legitimate? Far from it. It's one of the most illegitimate professions out there. It serves no good ultimate purpose. It is fundamentally evil. It may be a necessary evil, but I don't have to like it or approve of it.

I used "Army" as a shorthand for all military organizations. So sorry to have capitalized it. I ought to have said "the armed forces."

Happy now?

unbeliever42 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Because the army, in general, annoys and angers
> me. Because I was raised a pacifist during the
> height of the Vietnam War and I still hold to that
> principle........

===========================

You make a good point and I can see where you come from with your opinion. This is my opinion... The military does indoctrinate its people. It breaks you down and remolds you. It has to make you ready for, well, combat. The stress, craziness, being able to take orders as bullets are flying by you while you're wearing your friends blood on ya.

It's a necessary evil if you will. Society needs structure. It needs discipline. It needs police and it needs a military.

The sad part is, we're good at killing each other. Country A builds a good weapon, country B will build a better one, followed eventually by country C....

You know what's interesting? When military personnel from various nations meet, there is a strong sense of camaraderie.. and in some cases even friendship.

Even in war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce

I held a talk around Cristmas time on this when I was more believing in TSCC. It's a story that I still hold very dear.

The rules and expectations are not a big secret. I've never been associated with the military, but I know all about basic training and the expectations of command and respect. Those who sign up know how long they'll be under contract and they know the rules about leaving. They're not expected to stay for eternity. They get paid and although it isn't overly generous, it's fairly reliable and they know what other benefits are included.

None of the above is true of anyone who converts to the morg.

Here is a good video on how cults operate and continue to recruit new people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lMJLSajuhw&feature=fvst


In reading the comments many people have experienced this.

Adapted from "Our Man Flint" (1966)


Repeat: My sole purpose in life is to bring pleasure to my companions.
My sole purpose in life is to bring pleasure to my companions.
All that is asked of me I will perform.
All that is asked of me I will perform.
It is an honour to offer my body to the service of Mormonism.
It is an honour to offer my body to the service of Mormonism...