I need y’all to understand that cults are like addiction. Anyone has the capacity to become an addict. Your drug is out there, and given the right circumstances at the wrong time, you can end up addicted to it. The exact same is true for cults. Your cult is out there. Given the right circumstances at the wrong time, you can end up a member.
The metaphor goes even further. Addicts are still people, they deserve support and assistance. People don’t get addicted to something because they’re stupid or didn’t try hard enough. Terrible circumstances simply reached a point where being high was less painful than being sober. Nobody is immune to that.
Cult members are still people, they deserve support and assistance. People don’t get into cults because they’re stupid or didn’t look for red flags. Terrible life circumstances make one vulnerable to cult recruitment tactics, these groups are predatory, and actively seek to use from vulnerable people. Nobody is immune to that.
If you think you’re too smart or too educated to join a cult, you’ve already lost the first battle.
It also bothers me how like, disdainful a lot of witchtok creators are of people not knowing shit about the occult. I’m frustrated by this whole “Uhm sweetie maybe this video is too advanced for you” ass tone. How tf are you giving people shit for not knowing about The Occult.
It’s just so fundamentally contrary to everything I love about the occult. One of my favorite things about my job is getting to share all the insane things I learn with curious and interested people. Sure there’s some complex ideas here and I can’t always explain them in the space of a Tumblr ask, but how fucking dare you call yourself an occultist if you look down on thedesire for knowledge.
I bring this up or quote the idea of the “lucky 10,000” even when something isn’t common knowledge. Learning things should be a good feeling. Being around when someone learns something is usually a pretty damn good feeling. I can’t speak to the occultist part but this is one of my core beliefs :)
Tori