What is being said here is a "blame the victim" type of mentality subscribed to by damaging groups like Landmark.
This bogus Landmark "Disclaimer" is yet another scam. Werner Erhard and those who run Landmark know that people with mental illness who could be hurt by Landmark are the LAST people who are ever going to read those types of disclaimers carefully and make the decision to walk away from Landmark.
Landmark makes their disclaimer communicate that "if you have a history of mental illness, then you are damaged goods and are not strong enough to take the Landmark Forum". No one wants to believe that about themselves, so they will take the program.
Also, the VAST majority of people with mental illness are not diagnosed or treated, and are in denial about it, or completely unaware they might have a problem. Any psychologist knows that, and so does Landmark.
Also you have to put the disclaimer in the context of the extreme recruitment for Landmark. They build people up to WANT Landmark so bad, and then drop this massive disclaimer on them as part of the persuasion process.
So again, some people refuse to see, or are not able to see that Landmark is based on DECEPTION, right from top to bottom, and that includes the disclaimer. The disclaimer is designed to do at least 2 things.
1) attempt protect Landmark from lawsuits due to all of the severe psychological damage Landmark causes in people.
2) make Landmark more attractive to people by making it seem "powerful" and even "forbidden". That is a sales technique along the lines of "are you good enough and tough enough to handle it?"
Can you imagine walking in to a psychiatrist or psychologist or therapist, and having to sign a 4 page massive disclaimer about all of the damage they might cause you?
Landmark is a scam.
The disclaimer is a scam.
Its designed to be part of the Landmark scam, to make people want Landmark even more. And those who are having trouble, or who have manic-depression, or mental illness, are 9 times out of 10 NOT going to admit it to themselves, and are going to go ahead and do the Landmark Forum. Werner Erhard and Landmark know this, and they exploit it.
People who have strong boundaries, and who feel good about their lives are generally not going to get sucked into it, and are the ones who might actually read the disclaimer and walk away.
But Landmark goes looking for people with manic problems...as these are the people who are going to go overboard, and spend every cent they have on Landmark, and work 18 hrs a day for Landmark...until they crash and Landmark uses them up, and dumps them aside.
So this disclaimer is a scam in the context of the tricks of "brainwashing" and coercion that Landmark uses, and blaming their victims is one of Landmarks #1 techniques.
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Madshus
I don't mean to be a jerk here, but it's time people stop crying 'I am a victim', when so many would not be in these situations if they would simply take responsibility for themselves. All that's involved with taking account for ones self in a situation like this is to either 1) read the fine print, and 2) think for yourself after reading such gobbly gook and not be so easily influenced by others.