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Hitch
Regarding the men's division in drag, bunny ears, Nagashima & Malone absurd dirty dancing YouTube clip [www.youtube.com]: I just noticed, if you look very carefully at the front of the butsudan table area, where the person who leads gongyo sits, over on the left side, you'll see a small B&W framed photo. It's about 6 inches tall and guess who it's of? The Dear Leader, Ikeda-sama. There were NEVER any photos of Ikeda on the butsudan area for all the time that I was in the $oka Gakkai N$A Cult Org.. Never. Only up on the side walls away from the butsudan.

You can get a good glimpse of it from the 1:00-1:03 minute mark, at the same time somebody in the audience says "OMG!!"

OMG is right. Unbelievable. Like I said, I don't recognize this cult anymore. That is creepy as all hell.


- Hitch

Hitch - There was a small 3 mentor 3-fold photo card that people were putting on their altars front and center! In line with the scroll! I first noticed Chapter leaders doing this. I noticed this on many altars in my area. Even putting it front and center before gongyo and removing it to the side again. Its the same 3 mentor picture they have up on the screen at FNCC while shoveling in the pablum at International group level,(from what I've seen in videos). Years ago, I remember a new member being quite saddened that she had to take a photo of her ill mother off of the side of her altar because a leader said so. It was stated with such strictness as usual and no 'heartfelt compassion' .

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rattyboy
Hitch - There was a small 3 mentor 3-fold photo card that people were putting on their altars front and center! In line with the scroll! I first noticed Chapter leaders doing this. I noticed this on many altars in my area. Even putting it front and center before gongyo and removing it to the side again. Its the same 3 mentor picture they have up on the screen at FNCC while shoveling in the pablum at International group level,(from what I've seen in videos). Years ago, I remember a new member being quite saddened that she had to take a photo of her ill mother off of the side of her altar because a leader said so. It was stated with such strictness as usual and no 'heartfelt compassion' .

Wow. Rattyboy, do you recall what year(s) it was?

Did any of you fellow board members also see this kind of thing? I'm curious as to approximately when this kind of cult fan club mentality started to encroach upon the butsudan area.

Nichijew mentioned he saw a group of YMD chanting to a photo of Ikeda. Nichijew, do you remember the year or ~ time-frame?

Man, this stuff is just incredibly disgusting to me - Dear Leader photos on the butsudan and people chanting to it. When did this all start? I hope new-ex-gakkai-cult members continue to join this message board and can chime in on this one.

Holy cow.


- Hitch

Here in the San Diego area, I did not notice any of this, but my last meeting was in January of 2008.

My last one was sometime near the end of last year. No such thing had happened. I can't see that going too well here. There might have been a couple of hardcore members I could see doing it but the rest of us would have enough of an issue and not do it no matter what.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2013 05:56AM by sleepy skunk.

I'd say that around 2004 or 2005 when that 3 mentor picture card came out and I began seeing that. Maybe not 'til 2006? There were no comments about it. No complaints. People wouldn't have it in their butsudan, but close to the edge near them, sometimes one level lower if they had a a multi- tiered altar. More often than not, if it was in the altar space it was pretty well in line with the scroll.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2013 12:26AM by rattyboy.

Hitch - Looking at the video you posted, around the 1:01 mark when one of the dragsters is doing the splits or what have you, you can see the gold incense burner on one level and what is some urn-like container for water(?) on the next level up. Replace that water vessel with the picture of the 3 mentors and that is the place "front and center" as I wrote that I am describing for the folding 3 mentor card. The 3 mentor picture card is the only thing I saw like that. I don't recall seeing the youthful Ikeda or any Ikeda alone picture lined up like that at meetings in homes. This makes me think that some elevation of the 3 mentors "for all time" is being casually (?) put in place at the Chapter chief level - and with other members following suit. Perhaps this isn't done anymore with the ever-changing damage control that must be a full time occupation for this group.

Thanks, T&P, SleepySkunk & Rattyboy. I'm positive that any photos of The Dear Leader in or on the butsudan area, when I was in, would have been verboten. Seeing it being done now, is just plain creepy and an obvious sign as to how sick things have gotten.

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rattyboy
Hitch - Looking at the video you posted, around the 1:01 mark when one of the dragsters is doing the splits or what have you, you can see the gold incense burner on one level and what is some urn-like container for water(?) on the next level up. Replace that water vessel with the picture of the 3 mentors and that is the place "front and center" as I wrote that I am describing for the folding 3 mentor card. The 3 mentor picture card is the only thing I saw like that. I don't recall seeing the youthful Ikeda or any Ikeda alone picture lined up like that at meetings in homes. This makes me think that some elevation of the 3 mentors "for all time" is being casually (?) put in place at the Chapter chief level - and with other members following suit. Perhaps this isn't done anymore with the ever-changing damage control that must be a full time occupation for this group.

You're exactly right, Rattyboy. This kind of "policy" does indeed slowly (and imperceptibly) creep in by members modeling and mirroring what their "leaders" do. It's definitely creep in progress (pun intended), just take a look at the video (posted before) and look behind the people speaking in front of the butsudan:

[www.youtube.com] And this was just last month.

This cult has really morphed into something that just keeps getting stranger and stranger and more obvious, ...

"Thinking about SENSEI (!), I want you to look at the Sun!" -
Danny Nagashima, $GI USA Cult Org. General Director, 2010 Quote, made at a "YOUTH!" practice meeting for July 10th. [www.youtube.com] 2:47 minute mark.



- Hitch

I should also mention I found my only shakabukus and I apologized for potentially getting them into a bad situation. I feel quite a lot better since I've done so, like I've restored the balance in the universe somehow. I really did worry about that for the last while. The good thing is they never mentioned that they ever went to a meeting when I talked to them. I don't feel I'm quite square and wonder if they'd forgive me but that is up to them I guess.

Say, I think we've sort of talked about it, but I'd like to review this idea in some more depth (I'm thinking of YOU, corboy and Spartacus). Do you think that cults deliberately prod their members to engage in embarrassing, socially unacceptable behaviors (like the wild and ridiculous fist-pumping song leading of NSA YMD, or the dressing-all-the-children in matching uniforms of Quiverfull, or the FLDS dresses (see below)) because doing those things not only ostracizes them from society (and makes them more dependent upon the cult for social support) but also requires a deliberate choice to go with the cult, no matter what, instead of seeing themselves as part of society as a whole?

FLDS women: [www.highlighthollywood.com]

Seen in the nearby Wal-Mart parking lot (again): [i129.photobucket.com]

Is there a human reaction that gains strength by being rejected by others? There must be, otherwise we wouldn't find so many cults saying the equivalent of "Everybody hates us because we're right."

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TaitenAndProud

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Through discussions about this ban with local senior leaders, I learned that SGcult's postion was solidly in FAVOR of supporting the war, not against it! Lame excuses were offered up, like "we can't speak out against the war or we might lose our tax exempt status" and "we don't want to offend any of our military members (patriotic ferver) by supporting protests against the war". I could not believe my ears.

Wait wait wait. What about the tearjerker story about how First and Second Presidents Makiguchi and Toda WENT TO PRISON for protesting their country's involvement in a war, and Makiguchi becoming a martyr to the anti-war cause in prison????????

Isn't that supposed to be the SGI's "noble heritage" that "proves" they're SOOOO much better and SOOOO much morally superior to the sniveling, crawling, groveling, eeeEEEEEeeeevil priesthood who went along with the authorities so as not to lose their tax-exempt status or whatever????

That was exactly my reaction as well. Looks like I busted their "we are against war myth" wide open. So they quickly changed this story/myth to say that the 1st & 2nd presidents went to prison to defend the "purity" of the Soka Gakkai organization from the evil NS priests, and had nothing to do with being against the war. Bullcookies! Noble heritage my butt!

Spartacus