Every religious cult and corporate entity understands the advantage of indoctrinating (brain-washing) children, the younger the better. Its the best way to enslave human beings to a cult.org corporation for the rest of their lives.


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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2014 07:56AM by Spartacus.

SGI, "The Jewel" and "Flower of Democracy" in action:

"Ethan Gelbaum

At this point, I will introduce Ethan Gelbaum who runs the Chicago SGI-USA Community Center. He introduced himself to me as the regional director upon my first meeting him about a month ago, but I've seen him mentioned on-line as an SGI Vice President and Vice General Director. In any event, he's pretty high up the chain of command, which means he gets paid for his services as a leader. And by that I mean, "paid" in terms of this being a full-time job. Try as I might, I couldn't find much info on-line regarding Ethan's long-runnning stint with the SGI. So it seems to me, he's pretty good at keeping a low profile."

"My banishment from the Chicago SGI-USA Culture Center


What happened?

Ethan banned me from the SGI Center on August 28, 2013. I arrived around 12:30, started to chant in the Round Room, and after about 10 minutes Ethan taps me on the shoulder. I follow him to a point about 10 feet or so from the Round Room's entrance. After Ethan asked how I was (and I said I was okay), he told me the Center is only for SGI members. I added, "And guests?"

He said, "Not for guests who diss the organization and blog about it."

I replied, "So...we're not going to have a discussion meeting or a dialogue about this?"

He said, "We've already done that."

Me: "That was one time weeks ago for scarcely 10 minutes and I did most of the talking." And that brief meeting was before I'd sent him e-mails asking a variety of questions. He didn't respond to any of them or respond to my invitation for a one-on-one dialogue.

And then I started to leave but added, "You should be ashamed of yourself." When he said, "I'm not," I said, "You should be."

After he said something like have-a-nice-day, I said, "I hope you enjoy your epic failure." And I left. I hope he got that point about "epic failure," which perfectly describes the decline of this layman's Buddhist movement. Back in the mid-seventies, SGI boasted of having 12 million members - 10M in Japan and 2M elsewhere. Today, they "boast" of exactly the same numbers."

"My deal with Ethan

I had kept up my end of the deal I'd made with Ethan about a month ago, when he first told me he was contemplating barring me from the Center. I didn't speak to anybody on the Center's premises about how I practice or my particular interpretations of Buddhist doctrine. I was respectful of Ethan's territory.

But he decided to extend his authority to my outside activities - that is, to what I put on my blog. That's my territory and my business. But what bothered me the most was his initial attempt to lie to me. His first shot was, "The Center is only for members." I knew full well it's also for guests and the receptionist doesn't check the status of anybody who walks through the Center's doors. But obviously he thought a lie would simplify matters and I'd be gone. Ethan didn't think I'd question his claim. I ask a lot of questions, to which the Ethans of the world must ultimately fall silent."

End Quote.

Links:
ind4prez2012.blogspot.com/2013/09/to-sgi-part-2.html
ind4prez2012.blogspot.com/2013/08/to-sgi-part-i.html



Putting aside all of the semantic "arguments" about fairytales and the psychological dispositions of many of its members & so-called "leaders" (as evidenced from this thread, both salaried & non-salaried types), the above is the perennial modus operandi of the gakkai cult: you either tow and parrot the official cult propaganda story lines and stay with the program or you get shut down and banished.

It has always been their way or the highway - always. It's also important to remember that "their way" itself bends over time to suit their own needs and circumstances. Never question, only follow, or else.

"Dialogue," "Humanism," "Democracy," "Compassion," and "Tolerance," all at the gakkai cult org.'s finest.

Doublethink/doublespeak - the quintessential modus operandi of all cults.



- Hitch

"But he decided to extend his authority to my outside activities - that is, to what I put on my blog. That's my territory and my business."

(Grim)

When you become member of a cult, you cease to be a person and become property.

Property has no human right to 'outside activities'.

Imagine your smart phone deciding to start a blog describing all demeaning stuff you involve it in.

You'd freak, right?

That is how cult leaders feel when their 'soft machines' behave as conscious agents and dare have outside lives and dissenting opinions.

That's a really good analogy, Corboy. And as cult-members, we do tend to feel like property; "I am SGI." That loss of identity and individuality de-persons you; your concerns are only relevant in how they relate to the cult, your decisions are based on how they affect your functions in the cult.

From 2006 through 2013, every single time I moved (and that was five times), one of the primary criteria in me picking an apartment was whether there was a place for me to set up my altar. The first thing to be unpacked and set up was my altar. The first thing I did in my new place was gongyo.

It took me a few weeks here before it even dawned on me that none of that crap had even crossed my mind, and I felt another little "hit" of liberation.

You do not own yourself if you're a member of a cult.

I've been reading a fascinating book for the past couple of weeks; while it's about Christianity, it is almost a manual for how to create a cult. Very, very scary . . .

[www.amazon.com]

There is a punk rock group whose name is vivid that I have
used it to describe the status of people in cults.

The name of the group was The Meat Puppets.

Thing is, one doesnt feel like a meat puppet -- at least not in the early
stages.

* One is love bombed

* One feels much better than before one met the recruiter/s

* One is treated so nicely as a new member that one feels cared for.
One is unaware that this is just standard procedure for new recruits.

*Techniques of ecstacy are used. One feels ecstatic so one canmot imagine
one is regarded by the leaders as a meat puppet behaving according
to expectations.

Imagine if a photocopy machine had a personality. Didnt imagine it was
regarded as someone elses property.

Just as love bombing is standard procedure for a cult when handling newly
aquired meat puppets/soft machines, it is standard procedure to to wrap a
newly purchased photocopier in layers of moving quilts
so it will not be jostled when carried upstairs into the cult HQ.

Imagine the photocopy machine feeling fussed over, thrilled at all the attention.

The machine does not know that after installation in the copy center, it
will soon be taken for granted. That it will raged at and even kicked when
it fails to perform to the desires of those using it. The photocopy machine does not
know it might be used to make copies of dirty pictures or worse, when those
using it are bored.

Imagine a brand new toilet being installed. It feels loved and fussed over
by the plumber. It does'nt know how it will be used.

And then it cannot get away. It is bolted to the floor.

Now --- imagine if all the toilets all up walked away and started blogs
describing the ugly sights and experiences they had to endure.

Mass horror on the part of the 'owners'!

The toilet reference is spot on!

The downside is that cult members really cannot rise above the sensibility of toilets, no matter how much crap they process. What we readily see (now) as shite, they see as wisdom; too much "wisdom"? They just get a leader to plunger them a few times so that the shite starts going into the system as it should. They'll swallow as much as they can hold, and then beg for more.

It's only when that toilet realizes that it's actually a person that he perceives being bolted to the floor.

Back in middle school, around 1972, we had a substitute teacher for English class.

Mrs. X wanted some way to keep us quiet, so assigned a creative writing
project. Each student was to write a brief essay, then each of us would
read it out loud to the rest of the class.

Assignment: Imagine yourself as a household appliance and describe
what you do.

One of the guys stood up.

He read aloud, testifying to the life and duties of .....being a toilet.

Pardon the expression, but the class lost its shit. Howls of laughter.

The teacher was not amused. She ordered him to stop -- and surrender his
text.

Brother X. kept reading.

Mrs. X, outraged, approached him.

Refusing to be censored, determined that the world know all, Brother X stepped away, still giving the toilet's unwelcome point of view.

Pursued around the room, Mrs. X. grasping at his samidzat, Brother X. kept moving from one hideout to another, voice loud and steady, and uttered the
final, culminating revelation of life as a toilet:

"....and the worst thing is, whatever they put into me, I have to swallow it."

A triumph for the First Amendment!

Brother X. humbly accepted deportation and probable corporal punishement in the Boys Vice Principal's office.

But he had defended the more important principle:

The human right to free expression, guaranteed by the First Amendment.

(Am sorry I cannot remember our comrade's name. Wherever you are, bro, rock on.)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2014 09:34PM by corboy.

Speaking of being "dumped on", I can share some stories regarding Ethan Gelbaum going way back in the gakkai cult.org.

He has always been a dim bulb with a power-hungry-authoritative-attitude toward members, particularly the YMD (Young Men's Division). To cult boss superiors, he was a stand-at-attention, obedient model monkey-on-a-chain automaton. To anyone under him, especially out of eyesight and earshot of any official higher-up cult boss, he was an arrogant crack-the-whip a**-hole.

The YMD had a song they sang behind his back: "Ethan Gelbaum / Does shakubuku, shakubuku / Yells at members - 'HEY YOU, SHUT UP!'"

It was a way the YMD dealt with the cognitive dissonance of being in a humanistic "buddhist" "organization" that (behind closed doors) treated their members like sh*t-slaves. Gelbaum was always a top sh*tter, too. How nice to see that things don't change, no matter how much "human revolution" one does. I've seen him laugh at, humiliate, control, and intimidate many an unfortunate YMD.

Ethan would also bark orders at YMD, again behind closed doors, sitting behind a table with his legs propped up on it.

I have many stories to share about Ethan Gelbaum and two of the common themes that pervade all of them are 1) his arrogance (the opposite of model buddhist behavior) and 2) his intelligence (or rather, lack thereof).

The fact that somebody like him can be a "top" model "leader" in the gakkai cult.org, tells you everything you need to know about the true vile nature of The Ikeda Pseudo-buddhist Cult. Everything.


- Hitch

Speaking of being shat upon, I came across this letter from Phil Orenstein, dated 11/18/99. While he was still obviously a member when this was written, he had just been dismissed as the Nassau MD Chapter Chief. In his own words, he was dismissed for standing up to injustice and spoke out for change:

[www.victoriousamerica.com]

Here's a prime example of an SGI leader's propensity for hubris, hypocrisy, and condensending attitudes, as reported in Phil Orenstien's remonstrative "Letter To The Members":

"While it was alright for me to challenge a members behavior, that was not the case when it came to a leaders behavior. I said that we must stand up to any injustice in our organization whether it's a member or a leader whose actions are in question. I indicated that it's our right to censure any leaders' offenses if it becomes necessary. That evidently ticked our area leader off. She became visibly upset and responded "you think you're always right". I said that this is what Sensei has been saying in his guidance's. She replied that Sensei never said that. Then I brought out one such guidance from the World Tribune and started to read it to her. At that point she promptly left the apartment while I was still reading."

Phil, a dedicated a devoted pioneering member, had his chapter chief position taken away as retribution for his involvement with, and staunch support of, a grass-roots member's committee named, People's Representative Committee. We can't help but wonder how many times unreported similar scenarios have been repeated throughout the decades. But one thing is absolutely certain - despite all the attractive sounding rhetoric, the SGI regime will NEVER allow its members to participate or share in either running or improving the organization. Cult.orgs don't go there - EVER.

Such a typical example epitomizing the dysfunctional structure of the SGI cult.org! Phil found out, just as I did, what happens to anyone that doesn't tow the gakkai line. Ikeda can speak about all the lofty concepts and platitudes he wants, because he knows that nothing will EVER come of it. The gakkai is ruled with an iron fist, and no individual, group, or committee is ever going to be allowed to foster any changes to the SGI power structure. Lofty ideas from Ikeda's speeches are spouted as lip-service only. You had better not actually try to follow senseless' guidance by organizing or implementing ANY sort of change, or you will become the enemy/devil and treated accordingly by the despicable, corrupt, and egotistical SGI senior leaders (who love to emulate their Lord of the Universe).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2014 08:47PM by Spartacus.