Troll I do not care what Anticult personally believes. I am more interested in what Anticult has to say about his/her former group. I try to glean useful information from this forum, for myself and for others who need help. I am not a professional, just someone who was in a cult for sixteen years.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

$30,000 Grant This is an interesting trend. Eastern Farm Workers Association is one of about fifty organizations affiliated with National Labor Federation. I have heard that several of the affiliates have received large grants from unsuspecting charities (not counting what they launder through NEJA). There was a time when the Organization would not take monies with strings attached. The gr
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The people who join NATLFED are rarely desperate or gullible. This political cult recruits a wide variety of persons including professors, doctors, lawyers, students, social workers, etc. The common thread being persons who are interested in changing conditions that cause poverty, who have seen the failure of other efforts and come to believe that NATLFED is the one true solution. The recrui
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

I don't know of any good books but I am well aware of situations like you describe. Trying to leave a cult is more difficult when children and spouses are involved. You're forced with trying to get them to go with you (which could subject you to reeducation) or to leave without them. I saw it in the group I belonged to where one spouse would leave, soon to be followed by the other.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

501(c)3 It is hard to follow the money. Even with a 501(c)3 apparatus in place, which has records that anyone can look up on-line using the above link, an organization can still divert the money. The Provisional Party has a 501(c)3 in place called NEJA (National Equal Justice Association). It generates money and then it bestows grants on other operations (always a NATLFED organization).
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I have been working very hard to educate people about the truth of NATLFED. There is much disinformation about the group because the Party is a secret organization (albeit a secret that's "out of the bag" and discussed in various forums). Most people confound the Party with NATLFED. Granted, NATLFED comprises the largest open fraction within the Party but by no means is it the o
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Take Back the Night NATLFED attracted many feminists in its early period of organizing. I don't remember any formal alliance with Take Back the Night but it is certainly plausible. Despite attracting feminists, women in NATLFED were subjected to violence. Some of the more strong-willed women were beaten into submission. Others were forced into sexual liaisons because of circumstance
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There is one thing that I will admit about the comments in the San Francisco Weekly. True, a couple of the people making comments are NATLFED ex-cadres, regulars who devote some time to speak the truth about NATLFED in various blogging communities. It has also encouraged some "different blood" if you will to step forward and add to the discussion. It hasn't degenerated into the
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The comments on the San Francisco Weekly article are starting to build. The ex-NATLFED community is taking interest but most are burnt out from commenting.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I used to have a lot of trouble during the holidays. Being secluded in a safe house with 40-50 other members, we relied on each other as family. Thanksgiving and Christmas were the biggest holidays, of course, but other holidays were also a time to put aside work and enjoy a comradely sing. We enjoyed expertly made turkeys and hams, had all of the trimmings of course, and then afterward we san
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Some people never get over the anxiety, at least not completely, without some type of social network ready, willing and able to help. Some people worry that if they get involved with something similar, they might get sucked into another cult. Family and friends can make all the difference. People willing to support you so you can get over the trauma and move on with your life. The way I loo
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

It doesn't have to be just in churches. Any cult can have that issue.
Forum: Destructive Churches

How to start a cult Not for the faint of heart to watch. It's a college project and while an amateur production it still manages to capture a lot of truth about cults. The first time I watched it, I was okay but my sister was shaking. It's about 12 minutes and takes a recruit through the stages of becoming a full member.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I can imagine the negative responses. I get them all the time in response to my blog. They say I'm a liar, I'm not helping my cause by making up stories, I'm paranoid, I need psychiatric help to distinguish reality from fiction, etc. It shakes me, yes, but I know that I am helping people by talking about my former organization. These types of responses come from members or su
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Ah, Mao's "Little Red Book." I haven't read that in a number of years. Anyone can take any ideology and adapt it to suit their own purpose. Little minor alterations here or there and voila, you have something else. "Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win" is one of the slogans of the group I belonged to, NATLFED, which openly states it is organizing the unrecognized worke
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

If anyone is interested, the San Francisco Weekly is getting ready to do an expose on Physicians' Organizing Committee, an organization that is part of the Provisional Party and tied to National Labor Federation. The reporter's name is Matt Smith. At least three former members that I know of have communicated with the reporter, including my sister.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If one can afford professional help, that's great. This is not to dissuade anyone from seeking them out but sometimes the realist in me comes out. Not everyone that leaves a cult has resources (or after one is thrown out). My sister spent almost a month living in a homeless shelter with her daughter, signed up for welfare and food stamps, relied on the charity of strangers to get her back
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

It's one thing to embrace different cultures. It's another thing to try and mimic those cultures without any true understanding. Where my sister lives, there are many Native Americans. She's been to several ritual sweats. For one thing, the women are not allowed to sweat with the men. There's more to it, of course. My advice is to try to embrace different cultures instea
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

My sister had major problems. When she was labeled a dissident, leaders started giving her medications. They said they were iron pills, that her problem was anemia. They increased or decreased the pills, using a Physician's Desk Reference as guide along with uncertified medical persons that belonged to the group. Only after her being physically ousted did she find out that the pills were
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

I guess you can say it is modus operandi for such organizations. If you're looking for something, you're maybe vulnerable and such appearances at friendship can be attractive. I wasn't particularly looking for something at the time, I was just a very impressionable kid that enjoyed accepting responsibilities and liked doing a job well done. It's part of the grooming process
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I too am finding myself at this time. It has been a fight. I wish I could give you the magical words to make things better but I cannot. The one thing that I know is the group I was in was expert at taking away self-esteem. I saw a lot of bright people get psychologically and emotionally beaten down. For the longest time I would wake up in the morning, go the mirror and say, "You are a
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

I was somewhat shy as a person but the organization needed people that went out into the communities. I learned how to go door to door, stand in front of a grocery store soliciting donations, make phone calls to complete strangers, very outgoing activities. My sister was the exact opposite, a social butterfly if you will, who eventually was relegated to the desk duties of typing, typing and mor
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

The thing that struck me was reading the line "...one true form of Buddhism." I was in a group that practiced the one true form of Marxism-Leninism. We feared the police, we feared "them", we accepted re-education when we were errant because we were soldiers of the international fighting for the dictatorship of the proletariat. As I continue reading discussions, I see a lot
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

One thing that I have learned is that many former cadres are reluctant to post to discussion forums anymore. Even my own blog, I have rapport with several persons right now but it is "behind the scenes" as they don't want public comments. They are concerned their comments will be attacked. There are a lot of "venomous" and "toxic" discussions on the web inclu
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I'm going ahead and suggesting on my blog that maybe this site isn't so bad. Portland IMC is a burnt out discussion area. That is the fate of many discussions via the web, I have noticed. The very few I have noticed activity come from the same group of people; maybe the ex-cadres are burnt out from the bitterness, the same old same old. That is why I am trying to use a different app
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The cadres in the field -- I have heard stories about hunger. I only experienced it once in Suffolk. After the Grucci fireworks factory blew up, the entity invested all time and energy in meeting the emergency needs of the membership. Several lost their homes from the shockwave of the detonation. The shockwave radiated from Bellport to Riverhead and beyond. After a month, all resources were
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The heyday of cadre forces included two doctors (1115 1A the doctors office, Steinman & Berkowitz Associates). Eventually both left after the raid, but other doctors rotated through. Some say dad's habit caused them all to eventually leave. In the late 1980s the practice was run by physician assistants, until finally medical recruitment to that facility burnt out. That was when Gino
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

At NOC (National Office Central) it was six and a half hours of sleep a night. The U.S. military standard was a minimum of seven hours of sleep a night, it was explained, and we as committed party members could do with less as our commitment to the revolution. Shutdown (bedtime) was at 3:30 a.m. and reveille (wake up) at 10:00 a.m., to align the National Office schedule with the West Coast (for
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I have one gentleman looking for answers. His son is in an entity. I can only tell him my experiences and what drew me in, kept me in, the shock of being thrown out for daring to speak out, watching people I knew turn into mindless robots. I can't point him to a good site or person for help. He thanked me for sharing and now I'm sitting here wondering what else I could have offered.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Eric, the point of this post is to open up dialog for those seeking information, not just re-hash the same old stuff on the web. All that you posted sounds well and good but you left out the part about NATLFED being an umbrella Organization within the Communist Party United States of America, Provisional Wing, with an agenda to overthrow the government and establish the dictatorship of the prole
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"