#cults — Public Fediverse posts

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@emsenn/117190449681228809

To start fresh on a new side-tangent:

"Epistemic colonialism" is a great term!

It reminds me of another term that needs to catch on, "epistemic injustice," (epistemology being the philosophy of how to know truth), especially its subset, "testimonial injustice:" when some people are trusted over others simply because of their demographic or background.

We all do this to some extent. You've never met someone. They're on TV or in a courtroom or on social media. And they're telling some story about their experience or something they witnessed or a topic they've studied. And you immediately discount what they're saying without any conscious thought process.

You may have a "reason" to not believe them, but no evidence to back it up.

"They're hysterical."
"They don't know what they're talking about."
"They're uneducated."
"They're in it for the money or fame."
"They're faking."
"They just want attention."

Hundreds of pat phrases (what cult researchers call "thought terminating cliches") that instantly stop your ability to receive information that could challenge your worldview.

But underlying the dismissal is a person who did nothing to earn your mistrust.

Meanwhile, the very powerful effect centers your own ego as a representative of systemic bias in favor of the existing structures of power.

Which you are a part of whether you like it or not. Whether you are aware or not. Whatever your ethnic background or color of your skin, you are some part of that power structure.

The process of decolonizing your mind starts with becoming aware of it. It is exactly the same as the growing awareness of a cult member right before they snap out of the spell. Before the walls of milieu control begin to weaken.

I've been through the process on a number of levels: from awakening out of Mormonism, to realizing the lies of my abuser, to unpacking whiteness programming in my mind. To understanding my complicated gender, to realizing my oppression as a woman, to deconstructing my internalized ableism, and more.

Awareness was the first step.

It's uncomfortable. It's easier to continue to exist in comfort through a simple dismissal of any the challenging information.

Meanwhile, the price is that you remain a tool of the cult or oppressor instead of breaking out.

And this applies to everyone. No one is immune to this manipulation. We've all been tools of the oppressor one way or another.

This is why now, wherever I can, I stop and listen to folks I haven't listened to in the past. I try really hard to understand what they're saying.

I don't always agree. I can't always wrap my head around it. I very often can't reconcile their testimony with my own experiences, values, or things I've heard from other people. Sometimes paradoxes or logical contradictions exist. That's just reality.

So I let it exist. It's not my job to force reality into a cohesive whole. Sometimes that's not possible.

But I *can* acknowledge that each person's perspective is a truth all on its own. I can sit with that truth and figure out what it has to teach me in that moment. The lesson doesn't have to be useful or actionable. I don't have to draw a conclusion or write a book about it.

I *especially* don't have to argue my own worldview and prove my contradicting worldview is the superior one. That's conditioning of the oppressor, whose culture made me into an enforcer of their power structure to keep those "beneath me" in line, to keep their messages from surfacing.

It's an act of rebellion to lift those voices. Whether I understand them or not. Whether I fully agree with them or not.

This isn't a solo. We are a chorus.

#AbuseCulture #decolonize #decolonization #ReligiousTrauma #antifa #cults

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@emsenn/117190449681228809

To start fresh on a new side-tangent:

"Epistemic colonialism" is a great term!

It reminds me of another term that needs to catch on, "epistemic injustice," (epistemology being the philosophy of how to know truth), especially its subset, "testimonial injustice:" when some people are trusted over others simply because of their demographic or background.

We all do this to some extent. You've never met someone. They're on TV or in a courtroom or on social media. And they're telling some story about their experience or something they witnessed or a topic they've studied. And you immediately discount what they're saying without any conscious thought process.

You may have a "reason" to not believe them, but no evidence to back it up.

"They're hysterical."
"They don't know what they're talking about."
"They're uneducated."
"They're in it for the money or fame."
"They're faking."
"They just want attention."

Hundreds of pat phrases (what cult researchers call "thought terminating cliches") that instantly stop your ability to receive information that could challenge your worldview.

But underlying the dismissal is a person who did nothing to earn your mistrust.

Meanwhile, the very powerful effect centers your own ego as a representative of systemic bias in favor of the existing structures of power.

Which you are a part of whether you like it or not. Whether you are aware or not. Whatever your ethnic background or color of your skin, you are some part of that power structure.

The process of decolonizing your mind starts with becoming aware of it. It is exactly the same as the growing awareness of a cult member right before they snap out of the spell. Before the walls of milieu control begin to weaken.

I've been through the process on a number of levels: from awakening out of Mormonism, to realizing the lies of my abuser, to unpacking whiteness programming in my mind. To understanding my complicated gender, to realizing my oppression as a woman, to deconstructing my internalized ableism, and more.

Awareness was the first step.

It's uncomfortable. It's easier to continue to exist in comfort through a simple dismissal of any the challenging information.

Meanwhile, the price is that you remain a tool of the cult or oppressor instead of breaking out.

And this applies to everyone. No one is immune to this manipulation. We've all been tools of the oppressor one way or another.

This is why now, wherever I can, I stop and listen to folks I haven't listened to in the past. I try really hard to understand what they're saying.

I don't always agree. I can't always wrap my head around it. I very often can't reconcile their testimony with my own experiences, values, or things I've heard from other people. Sometimes paradoxes or logical contradictions exist. That's just reality.

So I let it exist. It's not my job to force reality into a cohesive whole. Sometimes that's not possible.

But I *can* acknowledge that each person's perspective is a truth all on its own. I can sit with that truth and figure out what it has to teach me in that moment. The lesson doesn't have to be useful or actionable. I don't have to draw a conclusion or write a book about it.

I *especially* don't have to argue my own worldview and prove my contradicting worldview is the superior one. That's conditioning of the oppressor, whose culture made me into an enforcer of their power structure to keep those "beneath me" in line, to keep their messages from surfacing.

It's an act of rebellion to lift those voices. Whether I understand them or not. Whether I fully agree with them or not.

This isn't a solo. We are a chorus.

#AbuseCulture #decolonize #decolonization #ReligiousTrauma #antifa #cults