every group is a fricken cult, every dang one of them, especially the biggest groups who think they are so big they couldn't be a cult. Well calling groups 'cults' helps to stigmatize the members and some folks find that useful.
Originally cult simply meant a system of rituals and practices usually in a form of worship. But now it means, 'yours are less valid than mine or they are a threat to mine.' ok, whatever. Generally cults are believed to exert an undue influence over the ability of members to think freely. I see that as a bad thing but really can't think of a single group that doesn't operate that way. Maybe there are some but nothing is coming to my mind at the moment.
So the word has evolved some and Sraussians are a cult. If you say so, I wont argue, and I don't really care.
Mind control (also known as brainwashing, coercive persuasion, mind abuse, thought control, or thought reform) refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of the person being manipulated".[1] The term has been applied to any tactic, psychological or otherwise, which can be seen as subverting an individual's sense of control over their own thinking, behavior, emotions or decision making.
en.wikipedia.org
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