So what is a cult? What are the hallmarks of extremism? The Oxford Dictionary defines a cult as “a system of religious veneration and devotion /2
“Fanatical Remainers and the FBPE cult”: a thread
The populist right seems to be intensifying its efforts to portray supporters of EU membership as some sort of lunatic fringe. (Never-knowingly-impartial @afneil and billionaires’ stooge @darrengrimes_ are among (1/20-ish)
So what is a cult? What are the hallmarks of extremism? The Oxford Dictionary defines a cult as “a system of religious veneration and devotion /2
According to Janja Lalich PhD, a sociologist who specialises in cults and extremist groups, a cult is “a group or movement held together by a shared commitment to a charismatic leader or ideology. It has a belief system /4
“Cults tend to be founded by charismatic leaders … great manipulators. They know how to read people. They come along and offer a message /5
Further signs of culthood as identified by Dr Lalich and other experts may include, but are not limited to:
• Inculcation of loyalty and unity by inventing and exaggerating external threats. Outgroups are demonised and dehumanised, and /6
• As well as messianic leader figures and satanic enemies, cults often feature speculation about some sort of apocalypse.
• Stereotyping and caricaturing of perceived ideological foes. /7
• Reductive, Manichean view of the world: believers are the good guys, and everyone else is either evil, stupid, or brainwashed.
• Vague promises about making things better, but little detail. /8
• Simple solutions to complex problems.
• Language heavily laden with emotion.
• Frequent appeals to glorious former times, tradition, and culture.
• Prohibition of challenging, questioning or disbelieving their high priests. /9
• Discouragement of independent thought. Cult followers are not permitted to have insights, /10
• Cult members are invited to frequent mass gatherings where the charismatic leaders give rousing, /11
• There is no truth but the cultists’ truth. Followers must believe the word of their high priests over the evidence of their own eyes.
Now, who does all this remind you of?
Charismatic leaders: Farage, Rees-Mogg, Johnson /12
Antichrists: Jean-Claude Juncker, Angela Merkel, Sadiq Khan, George Soros, Bill Gates
Apocalypse: “The EU is collapsing”, “Our culture is being destroyed”, /13
Emotional language: “freedom”, “I’m PROUD of my country”, “You HATE Britain”, “You LOVE the EU”
Invocation of past: “We’ve survived worse”, “We won the war”, “We civilised the world” /14
Slogans: “You lost, get over it”, “No deal is better than a bad deal”, “EU shackles”, “You hate democracy”, “Love Europe, hate EU”, “Global Britain”, “We hold all the cards”, “Will of the people”
Abstract concepts: “sovereignty”, “freedom”, /15
Mindless repetition: retweeting
Quasi-religious mass gatherings: Brexit party rallies.
Meanwhile, Remainers look at facts and listen to expert opinion. What’s fanatical about that? Remainers care about the details, about the real impacts on real people. /16
Remainers don’t venerate or blindly worship the EU (despite what Brexiters think). Instead they have a rational certainty – or at the very least, a high probability – that staying in the EU makes better economic, social and political sense. /17
It is, of course, Euroscepticism – or rather, the Europhobia that it always pretended it wasn’t – that is the real cult. /19
But it is all too obvious who the crackpots are. /E
But it is a passion rooted in fact, not in a formless rage that waves flags and screams slogans to try to conceal its lack of substance.
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Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?
A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:
2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to
- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal
3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:
Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.
Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.
4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?
To get clarity.
You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.
It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.
5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”
Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.
Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?
A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:
Next level tactic when closing a sale, candidate, or investment:
— Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) February 27, 2018
Ask: \u201cWhat needs to be true for you to be all in?\u201d
You'll usually get an explicit answer that you might not get otherwise. It also holds them accountable once the thing they need becomes true.
2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to
- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal
3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:
Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.
Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.
4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?
To get clarity.
You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.
It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.
5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”
Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.
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Pseudonym means “a fictitious name (more literally, a false name), as those used by writers and movie stars,” while stage name is “the pseudonym of an entertainer.”
https://t.co/hT5XPkTepy #english #wiki #wikidiff
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Alias #versus Stage Name: What’s the difference?
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https://t.co/Kf7uVKekMd #Etymology #words
Another common #question:
What is the difference between “alias” and “pseudonym?”
As nouns alias means “another name; an assumed name,” while pseudonym means “a fictitious name (more literally, a false name), as those used by writers and movie
Here is a very basic #comparison: "Name versus Stage Name"
As #nouns, the difference is that name means “any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing,” but stage name means “the pseudonym of an
Here's the most useful #Factualist comparison pages #Thread 🧵
What is the difference between “pseudonym” and “stage name?”
Pseudonym means “a fictitious name (more literally, a false name), as those used by writers and movie stars,” while stage name is “the pseudonym of an entertainer.”
https://t.co/hT5XPkTepy #english #wiki #wikidiff
People also found this comparison helpful:
Alias #versus Stage Name: What’s the difference?
Alias means “another name; an assumed name,” while stage name means “the pseudonym of an entertainer.”
https://t.co/Kf7uVKekMd #Etymology #words
Another common #question:
What is the difference between “alias” and “pseudonym?”
As nouns alias means “another name; an assumed name,” while pseudonym means “a fictitious name (more literally, a false name), as those used by writers and movie
Here is a very basic #comparison: "Name versus Stage Name"
As #nouns, the difference is that name means “any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing,” but stage name means “the pseudonym of an
