Well, yes, People Are Fucking Retards™. It's important to remember that it comes down to social dynamics and getting social needs met.
It is also just an easy sneer word thing to go "UR A CULT!!!"
Don't forget that culty behavior was pushed on them, normalized, and after they lost connections to normal people, became their entire life and way of approaching the world. Don't forget that people have needs, and will get them in one fucked up way or another. If people need drugs, sex, or whatever, can you really stop them from finding hooch or a hoochie cooch?
Not having a robust sense of self, not having a support structure or friends and family and community is why they'd accept the toxic ersatz of a cult's community, friendship, or family. Just like you would defend your own friends, family, or community, they will defend their warped, venomous hellhole. Not only that, but I cannot see these people being robust in even entertaining the notion that what they irreversibly did to themselves was anything but good.
They won't back down because they really can't. It's going to take the best shrinks on earth to help them, and only after society's stopped rewarding their shit or playing the game. Hopefully soon, but as long as they're useful props, why not wave them around? What else are they good for? Lifelong medications and post surgical support?
The more I ruminate on this the more I feel sorry for the lot of them. Liz, though, I feel sorry for the person from before warped entitlement made them into a crybully rapist. What a fucking fresh hell.
That really does give me hope. People can disagree but find common ground, and give a shitpostal thesis that is actually fucking read to the end. I hope I'm helping people learn to think, spot bullshit, warn others, and go the other way, and it seems in at least some way I am.
