To this day, there are STILL people trapped in the mindset of twi-servitude. Why?
Even when people exit The Way International, a substantive number of them seek involvement in a splinter group. Why?
The complexities to answering those questions remains alarmingly intertwined. Perhaps, that was the point: to intertwine the complexities that it's hard to get out of the trap? Throughout my involvement in twi......The Way, Inc. and Jesus Christ is "The Way" were interchangeably spoken. "The Word is the ministry and The Ministry is the Word." Interchangeably linked. If you left "the ministry" then you left "the word." The psychological trap was set. So, when followers can no longer stomach the indoctrination of mother-cult......they slip away and associate with a sibling-cult that is, too, teaching "the word."
Books have been written .... "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse," "The Cult that Snapped," and "Undertow."
...(SNIP)...
The corps program was NOT a leadership program.......it was a subjugated program. All corps were subservient to wierwille and the trustees. Year after year, corps grads were to take yearly assignments or have a leave of absence signed off by wierwille. Higher education was frowned upon. Anything.....ANYTHING.....that took away from the mission of "moving the word" was a reason for spurt-tual confrontation. You got a devil spurt problem, don't ya? Renew your mind. Get back in line, kid. Every day was colored in subjugation.
Even to this day.........many corps grads seemingly need to have a splinter group leader over their decisions. Some others too.
Just connecting the dots here. I believe that subjugating was and is the whole essence of twi and its splinter groups.
.
…Skyrider, your comments about subjugation and corps grads needing to have a splinter group leader over their decisions got me thinking about the attachment theory…
Subjugate is the old divide-and-conquer strategy…The interview article below describes the “trifecta of terror, love, and brainwashing as key to cult behavior”:
“People come into cults through a variety of pathways and bring with them a variety of personality types. In addition, many are born into cults. But the one thing that seems to be supported by research is that new followers are more easily recruited when they are at a normal life “blip,” as Margaret Singer put it—if one is between affiliations, such as moving house, going to university, getting married or divorced or breaking up a relationship, experiencing bereavement. A person embarking on such changes may be looking for a new relationship, hobby, religious affiliation, or even a new gym (yes, there are many fitness-based cults). And all such changes can expose a person to a recruitment attempt.
But in my view, the main vulnerability factor is ignorance. A person lacking knowledge of how cults target and recruit people and the mechanisms they use to entrap people may not be able to identify a coercion attempt when targeted."
You identify a trifecta of terror, love, and brainwashing as key to cult behavior. Can you explain the intersection of the three?
“The same dynamic that occurs in domestic violence also applies to cults. First a person is lured to group or person who seemingly shares their interests and concerns. They may then be subject to a kind of love-bombing, given extreme amounts of attention, which can feel flattering and seem the sign of having found a safe place. Then begins an attempt to isolate the person from friends and family. The potential recruit becomes engulfed in a new system and out of touch with their old, known network.
That paves the way for the group to engage in “terror” tactics, arousing a sense of threat, whether it’s fear of the apocalypse, fear of being criticized, fear of the outside world, or some other group-specific fear. I believe attachment theory provides a good theoretical approach for understanding brainwashing, and it holds that people run to a safe haven when they are afraid. If the group has been successful, the recruit, now having had fear instilled by the group, runs to the only safe haven available—the group itself."
What are the consequences?
"There are two effects of running to the group. First, it creates a disorganized attachment bond, what Judith Herman described as a trauma bond in her book, Trauma and Recovery. It is strong bond that is difficult to break so long as the person remains isolated from alternate safe havens. Emotional and cognitive isolation are key, not necessarily physical isolation. Cults isolate followers by controlling their personal relationships and by restricting information sources to the cult.
Second, the disorganized attachment, characterized by running to the source of fear, causes dissociation. Running to the source of fear obviously doesn’t provide escape from the threat. Because it is a maladaptive way of coping with threat, the person goes into a “freeze” mode and is unable to think clearly about what is happening. This explains why perfectly intelligent people can find themselves unable to rationally view a cult they are involved with. It is literally too frightening and disorganizing to do so. The lack of alternate information and true havens undermine a follower’s cognitive processes on matters regarding the group. The cult can now do the thinking for them—the essence of brainwashing.”
Their bodies and minds.......let's not forget their wallets and their stuff while he was at it.
vpw wanted retention because he taught a 10% tithe- and pushed it with a mandatory book with pfal ("Christians Should Be Prosperous.") He wanted that 10%.
Then he wanted more- and invented the term "abundant sharing" for giving OVER the 10%.
Then he wanted even MORE. He taught that people should figure out what they needed to live on, and the rest they should.....invest? Plan for the future? NO- they should give that to twi! He invented the term "plurality giving". Ever heard of a group other than twi/ex-twi who ever taught that, by any name? I haven't.
Oh, and twi was supposed to skimp on buying anything for the group and make due with used furniture and stuff. This policy stopped suddenly when it came to things vpw wanted. Those things were supposed to be top-notch. AND vpw considered them HIS property and not, as they legally were- MINISTRY property. So, some of the ministry stuff was earmarked for his personal use, and he considered it HIS although it was all paid for and maintained on the twi dime.
Oh, and if he visited your area, someone was supposed to go buy him bottleS (plural) of booze. And before he left, they passed the hat around and handed him a bag of nice, untraceable money- any guesses where they got the idea to do that?
As for their bodies, yes, join twi programs, do manual labor and PAY FOR THE PRIVILEGE. He didn't get FREE labor- he got labor that paid to be there! I have to admire the chutzpah that took. And look forward to him getting his due for every last bit of exploitation (the worst of which I didn't mention.)
…Skyrider, your comments about subjugation and corps grads needing to have a splinter group leader over their decisions got me thinking about the attachment theory…
Subjugate is the old divide-and-conquer strategy…The interview article below describes the “trifecta of terror, love, and brainwashing as key to cult behavior”:
.........[snip]
Thanks, T-Bone.
This article made me think of something that I posted back in December 2007. In my attempts to unravel the cult indoctrination, I started looking back at what attracted me to twi in the first place.......I posted the thread Transition and Transference.
What she describes as "between affiliations" or relationships or divorce.....I took the broader term "transition."
My trifecta would be.....1) Transition, 2) Transference and 3) Indoctrination.
We were deceptively, and systematically, indoctrinated into a subculture of cult living.
Their bodies and minds.......let's not forget their wallets and their stuff while he was at it.
vpw wanted retention because he taught a 10% tithe- and pushed it with a mandatory book with pfal ("Christians Should Be Prosperous.") He wanted that 10%.
Then he wanted more- and invented the term "abundant sharing" for giving OVER the 10%.
Then he wanted even MORE. .....
.......
I know, I know........that's why, to me, it seems apparent with each passing year that his narcissism went unchecked and out of control. None of the enablers around him.......Harry, Ermal, Dorothy, Howard, or long-time staffers.......could rein this stuff in. Anyone who stood up to wierwille.....was shown the door.
The only person that I ever heard who really took a stand against wierwille and his encroachment was John Summerv!lle regarding TFI (total fitness institute). When wierwille wanted to implement certain policies there in California and John S. wouldn't allow it. Wierwille fumed. From what I remember from DWBH's post.......wierwille didn't like it one bit. And, within short order replaced TFI with L.E.A.D. in Tinnie, New Mexico.
The doctrines AND practices kept amplifying every year........especially in the corps indoctrination program.
Staffers and corps were subservient to his pleasures. When he wanted music......he summoned the musicians to perform on a Saturday night. When he wanted his favorite German dish served at lunch......the order was given. The unbridled adulation swirled around the mystique of the man......
I know, I know........that's why, to me, it seems apparent with each passing year that his narcissism went unchecked and out of control. None of the enablers around him.......Harry, Ermal, Dorothy, Howard, or long-time staffers.......could rein this stuff in. Anyone who stood up to wierwille.....was shown the door.
The only person that I ever heard who really took a stand against wierwille and his encroachment was John Summerv!lle regarding TFI (total fitness institute). When wierwille wanted to implement certain policies there in California and John S. wouldn't allow it. Wierwille fumed. From what I remember from DWBH's post.......wierwille didn't like it one bit. And, within short order replaced TFI with L.E.A.D. in Tinnie, New Mexico.
The doctrines AND practices kept amplifying every year........especially in the corps indoctrination program.
Staffers and corps were subservient to his pleasures. When he wanted music......he summoned the musicians to perform on a Saturday night. When he wanted his favorite German dish served at lunch......the order was given. The unbridled adulation swirled around the mystique of the man......
And when he wanted a bit of novelty and variety in sowing his seed, he got that too.
Btw, did anyone mention, in this thread, how ALL of the subjugation tactics/strategy (i.e. threatening to kick the entire corps out of the ministry... or actually ending the program for the ZERO corpse) was tied directly into the primal human social need for belonging?
Our need to belong is what drives us to seek out stable, long-lasting relationships with other people. It also motivates us to participate in social activities such as clubs, sports teams, religious groups, and community organizations.
In Abraham Maslow'shierarchy of needs, belongingness is part of one of his major needs that motivate human behavior. The hierarchy is usually portrayed as a pyramid, with more basic needs at the base and more complex needs near the peak. The need for love and belonging lie at the center of the pyramid as part of the social needs.
While Maslow suggested that these needs were less important than the physiological and safety needs, he believed that the need for belonging helped people to experience companionship and acceptance through family, friends, and other relationships.
*****
So, with Wierwille understanding (it was NO accident that he did any of that crap) the social issues, and the importance of these human needs, it's no wonder he used them to subjugate people to his whims.
I know, I know........that's why, to me, it seems apparent with each passing year that his narcissism went unchecked and out of control. None of the enablers around him.......Harry, Ermal, Dorothy, Howard, or long-time staffers.......could rein this stuff in. Anyone who stood up to wierwille.....was shown the door.
The only person that I ever heard who really took a stand against wierwille and his encroachment was John Summerv!lle regarding TFI (total fitness institute). When wierwille wanted to implement certain policies there in California and John S. wouldn't allow it. Wierwille fumed. From what I remember from DWBH's post.......wierwille didn't like it one bit. And, within short order replaced TFI with L.E.A.D. in Tinnie, New Mexico.
The doctrines AND practices kept amplifying every year........especially in the corps indoctrination program.
Staffers and corps were subservient to his pleasures. When he wanted music......he summoned the musicians to perform on a Saturday night. When he wanted his favorite German dish served at lunch......the order was given. The unbridled adulation swirled around the mystique of the man......
It's interesting to me how vpw switched twi from TFI- which was safe- to the in-house LEAD program that put people in physical danger and people came out of it thankful to be alive sometimes, and badly hurt some other times. A nice class-action suit could have been leveled at twi for failing its fiduciary responsibilities and endangering participants. But for vpw, having total control over the thing was more important that injuries or even a body count. He also poo-poo'ed complaints of women who got raped when LEAD forced them to hitch-hike. He said they could have gotten raped anywhere- which is a scary response to having your program put women in situations that facilitated their assaults and rapes.
hi watered garden!...........and skyrider!.....and all!!!
john som---ille has a phd in physical education......he has been married to mary wie===lle for over 30 years now.......he is a high ranking officer in the usmc reserves, (if he is not yet retired from the reserves).......he was an assistant to woody hayes at ohio state university when woody was the head football coach there......his brother tim and john started the way's "work" in north carolina at ecu.......john is a viet nam veteran......vic used to tell us that john volunteered for duty in viet nam in order to prove that the revelation and power manifestations are real and work as vic taught them to wayfers in the advanced class.....john is a decorated officer for his outstanding military service in viet nam, as well as numerous other outstanding achievements in the marine corps......he has also worked in an advisory capacity with the idf.....israeli defense forces....in israel.....work for which he was recognized again by the u.s. military, as well as the idf.......i first met john in 1972 when several of us way east branch coordinators were invited to hq by vic after the firing of steve heefner during the ac in rye, ny in april of 72...........to see vic's "heart" and the "heart of the ministry" so's we would stick with twi and not "run off" with heefner and others after the "not so subtle" power play by twi in it's complete takeover of the way east..........at that time, john was in charge of "college outreach" for twi and was the man who designed the physical trainng program that was part of the corps training back then...........he was definitely a "man's man" during the entire time that i knew him back then.......absolutely respected by us corps "kids" and, generally respected throughout the ministry as far as i could tell............he also coordinated twi's original holy land tours.......and led several of them with great success and excitement back in the early 70's.........my personal experiences with john were always positive and i held in him in high regard, as i do to this day....although my last personal contact with him was back in the late 70's......
john was his own man.......during my first year in da corps (the way corps, that is)....we took his class on old testament history.....which was excellent btw......and i began to see the first glimpses of his conflict with vic..........glimpses that became less and less private as that year unfolded..........he had a "knack" for really pizzing vic off with his unflinching honesty and "sarcastic" humor in the face of some really intense "facemeltings" directed at him by vic, both pubicly and privately!!.........vic would criticize john publicly about something he would teach or say during the old t class, and john would throw it right back at vic.......it was great to observe!!!!..........vic often publicly ranted about john's "ego problem" with vic..........and i mean rant!!.....you know, that purple-faced, neck-vein popping kinda rant that only vic could perform!!.........made the dancing prez look like a mickey mouse version of ranting!!..........my take on these rants??.......vic was deeply jealous of john's obvious intelligence and the real achievements of john academically, as a true military "hero", and at his refusal to compromise his own integrity as a "man's man" in the face of the vicious verbal assaults and personal attacks from his father-in-law!!..........he was jealous of john because john was real, not just a pompous phoney like his father-in-law!.....vic feared john, because, in spite of vic's best shots, vic could not break his son-in-law!!...i had several profound, personal conversations with john about my observations of his relationship with vic.......honest, probing and quite revealing conversations for which i am still grateful today to john for engaging in with me.........
in 1974, john left hq and set up the total fitness instiute (tfi) in north fork, ca with the financial assistance of j--n s. l--n and the "blessing" of vic..........tfi was to become the real testing and training ground for the way corps folks.........the experience which would really show vic who his toughest future leaders and workers would be..........it was also open to public sessions which were like twi's version of outward bound, and it rapidly gained a popularity among the corps and non-corps attendees as a real test of a believer's mettle when it came to operating all-9-all-the- time..........it was the precursor to LEAD, which was the vic perverted and controlled version of what john had in mind for tfi!.........it was during the tfi sessions of the spring of 1975 that vic first "ordered" john do the pow camp thingy...... i was on the field in my interim year corps assignment (we were the first corps to have one).......and my lc was one of the attendees at the tfi session where martindale and other "top" corps leaders were given the pow treatment..........they were exposed to the illuminati tapes by myron cohen, and the tapes on music by the marx fella, etc.......they were tied together at points, kept locked up in heavy cardboard boxes which were pounded on from the outside all night, sleep deprived, exposed to heavy-handed interrogation techniques, blaringly loud tapes and music, told that the usa had been invaded and taken over by the russians, and, that they would be broken from standing on the word.........it was a very real experience of what a pow camp might have been like if those circumstances regarding the fall of the usa had been true..........martindale was not the "only survivor" of this pow camp passionplay..........he started an "escape attempt" type of maneuver during which he caused the "deaths" of most of his fellow "prisoners" by his feeble attempt at being the hero/leader........a maneuver for which he was roundly criticized in his final tfi evaluation which was written by john som---ille on each of the participants..........there were several participants who were indeed "broken" during this experiment.......and their "reward" was humiliation in front of the corps and they were never really "trusted" again with choice leadership assignments because of their proven weakness in the face of the enemy!!!...........the participants were sworn to secrecy.....so that the pow experiments could continue unhindered during future tfi sessions..........but, as you can tell from the amount of info i gathered from my lc upon his return, the secret got out fast.........but the pow experiments continued through the tfi session of that spring and summer until october, 1975..........when there were some serious physical and psycho-emotional injuries that occurred during tfi...........all of which, vic blamed on the "total lack of believing" on the part of those "injured"............i did my tfi trip in november, 1975..........and although several of the pow situations were thrown at us.....the pow scenario itself had been watered down so as to avoid any further injuries.........
the tfi experience for the in-rez corps involved the following "rules"..........each tfi group was to hitch-hike to and from north fork in "couples", that is, you chose your travelling partner from among the group........we were encouraged not to choose our spouses, but my spouse was under 20 at the time so i refused to let her go with anyone else..........each person was given a $20 bill so as not to get busted for vagrancy if stopped or questioned by state or local police while hitch-hiking.........it was made plain that if you did not arrive at north fork with the entire $20 you would be immediatley turned back to hitch-hike home.......or, if you made it back without the $20 intact you would receive a failing final evaluation.........you were allotted 72 hours maximum to make the trip each way.......if you took more than 72 hours to get there, you were again immediately turned back to hitch-hike home, refused participation in the tfi program......if you took more than 72 hours to get back home, you again were giving a failing final evaluation.........my wife and i were dropped off at a truck stop near I-75 and it's juncture with I-70 at about 6pm and we then had 72 hours to make our way to north fork, ca........by hook or by crook...........we made it in 70 hours.........no sleep, no stopping, both our $20 bills in pocket!!...........i remember how sad i felt for the unfortunate few who took longer than 72 hours to get there........i literally cried as i watched them turned around after their grueling trip out to ca, no food, no rest.......just a facemelting phone call from vic telling them they flunked and that they better make it home on time or they'd be kicked out of the corps!!..........i watched 6 people have to go through that bs!............
before i left for tfi, i was called to vic's office for a "meetring" with him.........we sat out on the porch by his office, smoking a couple of cigarrettes..........vic asked me to keep our conversation "confidential".........he said that he knew that i had become "close" to john som---ille, during my first year in-rez........he said he knew that i could "talk with john "man-to-man"..........he said that john's "unbridled ego" was going to ruin tfi.........he just was not "seeing" what father wanted vic to do with tfi.......he said john was once again "fighting him" (vic) on the "guidance" god was providing........and he asked me to try to talk with john about his "ego problem" with his father-in-law, hoping that maybe i could "get through to him"..............so, on a cliff overhanging the sierra nevada mountains, having just successfully scaled jackass rock, with only john and jack wilson with me (i had been "banned" from the group assault on jackass rock the day before for taking an "unauthorized picture" of two lindas relieving their bladders behind a log while we were all tied together by a single rope for the day's hike to the foot of jackass rock.........lol!).........while jack was busy preparing for the descent, i had my "man-to-man" talk with john..........one of the greatest conversations i ever had with any wayfer in my life, brutally honest, refreshingly quiet in tone with mutual respect........needless to say,.....i never really "got through" to john about his "ego problem" with his father-in-law!!..........by the end of my first question and his respnse, i saw there was absolutely no need for me to..........there was not a thing wrong with john's ego..........the problems were with the ego of his father-in-law!!!...........
soooo,...........what's my point???...............the entire confrontation session you poor FLO folks had with that guy who probably lived in a van down by the olentangy river was just another perverted distortion of what had been a good idea of john som---ille's that was perverted, twisted, and morphed into another psychosocial torture mechanism designed by vic to break down and control the most willing and faithful followers of his way in ohio..........arranged by a lc who was as afraid of the whole thing as you were, but who was more afraid of what his "father-in-the-word" would do or say if he did'nt carry out his orders!!............i hope your "facilitator" was not bill m--ze.........but it very well could have been..........bill was a terrific dale carnegie isnstructor whom vic "took under his wing" and also eventually destroyed what started out as a unique and valuable service to the corps........bill was tied to vic all the way back to the chimes hour youth caravan daze........he was almost like an "adopted son" of vic's,.......and we all know too well what that can do to a man!............ sorry for the length of this post.......but the memories sometimes come in waves..........................peace.
Reading back thru that thread "Face Meltings" where DWBH posted........adds a whole 'nother dimension to subjugating.
Whether it was the corps program or fellow laborers......ISOLATED from public view brought out their "training methods."
Face Meltings
Threats to kick everyone out
Prisoner of War (pow) tactics
Verbal Onslaughts and Scream Sessions
Sleep Deprivation
Taunting, Mocking, Public Humiliation
Break You Down.....Eliminate Individual Identity
Group Commitment
Twi is the True Household
If You Ever Leave......Greasespot by Midnight
It just seems to me.....1) The strong, independent ones left early and/or were gone by 1978, 2) The average, committed ones dissented on occasions and tried to right the ship, and 3) The deeply, loyal corps and staff zealots stayed into the 2000's even after martindale was ousted. Splinter leaders who still suck off the teat of wierwille's teachings to this very day are weasels extraordinaire.
Yeah, I wanted to love and help serve God's people.......but did I have to go thru "prisoner of war training camp" to do it? Wierwille ORDERED this???
Break us down......and then, "put us back to together" to run missions? Subservient to their orders?
Reading back thru that thread "Face Meltings" where DWBH posted........adds a whole 'nother dimension to subjugating.
Whether it was the corps program or fellow laborers......ISOLATED from public view brought out their "training methods."
Face Meltings
Threats to kick everyone out
Prisoner of War (pow) tactics
Verbal Onslaughts and Scream Sessions
Sleep Deprivation
Taunting, Mocking, Public Humiliation
Break You Down.....Eliminate Individual Identity
Group Commitment
Twi is the True Household
If You Ever Leave......Greasespot by Midnight
It just seems to me.....1) The strong, independent ones left early and/or were gone by 1978, 2) The average, committed ones dissented on occasions and tried to right the ship, and 3) The deeply, loyal corps and staff zealots stayed into the 2000's even after martindale was ousted. Splinter leaders who still suck off the teat of wierwille's teachings to this very day are weasels extraordinaire.
Yeah, I wanted to love and help serve God's people.......but did I have to go thru "prisoner of war training camp" to do it? Wierwille ORDERED this???
Break us down......and then, "put us back to together" to run missions? Subservient to their orders?
I’m not making this up – (tosses his way corps name-tag on the table) this name-tag is real. And who else would have an empty safe deposit box, only $20 in their pocket and a road-map to Tinnie, New Mexico? Oh I appreciate you buying me breakfast, by the way...Anyway, I come in this diner and the first thing I do is figure out how I can kick everyone out - in case I had to run a class. I can tell you the license plate numbers of the two cars outside that have Way bumper stickers. I recognize that stray dog in the parking lot from an old porn video. I can tell you the waitress is wearing a little gold crucifix and might be a good candidate for the PFAL class and that the 250 pound guy at the counter is a Bible salesman and thinks he knows how to handle “the Word”. I know that the best chance of a ride out of here is in either one of the two cars with Way bumper stickers or that tractor trailer hauling cattle to Hereford, Texas. I know I can go for days without sleep, be subjected to repeated face-meltings and public humiliation, and still do the 4 fifteens and run 5 miles before breakfast. Now why would I know all that?... And why would I remember all that but forget about my personal identity?
I’m not making this up – (tosses his way corps name-tag on the table) this name-tag is real. And who else would have an empty safe deposit box, only $20 in their pocket and a road-map to Tinnie, New Mexico? Oh I appreciate you buying me breakfast, by the way...Anyway, I come in this diner and the first thing I do is figure out how I can kick everyone out - in case I had to run a class. I can tell you the license plate numbers of the two cars outside that have Way bumper stickers. I recognize that stray dog in the parking lot from an old porn video. I can tell you the waitress is wearing a little gold crucifix and might be a good candidate for the PFAL class and that the 250 pound guy at the counter is a Bible salesman and thinks he knows how to handle “the Word”. I know that the best chance of a ride out of here is in either one of the two cars with Way bumper stickers or that tractor trailer hauling cattle to Hereford, Texas. I know I can go for days without sleep, be subjected to repeated face-meltings and public humiliation, and still do the 4 fifteens and run 5 miles before breakfast. Now why would I know all that?... And why would I remember all that but forget about my personal identity?
You've got a gift, T-Bone............that is funny.
john som---ille has a phd in physical education......he has been married to mary wie===lle for over 30 years now.......he is a high ranking officer in the usmc reserves, (if he is not yet retired from the reserves).......he was an assistant to woody hayes at ohio state university when woody was the head football coach there......his brother tim and john started the way's "work" in north carolina at ecu.......john is a viet nam veteran......vic used to tell us that john volunteered for duty in viet nam in order to prove that the revelation and power manifestations are real and work as vic taught them to wayfers in the advanced class.....john is a decorated officer for his outstanding military service in viet nam, as well as numerous other outstanding achievements in the marine corps......he has also worked in an advisory capacity with the idf.....israeli defense forces....in israel.....work for which he was recognized again by the u.s. military, as well as the idf.......i first met john in 1972 when several of us way east branch coordinators were invited to hq by vic after the firing of steve heefner during the ac in rye, ny in april of 72...........to see vic's "heart" and the "heart of the ministry" so's we would stick with twi and not "run off" with heefner and others after the "not so subtle" power play by twi in it's complete takeover of the way east..........at that time, john was in charge of "college outreach" for twi and was the man who designed the physical trainng program that was part of the corps training back then...........he was definitely a "man's man" during the entire time that i knew him back then.......absolutely respected by us corps "kids" and, generally respected throughout the ministry as far as i could tell............he also coordinated twi's original holy land tours.......and led several of them with great success and excitement back in the early 70's.........my personal experiences with john were always positive and i held in him in high regard, as i do to this day....although my last personal contact with him was back in the late 70's......
Hmmm.......where have I seen this cunning craftiness before?
Oh, that's right. When we (my wife and I) drove to Austin and turned in our corps nametags in 1998........THE NEXT MORNING, Tom and Barb Lally drove from Austin, TX to Oklahoma City to meet with all of the Oklahoma corps and advanced class grads. Also, Tom Mullins the limb guy from Arkansas was told to be there as well. More firepower, I guess. LOL. The Lallys and Tom Mullins spent Saturday and Sunday meeting (as a group AND individually) with every corps and advanced class grad to try and dig up dirt on my wife and I. Apparently, they had orders from martindale to look under ever stone and report back. They found NOTHING.
We walked away and wanted to begin rebuilding our lives and ............SO THANKFUL WE DID.
in 1974, john left hq and set up the total fitness instiute (tfi) in north fork, ca with the financial assistance of j--n s. l--n and the "blessing" of vic..........tfi was to become the real testing and training ground for the way corps folks.........the experience which would really show vic who his toughest future leaders and workers would be..........it was also open to public sessions which were like twi's version of outward bound, and it rapidly gained a popularity among the corps and non-corps attendees as a real test of a believer's mettle when it came to operating all-9-all-the- time..........it was the precursor to LEAD, which was the vic perverted and controlled version of what john had in mind for tfi!.........it was during the tfi sessions of the spring of 1975 that vic first "ordered" john do the pow camp thingy...... i was on the field in my interim year corps assignment (we were the first corps to have one).......and my lc was one of the attendees at the tfi session wheremartindale and other "top" corps leaders were given the pow treatment..........they were exposed to the illuminati tapes by myron cohen, and the tapes on music by the marx fella, etc.......they were tied together at points, kept locked up in heavy cardboard boxes which were pounded on from the outside all night, sleep deprived, exposed to heavy-handed interrogation techniques, blaringly loud tapes and music, told that the usa had been invaded and taken over by the russians, and, that they would be broken from standing on the word.........it was a very real experience of what a pow camp might have been like if those circumstances regarding the fall of the usa had been true..........martindale was not the "only survivor" of this pow camp passionplay..........he started an "escape attempt" type of maneuver during which he caused the "deaths" of most of his fellow "prisoners" by his feeble attempt at being the hero/leader........a maneuver for which he was roundly criticized in his final tfi evaluation which was written by john som---ille on each of the participants..........there were several participants who were indeed "broken" during this experiment.......and their "reward" was humiliation in front of the corps and they were never really "trusted" again with choice leadership assignments because of their proven weakness in the face of the enemy!!!...........
Martindale FAILED at the Total Fitness Institute in North Fork, California..........Two HUGE errors.
Martindale failed the hitch-hiking episode. He and my wife (future-wife-to-be) were hitch-hiking to TFI and made it to a truck stop near Oklahoma City. While there, they were scurrying around trying to find another ride. My wife secured a ride and ran to tell Craig.....who said, he too, found a ride. And, as my wife recalls the tale......she remembers Craig saying, "You take your ride and I'll take mine and I'll see you in California." Imagine that! Abandoning your hitch-hiking partner.......no less, leaving a woman to fend for herself.
Martindale tries an "escape attempt" and is roundly criticized in his final tfi evaluation.
But, to me...........the ultimate FAILURE goes to wierwille.
In no way, shape or manner..........was THIS "the way" to train the youth.
in 1974, john left hq and set up the total fitness instiute (tfi) in north fork, ca with the financial assistance of j--n s. l--n and the "blessing" of vic..........tfi was to become the real testing and training ground for the way corps folks.........the experience which would really show vic who his toughest future leaders and workers would be..........it was also open to public sessions which were like twi's version of outward bound, and it rapidly gained a popularity among the corps and non-corps attendees as a real test of a believer's mettle when it came to operating all-9-all-the- time..........it was the precursor to LEAD, which was the vic perverted and controlled version of what john had in mind for tfi!.........it was during the tfi sessions of the spring of 1975 that vic first "ordered" john do the pow camp thingy...... i was on the field in my interim year corps assignment (we were the first corps to have one).......and my lc was one of the attendees at the tfi session wheremartindaleand other "top" corps leaders were given the pow treatment..........they were exposed to the illuminati tapes by myron cohen, and the tapes on music by the marx fella, etc.......they were tied together at points, kept locked up in heavy cardboard boxes which were pounded on from the outside all night, sleep deprived, exposed to heavy-handed interrogation techniques, blaringly loud tapes and music, told that the usa had been invaded and taken over by the russians, and, that they would be broken from standing on the word.........it was a very real experience of what a pow camp might have been like if those circumstances regarding the fall of the usa had been true..........
martindale was not the "only survivor" of this pow camp passionplay..........he started an "escape attempt" type of maneuver during which he caused the "deaths" of most of his fellow "prisoners" by his feeble attempt at being the hero/leader........
a maneuver for which he was roundly criticized in his final tfi evaluationwhich was written by john som---ille on each of the participants..........there were several participants who were indeed "broken" during this experiment.......and their "reward" was humiliation in front of the corps and they were never really "trusted" again with choice leadership assignments because of their proven weakness in the face of the enemy!!!...........
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Skyrider:
Martindale FAILED at the Total Fitness Institute in North Fork, California..........Two HUGE errors.
Martindale failed the hitch-hiking episode. He and my wife (future-wife-to-be) were hitch-hiking to TFI and made it to a truck stop near Oklahoma City. While there, they were scurrying around trying to find another ride. My wife secured a ride and ran to tell Craig.....who said, he too, found a ride. And, as my wife recalls the tale......she remembers Craig saying, "You take your ride and I'll take mine and I'll see you in California." Imagine that! Abandoning your hitch-hiking partner.......no less, leaving a woman to fend for herself.
Martindale tries an "escape attempt" and is roundly criticized in his final tfi evaluation.
But, to me...........the ultimate FAILURE goes to wierwille.
In no way, shape or manner..........was THIS "the way" to train the youth.
But maybe it was a way to train his successor:
Step 1. Find someone who is self-centered and has the potential to believe that way-world revolves around him
Step 2. Determine if the person shows signs of hero syndrome
Step 3. Train up the impressionable youth in the way he should subjugate others and when he takes over the cult he will not depart from it (unless of course there’s some scandalous lawsuit and he gets ousted).
I've been told that many youths traveled by hitchhiking at the time. That doesn't change the fact that it was ILLEGAL to do so. vpw REQUIRED it. His excuses included using it to witness to people, and teaching them to believe. Those are EXCUSES. The real reason, obviously, was that it was a FREE method to get the students places. vpw was perfectly fine with free when possible- even when that put people in physical danger. When people were assaulted from hitchhiking, when they were injured from climbing dangerously at the direction of leaders of the climb, when they were injured traveling to and fro at unsafe speeds because they were required to do so-
it was considered THEIR FAULT because they MAGICALLY FAILED TO BELIEVE AWAY the danger vpw and his programs PUT THEM IN.
Excuses have been made, but those running a program have a legal responsibility (a fiduciary responsibility) to ensure the required parts of their program are as safe as can reasonably be expected. Participants in Christian education programs can REASONABLY expect not to be in danger from rapes, falling off cliffs or losing toes due to frostbite, or car crashes because the required time requires unsafe speeds in an unsafe vehicle not legal to use to transport people.
In twi, each of these things happened, and twi was to be kept clear of blame, and the leadership clear of blame- despite all of those being THEIR FAULT. And when things that HAD HAPPENED were brought to vpw's attention (like rapes), he blew off the reasonable concerns of other women who didn't want to be put in that sort of risk.
And to some people to this day, vpw and others are STILL not to be blamed for requiring practices that put people in danger. One poster has been in physical therapy for DECADES because his LEAD group was required to exceed the legal speed limit, during heavy winds, while most of the group was pulled behind a truck in a MAKESHIFT hitch (professional hitches and actual vehicles with seat-belts cost MONEY, you know, so, can't use those), and when one of the heavy crosswinds hit the trailer hitch, the entire rig flipped over.
For those not paying attention....
-They were required to exceed the legal speed limit.
-They were required to squeeze in Corps evaluations WHILE DRIVING.
-They were required to drive in heavy winds WHILE above the speed limit.
-They were required to travel- not in a vehicle with seat- belts, air bags, or anything else- but rather stuffed in a trailer hitch put together by twi people.
All of that led to the vehicle and trailer flipping over in heavy winds, causing long-term injuries to the passengers in the truck and the trailer, requiring DECADES of physical therapy. I've been told not to blame vpw or twi for any of those REQUIREMENTS being the DIRECT CAUSE or CONTRIBUTING FACTOR to the actual crash. I think anyone who still thinks that could probably use some professional help.
His excuses included using it to witness to people, and teaching them to believe. Those are EXCUSES. The real reason, obviously, was that it was a FREE method to get the students places. vpw was perfectly fine with free when possible- even when that put people in physical danger.
Aka rationalizations.
I'm confident Skyrider will remember when one 7th corpse guy got struck and killed on a highway while hitchhiking during the 9th corpse's first year in residence.
I'm confident Skyrider will remember when one 7th corpse guy got struck and killed on a highway while hitchhiking during the 9th corpse's first year in residence.
Ken Barden.......7th Corps, struck and killed on a highway while hitchhiking to complete his mandatory L.E.A.D. experience and evaluation.
The day Ken died.........should have been the last day of the L.E.A.D. [Leadership, Education, Adventure, Direction].
Leadership?.......dropped off in the dark, the early wee hours of the morning and coerced to hitchhike to reach destination
Education?.........hiking with heavy backpack and climbing rocks in all types of weather. Confrontation and manipulation.
Adventure?.........extreme weather causing frostbite. Injuries. Lack of safety protocols. Unqualified peers leading peers.
Direction?...........the determination to complete twi's mandatory LEAD experience or die trying. Ken died.
L.E.A.D. was an edgy experiment/program that instilled trepidation, trauma, fear and obedience.
Establish program as the final grade/evaluation of corps graduation
Use the successes and failures to engender competitive measures in ranks
Castigate all failures as "not believing God"......
Ignore dangers of hitchhiking......rape, abduction, death
The questions that always ran thru my mind were......Is hitchhiking and climbing rocks NEEDED to learn to "believe God?" Why doesn't wierwille, publically and individually, lead the corps into "hands on" ministering healing? Or, walking by revelation? Why have I NOT seen wierwille (ever) perform any of the revelation or power manifestations? Is there a subterfuge agenda to this LEAD program? Why are corps not openly told beforehand that this LEAD evaluation is pivotal to graduation from the corps program?
Sure, healthy young jocks didn't have a problem with heavy backpacks or enduring hours in freezing temperatures.......but many did. Foot, ankle and back injuries were common for many returning from LEAD. All in all.....it just seemed like an exercise of obedience and tolerance.
Wierwille never went LEAD......or put himself in subservience of others.
Martindale failed his TFI experience and evaluation.
Ken Barden.......7th Corps, struck and killed on a highway while hitchhiking to complete his mandatory L.E.A.D. experience and evaluation.
The day Ken died.........should have been the last day of the L.E.A.D. [Leadership, Education, Adventure, Direction].
Leadership?.......dropped off in the dark, the early wee hours of the morning and coerced to hitchhike to reach destination
Education?.........hiking with heavy backpack and climbing rocks in all types of weather. Confrontation and manipulation.
Adventure?.........extreme weather causing frostbite. Injuries. Lack of safety protocols. Unqualified peers leading peers.
Direction?...........the determination to complete twi's mandatory LEAD experience or die trying. Ken died.
Unqualified peers leading peers........was a pillar in twi's corps program. Work projects. LEAD captains. MAL-pak survival. Gun-safety courses. Some corps took these "autocrat responsibilities" to levels of confrontation and/or bullying. Clearly, some of these gung-ho peers......became future corps coordinators and now, splinter group leaders!!!
Some people relish having power over others......and the corps program was no exception. I can't begin to tell you how many "elder corps" were given responsibility over me who didn't have a lick of common sense. They just obeyed and barked orders. And, a few years later......many of them split.
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T-Bone
…Skyrider, your comments about subjugation and corps grads needing to have a splinter group leader over their decisions got me thinking about the attachment theory…
Subjugate is the old divide-and-conquer strategy…The interview article below describes the “trifecta of terror, love, and brainwashing as key to cult behavior”:
“People come into cults through a variety of pathways and bring with them a variety of personality types. In addition, many are born into cults. But the one thing that seems to be supported by research is that new followers are more easily recruited when they are at a normal life “blip,” as Margaret Singer put it—if one is between affiliations, such as moving house, going to university, getting married or divorced or breaking up a relationship, experiencing bereavement. A person embarking on such changes may be looking for a new relationship, hobby, religious affiliation, or even a new gym (yes, there are many fitness-based cults). And all such changes can expose a person to a recruitment attempt.
But in my view, the main vulnerability factor is ignorance. A person lacking knowledge of how cults target and recruit people and the mechanisms they use to entrap people may not be able to identify a coercion attempt when targeted."
You identify a trifecta of terror, love, and brainwashing as key to cult behavior. Can you explain the intersection of the three?
“The same dynamic that occurs in domestic violence also applies to cults. First a person is lured to group or person who seemingly shares their interests and concerns. They may then be subject to a kind of love-bombing, given extreme amounts of attention, which can feel flattering and seem the sign of having found a safe place. Then begins an attempt to isolate the person from friends and family. The potential recruit becomes engulfed in a new system and out of touch with their old, known network.
That paves the way for the group to engage in “terror” tactics, arousing a sense of threat, whether it’s fear of the apocalypse, fear of being criticized, fear of the outside world, or some other group-specific fear. I believe attachment theory provides a good theoretical approach for understanding brainwashing, and it holds that people run to a safe haven when they are afraid. If the group has been successful, the recruit, now having had fear instilled by the group, runs to the only safe haven available—the group itself."
What are the consequences?
"There are two effects of running to the group. First, it creates a disorganized attachment bond, what Judith Herman described as a trauma bond in her book, Trauma and Recovery. It is strong bond that is difficult to break so long as the person remains isolated from alternate safe havens. Emotional and cognitive isolation are key, not necessarily physical isolation. Cults isolate followers by controlling their personal relationships and by restricting information sources to the cult.
Second, the disorganized attachment, characterized by running to the source of fear, causes dissociation. Running to the source of fear obviously doesn’t provide escape from the threat. Because it is a maladaptive way of coping with threat, the person goes into a “freeze” mode and is unable to think clearly about what is happening. This explains why perfectly intelligent people can find themselves unable to rationally view a cult they are involved with. It is literally too frightening and disorganizing to do so. The lack of alternate information and true havens undermine a follower’s cognitive processes on matters regarding the group. The cult can now do the thinking for them—the essence of brainwashing.”
from Psychology Today
Edited by T-Bonesome helpful formatting
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WordWolf
Their bodies and minds.......let's not forget their wallets and their stuff while he was at it.
vpw wanted retention because he taught a 10% tithe- and pushed it with a mandatory book with pfal ("Christians Should Be Prosperous.") He wanted that 10%.
Then he wanted more- and invented the term "abundant sharing" for giving OVER the 10%.
Then he wanted even MORE. He taught that people should figure out what they needed to live on, and the rest they should.....invest? Plan for the future? NO- they should give that to twi! He invented the term "plurality giving". Ever heard of a group other than twi/ex-twi who ever taught that, by any name? I haven't.
Oh, and twi was supposed to skimp on buying anything for the group and make due with used furniture and stuff. This policy stopped suddenly when it came to things vpw wanted. Those things were supposed to be top-notch. AND vpw considered them HIS property and not, as they legally were- MINISTRY property. So, some of the ministry stuff was earmarked for his personal use, and he considered it HIS although it was all paid for and maintained on the twi dime.
Oh, and if he visited your area, someone was supposed to go buy him bottleS (plural) of booze. And before he left, they passed the hat around and handed him a bag of nice, untraceable money- any guesses where they got the idea to do that?
As for their bodies, yes, join twi programs, do manual labor and PAY FOR THE PRIVILEGE. He didn't get FREE labor- he got labor that paid to be there! I have to admire the chutzpah that took. And look forward to him getting his due for every last bit of exploitation (the worst of which I didn't mention.)
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skyrider
Thanks, T-Bone.
This article made me think of something that I posted back in December 2007. In my attempts to unravel the cult indoctrination, I started looking back at what attracted me to twi in the first place.......I posted the thread Transition and Transference.
What she describes as "between affiliations" or relationships or divorce.....I took the broader term "transition."
My trifecta would be.....1) Transition, 2) Transference and 3) Indoctrination.
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skyrider
I know, I know........that's why, to me, it seems apparent with each passing year that his narcissism went unchecked and out of control. None of the enablers around him.......Harry, Ermal, Dorothy, Howard, or long-time staffers.......could rein this stuff in. Anyone who stood up to wierwille.....was shown the door.
The only person that I ever heard who really took a stand against wierwille and his encroachment was John Summerv!lle regarding TFI (total fitness institute). When wierwille wanted to implement certain policies there in California and John S. wouldn't allow it. Wierwille fumed. From what I remember from DWBH's post.......wierwille didn't like it one bit. And, within short order replaced TFI with L.E.A.D. in Tinnie, New Mexico.
The doctrines AND practices kept amplifying every year........especially in the corps indoctrination program.
Staffers and corps were subservient to his pleasures. When he wanted music......he summoned the musicians to perform on a Saturday night. When he wanted his favorite German dish served at lunch......the order was given. The unbridled adulation swirled around the mystique of the man......
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Rocky
And when he wanted a bit of novelty and variety in sowing his seed, he got that too.
Btw, did anyone mention, in this thread, how ALL of the subjugation tactics/strategy (i.e. threatening to kick the entire corps out of the ministry... or actually ending the program for the ZERO corpse) was tied directly into the primal human social need for belonging?
Our need to belong is what drives us to seek out stable, long-lasting relationships with other people. It also motivates us to participate in social activities such as clubs, sports teams, religious groups, and community organizations.
In Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, belongingness is part of one of his major needs that motivate human behavior. The hierarchy is usually portrayed as a pyramid, with more basic needs at the base and more complex needs near the peak. The need for love and belonging lie at the center of the pyramid as part of the social needs.
While Maslow suggested that these needs were less important than the physiological and safety needs, he believed that the need for belonging helped people to experience companionship and acceptance through family, friends, and other relationships.
*****
So, with Wierwille understanding (it was NO accident that he did any of that crap) the social issues, and the importance of these human needs, it's no wonder he used them to subjugate people to his whims.
Was there anything noble about TWI?
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WordWolf
It's interesting to me how vpw switched twi from TFI- which was safe- to the in-house LEAD program that put people in physical danger and people came out of it thankful to be alive sometimes, and badly hurt some other times. A nice class-action suit could have been leveled at twi for failing its fiduciary responsibilities and endangering participants. But for vpw, having total control over the thing was more important that injuries or even a body count. He also poo-poo'ed complaints of women who got raped when LEAD forced them to hitch-hike. He said they could have gotten raped anywhere- which is a scary response to having your program put women in situations that facilitated their assaults and rapes.
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skyrider
Here is one of DWBH's posts on John Summerville and TFI......
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skyrider
Reading back thru that thread "Face Meltings" where DWBH posted........adds a whole 'nother dimension to subjugating.
Whether it was the corps program or fellow laborers......ISOLATED from public view brought out their "training methods."
It just seems to me.....1) The strong, independent ones left early and/or were gone by 1978, 2) The average, committed ones dissented on occasions and tried to right the ship, and 3) The deeply, loyal corps and staff zealots stayed into the 2000's even after martindale was ousted. Splinter leaders who still suck off the teat of wierwille's teachings to this very day are weasels extraordinaire.
Yeah, I wanted to love and help serve God's people.......but did I have to go thru "prisoner of war training camp" to do it? Wierwille ORDERED this???
Break us down......and then, "put us back to together" to run missions? Subservient to their orders?
Sounds like the Identity of a Jason Bourne.
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T-Bone
From The Bourne Identity - here is the scene of Jason talking to Marie in the diner – screenplay rewritten as Jason on his way to L.E.A.D.
I’m not making this up – (tosses his way corps name-tag on the table) this name-tag is real. And who else would have an empty safe deposit box, only $20 in their pocket and a road-map to Tinnie, New Mexico? Oh I appreciate you buying me breakfast, by the way...Anyway, I come in this diner and the first thing I do is figure out how I can kick everyone out - in case I had to run a class. I can tell you the license plate numbers of the two cars outside that have Way bumper stickers. I recognize that stray dog in the parking lot from an old porn video. I can tell you the waitress is wearing a little gold crucifix and might be a good candidate for the PFAL class and that the 250 pound guy at the counter is a Bible salesman and thinks he knows how to handle “the Word”. I know that the best chance of a ride out of here is in either one of the two cars with Way bumper stickers or that tractor trailer hauling cattle to Hereford, Texas. I know I can go for days without sleep, be subjected to repeated face-meltings and public humiliation, and still do the 4 fifteens and run 5 miles before breakfast. Now why would I know all that?... And why would I remember all that but forget about my personal identity?
Edited by T-BoneThe Revision Rebourne
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skyrider
You've got a gift, T-Bone............that is funny.
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skyrider
Hmmm.......where have I seen this cunning craftiness before?
Oh, that's right. When we (my wife and I) drove to Austin and turned in our corps nametags in 1998........THE NEXT MORNING, Tom and Barb Lally drove from Austin, TX to Oklahoma City to meet with all of the Oklahoma corps and advanced class grads. Also, Tom Mullins the limb guy from Arkansas was told to be there as well. More firepower, I guess. LOL. The Lallys and Tom Mullins spent Saturday and Sunday meeting (as a group AND individually) with every corps and advanced class grad to try and dig up dirt on my wife and I. Apparently, they had orders from martindale to look under ever stone and report back. They found NOTHING.
We walked away and wanted to begin rebuilding our lives and ............SO THANKFUL WE DID.
.
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skyrider
Sure love those DWBH posts. Nobody laid it out there like him.
Miss seeing you here at the Spot.
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Rocky
And I'm glad you did expose them.
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skyrider
Wierwille ordered these corps training methods......and corps coordinators followed commands.
Corps coordinators were the most complicit underlings in ALL of twi..........Wrenn, Lynn, Moneyhands, Fort, Horney, Magnelli, etc.
Many splinter groups have been spearheaded by corps coordinators. Imagine that!
Can a leopard change his spots?
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skyrider
No wonder......Lynn was easily persuaded and became a facilitator of Momentus.
Taunting, mocking, public humiliation, peer pressure, confined to respond........a pre-planned verbal onslaught.
Jerks, hypocrites, weasels.........
And, people to this day.......follow them?
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skyrider
Martindale FAILED at the Total Fitness Institute in North Fork, California..........Two HUGE errors.
But, to me...........the ultimate FAILURE goes to wierwille.
In no way, shape or manner..........was THIS "the way" to train the youth.
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T-Bone
But maybe it was a way to train his successor:
Step 1. Find someone who is self-centered and has the potential to believe that way-world revolves around him
Step 2. Determine if the person shows signs of hero syndrome
Step 3. Train up the impressionable youth in the way he should subjugate others and when he takes over the cult he will not depart from it (unless of course there’s some scandalous lawsuit and he gets ousted).
Edited by T-Boneformatting and typos
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WordWolf
I've been told that many youths traveled by hitchhiking at the time. That doesn't change the fact that it was ILLEGAL to do so. vpw REQUIRED it. His excuses included using it to witness to people, and teaching them to believe. Those are EXCUSES. The real reason, obviously, was that it was a FREE method to get the students places. vpw was perfectly fine with free when possible- even when that put people in physical danger. When people were assaulted from hitchhiking, when they were injured from climbing dangerously at the direction of leaders of the climb, when they were injured traveling to and fro at unsafe speeds because they were required to do so-
it was considered THEIR FAULT because they MAGICALLY FAILED TO BELIEVE AWAY the danger vpw and his programs PUT THEM IN.
Excuses have been made, but those running a program have a legal responsibility (a fiduciary responsibility) to ensure the required parts of their program are as safe as can reasonably be expected. Participants in Christian education programs can REASONABLY expect not to be in danger from rapes, falling off cliffs or losing toes due to frostbite, or car crashes because the required time requires unsafe speeds in an unsafe vehicle not legal to use to transport people.
In twi, each of these things happened, and twi was to be kept clear of blame, and the leadership clear of blame- despite all of those being THEIR FAULT. And when things that HAD HAPPENED were brought to vpw's attention (like rapes), he blew off the reasonable concerns of other women who didn't want to be put in that sort of risk.
And to some people to this day, vpw and others are STILL not to be blamed for requiring practices that put people in danger. One poster has been in physical therapy for DECADES because his LEAD group was required to exceed the legal speed limit, during heavy winds, while most of the group was pulled behind a truck in a MAKESHIFT hitch (professional hitches and actual vehicles with seat-belts cost MONEY, you know, so, can't use those), and when one of the heavy crosswinds hit the trailer hitch, the entire rig flipped over.
For those not paying attention....
-They were required to exceed the legal speed limit.
-They were required to squeeze in Corps evaluations WHILE DRIVING.
-They were required to drive in heavy winds WHILE above the speed limit.
-They were required to travel- not in a vehicle with seat- belts, air bags, or anything else- but rather stuffed in a trailer hitch put together by twi people.
All of that led to the vehicle and trailer flipping over in heavy winds, causing long-term injuries to the passengers in the truck and the trailer, requiring DECADES of physical therapy. I've been told not to blame vpw or twi for any of those REQUIREMENTS being the DIRECT CAUSE or CONTRIBUTING FACTOR to the actual crash. I think anyone who still thinks that could probably use some professional help.
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Rocky
Aka rationalizations.
I'm confident Skyrider will remember when one 7th corpse guy got struck and killed on a highway while hitchhiking during the 9th corpse's first year in residence.
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skyrider
Ken Barden.......7th Corps, struck and killed on a highway while hitchhiking to complete his mandatory L.E.A.D. experience and evaluation.
The day Ken died.........should have been the last day of the L.E.A.D. [Leadership, Education, Adventure, Direction].
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skyrider
L.E.A.D. was an edgy experiment/program that instilled trepidation, trauma, fear and obedience.
The questions that always ran thru my mind were......Is hitchhiking and climbing rocks NEEDED to learn to "believe God?" Why doesn't wierwille, publically and individually, lead the corps into "hands on" ministering healing? Or, walking by revelation? Why have I NOT seen wierwille (ever) perform any of the revelation or power manifestations? Is there a subterfuge agenda to this LEAD program? Why are corps not openly told beforehand that this LEAD evaluation is pivotal to graduation from the corps program?
Sure, healthy young jocks didn't have a problem with heavy backpacks or enduring hours in freezing temperatures.......but many did. Foot, ankle and back injuries were common for many returning from LEAD. All in all.....it just seemed like an exercise of obedience and tolerance.
Wierwille never went LEAD......or put himself in subservience of others.
Martindale failed his TFI experience and evaluation.
Did Rosalie ever go LEAD?
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waysider
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skyrider
Unqualified peers leading peers........was a pillar in twi's corps program. Work projects. LEAD captains. MAL-pak survival. Gun-safety courses. Some corps took these "autocrat responsibilities" to levels of confrontation and/or bullying. Clearly, some of these gung-ho peers......became future corps coordinators and now, splinter group leaders!!!
Some people relish having power over others......and the corps program was no exception. I can't begin to tell you how many "elder corps" were given responsibility over me who didn't have a lick of common sense. They just obeyed and barked orders. And, a few years later......many of them split.
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Rocky
Thanks, I wasn't remembering Ken's name. And yes, that would have been a good day to suspend operation of LEAD.
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