Angie, I am so sorry. I can relate to the feeling of bitterness, and I worry that it is so much a part of me it will never go away. Just think about your little man and how unbroken he is, that sometimes helps me.

Most people who start "cults" are not consciously starting them. I came to my "family" at the age of 18. Granted, I was a kid, but the group I first came to did not yet fit the definition of cult. It was mostly a group of new age idealists who truly believed they had tapped into a voice of God through the mediumship of my mother in-law . My inlaws were definitely living a different lifestyle but they were more idealists than destructive. As the group grew larger, the pressures grew. I believe my inlaws were in over their heads and due to their own human weaknesses the group devolved into something else. Issues of narcissism, alcoholism, control, money, and power become all consuming. At some point things started become more and more destructive because their ways of controlling things were very motivated to keep what was essentially their business running. In other words they were running a ponzi scheme and had to keep new members coming to help pay for their lifestyle, while we were consistently forced to sacrifice everything (they even did this to their own kids!). This happened over a period of 20 years. It was somewhat imperceptible to those of us who were there. I could only feel myself becoming more and more miserable but I didn't understand why. Of course I blamed myself. The "teaching" as it is called by them is really just a lot of negative thinking and if you go to far into it you pretty much start thinking you should just be dead ( I almost went there).
But I don't say any of this to excuse the leaders of this group or any other. They are responsible for their abuse of power and what they have done to others. I only think it is interesting in terms of the sociological aspect.

Most people who start "cults" are not consciously starting them. I came to my "family" at the age of 18. Granted, I was a kid, but the group I first came to did not yet fit the definition of cult. It was mostly a group of new age idealists who truly believed they had tapped into a voice of God through the mediumship of my mother in-law . My inlaws were definitely living a different lifestyle but they were more idealists than destructive. As the group grew larger, the pressures grew. I believe my inlaws were in over their heads and due to their own human weaknesses the group devolved into something else. Issues of narcissism, alcoholism, control, money, and power become all consuming. At some point things started become more and more destructive because their ways of controlling things were very motivated to keep what was essentially their business running. In other words they were running a ponzi scheme and had to keep new members coming to help pay for their lifestyle, while we were consistently forced to sacrifice everything (they even did this to their own kids!). This happened over a period of 20 years. It was somewhat imperceptible to those of us who were there. I could only feel myself becoming more and more miserable but I didn't understand why. Of course I blamed myself. The "teaching" as it is called by them is really just a lot of negative thinking and if you go to far into it you pretty much start thinking you should just be dead ( I almost went there).
The word cult didn't enter my thinking until about 10 years ago when lawsuits began popping up and the local community began to vocalize concerns about our "group". Even then I was defensive, it even became a running joke amongst us. But I slowly started to tune in and I began to look at things very differently. As I watched I could see the manipulation and control and everything came undone for me.
That however does not excuse the behavior of the leaders.

Angie I hope to be able to someday stir some shit up too. Blood families are so incredibly difficult to deal with around this stuff. No matter what you do, it seems to be a lose-lose situation. I think your letter may be too nice, but I also know the that if you come across harsh they just blame it on your "atheistic ways".

Thanks Angie. Very interesting story.
Given my own experience, I think it is interesting to watch other peoples' reactions to the cult concept. People have a thought that cults are a separate reality, but I think they grow organically, out of basic human dynamics. Every family is essentially a "cult". Children are raised with a set of rules to live by, they are taught a specific dogma, and there are rules of engagement. I think every human spends part of their life exploring and comparing their thoughts to the rest of humanity. Humans have an evolutionary need to belong to a group and group dynamics usually require a leader. Every human being wants to belong to the "best" group. The more I hear stories like Angie's and my own, the more I realize that destructive cults are just examples of human dynamics to the extreme. We are all susceptible to falling in to that hole.

You guys may be done with this conversation but I am new so I will just post late.

Beyond the technicalities of how anarchy might work vs. a societal model, It seems there is a basic point.

Any way you look at it, Anarchy has to be a step backward in the evolutionary timeline. Our genes have one basic purpose, to reproduce. Humankind has never succeeded in reproducing as well as it does now, after the formation of societies and governments. Government and state is our next evolutionary step, it is how we we will survive. With that being said we will have to tweek the balances within those formations in order to continue.

Sean you mention needing organizers, by organizers do you mean leaders? I see the problem with governments being the leaders(and a few moron citizens here and there). The Human genes that push us towards our own self interest are constantly at odds with the needs of a group (power always corrupts). We always seem to need/want a leader but it inevitably becomes our downfall. I wonder how we will overcome this.