LESSONS IN LOGIC: The ‘Pro-Vaccination’ Crowed Is A Cult

Before you bail on this post, please, hear me out. I am well aware that the title of this post is loaded with emotional language, and that it might strike to the heart of some readers — especially if they or a loved one is part of the crowed in question. But this is a post on Logic, and Logic has no emotion. This is why, when properly applied, it can help us sort through emotional issues — like this one.

Long time readers may remember, I hold a Sociology degree, which means, this subject is sort of in my wheelhouse. But, before we dive into our discussion, I’d like to start out the way I always do when we examine a subject such as this: with the definition(s) of the most critical words we’ll be using. Therefore:

Definition of cult

1 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious (see spurious sense 2) also : its body of adherents the voodoo cult a satanic cult

2a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (such as a film or book) criticizing how the media promotes the cult of celebrity especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad

b : the object of such devotion c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion the singer’s cult of fans The film has a cult following.

3 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual also : its body of adherents the cult of Apollo

4 : formal religious veneration: worship

5 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator health cults

As you will notice, religion is closely associated with the notion of a cult. At first glance, this may seem to exempt the people who are pushing the vaccinations. After all, they constantly claim to be following the science, and science is the opposite of religious superstition — right? Well, not so fast. Did you catch this post yet?

LESSONS IN LOGIC: Science vs. ‘The Science’

If you haven’t already done so, you really need to stop and read that post, as this one builds off of it. But for those who aren’t going to follow my suggestion, the people pushing the vaccinations are a religion unto themselves, and ‘The Science’ is their deity. I say this because, if you’ll read the previous post, I have already proven it — and I did so by definition. Remember, rational people do not reject with sound, valid and rational arguments based solely on definitions as those are the strongest possible arguments you can make.

So, let’s be clear: the people pushing the vaccinations belong to a religion, and that religion is unorthodox. They also rally around a central figure. In this case, that would be Fauci. They are devoted to the vaccine and the promise that it will save them. They have turned the masks and social distancing into religious ritual. And this is all based on an attempt to prevent or cure a disease. Now, if you would please go back to the definition and re-read it, you will see that the people pushing the vaccinations meet the requirements of the definition. Therefore, they are a cult. This is why Steve Deace has dubbed them The Branch Covidians. Since I like the descriptive affect of this term, I am going to adopt it.

But I do not want to stop there. I would like the reader to seriously and sincerely consider everything that the Branch Covidians have said and done as you read through this following excerpt (and please, note the source):

Characteristics Associated With Cults

Concerted efforts at influence and control lie at the core of cultic groups, programs, and relationships. Many members, former members, and supporters of cults are not fully aware of the extent to which members may be manipulated, exploited, or even abused. The following list of social-structural, social-psychological, and interpersonal behavioral patterns commonly found in cultic environments may help you assess a particular group or relationship.

Compare these patterns to the situation you were in (or in which you, a family member, or friend is currently involved). This list may help you determine if there is a cause for concern. Bear in mind that this list is not meant to be a “cult scale,” or a definitive checklist to determine if a specific group is a cult; this is not so much a diagnostic instrument as it is an analytical tool:

• The group displays an excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader, and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
• Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
• Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, or debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
• The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (e.g., members must get permission to date, change jobs, or marry—or leaders prescribe what to wear, where to live, whether to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
• The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members (e.g., the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
• The group has a polarized, us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
• The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders, or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
• The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (e.g., lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
• The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and control members. Often this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
• Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
• The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
• The group is preoccupied with making money.
• Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
• Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
• The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave—or even consider leaving—the group.

This excerpt written by Janja Lalich and Michael D. Langone is from: Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships (Bay Tree Publishing, 2006). Do not reprint without permission of the publisher.

Now, I will admit, I was tempted to point out examples of how the Branch Covidians exhibit nearly every one of these characteristics. I was going to do it in bold, red text — so no one could miss it. But then I remembered: one of the characteristics of a cult is that they cannot be reached by reason, so I’d be wasting my time. If you are in the cult, you need serious professional help to get out (personally, I would recommend Yeshua, but that’s just me). If you are not a part of the cult, then I doubt I need to point out how the Covidians demonstrate these characteristics. You were probably thinking them up as you read this. Therefore, I decided to leave well enough alone.

The issue now is to determine where the Covidians lie along the ‘cult scale.’ Well, to start with, search the page from where I found this. Go ahead, type in ‘cult scale’ and see what you find. The page seems to be aimed almost entirely at Trump and the GOP (see, I told you to check my source 😉 )!!! What’s more, I agree with most of the posts claiming there is a ‘Cult of Trump,’ or that the GOP is a cult. Large parts of it are, but the thing the web page misses is that the parts of the GOP that are in the GOP cult are the Right-Wing Progressives. This means they have much more in common with the Branch Covidians and the Progressive Left (i.e. Liberals/Democrats) than they do with ‘Conservatives/libertarians.’ But that is a different argument. The point here is, the people in the cult do not recognize it — per this pages own description. Sadly, it applies to the people who built this web source on cults (they cannot see past the plank in their own political eyes — as evidenced by the fact that they do not identify any Left-wing cults).

So, the web page is no help in evaluating how dangerous the Branch Covidian cult is. Well, no worries, we do not need any ‘experts’ to tell us this information. We simply need to ask the following questions:

Who refuses to even debate the vaccines: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Who rejects any and all discussions of alternative treatments: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Who refuses to discuss or even recognize contradicting data about the shots: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Who wants to use force to make people take the shots: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Who is threatening to ‘cancel’ anyone who refuses to take the shots: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Who wants to exclude people from society for refusing to take the shots: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Who is threatening to or has actually started putting people in camps for refusing the shots: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Who has gone so far as to say peolpe who refuse the shots should be killed: the Covidians, or the anti-vaxers?

Dear reader, the answer to every one of those questions is, The Branch Covidians have! Ergo, the answer to where the Branch Covidian cult lies on the scale of ‘scary cults’ is pretty high. In fact, they already have both feet well down and their but barely perched on the edge of the slippery slope which leads to atrocities like the holocaust. All the signs are there, we just need to open our eyes and see them — then find the courage to accept them as reality.

However, the “International Authority on Cults and Coercion’ is correct in another point it makes: we cannot reach or help the people caught in the Branch Dividians by yelling at them. It will take years of careful, patient and understanding education to free them from their indoctrination. The problem is, due to the nature of this cult, and its global reach, and the fact that it is lead, funded, supported and protected by global governments and their international corporate partners, it is very unlikely that we have the necessary time to red-pill them. So, unfortunately, unless we have some sort of global miracle, the whole world is in a great deal of peril (see why I suggested Yeshua? 🙂 ).