This is what life is like in the middle of a cult:
1. No matter what you do or say, it is always wrong, and everyone else, no matter how stupid, ugly, mean, or lazy is always right, because crooks stick together.
2. Expect constant disrespect, abuse, being maligned, and never being able to have close friends when in cult, and surrounded by corrupt crooks.
3. No matter what you do, someone else will always get credit. Plus, crooks tend to find faults to project onto victims where there is none.
4. Expect greed, abuse, and hatred.
5. Expect crooks to act like crooks - expecting these kinds of people to be human really is asking for too much.
6. In the cult I got trapped in, anyone who became my friend in any way was also victimized.
7. There are a lot of weird things that many of these people participate in, but few will talk about - for example these "Teamster initiation activities", or so they are called, which are really more like S & M activities, where a "magician" is in charge, who is a man. (Someone developed a new television show about this, which 'happened to" be on last night). The only way victims can know about this is through dreams, because this is a primary part of cult and participants are NEVER supposed to talk about it. (I think there are many people who 'could' talk about this, if forced into it - from first hand experience).
(**What I do know about these activities
is that they are ritualistic, emulate "black magic", are sado-masochistic in nature, are very scary, and sometimes people die, but this "initiation" is supposed to develope leadership, if person does not die, and is a way of "presenting people" to the larger group. Reality with this is VERY much like the television show, from dreams I have had. Of "course" I have never been asked to participate in this in 'real life', because I was considered a "narc" and am also a female, but I know that many people have been involved in this. I think there is evidence of this in the outbreak of Paganism in the last couple of decades, and of animal sacrifice in fields in rural areas like this one, which is scary.)
8. Cult is like living in a dysfunctional family: nobody is supposed to talk, communicate, there is always a victim or two who are chosen for "escheat" purposes, so that others can participate in fraud games.
9. Victim tends to start feeling isolated because they are.
P.S. - Teamsters also have 'elders' in their groups, just like the Amish, who are the respected icon leaders of smaller groups. I think these would be the people to get more information from in regard to these "Teamster initiation activities", particularly the elderly leaders who have been around for awhile.. Also, for some reason, I 'think" but do not know, that participating in these "Teamster initiation activities" is a prerequisite for getting into higher levels of employment.
