Us-versus-them thinking is so central to cult success that if you don’t see it being manipulated, you’re probably not looking at a cult (but a Utopian community or group of fanatics). Sometimes the enemy is overt, as it was for the Nuwaubians. The Puritans’ “them” was Catholicism. Mankind United used the Hidden Rulers. And countless groups warn of a cabal… or lizard people, liberals, Jews. Enemies also always include those who question the leader or try to extract followers. The specter of “them” motivates us to piety and keeps us in need of protection. A con artist’s manipulation of
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