>>> DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER JAMIE RASKIN IS OUT WITH A NEW BOOK. HE’S BEEN TALKING IN BLUNT TERMS ABOUT DONALD TRUMP’S PARTY AND WHAT HE SAYS IS CULT-LIKE BEHAVIOR. JUST LISTEN TO THE WAY HE FRAMES IT. TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE IN DENIAL ABOUT JANUARY 6th. >> I FEEL BAD FOR THOSE PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY IN A POLITICAL RELIGIOUS CULT, AND THEIR CULT LEADER, DONALD TRUMP, IS TELLING THEM THEY CAN’T BELIEVE THEIR OWN EYES, THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE AND THEIR OWN EARS. SO WE SHOULD TRY TO EMBRACE THOSE PEOPLE AND HELP THEM THROUGH WHAT THEY’RE GOING THROUGH BECAUSE THEY’VE BEEN FED LIES AND THEY’RE SWALLOWING THE LIES AND SOME OF THEM MAY HAVE THOUGHT THEY WERE CLEVER AT THE BEGINNING, THAT THEY COULD JUST GO ALONG WITH IT AND NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT MANY OF THEM HAVE ALLOWED THE LIES REALLY TO SEEP INTO THEIR SOLE AND IT’S BEGINNING TO ROT THEIR MINDS. >> TAKING IT EVEN A STEP FURTHER, RASKIN TOLD “THE NEW YORK TIMES” HE’S AWARE OF BOOKS ABOUT CULTS AND DEPROGRAMMING TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND HIS REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES. HEARING THAT READING THAT MADE ME WANT TO TALK TO DIANE BENSCOTER, FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE WITH THE CULT MEMBER WITH THE REUNIFICATION CHURCH IN THE 1970s. SHE WROTE ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE IN “SHOES OF A SERVANT: MY UNCONDITIONAL DEVOTION TO A LIE.” DIANE, YOU’RE AN EXPERT IN PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION. WHEN YOU HEAR SITTING LAWMAKERS TALKING ABOUT CULTS, WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY NEED TO KNOW? >> I THINK WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HERE IS THERE’S A DIRECT LINE OF WHAT WE TRADITIONALLY THINK OF AS THE MOST IMPORTANT DANGEROUS ASPECTS OF A CULT AND WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE MASS RADICALIZATION TODAY IN SOCIETY. YOU CAN DRAW THAT LINE BETWEEN THE CULT — A CONSULT LEADER AND ATTRIBUTIONS OF A CULT LEADER AND ATTRIBUTES OF AN AUTHORITARIAN LEADERSHIP LIKE DONALD TRUMP. ALSO YOU CAN DRAW A LINE BETWEEN THE TACTICS, AND THAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THE TACTICS THAT ARE BEING USED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PEOPLE’S VULNERABILITIES AND HOW THEY HOLD HIM THERE IS THE SAME AND THE EXIT STRATEGY IS ALSO THE SAME. >> IS WHAT YOU SEE CURRENTLY WITH TRUMP — IT’S SO HARD TO TALK ABOUT THIS HONESTLY, DIANE. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT AMERICAN NEIGHBORS. DO YOU THINK SOME OF YOUR NEIGHBORS IN THIS COUNTRY ARE BASICALLY BEEN SUCKED INTO A CULT, A POLITICAL CULT? >> WELL, IN SHORT, YES. I THINK THE WORD CULT, PEOPLE HAVE THESE IDEAS OF WHAT A CULT IS BUT, AGAIN, IF YOU POINT TO THE TECHNIQUES, TACTICS USED, THEY’RE EXACTLY THE SAME. I THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE VULNERABLE. WE LIVE IN A TIME WHERE IT’S HARD TO UNDERSTAND THIS WORLD. TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE A HUGE CHANGE MUCH LIKE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. SO ANY TIME WHEN THERE’S SOCIAL UNREST, I THINK PEOPLE ARE MORE VULNERABLE AND THERE’S FEAR AND THERE’S ANGER ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE WORLD, AND PEOPLE WANT EASY ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS AND THEY GET SUCKED IN AND THEN THEY GET CONSTANTLY FED BY ALL OF THESE MEDIA SOURCES THAT ARE FEEDING THEM THE MAIN MESSAGING THAT CULTS DO, US VERSUS THEM. BECAUSE IF YOU CAN FIRST DIVIDE PEOPLE INTO US VERSUS THEM, YOU CAN MAKE THE OTHER SIDE EVIL AND WRONG, AND YOU KEEP FEEDING THAT MESSAGING, EVENTUALLY WHAT YOU CAN DO IS WEAPONIZE YOUR SIDE. THAT’S WHAT’S GOING ON AND THAT’S WHY THIS IS THE MOST FRIGHTENING THING I HAVE EVER SEEN AS I LOOK THROUGH THE LENS OF CULTS AND RADICALIZATION. >> WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING ABOUT POLITICS ALSO APPLIES TO VACCINES AND DISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID AND HOW PEOPLE WANT EASY ANSWERS TO A COMPLEX PANDEMIC. SO IS THE ANSWER TO THIS EMPATHY? WHAT’S THE KEY WORD ANSWER? >> YES, I THINK EMPATHY. LOOK, PEOPLE COME TO MY NONPROFIT FOR SUPPORT GROUPS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOVED ONES WHO HAVE BEEN RADICALIZED AND DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO, DON’T KNOW HOW TO TALK WITH THEM. THE FIRST PLACE WE WANT TO GET THEM TO IS EMPATHY. THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION WORKS AND WE NEED EFFECTIVE TOOLS OF COMMUNICATION TO AGAIN THE PROCESS OF US VERSUS THEM MENTALITY AND TRY TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. AND THAT’S A HARD CONVERSATION. IT’S THE ONLY THING THAT WORKS. IN MY YEARS OF HELPING PEOPLE EXIT CULTS OF VARIOUS KINDS, IT’S THE ONLY THING THAT WORKS IS TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENED TO THEM ON A PSYCHOLOGICAL LEVEL. >> I KNOW I SAID IT BEFORE, BUT AS MUCH AS WE TALK TO POLITICAL REPORTERS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT PSYCHOLOGISTS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY BECAUSE IT’S PSYCHOLOGICAL. DIANE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING ON THE PROGRAM. GO AHEAD, I’M SORRY. >> THANK YOU SO MU Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFoMeZ2GJwI
