I also wanted to add the cult has a time honored tradition of collecting as much federal and state financial aid as they can. They take in $8 for every dollar that they pay in taxes.
Much of this is because the plural wives apply for aid for themselves and their children as " single mothers.
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Carolyn Jessop is probably the most well-known escapee, having wrote a couple of bestselling books on her experiences in the cult. But she was pretty high up in the hierarchy- she was closely related to Winston Blackmore, the one time leader of the cult’s Canadian branch and she was married to a Merril Jessop, a high level cult leader
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As of earlier this year Winston Blackmore was the father of 133 children, most of them under 18 and supported by the Canadian government. (This is what a real studmuffin looks like.)
Merril Jessop was de facto leader of the group when Jeffs was in hiding and in his early imprisonment, but is believed to have been excommunicated since. The women and children killed in the recent floods included some of his daughters and granddaughters.
There’s a documentary on Jeffs currently airing on Showtime: Prophet’s Prey.
There’s apparently a 30 minute excerpt (approximately 1/3 of hte documentary) on YouTube.
I understand the whole Truman Show “You accept the reality of the world in which you’re raised” up to a degree, but I swear I can’t figure out how more of his people didn’t clock him as a total nutbag and charlatan. Even in the craziness of the FLDS he was several Standard Deviations beyond what his father and other predecessors had been in the evil and crazy spectrum.
There is this whole subset of humans that do nothing more than kneel. When I read through the book “Going Clear” I felt the same way. People were working like slaves, making a few dollars a week, just so people like Tom Cruise and other big Scientologists could live like kings. But they stayed and stayed and stayed, despite the abuse and even the beatings and the losing all the money. They even raised their kids in it!
I don’t understand this kind of human, that so desperately needs an authority figure to tell them what to do. I wish we could breed this trait out of ourselves, so we could all stand tall and not listen to some old Prophet tell us what’s good for us.
When I was a child I used to read Berkely Breathed’ comics and in it he talked about a prophet named Rajneesh. I laughed, thinking it was a great joke. Who would buy this shit? Really? The boss buys Rolls Royces and no one blinks an eye?
And then I grew up and found out just how real Rajneesh was.
It’s depressing.
Rajneesh was As legit as Neil Degrasse Tyson compared to Ramtha, a 100,000 (or whatever) year old spirit from Atlantis who was “channeled” through JZ Knight, a housewife who lived like a Romanov off the millions she raked in. What was most amazing to me is not that she was a charlatan but that she was a lousy charlatan; I’ve seen better acting in high school productions of OLIVER, and yet she raked in millions and several celebrities (Shirley MacLaine, Linda Evans, Mike Farrell) alone gave her fortunes. I used to watch interviews with Knight and “Ramtha” and curse myself for having too many scruples and too little nerve to “channel” an ancient spirit, because I think I could do it one hell of a lot better.
1980s article, but she’s still in business ABC News JZ Knight Ramtha Part 1 The Voice from Beyond. Producer David Doss .flv - YouTube
One of the most shocking things I learned about the Rajneesh cult is that they infected restaurant salad bars with food poisoning in an effort to win a local election. I’ve met several Indian people who still treat Rajneesh as someone to admire—of course, India has no shortage of “holy men” who have engaged in reprehensible acts , such as Sai Baba (in addition to being an outright conman), but who still have followers.
I would be very careful about labeling those in cults like this. It’s important to recognize how groups like this sink their hooks into even skeptical and sensible individuals. ThereminTrees has an excellent video outlining some of the psychology surrounding it.
I will watch the video, thank you. But I still think that there is a part of human psyche that allows/encourages these things to happen. That doesn’t mean that I think those people are necessarily weak, but that there is something in them that allows it to happen. Never been taught critical thinking?
Acsenray, my aunties put viboothi (holy ashes) on their forehead and tongue, gifted from Sai Baba, everytime before they drive. When I was staying with them, they requested I do so, too (I did). You cannot say anything mildly disrespectful about him. I don’t, anyway, because I am still considered the “child” and would like to retain that status, but my dad says plenty and as such they fight a lot.
Bumped.
Lyle Jeffs, Warren’s brother, has broken Federal house arrest: http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/13/us/flds-lyle-jeffs-escape/index.html
Bumped again.
Lyle Jeffs was just apprehended: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/us/fbi-arrests-flds-leader-lyle-jeffs/index.html
Since we’re bumping, a federal trial court recently ruled against Hilldale and Colorado City and ordered expansive relief.
Good!
Like you said, “I hope you rot in prison for a long, long time”. I share the sentiment.
Excellent - very good news indeed. Theocracy has no place in a republic under the rule of law.
Bumped.
His daughter is speaking out: The daughter of infamous cult leader Warren Jeffs opens up about escaping the polygamous Mormon sect — and the moment she knew she had to leave: 'There's healing after trauma'
Aw, and here I opened this bumped thread thinking I was about to read of his death.
Dammit!
Couldn’t help noticing her Christmas family picture has her posing with a VERY LARGE DOG. Sends a message.
I find it weird how they call her “Jeffs Blackmore” throughout when her tweet shows she doesn’t use her maiden name anymore. Is there some new style guide that says to do that?
Ditto!
I’d guess the style guide says to use someone’s legal name.
That seems insufficient to me, unless they also always say “Rodham Clinton” when referring to Hillary. Rodham is part of her legal name, after all. She changed it to be her middle name when she married Bill.
I guess it’s possible she changed her last name into the double barrel “Jeffs Blackmore” when she got married. But it sure seems like she’s always called herself Rachel Blackmore ever since her marriage in 2017. And that is how you change your name after marriage: you don’t have to file any legal paperwork.
So the whole thing seems kinda weird. It would be far simpler to just use the name they actually go by. You’d avoid other potential issues, like deadnaming, or people who use stage names or pen names.
