Hey Charles,


If I may disagree with you on a few points here -

First of all there is a huge problem in proving that a cult interfered with a persons right to leave. For instance if a cult member is detained for a while, for the cult group to work on changing this persons mind, then the person is not released until the cult is fairly certain they have broken the member, and the member will follow their rules. In that case - the cult member will probably hang out with the cult at least for a while afterwards. Lets say an ex cult member then 2 years down the line want to sue the cult claiming they were sometimes held against their will - how will it look in a court that after they were held against their will they returned and stayed for a while of their own free will? Besides - who, other than other cult members, saw the crime happen? Tricky situation to persecute - ESPECIALLY because in all honesty many mental health professionals at least in the US has despairingly little info about how cults actually function. They think they know, but in all honesty if you interview to determine how much they actually know ya gotta shake yer head some. (said in all deep respect for all the wonderful professionals of this board of course).

It will also be a rare situation where a cult member currently held against his or her will is able to contact outside friends of family members for help. One of the ways the cults use to break a cult member is to not allow them any privacy, often not even in the bathroom. Since there are usually several people working to "break" a cult member it is not hard for them to keep a cult member under constant surveillance.

Your other comment about "de-programmers" really also show your lack of knowledge. There are very few "de-programmers" left on the market, as they operated in the 70ties - if any. There are a few religious organizations that claim to "address" cult issues, they obviously do it based on their religious tenants, and dont get much by way of business, except from people within their faith. Most of these are honest about what they do, what they believe, and how they do it - even if we disagree with their religious framework, they usually work ethically.

By far most cult exit counselors today work from a well educated, and non-religious frame work. Giving the cult member they are working to help lots of choices, information and options. Few - if any - of todays exit counselors work with cult members that are illegally detained. (I dont know of any, and i know the market fairly well).

If you are interested in suggested reading material about the topic please let me know - I have quite a bit I can suggest.

Kind regards,
Da Friendly Puter Tech