Last edited Thu Apr 16, 2015, 04:14 PM - Edit history (3)
your life because they are so inadequate. I knew myself well enough at 23 to steer clear of a psychopath. The night I met him I did not want that shit in my life. Unfortunately my friends did not know me or themselves. They fell victim to a cognitive opening that takes place in young adults who are looking for a new meaning in their lives. We were in our early 20s. They didn't seem to notice that the creep working his way into their lives was a decade older than them and thus in a position of power over them. The old cult grievance/aspiration one two step was used. Really knowing all your grievances and knowing them well, and not being fooled into something that seems too good to be true (like you don't have to learn harsh truths about yourself...if you just follow the asshole he'll make your dreams come true), or falling for manufactured grievances and aspirational moments created by a psychopath, can stop one from joining a gang or a cult. Knowledge and science are power. Nothing else comes close. Empathy is a way to connect and learn. I don't think one can be truly happy without a good amount of empathy. But empathy without self knowledge makes one a target for the creepy. I had to learn to not empathize so much to survive. I had too much. That is the thing about self knowledge... one can never have too much. Kids in all neighborhoods should be taught about the grievance/aspirational two step. It is what Muslim youth and their families in the west are being taught as we speak. Why not kids from all neighborhoods? Are sociopaths who pray on the rich for their money and power, and gangs who pray on teenagers, not causing mayhem just like ISIS if not more so? How about the GOP gutting the middle class? I wonder what the state of anti cult education of youth is in the red states.
= new reply since forum marked as read
