The Partisan Divide on Issues

[Bob Butler 54]

(01-31-2020, 01:33 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Huh? Lynching is no liberal phenomenon. Law enforcement is for people trustworthy for using their power in according to... the law. 

...If liberalism is a cult, then every religious body, every fraternal organization, every Scout group, exercise club, college or university, bird-watching club, or chess club is a cult. Maybe even a symphony orchestra or jazz ensemble. 

Scientology is a cult. The Unification Church is a cult. Klan groups are often cults. Neo-Nazi groups are cults. ISIS and al-Qaeda are cults. MS-13 is a cult.  Mafia families are cults. The Ba'ath Party of Syria (and formerly Iraq) is a cult. NAMbLA was a cult. The Jewish Defense League was a cult. The Communist Party of the United States of America was a cult (and might still be). The New Black Panther Party is a cult.  The John Birch Society is a cult. Jim Jones' People's Temple was a cult. Aum Shunrikyo is a cult. 

So consider the NAACP, generally understood to be a liberal organization. Is it a cult? You would call it one because it is liberal. Cults recruit with deceit, using front groups to entice people. No, the NAACP identifies itself clearly for what it is. Cults control the culture of those who join. The NAACP does not tell anyone what music to listen to or what books to read. Cults typically have a god-like leader beyond judgment. No. What one sees is what one gets. People who leave a cult are vilified and shunned. One is not vilified for a lapse in membership. If one has a better use for the money than to pay dues, well, so what. There can be someone else.  The NAACP has bylaws to prevent abuse of power. Join a cult, and your economic life will be regimented. NAACP membership will not detract from a professional life. The NAACP is no more a cult than is a masonic lodge. 

If you want to know what a cult is, then consider the Communist Party of the United States. The Commies knew that they could not get people to do their dirty work knowing that it was for commies, but it could get people to serve a Commie cause by dressing it up to sound like something good in its own right -- like 'peace' or ethnic equity. Communists tried to take over liberal organizations, including labor unions.

I would judge Classic’s use of the word ‘cult’ as a demonization.  The word has a negative connotation.  Thus, he throws it around at those not like him regardless of whether the group he is labeling is in fact a cult.

You gave a decent definition of the word.  I would add that the leader often has a certain charisma, magnetism.  One can say a many bad things about Hitler, but you have to admit he could hold an audience.  But then again, so could Churchill.  I would hesitate to use the word cult to describe the 20th century German Nazi.

I have been trying to identify demonizing words and writing.  If you wish to be taken seriously, you don’t use words that might be thrown around an elementary school playground.  You try to have most of the gravitas that you find in presidential debates.  You try to use words in one of the more common meanings, not making your own usage up out of the blue.

Anything to add?