If you've spent any time on the internet, which you probably have considering you are on it right now, you may have encountered the special brand of internet civilians that call themselves Men's Rights Activists. They hang out in a place called The Red Pill, which is a group on Reddit that describes itself as a "Discussion of sexual strategy in a culture increasingly lacking a positive identity for men." In other words, men aren't getting laid like they used to, and that makes them mean mad!
When I first heard about The Red Pill I wrote it off as simply another group of sexually frustrated baby boys who hate women. While their arguments were infuriating, I figured they were essentially a sad dad's club with little effect on people outside their group. But I did a little more investigating and after looking into it I realized The Red Pill is more harmful than I had thought. It's basically a cult. You know, like Scientology.
Georges Biard
Only with much, much less attractive members.
In May 1997, Philip Zimbardo published a piece for the American Psychological Association titled "What Messages Are Behind Today's Cults?" The practices of The Red Pill line up with Zimbardo's findings. A former Red Pill member even wrote an entry in the RedPillDetox group about how he believed he had been brainwashed into joining a cult when he was a part of the group. Also, the fact that a RedPillDetox exists for ex-members to help each other deprogram their beliefs doesn't bode well for the MRA's existence. While there isn't a quantitative list of what defines a cult, experts in psychology agree on a few telltale signs. Perhaps this is why Scientology views psychiatry as the enemy and bringer of death.
And guess what? Much like Scientology, The Red Pill fits the description of a cult in a disturbing way. Cults are not only harmful to society but for its members as well. In fact, it may be arguably more harmful to its members than for the friends and family they've isolated themselves from. The Red Pill's existence is like a studded butt plug that everyone has to share. So how exactly is it a cult? Well ...
5"Nobody Decides To Join A Cult." -Philip Zimbardo
Much like hipsters in 2007, you can spot one by how mad it gets when you call it a hipster. Cults don't call themselves cults. They call themselves churches, or clubs, or your friends.
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