Cults then and now

An extremely vague old memory popped up.

We have lots of high-IQ cult leaders running around now, from Balaji to Jordan to Tate.

High-IQ “scientific” cults were rampant in the 70s, with varying purposes and flavors. Synanon, EST, Rolfing, Ecumenical Institute, Fritz Perls, etc. (Scientology was the biggest player, but it operated behind the curtains. Nobody went around talking Hubbardese.)

Gender is an important difference between then and now. Today’s cults are exclusively male, while the ’70s cults were for both genders. Feminism has placed young women in a position of power and privilege, so the most alienated and lost youngsters are male now.

Several of the 70s cults emphasized Personal Responsibility, which is repeated by Peterson and Tate now. Perls and EST were especially strong on this point. I spent time around some EST fanatics, who were constantly trying to divest blame onto others. (Good training for future leaders, and we see them in action now!)

Here’s the vague and probably wrong memory. One Firesign Theater** record featured Teddy Kennedy as an EST-style cult leader. A male follower was showing concern for his girlfriend, and Kennedy said:

“Ayounga amaaaaaana, athat’sa HAAAAAAAAAAAA aproblema.”

In non-Boston English, Young man, that’s HER problem.

The current Kennedy cult leader doesn’t seem to be hitting this point yet.

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** Vaughn Meador’s Kennedy parody records would make more sense, but I “remember” it as a Firesign Theater routine.

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This memory was popped by a more technical line of thought. The current Kennedy has spasmodic dysphonia. One treatment for this disorder is similar to stuttering therapy. Elide the start and end of words to avoid turning the larynx on and off. It does work, but the aresultinga azbeecha iza arathera azdrangea, with no voiceless stops or word boundaries. The therapeutic version sounds like the Firesign parody of Boston.

RFK Jr speaks in ordinary non-elided non-Boston English and has problems with dysphonia. Maybe he should return to his arootsa.

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Another irrelevant sidenote. Rolfing was cult-like in the ’70s, maybe not an actual cult. Its followers saw it as a total mental and physical transformation, freeing you from PTSD and other traumatic remnants. I got curious to see if it’s still around. Yes, and it has been formalized and professionalized. The official website makes no claims for mental or emotional improvement, just physical.