Thread by @DrGJackBrown

1/ THREAD: It takes moral courage to stand against your tribe, your group, your friends/family, your employer, etc. It takes ZERO moral courage to rationalize your tribe's behavior & 'go along' w/ them — but, at least initially, it creates a lot of Cognitive-Emotional Dissonance.

2/ In an effort to diminish this Cognitive-Emotional Dissonance, one common coping mechanism is to adopt/incorporate the beliefs/actions of the group at a deeper and deeper level. The deeper and faster these ideas/actions are adopted, the less conflicted a person will feel.

3/ In an effort to manipulate new members and indoctrinate them more quickly and more deeply, leaders of these groups establish 'initiation rituals' — which are almost always:

A. Physical in nature
B. Inflicting harm (on oneself or others)
C. A + B = Psychological Manipulation

4/ The end result of these initiation rituals is a deeper and faster 'buy-in' of the group's belief system — often to a fanatical level. Thus, the members will defend the group's beliefs/actions even at great emotional, financial, and physical risk/harm.

5/ Be wary of any group, friend, family member, employer whose association makes you feel conflicted (cognitive-emotional dissonance) and/or who insists/pressures you into what feels like an act of initiation (even though it's rarely labeled as such).

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6/ Addendum: Initiation rituals may not involve any physical element (i.e., These may be purely psychological), however, the physical nature of such a manipulative technique often has a quicker and more long-lasting result (thus, it's more difficult to de-program). Beware!