My right wing Aunt is acting like she's in a cult, my mom is scared...

[revree]

My Aunt, who is very emotionally imbalanced, listens to all the right wing talk shows and has really gone over the deep end. Even her Republican husband and daughter say she is going overboard with her love of Bush and her right wing-ness. My mom and I read this book about a girl who joins a cult and it is eerie that the behavior is the same...my aunt is acting like she is in a cult - and I am not exaggerating - she says and does things as if she is on some drug or brainwashed...

I think this is the biggest factor we have to face about our enemy, folks. Those on the right are not thinking clearly, refuse to face facts, deny the truth and are, basically, brainwashed. The right wing media has succeeded at turning their brains to mush. So, the question becomes, how do we get our loved ones out of this cult?

Any such thing as political deprogrammers???

[Sporadicus]

1. Deprogramming Techniques

should be similar for religious as well as political cults.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/brain_wa.htm

[mrbassman03]

14. Force-feeding Air America...

n/t

[B Calm]

2. Make her listen to Mike Malloy for de-programming

[revree]

6. She used to listen to progressives and called herself a Democrat.

so you can see that she has no real identity of her own and just adopts others ideas and beliefs. It is really hurting our whole family/

[Philostopher]

19. It sounds like more than a political problem, revree.

It sounds like she has other emotional and/or psychological problems she should probably be getting treatment for. Almost sounds like what happens to some people after a breakdown or a stroke -- dramatic personality changes, that sort of thing, I mean. Did something happen to her? It sounds like more than an 'attitude adjustment' when one takes this post into consideration with your original post.

[salvorhardin]

10. Malloy should help

as well as giving her milk and brownies made with RevRussel's avatar.

[cheshire]

3. It's call brainwashing, cut out TV. Maybe talk to a bona fide psycologist

[2Design]

4. the cult leader is bush.....and they see him as a savior just

like David Koresh or the JonesTown suicides or heaven's gate....they want to BELIEVE in Bush god and off planet and the rapture to the point that doing what is good for humankind is not even in their hearts....

they have truly lost it...

[Bluebear]

9. I saved this "prayer" from a message board....

Tell me it's not a cult!

Father, I lift up to you our brother, President Bush, say amen!! I ask that You strengthen Him, that You protect Him and that You keep Your Hand upon Him. I ask that You give Him wisdom, that You give Him courage to do what is right, CODIFY Ten Commandments into law, RETURN prayer to public school, OUTLAW homo "marriage", OUTLAW all abortion for ANY reason and OUTLAW stem cell "research" that only serves to kill Your little ones. I ask that You draw Him deeper into You, that You pour out Your Holy Spirit upon Him, say amen! That You give Him a deeping hunger and thirst for Your Word. I ask that You illuminate His spiritual eyes by the power of Your Holy Spirit. I ask that You give Him grace. I ask that He would be a man worthy of the calling You have placed on His life as the One who will bring us to Your glory. I ask that You bless His marriage, that You make Him a servant as a husband and a father. . I ask that You fill Him with Your Holy Spirit, that You work in Him and through Him and by Him to accomplish Your will in the events of the Middle East You foretold, say amen! I ask that You pour out Your love in His heart, that you keep His eyes on +Jesus+. I ask if it be Your will, that You will allow Him to remain the President of this country for another 4 years. Keep Him from physical danger. Stifle the unpatriotic left who are bent on stopping Your plan. I ask that You use Him as a tool in Your Hand for this country and this world, I ask that You empower Him to speak Your name whenever he has the opportunity. Continue to use the US as a weapon in Your Hand for the protection of Israel. Grant Him the power to carry out His mission to liberate the world and bring us to You. I ask that You continue to make Him a man of prayer. I ask most of all, that You make Him a man who knows and loves You more and more each day. Thank You that You raised Him up for such a time as this. We are RAPTURE ready, come Lord Jesus! We are RAPTURE ready, come Lord Jesus! We are RAPTURE ready, come Lord Jesus! Say amen, say amen!!!!

[jmowreader]

20. Well, I kinda like the "keep Your hand on him" part

Whoever wrote this thinks Bush is God in human flesh; what's with calling Dipshit "Him"? You're only supposed to capitalize You, Your, Yours, etc., when referring to the Lord.

I think you could use the Book of Revelations to make a very strong case for my theory that Bush is the Devil and Reagan the Beast. This I shall explore in another thread.

But yeah, I wish God would lay His hands on Bush. Preferably around his neck. And then squeeze incredibly hard.

[EST]

5. Help is on the way...

Mmmm... people-ya gotta love 'm.

[cheshire]

7. Maybe a bona fide psycologist or psyciatrist can tell you of one

[cheshire]

8. Maybe a bona fide psycologist or psyciatrist can tell you of one

[cheshire]

11. spastic keyboard or thumb

[WMliberal]

12. we aren't kidding about the kool-aid

if we could answer your question, the election would be a landslide

[Classical_Liberal]

13. Have a conversations with her about what she believes

and ask her why she believes a particular thing, then go online and research the claim. The straight dope and spincity are a good place to start. Then present her with the facts. That is the best that can be done. For instance if she claims that Muslims advocate terrorism you can pretty easily debunk this with most academic websites on the matter. It won't change her over night but it may eat away over time.
If you her arguments are biblical there are plenty of good places to research the bible.

[revree]

15. We've given her books, articles, etc...

I am telling you, she is so far gone her husband is worried...maybe her own family will have the courage to insist she gets help. Thanks for all the great advice and support, DUers.

[iconoclastic cat]

16. Be very careful with her when Bush loses.

She will be fragile.

Seriously, I worry that we may see a rise is serious depression in Bush supporters after the election.

BTW, could you be more specific about her behavior? What exactly is she doing?

[AndyTiedye]

17. It is a Very Sad Thing. I've Seen it Happen to a Friend of Mine

one who really should know better.

There are millions of people like this. They are the 30-40% of the
electorate who will vote for Boosh no matter what.

We have been searching for a cure, but nothing works as long as there
is continuous exposure to the Rethuglican-owned media.

[smirkymonkey]

18. Sounds like the worse things get for her hero, the louder she

has to bang the drum to avoid having to face the truth.

I think that it may be an extreme case of cognitive dissonance.

"Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe, and new information or interpretation."

"If someone is called upon to learn something which contradicts what they already think they know — particularly if they are committed to that prior knowledge — they are likely to resist the new learning. Even Carl Rogers recognised this. Accommodation is more difficult than Assimilation, in Piaget's terms."

She either needs to accept the reality of what is happening in this country or let go of her deeply held beliefs about the "rightness" of Bush. Good luck.

[blm]

21. Bet she reads the Left Behind books. LaHaye's a longtime ally of RevMoon's

and they are both well versed in mind control techniques.

Your aunt has become a Bushmoonie.