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Racism is a cult. It is a tranquilizer for the need to esteem one’s self as virtuous, worthy of respect, and worthy of the things that one wants. If you take away a person’s self-esteem, you also take away their courage to be themselves, the courage to make decisions, and to take action on those decisions. This is what makes shaming and suggestions of superiority so effective in brainwashing and controlling the decisions, and actions, of other people. It is the ultimate hooking agent of cults, including the cult of racism, where people are offered alternative bases for self esteem while simultaneously suggesting that anyone outside of the cult is “unworthy.” In this article, I will show how “the cult of racism” perpetuates itself with the very same tools of manipulation and mind-control that cults use to obtain, and retain, their members. To do so, I will compare "the cult of racism" with a list of manipulative cult behaviours, created by Janja Lalich, Ph.D. & Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.. It is historical fact that many police officers, especially during the 50’s and 60’s, have been members of the KKK. Knowing that the KKK is a cult of violent, racist, ideologies, it is important to know that they operate and recruit in political, judicial, and police sectors. Not only this, but their power in history is significant, and so it’s important to know how they operate as a cult in society. Though the membership numbers may be smaller now, the reach of influence is palpable in the justice system and in the racist ideologies which “the cult of racism,” in general, continues to lather on vulnerable egos all around the world. Please take a look at the following list of cult behaviours and manipulative tactics, by Janja Lalich, Ph.D. & Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. (http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm). (Though the cult of racism exists in every corner of the globe, I compare the following points with the operations of white supremacy in the Western world, as it is that with which I am most familiar.) Characteristics associated with cultic groups: The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law. Racist brainwashing tells people that the contributions, customs, and wisdom of other cultures and races are irrelevant and worthless. Further, racists never seemed to have noticed that people from their own race also do anything that they accuse other races of doing. This is because they are unquestioning of the superiority of the leader, in this case, “the superior race.” Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished. When questions are raised about the treatment of other races, the questions are ridiculed, and of course this would even have someone ex-communicated from the “brotherhoods” such as the KKK. When these “brotherhoods” hold power in law enforcement, judicial, and political sectors, the influence of their brainwashing also extends to people who want to make contacts and move up in these sectors. Thus, the inability to question the cultish racist behaviour seen in these sectors is indeed very dangerous, powerful, and difficult to overcome. Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s). The collective gatherings of mass media events, so often subtly infused with imbalanced portrayals of racial groups, serves to meld together the collective unconscious of society into thought patterns about race and racial superiority. These thoughts become so deeply embedded that some don’t even realize they have them, or otherwise won’t accept that they do since they can’t imagine how they could have such diametrically opposed feelings at the same time about the same person. This repetition of imbalanced portrayals in the media works in the same way as a repeated ritual. It affects participants on the sub-conscious level, making the participants accept its “truths” even at the subconscious level. The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth). Style of dress, music, speech, how you walk, how you greet your friends, etc. All of these are censured by the brainwashing of racism. The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity). The parallel here is quite obvious: The myth of White people civilizing the world has been around for at least several hundred years. Of course, the ancient civilizations of Europe are children in comparison to the great civilizations of the Ancient Egyptians, which predate Aristotle by 1000s of years, and were most obviously not White. One should also not forget the initiative and influence of the Moors on the educational institutions in Europe, which effectively brought Europe out of “the dark ages” after the fall of Rome. The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society. This essentially defines racism without using the word “race.” The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations). This is rather obvious in the courts where white people are still found not-guilty of blatant crimes against black people, or otherwise given lenient sentences, while black people receive almost zero clemency for even minor crimes. Even though we supposedly have “united nations,” businesses take no accountability for their actions in the countries of peoples who, historically, have been oppressed by “the cult of racism.” Racists evidently do not feel accountable for their actions when they are perpetrated against peoples of a particular race. The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviours or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities). For some reason this brainwashing tactic is so obvious in racist war-propaganda, yet so undetected in the imbalance of the media’s constant portrayal of race. These unquestioned perceptions, projected onto the minds of viewers, become conscious, and sub-conscious, false justifications for horrible treatment of people of particular races. Of course, people in positions of power are not immune to this, which makes these ideologies extremely dangerous when in they are in the unconscious minds of law enforcement professionals. The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt iin order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion. Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group. The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members. All very much a part of the manipulation that goes on inside any xenophobic group. The group is preoccupied with making money. Racial myths have been perpetuated throughout history as a way to “excuse” slave labour, and continue to perpetrate unfair legal treatment, especially of African Americans, putting people in jail where they are forced to work for the corporations which profit from the prison labour system. It has even been documented that a judge in the United States had an agreement with a “super jail” to speedily fill its prison-labour positions. Of course, given the tendencies of police to “troll” (as in trolling for fish) on young Black men, mostly young Black men are forced into this type of labour. Racism is also evidently an “excuse” for the exploitation of foreign workers, and economies, in the minds of the exploiters. The behaviours of Western businesses in countries that have been exploited by “the cult of racism” in the past is absolutely deplorable. Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities People are expected to “act their race,” and adopt the prescribed values and norms which are falsely put forth as exclusive to the racial group. Fraternization with other groups and races is of course discouraged and ridiculed. Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members. I don’t think I need to illustrate the parallels here. The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group. This is evident in the way that some people become extremely uncomfortable when surrounded by people of a particular race. They just don’t even know how to function anymore in those situations. This is in part because they because they have become conditioned to fear being identified with “outsiders,” and also to believe that they and “outsiders” could never understand reality in the same way. An apparent manifestation of this is the “white flight” that occurs when predominantly white neighbourhoods become populated by non-whites. It becomes frightening for some when faced with the differences of others, so they retreat to the sanctity of the cult to reassure themselves of inherent worth and entitlements. Racists cannot cope with the reality that their claim to status is an illusion, and that they in fact need a legitimate personal validation and claim of their virtues. So, how do we intervene for someone who’s been manipulated into a trance of perceptual illusions? Well of course there’s never one answer for every situation, but I will remind you that they are under the spell of this false persona due their lack of awareness of, and confidence in, themselves. So, if you have the chance, try to help them in re-establishing these things. Thank you for reading.