RIP Don Raskopf: "the only way to kill a snake is to cut off it's head"

I learned today that Don Raskopf passed away unexpectedly on Saturday April 15, 2023. Don was a member of the cult many years ago and I don't remember whether I met him. But I knew him from the posts he wrote years ago on various blogs. He was the only former member to identify himself by name on any of the blogs out there. He inspired me to not post anonymously and for that I thank him. I wish his family my sympathies and hope that his memory is a blessing to them. In his honor, I am re-posting a blog entry he posted back in 2011 on Rick Ross's cite. Thank you Don.

Re: Fourth Way, Sharon Gans, Robert Klein group in Boston

Posted by: dar3463 ()

Date: January 13, 2011 08:26AM

Part 1

My name is Don Raskopf. I post ALL of my personal information here & EF because I have NOTHING to fear from vampires & leeches. I use full names of those I have known personally for over 2 decades because LIGHT is a disinfectant - an antidote to secrecy & mind-control. I was recruited into this cult - THIS IS A CULT NOT A SCHOOL - by my then girlfriend Julie Hodson (co-founder of Taylor-Hodson). I was manipulated into paying thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of slave labor annually for years. I was seduced into building (with many friends)FOR FREE the following homes & businesses - many sold at huge profit to Gans (I have many photo's I would love to post - RR let me know how):

Taylor-Hodson's first office in Waterside Plaza

Fred Mindel's house in Lake Hopatcong

[_____________]'s house near Mindel's

Fred Mindel & Minerva Taylor's  joined adjacent apartment's in Waterside Plaza

Mindel's "doctor's" office Suite 505, 133 East 58th Street

Gans & Horn's previous apartment 59 West 12th Street, Apt. 11A/G, New York, NY

Montana - Falls Creek Ranch, Kauffman Road, Condon, Montana

Ilsa (Gan's daughter) Kaye's brownstone - 6 East 10th Street, New York, New York

Pawling - see details under real estate link on Esoteric Freedom main page

dozens of other projects

Part 2

It is my opinion that the only way to kill a snake is to cut off it's head. Rick Ross has years of experience trying free cult members with very mixed results. No one will leave while hypnotized - we need to destroy the hypnotist.

This is spiritual rape and abuse - call it by it's real name. Gans has stolen millions and destroyed hundred's of lives. I will join anyone who wishes to prevent further enslavement by ANY non-violent means - pickets, lawsuits, publicity, civil disobedience, etc.


"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Elie Wiesel

Gentle Souls

Esther Friedman's wonderful book about her dreadful experience in Sharon's cult is out now. I highly recommend. 

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire

The hallmark of the Ganscult is its intense secrecy. It's like the rules of Fight Club: 1st rule: you do not talk about Fight Club; 2nd rule: you do not talk about Fight Club. Members attend meetings for decades and tell nobody, not even spouses. In other words, they are compelled to lie. It's all justified under the four degrees of truth which the cult follows:

Stupid Insincerity:  Lying to cult leaders. 

Stupid Sincerity:  Truthfulness with outsiders.

Clever Insincerity: Lying to outsiders.

Clever Sincerity: Truthfulness with cult leaders.

Gurdjieff said that students who lie to leaders "destroy all possibility of any work." A student "must learn to be silent when he ought to be silent with people outside [the cult], who can neither understand nor appreciate it. But sincerity in the group is an absolute demand, because, if a man continues to lie in the group in the same way as he lies to himself and to others in life, he will never learn to distinguish the truth from a lie."

The Ganscult brainwashes people into lying to outsiders about all kinds of things which I will address in future posts. The main point is that members are so brainwashed and coerced into lying that they will lie about anything.

"Be A Man"

On the occasion of my tenth anniversary of escaping from the OSG Cult, here's a reprint from my book of that moment. The set-up is that I had missed class the previous night and got a call from one of the junior teachers who I call "Kim" in the book.

The next morning, on January 10, 2013, I saw that Kim, from School, had left a message on my voice mail at 1:00 a.m., in a frenzied tone: “Spencer, Sharon told me to tell you that it is unacceptable for you not to come to class and that maybe it’s time for you to leave School.” I called her back.

I said, “Hi, Kim, I got your message.”

She asked,“Where were you last night?”
This was a typical question for School, but my response was not typical: “It’s really none of your business. I was busy.”

This was insolent. This was an answer that meant fuck off. My answer stunned me as much as it did her. Silence.

“Well,” she said, “Sharon thinks maybe it’s time for you to leave School because you’ve been missing so many classes.”

I didn’t think before I spoke. “I totally agree: maybe it is time for me to leave School.”

She interrupted, “No, no, no, no, no, Sharon is not saying you should leave at all. She doesn’t want you to leave. This is just a shock to help you get over whatever interval you are crossing now. Sharon wants to shock you,” she said in a panicked tone. Her plan was back-firing. Sharon would be furious.

I let her squirm. “Kim, Sharon is absolutely right for me to think about this, and I’m going to follow her instructions and consider whether it’s time for me to leave.”

I told her I’d get back to her in two weeks, hung up, and took the uptown train to Union Square. I hadn’t experienced a sense of power like this in years.

When I got out at Union Square, she called me again. She sounded peppy, energized because (as I expected) she’d just spoken with Sharon, who had a customized message for me. In a solemn tone suggesting she had just conferred with Queen Elizabeth herself, Kim said, “Sharon said that you should come to class on Tuesday and talk about it in front of your friends. This is not something to think about on your own.” And then she said something that severed any remaining connection to Sharon and School. Kim said, “Sharon wants you to come into class and get up in front of your friends and be a man.”

Be a man? That’s exactly what I haven’t been: I have been a robot. I said, “Kim, thank you very much, but actually I am a man. Don’t contact me anymore.” I hung up the phone, and from that moment, was officially out of School.

The Big Lie: Recruiting

This cult's recruiting method is deliberately deceptive –– it's a sham. It's designed to vet and lure unsuspecting people by preying on their vulnerabilities and pretending to form a trusting friendship.  

This recruiting method has not changed in 30 years. 

A reader and former member came across the printout from 30 years ago which was given to us by cult leaders describing the recruitment method and the specific 6 meetings we were to have to dupe people into joining the cult. Although there are slight variations being used today (including a phony salon and tea with female leaders and members), this is still the playbook. Im publishing it here so that anyone who is being preyed upon can see the scoop. 

 

No Talking In the Library!

I spoke recently at the Shelter Island Public Library to a few dozen folks who came out one cold Friday night. Link here. They asked great questions. After all the years of secrecy, its wonderful, cathartic to hear strangers speak openly about the cult.

How People Fall Into Cults

Three recent comments on Amazon about Manhattan Cult Story from readers. I like. They are on target about how people fall into cults.

Rockbear

5.0 out of 5 stars Sounds about right

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

Unfortunately, the people who need to read this book won't. Looking back over my life, I can see the point in time where, simply by accident of place and time, I didn't fall into the same trap that it took the author 23 years to get out of. Powerful, insightful retelling of how cults lure people in, keep them in, and make it difficult for them to recover.

Tricia S English

5.0 out of 5 stars loved it

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2022

Being a New Yorker I am living in the city during the office time The Cult sounded so interesting! I couldn’t put it down.

Douglas T

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Shocking Expose of an Elite Cult

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2022

Verified Purchase

The author tells an incredible story about his involvement in a cult in NYC which recruited affluent people and his ability to escape, which probably saved his life as well as his sanity.