Another old post, I remembered and wanted to repost can be found here.
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Re-Print - Apologies to Divine
Friday, September 22, 2023
"RIP Paul Morantz, Lawyer Who Campaigned Against Cults"
I never heard of this hero until today when I happened upon his NYT obituary from which I am quoting below:
Paul Morantz, a lawyer and investigative journalist who in the 1970s was so successful at taking on cults, abusive psychotherapists and self-proclaimed gurus around California that one of his targets tried to assassinate him with a rattlesnake, died on Oct. 23 in Los Angeles. He was 77.
Cults proliferated in the post-hippie weirdness that was California in the 1970s, often establishing alternative communities in rural parts of the state where authoritarian leaders, typically men, dictated every aspect of their followers’ lives, down to their clothing and choice of sexual partners.
Mr. Morantz made his name taking down one such movement, Synanon. It had begun as a last-chance drug rehabilitation program in the late 1950s but had, by the early ’70s, become an insular, oppressive organization under its founder, Charles Dederich.
Mr. Morantz filed a class-action law suit, winning $300,000 and setting himself up as the go-to guy for taking on shady, coercive institutions — including cults.
He stepped back from his regular legal work in the early 2000s but remained a popular speaker on the lecture circuit, regaling listeners with stories about California’s cult scene.
When asked how to know when you are in a cult, I said count the number of Hollywood stars in it,” he would tell his audience. “If you get past five, you are in one.”
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
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
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
Monday, February 27, 2023
Gentle Souls
Esther Friedman's wonderful book about her dreadful experience in Sharon's cult is out now. I highly recommend.
Saturday, January 14, 2023
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.