Wednesday, November 2, 2016

MLM and the Monopolization of Information

Today's blog post was inspired by a recent read from one of my featured writers, David Brear. He has had an extensive history with MLM in his family, and he has written about their relationship to cults. While this particular blog isn't specifically identifying MLMs as cults, there is an underlying relationship between this blog and that idea, because the blog involves the psychology that is used to create cults. I will link David's article to the bottom of this post.

David's definition of monopoly of information from the article: The leaders of  pernicious cults seek to control all information entering not only their adherents’ minds, but also that entering the minds of casual observers. This is achieved by constantly denigrating all external sources of information whilst constantly repeating the group’s reality-inverting key words and images, and/or by the physical isolation of adherents. Cults leaders systematically categorize, condemn and exclude as unenlightened, negative, impure, absolutely evil, etc. all free-thinking individuals and any quantifiable evidence challenging the authenticity of their imaginary scenarios of control. In this way, the minds of cult adherents can become converted to accept only what their leadership arbitrarily sanctions as enlightened, positive, pure, absolutely righteous, etc. Consequently, adherents habitually communicate amongst themselves using their group’s thought-stopping ritual jargon, and they find it difficult, if not impossible, to communicate with negative persons outside of their group whom they falsely believe to be not only doomed, but also to be a suppressive threat to redemption.

MLMs lure consumers with the promise of a money making opportunity, but they are consistently vague about how the opportunity works until you are brought to a meeting. Their initial focus is on creating an environment where the consumer will be love bombed to earn trust, and then they will propose their irrational idea. They have to make sure a consumer is properly primed, because the consumer, in most cases, will not willingly hear the idea otherwise. Afterward, MLMers will turn their attention to outside resources designed to destroy the reputation of the MLM and attempt to discredit them.

When I was first propositioned for MLM, there was no mention of the business and how it worked. Instead, the focus was on a fantasy that everyone has and a loaded question that most people would answer affirmatively. In fact, the name of the MLM was disregarded until I was brought to an event where hundreds of people clambered together in a church to receive training. This is the beginning of the indoctrination as the herd helps the new recruit unconsciously form a consenting opinion about the opportunity. MLMers will consistently suggest that outside resources, such as the internet, family, friends, co-workers, and media outlets cannot be trusted and their information is routinely false. MLMers will follow this by suggesting they have all the answers, they will take care of your needs, wants, and desires, so long as you subordinate to their teachings or system.

This system is designed by the mentors that are all knowing, because they have videos showing their wealth. The mentors will encourage MLMers to consistently listen to recordings and attend seminars to reaffirm their message. The recordings and seminars will be repetitive and mind numbing, and will deter the MLMer from engaging in outside learning. They will continue to press their information while denigrating everyone else until the MLMer is completely indoctrinated.

Fred and Tom have been involved in MLM for over 10 years, and they are completely indoctrinated. They will discredit any outside opinion, and have begun to completely isolate themselves from society. Their attention has been solely consumed by the MLM as they continue to work toward their fantasy of retirement (similar to being beamed up by the mother ship). They are completely deluded and shells of their former selves.

Here is the link to the rest of David Brear's article: http://mlmtheamericandreammadenightmare.blogspot.com/2012/03/universal-identifying-characteristics.html

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.

10 comments:

  1. John - I don't know if you have read this article (linked below), but this is how the Universal Identifying Characteristics of a Cult can be directly applied to the analysis of any 'MLM' mob. Just remove 'Herbalife' and fill in 'Amway', 'Forever Living Products', 'Nu Skin', 'Usana', 'Xango', etc.

    'MLM' cults are all built to essentially the same two-dimensional pattern. Their bosses all peddle a form a Paradise on Earth and require their adherents to develop total blind faith in this bedazzling fiction.

    http://mlmtheamericandreammadenightmare.blogspot.fr/2015/03/herbalife-hlf-in-depth-analysis.html

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    1. David,

      I just got done reading this article, and it too was fantastically informative. I don't have a lot of experience with Herbalife and I haven't done a lot of research on them, but I do understand that they are exactly the same as the rest.

      My wife's best friend for a short period of time was into Herbalife, and she even got her to purchase some of the junk (I think it is still in our cabinets). My wife did it out of pity, but she didn't realize it was sending the wrong message. Luckily, she didn't chase after the "dream", and her best friend also left shortly after because she has had chronic issues with following anything through (That hasn't stopped her from getting signed up for multiple MLMs unfortunately).

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    2. It is now abundantly clear that MLM rackets are profoundly cultic and totalitarian in their practices. The evidence is overwhelming, and documented in meticulous detail.

      But the larger issue is why persons keep on being drawn to these criminal scams. It's been mentioned here at this blog, which attempts to understand some of the deeper psychological motivations behind the phenomenon of persons remaining loyal to a system that is impoverishing them.

      In my view the real problem is MINDLESS ENTHUSIASM, which is now preached as a quasi-religion to everyone in the developed world. If you are not hyped up and energized and enthusiastic, people assume that you are crippled in some way.

      Consider my field, which is teaching. No one thinks that a classroom should be a quiet place where students assimilate information, memorize principles, and listen carefully to lectures while taking notes. Oh, No! That's not "modern"! The classroom should be a buzzing hive of mindless activities and interaction, with slide shows and movies and individual projects and discussion groups and arguments. The students have to be "enthusiastic"! the teacher has to be an all-purpose "activities director"!

      What is the result? Students leave the classroom having learned practically nothing. But they feel great. And according to many people, this is the only important thing.

      How are MLMs any different? Do they not generate loyalty simply because they have the knack of making people feel good about themselves and about the world? Who cares if the products being sold are mediocre muck? Who cares if you learn nothing at a business meeting? Who cares if you're losing $800 a month? As long as you're filled with mindless enthusiasm, everything is just great.

      The ancient Greeks had the right idea. They thought that both hope and enthusiasm were diseases to be avoided at all costs. A genuine and sane human being looked at the world calmly and rationally, and made decisions based not on absurd hopes and dreams, but on a clear perception of what was real.

      Such a person today is considered a "loser." He has "no energy." He doesn't "dream." He's not "a mover and shaker."

      Does this not sound familiar to you? Isn't this precisely the kind of overheated rhetoric one hears from freaks in Amway and Herbalife and Monavie and all the other myriad MLM rackets that pollute the contemporary world?

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    3. Anonymous,

      Wow! Absolutely amazing response, and thank you for relating it to personal experience!

      "In my view the real problem is MINDLESS ENTHUSIASM, which is now preached as a quasi-religion to everyone in the developed world. If you are not hyped up and energized and enthusiastic, people assume that you are crippled in some way."

      Thank you for this part! I have had so much trouble articulating this weird cultural norm. People are far too sensational in their emotions and word choice these days, and it is only getting worse as this is considered "necessary" behavior in society. I honestly blame the emphasis on reality television mixed with a consistent need to one-up another person's level of excitement. My dad had an amazing moment of accidental clarity when he said, "Why do people use the word awesome so much? Are they always walking around awe struck? Is everything really spectacular to them?"

      It sounds like your students are suffering from sugar overload. It is nice to give them a reward every once in a while to help keep their interest and instill another purpose for working hard. However, it has turned into sugary lectures filled with mush, and it is producing brains full of cavities.

      "Does this not sound familiar to you? Isn't this precisely the kind of overheated rhetoric one hears from freaks in Amway and Herbalife and Monavie and all the other myriad MLM rackets that pollute the contemporary world?"

      Unfortunately, the media in this world is run by a corporate syndicate and they too have used the monopolization of information to their advantage. As David said in his article, cults can come in many different forms, and the people who fall victim to them are the people ignorant enough to believe they can't. It is truly frustrating, but when we don't have equal access to information, then we are destined to have a limited, jaded, and manipulated views of the world.

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    4. John and Anonymous - In the past, I've been criticised for using the term, 'intellectual castration,' to describe the effects of cultism. Yet in order to control a person's thinking, and resulting behaviour, all that is required is to limit his/her means of thought.

      When one applies George Orwell's totalitarian insights to the 'MLM' phenomenon, the results are particularly chilling.

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      'The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought - that is, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc - should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words. Its vocabulary was so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express, while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods. This was done partly by the invention of new words, but chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and by stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meanings whatever.'

      Georges Orwell (Appendix to 'Nineteen Eighty-Four')

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      The purpose of 'MLM Income Opportunity' jargon is not only to provide a medium of expression for the unquestioning world-view and mental habits proper to the core-adherents of 'MLM' groups, but to make all other critical and evaluative modes of thought impossible. It is intended that when 'MLM Income Opportunity' jargon has been adopted once and for all and traditional language forgotten, a heretical thought - that is, a thought diverging from the 'positive' principles of 'MLM' - should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words. Its vocabulary is so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every 'positive' meaning that an 'MLM Distributor' can properly wish to express, while excluding all other 'negative' meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods. This is done partly by the invention of new 'positive' words and phrases ('Herbalife', 'Amway', 'NuSkin', 'Xango', 'Multi-Level Marketing', 'Distributor' , Independent Business Owner,'), but chiefly by eliminating undesirable 'negative' words and phrases ('cult', 'totalitarian', 'fraud', 'deception', 'brainwashing', 'victims', 'exploitation' , 'de facto slaves') and by stripping such words and phrases as remain of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meanings whatever.

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    5. David,

      That is exactly what I have experienced and seen first-hand when witnessing the FED from Amway. There was so much pressure to completely conform to the ideas and principles of MLM, that my "sponsor" could not understand the point I was trying to make when I suggested some issues with the unnecessary purchasing of tools. He emphasized this was the only way the "system" works, and it is the only way I could be a part of his "business". He actually wanted me to leave and spend nothing, rather than partially invest in being a downline for his team, because I wasn't going to be completely committed to the "system" they had in place. The alleged "fool proof" business that was incredibly easy to duplicate, would also require endless training and materials each month?

      I have also run into similar bizarre situations when bringing up the "business" with my former sponsor Fred. He has been warped in such a way he actually believes he is not an IBO for Amway. Rather, he is a member of WWDB, and by extension has a connection to Amway. He cringes at the sound of Amway, and wants as little to do with them as possible. This is some of the weirdest programming I have ever seen, and there is no ability to help him understand because he doesn't want to understand. He just wants to continue to be told what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and then magically his reward will materialize.

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    6. Fred must be truly "intellectually castrated." Doesn't he see that WWDB is nothing but a service function for Amway? The only reason WWDB and all the other subsystems like BWW and Network 21 were created was to build up and motivate Amway down-lines.

      Being a member of WWDB and NOT seeing this obvious fact is like being in a parlor and not noticing an elephant in the room with you.

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    7. The average 'MLM' victim has not had the slightest idea of what he/she has really been involved in, because cults are maliciously designed to be completely beyond their victims' understanding

      The big 'MLM' cults have comprised mystifying labyrinths of legally-registered 'commercial,' and 'non-profit-making,' associations - pursuing unlawful, and/or lawful, enterprise. These vast, and ever-shifting, corporate fictions have prevented, and diverted, investigation and isolated their bosses from liability.

      In very simple terms, companies like 'Amway' have been used to lure victims into the 'MLM' pyramid trap, whilst other (apparently independent) companies like 'WWDB', 'Network 21' and 'International Business Systems' have been used to brainwash the victims' and steal their cash via advance fee frauds (i.e. the peddling of the 'secrets of success' contained in endless over-priced publications, recordings, meetings, etc.).

      If faced with investigation, an apparently independent front-organisation like 'WWDB' (along with its front-under-bosses) can be cut adrift and the main 'MLM' racket (and its own big bosses) can then continue, but using other (apparently independent) companies to perpetrate the same advance fee fraud and obstruct justice.

      Indeed, this is exactly how various big 'MLM' rackets have managed to survive down the years.

      This type of criminogenic system (which historically has been extensively developed, and used, by groups like the Italian American Mafia) forms part of an overall pattern of ongoing major racketeering activity - as defined by the US federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, 1970.

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    8. Anonymous,

      The best way I can describe Fred is, a well intentioned worker bee. He doesn't want to think for himself, and he wants people to give him direction. He wants something to believe in, and he doesn't care to investigate where his belief system was created or by whom it was created.

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    9. Well, if that's the way Fred is, there's no hope for him. He's going to play "follow the leader" all his life.

      I suppose the majority of the world's population is brainlessly conformist and other-directed, just as Fred is. No wonder these absurd MLM rackets thrive.

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