NXIVM started off in 1998, kind of like this self-help group created by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman. They sold it as a way to get better at life and personal growth. here’s where it gets wild it turned out to be a cover-up for stuff like sex trafficking and other illegal things. They had a setup where they’d bring in famous people, rich folks, and even kids of big-time players, making it seem all exclusive and cool and once in 2017, The New York Times dropped a story that exposed everything. It showed that NXIVM wasn’t about self-improvement but it was actually doing some pretty scary activities. within the cult there were hidden secret groups within it called DOS where women were branded and manipulated into doing things they didn’t want to dovin the name of empowerment. when the law stepped in Keith Raniere and some of the top people got arrested. In 2019, Raniere was found guilty of all these major crimes, like controlling people’s lives and on top of that got a 120-year prison sentence. he’s still trying to continue things from behind bars, keeping followers hooked on his word
To avoid being enlisted in a cult like NXIVM, Before joining any group research its background, leadership, and any news about its activities. Ask external perspectives they can help identify red flags you might have missed. And finally If something feels off or too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your gut feelings about an organization and its leaders.
4 thoughts on “joan contreras conversation 4”
Hi, Joan! The post is great, I like it. I heard about NXIVM long ago as a company that disturbs activities hidden beneath its facade of self-improvement, but I didn’t know any details. The revelation of secret groups like DOS, where women were manipulated, is alarming. Although we think that women are protected in developed countries, the reality is much harsher and it is important to know and talk about it. You highlight the importance of critical thinking and skepticism when considering involvement in any organization, emphasizing that appearances can be deceiving, and I agree with you. This is especially important in today’s world when cults masquerade as modern companies instead of religious organizations. Overall, your summary sheds light on the dark reality behind NXIVM, and, yes, sometimes it is better to listen to your intuition.
Hi Joan,
I like your post, I learned about NXIVM and is about a self-help group created by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman in 1998, was a cover-up for illegal activities such as sex trafficking. The group attracted famous people, wealthy individuals, and even children of big-time players, making it seem exclusive and cool. I like how you included that to avoid joining a cult like NXIVM, research its background, leadership, and any news about its activities have to be done. external perspectives to identify red flags and trust your gut feelings about an organization and its leaders. It’s important to know about these type of cults and how negatively it can affect.
Hey, Joan. Your post is very clear, and it is summarized perfectly. First off this is a very interesting type of cult you’ve done research on. I do very much like your way of avoiding a cult like this one you researched. I find it this very new and interesting as I have learned that “They sold it as a way to get better at life and personal growth. here’s where it gets wild it turned out to be a cover-up for stuff like sex trafficking and other illegal things.” as you said here, I learned that cult like to blend in as a ordinary group and it’s very hard to uncover the truth at times. I learned that NXIVM wasn’t about self-improvement and it branded women and manipulated into doing things they didn’t want to do. And that the leader Raniere was found guilty of all these major crimes, like controlling people’s lives and got a 120-year prison sentence.
Cases like these are so disturbing that it makes me wonder, what causes this perversion of the cult leader? I know this isn’t exactly a profound question, and it’s definitely been answered by psychologists and the like who will likely chalk it up to their childhood experiences or their hereditary traits. But I often find these unconvincing. And in fact, here we have the story of Keith Raniere, who, based off a quick read of his early life, does not seem to have struggled all that much in his early life, nor does it seem that he inherited any mental illnesses from his parents. His parents separated when he was 8, and they were seemingly quite wealthy based on their occupations, the neighborhood he lived in, and the schools he attended. He was a computer programmer and all of a sudden, after someone told him how gifted and intelligent he was, he thought he was God. I think this is very telling. Psychologists always want to say, “He had a troubled childhood, or his neurochemistry caused him to have twisted beliefs.” I think the reality is, evil exists. To try to pick the mind of a purely evil person is a fool’s errand. It should, more often than not, be enough to say that the person is evil and is no longer allowed to enjoy the light of day along with the rest of us.