Sure, I think this forum would've been beneficial to teenaged me. What does the mainstream have? Alcohol/cigarette ads, powerful religions that offer no solid evidence for astonishing claims, and propaganda agencies like NYT that
drumbeat "forever wars."
We live in a world of deadly cults.
People navigating life need tolerably accurate views of it. Including learning about worst-case life scenarios and non-mainstream ideas. Look at the youtube troll's criteria for being a cult: "First, it has a highly peculiar alternative ideology which runs contrary to mainstream thinking." That conformist fear of non-mainstream thought is not only cultish, but dangerous.
What's the very next cult he cites? Scientology. Yep, a cult. But what's a mainstream counterpart? How about Christianity? With its Holy Wars, who
shocked the Roman Empire by flaying the philosopher/mathematician/scientist Hypatia with oyster shells. Recently, Christians tried converting me to "fight for the glory of God."
And why does he cite Scientology? Because they're against "medical professionals and therapists." (Like
his family, which makes money off your misery.) Are they cult-like? Yes! Their residencies, where they work over 80 hours a week, are "brutal, like a kind of hazing." (
Source, google's
cache.) A Yale professor
said, "It's almost part of the medical school culture that a faculty member may try to embarrass you or humiliate you."
("Almost" is an understatement.)
Who wants their malnourished doctor working an 80 hour workweek? Who "prayed that they would die so that I wouldn't have to stay up for two more hours"? But their precious hazing rituals are more important than our health.
Here, you'll find alternative viewpoints. And articulate your own. Propagandists shove mainstream ideologies down your throat. So why would it hurt to get more diverse views?
Our youtube troll participates in DDOSing us, to "hamper this site's ability to function." Why do his followers censor us? Because this site counters mainstream cult mentality. Unmediated by professional cultists.