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Culture

Someone predicted that cults will make a 'huge comeback' in 2022, sparking a funny debate

cults, caleb hearon, 2022 predictions
via Pexels and Caleb Hearon/Twitter

Are cults making a comeback?

Things have definitely taken a turn for the weird in America over the past few years. So much so that I’ve had many a morning where I wake up with the John Lennon song, “Nobody Told Me” stuck in my head.

“Strange days, indeed. Most peculiar, mamma,” Lennon sang on his posthumous hit.

There’s been political unrest, ecological disasters, that weird monolith that popped up in the Utah desert and super credible-looking UFO videos.

Oh yeah, there’s also that pandemic thing that’s still going on.

The sheer absurdity of it all prompted comedian Caleb Hearon to tweet "i think cults are about to have a huge comeback" on Wednesday and a lot of people agreed with him.

It's been said that people often join cults to soothe their fears and anxieties . If that's the case, then Hearon may be right. A recent study found that there was a 26% increase in anxiety worldwide in 2021 due to the pandemic.

To make things even more interesting, there are many who feel anxiety about the pandemic ending because they don’t want to go back to normal.

Hearon's tweet kicked off a great discussion on Twitter on whether or not we’re already in the midst of a cult renaissance.

We've already got the clothes down.

Is the internet already a cult?

Is it happening already?

Some folks are down already.

What cults are we talking about?

Let's do this.

After reading the responses it looks like Hearon wasn’t far from the truth. A lot of people raised their hands and said “I’m in” after thinking about the potential benefits that come with being in a cult.

While others claimed there are plenty of cults happening right now, it’s just that people don’t know they’re in them.

Steven Hassan, author of “Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults” and a former member of the Moonies, no less, says that there are essentially four types of cults : behavior control, information control, thought control and emotional control.

He also says that just about anyone is susceptible to being the victim of a cult.

"If you think it could never happen to you, then you're the most vulnerable. Because nobody's impervious," he says.

If Hearon is right, there may be some super culty stuff happening all around us in the coming months. If you’re not down for the cult lifestyle, then it’s best to keep your eyes wide open for suspicious groups gathering in unlikely places.


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