I was looking for a website that could provide assistance to wives, family members, and friends of Amway cult members.
Although the CultInformation Center is a British organisation, they give a website that has links to organisations around the world that assist people in coping with cult departure tactics and family support. http://www.cultinformation.org.uk/help.html
The following is a list of signs indicating an organisation has cult characteristics, according to the authors:
Is there a lot of pressure on me to join or stay in the organisation?
Is it fair to say that I'm being pressured to recruit others?
Is it possible that my doubts and questions will be discouraged, avoided, or even prohibited?
If I express my dissatisfaction with the group, would I be told that I have a mental illness?
Is there no way for me to check the accuracy of the information provided by the group?
Is it required of me to share my anxieties and secrets?
Is it the group's leadership's responsibility to dictate how I should act, think, and feel?
Is it possible that I am not getting enough sleep or that I am not having enough time to dedicate to outside interests and responsibilities?
Is it expected of me to feel fear or shame if I don't do exactly what my leader or elders in the group have instructed me to do?
Is it possible that I've lost touch with my former friends?
Have I missed out on key family gatherings because I was urged to spend time with other group members instead, or because I was assigned a time-sensitive duty to complete?
Is there a widespread idea that the leader possesses exceptional abilities?
Is it possible that the group has made promises to me that have yet to be fulfilled?
Was I told that joining this group was the only way to find pleasure, peace, God, or even prosperity? Isn't it a bit much to ask?
Wow! What a great way to summarise our Amway experience!
Here are my responses:
There was a lot of pressure to join. “It is now or never to become an Amway distributor. The Internet is set to erupt with information. “You want to get in right away.” Because we'd previously tried Amway once before and I didn't want to risk losing money again, I recommended to Ambot that we wait and see how his pal Captain Fuck Up fared before making any more decisions. If the fuckup was still doing well after a few months, it could be evidence to me that things are different in Amway. Ambot had lost his mind. With all of the rehearsed responses, he had already been snooping around meeting cult leaders in his spare time. Without signing up right away and getting in while the getting in was still good, we were going to miss out on a lot. After a few months, there was a lot of pressure to stay. “You're not going to be able to quit now. Not when success is just around the corner and you're about to go on a journey of epic proportions!”
It's a joke, of course! This should go without saying. That is exactly what Amway is all about. Recruiting other Independent Business Owners (IBOs) and fooling victims into attending Amway meetings.
Absolutely! “Never, ever question your superiors!”
That is also a resounding yes. "Don't be negative!" says the instructor. If you're not an unbeliever, a negative dream stealer, a loser with a job, and even worse, a broke loser, you're not reading this.
“Do not look for information on the Internet. It's full of fabrications, and you shouldn't believe anything you read on it."
Yes. Your upline is interested in knowing everything about you so that they might use it against you later.
Another resounding yeah! The expectation is that you'll dress in professional clothing, drive high-end vehicles, carry cell phones, and do whatever else is necessary to create a successful image. Make a fool of yourself until you make it!
Sleep! Ha! "When you're dead, you'll have plenty of time to sleep!" Amway meetings begin at 8 p.m. every night. Then there are meetings that follow the initial meeting. Even if you manage to get to bed by 1am, it's more likely that you'll be up later than that. Anything else in your life that has nothing to do with Amway can be put aside for a while.
Oh, absolutely! Before you do anything, you must first obtain permission from your upline! If you don't, you'll be the subject of rants and rages at the next Amway meeting, so prepare yourself. In addition, you will be hounded with phone calls, text messages, and emails from people who are upset with you for doing your own thing. The Amway cult leader is a figure to be revered and feared by his followers.
Yes, your former pals are no longer interested in spending time with you because you are prospecting them to attend Amway meetings, join up as an IBO, or purchase pricey Amway schwag. They'll shun you like the plague if you're around!
What about gatherings with friends and family? If you have an Amway meeting booked or if someone higher up in the organisation wants you to drop everything and kiss their arse, put them out of your mind.
Yes. If you spent time with your upline and learned from them, you would be able to mimic their magical abilities and become successful in Amway, according to the company's promotional materials.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha It makes me giggle all over again! Another resounding yes. Amway is full of promises (some of which have been broken) and dreams (shattered ones).
Yes. The residual revenue from Amway would continue to flow into our bank accounts for the rest of our lives. Because we were going to be kinder people if that didn't happen!
LOL!
Now, let's just send out a big, fat FUCK YOU to Amway and all of the fucking bastards in the Amway upline one more time.
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