June 17, 2009: Q&A with Diane Benscoter: Joining, leaving & Ultimately Defeating the Cult (https://blog.ted.com/qa_with_diane_b/) (TED Blog)
QuoteI had just turned 17. I was very idealistic. The Vietnam War really bothered me. I had a good friend with a brother in Vietnam. I was determined to find a community that would stop the madness. I went off in search of something like that. I went off on this Walk for World Peace. It was a five day walk, and during the entire walk there would be two people walking with me at all times, talking about this new world they were going to build, saying that I was special and chosen by God to be a part of this, otherwise I wouldn't be there. There were lectures every night. And slowly I came to believe that they were right, and that Sun Myung Moon was the second coming of the Messiah.Any critical question — the kind that a scientist would welcome — was not acceptable. In circular logic, anything that questions belief means something evil, bad or Satan. It's wrong to listen, it's wrong to even play with ideas that are different. This is how unthinkable things can happen.
June 18, 2009: How Cults Rewire the Brain (TedTalk by Diane Benscoter)
Diane's Book (2013): Shoes of a Servant (https://www.amazon.com/Shoes-Servant-Diane-Benscoter/dp/1939051371)
March 28, 2021: Former Moonies Cult Members Are Working With Families of QAnon Believers to Help Their Loved Ones Get a Grip on Reality (https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-moonie-cult-members-help-families-of-qanon-believers-build-bridges-2021-3) (Business Insider)
QuoteAs a former member of the Unification Church — a religious cult whose members are commonly known as "the Moonies" — Benscoter knows what it feels like to be completely fixated on a common belief. "I know about the righteousness you feel when you believe you're on the right side of history," Benscoter told Insider. "And the camaraderie you feel with the community you're a part of." ...
While there is no quick fix, Benscoter said she is able to give people the tools to "begin to break down barriers ... so that they can be more effective in helping their radicalized loved one get to the point where they might consider the possibility that they've been taken advantage of or lied to," she said.
One approach Benscoter teaches family members is to speak to their loved ones in a gentle, non-judgmental, and open-minded manner. "You can't argue facts, because they've already come to believe that any source of information outside of what they're digesting is a lie, and is evil," Benscoter said. "But if you can have them take a look at the possibility that maybe they were tricked or taken advantage of or lied to, then that's already a good starting point."
Jan. 9, 2022: Former Cult Member: Trump Used Techniques & Tactics Exactly The Same as a Cult (https://edition.cnn.com/videos/media/2022/01/09/donald-trump-cult-diane-benscoter-rs-vpx.cnn) (CNN)