Snapping:America?s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change

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Caterpillar
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Snapping:America?s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change

Unread post by Caterpillar »

Snapping: America?s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change

Updated and Expanded 2nd Edition (2005)

by Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman


http://books.google.com/books?id=jrkq7s ... #PPA139,M1


I found the above book preview online and notice it mentions RSE in these pages.


Pages 139 to 142 mention JZ/Ramtha, effects of C & E, cultish behavior (describes Ramsters really well) and ?The Delusional Phase?.

Pages 149 to 151 mention JZ/Ramtha again.

From Page 149, Spirit ?channeler? JZ Knight seemed a mistress of delusion?
joe sz
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Unread post by joe sz »

Snapping first came in @1979. It was one of the few books out with critical updated info on cults at the time. I know it helped me to get a grip on what happened to me in Prophet's cult. A flaw in Snapping and the newer edition [that now includes Ramtha] is the limited and somewhat skewed demographic of ex-members the authors interviewed. A good chunk of them were deprogrammed thus reflecting the "anti-cult" view. Most cult members, maybe 90%, "walk" or struggle away on their own with only minimal counseling years later. Re the inclusion of Ramtha info came mainly from me and one ex-member I referred to the authors. They did no other research on Ramtha as far as i know save reading up on the RSE history.
The "catastrophic" model and theory of why cults implode or become suicidal at the end of the book is interesting but not reliable.

Conway and Siegelman did coin the term "Information Disease" to describe what happens in our brains when we absorb and believe false or delusional information.

This book represents the other end of what scholars lke Bromley will propose about cults and ramtha.
Caterpillar
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Unread post by Caterpillar »

Joe, thank you again for the review. I didn't know you contributed to the book.
California Dreamin'
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Unread post by California Dreamin' »

The first time I heard of the "Snapping" theory was very shortly after Dan White murdered San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and fellow supervisor Harvey Milk back in 1978. (Dan White eventually committed suicide.)

The twinkie theory was borne and was attributed to Dan White's "snapping" and going on his murder rampage.
ex
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Unread post by ex »

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~zacme/twinkietheory.htm i dident know what the twinkyteory was so i googeled. if you continue to lissen to bs you can life forever. thanks for this laugh.
Caterpillar
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Unread post by Caterpillar »

Ex, I'm disappointed as I thought Ramtha, the great barbarian was the originator of the Twinkie theory. You know, it was only a few years ago that he recommended we all bought Twinkies and stuff our face with the preservative in Twinkies ie Sorbic acid. Is that what happened to JZ??? Maybe it's not Botox... but Twinkies!!!

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/twinkie.htm/printable
California Dreamin'
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Unread post by California Dreamin' »

I previously said:
The twinkie theory was borne and was attributed to Dan White's "snapping" and going on his murder rampage.
What I neglected to mention was that Dan White's defense team pleaded a twinkie theory defense because of his regular consumption of numerous twinkies.

http://peacesecurity.suite101.com/artic ... ie_defence
Caterpillar
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Unread post by Caterpillar »

CD, wow, it's enlightening!

http://peacesecurity.suite101.com/artic ... ie_defence

Copied from above link: "...he underwent a 180-degree turn since quitting his job, becoming withdrawn from his family and binging on junk food, including Twinkies and Coca-Cola."

Remember Ramtha, the barbarian loves his Coke. He has said 'Coca-Cola is the real thing'.

Twinkies and Coca-Cola must contribute to the sociopathic nature of Ramtha students. I would love to do a clinical trial and brain scan. Where's Robert Hare, the psychopath expert?
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littlewiseone
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Unread post by littlewiseone »

I think they were saying that Dan White's actions were caused by a deep depression, which was evidenced by his uncharacteristic bingeing on twinkies... so it wasn't exactly the twinkies that supposedly made him do it, but the depression.

Funny thing is, that reading one of the above links made me realize twinkies aren't as horrible as I always thought, I mean they're bad for sure but no worse than most other junk food. I love the one link that said the wrapper is probably the single most important preservative, does that mean we should all seal ourselves in plastic wrap for longevity? ;-)
...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make...

- The Beatles
Caterpillar
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Unread post by Caterpillar »

Littlewiseone, thanks for the clarification. I thought the preservatives and sugars would make one 'nutty' as well.

About the wrapper, you might be giving ideas to JZ/Ramtha. That would be the next teaching on 'self-preservation'.

P.S. Will go find some Twinkies and Coke ...
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littlewiseone
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Unread post by littlewiseone »

Caterpillar wrote: I thought the preservatives and sugars would make one 'nutty' as well.
I think this can still be true... at least with some people (kids in particular) that I know. ;-)
...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make...

- The Beatles
journeythroughramthaland
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Unread post by journeythroughramthaland »

Caterpillar,

If I haven't before, let me say I have and continue to admire your public sharing of your journey, both in and out of RSE

If you have not read the whole book "snapping" i would definitely include it on your reading list. I have not read the new addition but read the first one early on in my experience in the early nineties.

Yes, it included many interviews from members who had been "deprogramed" and their responses had a bit of an "anti-cult " feel to it. A thorough reading reveals a much more in depth approach then the "anti-cult" groups were putting forward at that time. It was the first time I had encountered such an approach and their model of "information disease" was one in which immediately felt identifiable to me.

I contacted the authors and related my own personal story to them. We spent several hours on the phone and had several face to face meetings. One of the questions I had for them was while their book was made so much of by the "anti-cult" organizations their presence was noticeably missing.

They were well aware of the fact that the majority of their interviews had come from "deprogrammed" members and did not agree with all aspects of the anti-cult community while still remaining concerned about the occurring phenomena.

I found them both to be very open minded and extremely well reseached as well as being just nice people.
"I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education."
-William Mizner
Caterpillar
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Unread post by Caterpillar »

Journeythroughramthaland,

Thank you for the info on the book.

I'll be purchasing it.
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