SuperBuck27 said:
Isn't it great how the love of Mac so quickly turns to hate? Some machine, somewhere, that some Chinese technician, in some nameless factory, somewhere in Mainland China, adjusted 2% off fries a couple laptops and it's Steve's head that we call for...Me, I'm a mostly satisfied Mac user of many years, but every once in a while, I check the following list for a quick dose of reality. Mac use: it more mind-bending than we care to admit.
I've also checked the one's that are true in my book, for reference. 8/14 right now, if my math is right.
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"Are you part of a cult?" Check List
The group is focused on a leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.
Check.
The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
Check.
The group is preoccupied with making money.
Check. (Last time I checked, Apple does make profits)
Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
Check. I may even get flamed for this light-hearted post.
Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
Stevenotes, anyone? Check.
The leadership dictates sometimes in great detail how members should think, act, and feel (for example: members must get permission from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, how to discipline children, and so forth).
Hm... Debatable. No check. Have heard rumors of this type of behavior, tho.
The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (for example: the leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity).
Check.
The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society.
Check. Oh yes.
The group's leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations).
Hm... maybe, but probably not.
The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities).
Hm... no check, I think.
The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them.
Hm... Don't recall.
Members' subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group.
I've done a bit of this... LOL Trolling Macrumors for hours after keynotes...
Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group.
Your call.
Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members
Anyone care to share their thoughts?
