"I HAD THIS, AND YOU HAVE RUINED MY PLANS. AGAIN. YOU ARE ALWAYS RUINING MY PLANS. YOU RUIN EVERYTHING, AND THIS TIME I DO NOT FORGIVE YOU. THERE WILL BE NO MORE WARM HUGS FROM ME. YOU ARE BANNED!"

I'll never understand how, as a parent, you can give all of your love to a child, raise them to ha e an inner voice of moral authority, and then be petty and vindictive when they are adults. If my child grew to be a petty, self involved adult (>28) I would wonder where in the world I could have been more present and more connected. Possibly not my fault, but if have to check to make sure.

I think that's fair.

For me, it's more than just the dangers of their ideas. Its mechanisms of control. Can members come and go freely? Do the members have a livelihood separate from the religious community? Do they have access to other perspective or is their information limited and curated? Do they use their doctrines to create obedience to the leadership? Is their financial obligation to the movement more onerous than other religious groups? Can a member leave tomorrow without being stalked or harassed?

As far as I’ve seen, Falun Gong practitioners generally live normal, secular lives and aren't financially 'captured' by the organization. They might have strange or even 'subversive' views, but if the mechanism of total control isn't there, 'NRM' remains the more precise academic fit.

This is not a defense of their views. If our net is just fringe ideas, the net would be cast too wide and catch otherwise socially accepted groups.

I really enjoy your comments. You're even handed, considerate, and informative so I think you'll take this push back well.

The word cult is a slippery term that is generally a perjorative morphing to the intentions of both writer and reader. A more neutral term would be the preferred academic term of "new religious movement" while highlight specific harmful behaviors that might make it either immoral, illegal, or culturally distasteful.

I hope that you see the value in being more specific with the term.

Mickey7 level shit posting.

I know.

Exactly. That's why there's a mix of gender and skin colors in the picture.