After watching something on TV about the “Helter Skelter” murders, in which – amongst others – Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife Sharon Tate was killed by three deluded hippies under the influence of a maniac going by the name of Charles Manson, I couldn’t help wondering why so many people are drawn to guru-like persons, or to their messianic nonsense.
There has been a lot of attention in the press for this phenomenon lately. Also today, I read something about a criminal “satsang” [SIC!] sect in Belgium, practising abduction, murder and sexual coercion. And some weeks ago, I read that in another part of the world, some religious group (I forgot which) abused young girls of 15 to serve as breeding machines to some old geezers, in order to provide the next generation of gullible idiots. Where were their mothers?
According to research in the the field of Social-Psychology, performed by Solomon Asch in 1958, people apparently seek conformation within a group rather than sticking out like a sore thumb for telling how it is, even if they are closer to reality or the truth than the group is. Peer pressure amongst children probably works in the same way. Non-conformism, as it seems, is not a desirable quality.
I, on the other hand, love to be a non-conformist. And I can be one, because I draw my incentive to feel good, as well as my self-perceived intrinsic value and self-esteem, from myself. It belongs to me, and not to someone else, so to speak. I also see to it that I have a reliable base for my conviction of knowing how this planet turns. It is done by a lot of reading, besides many other things one can do to keep one self educated and in touch with reality. So, to top it all off, my self-image suffices entirely for me to trust myself in this world of confusion. I don’t need anybody to tell me that I am a person who is “worth the while”.
And, maybe more importantly, I accept my weaknesses and disabilities. For this reason alone, paradoxically, I don’t ever have to doubt myself. And I love the amount of “I’s” in the last few sentences.
So to any Guru or Messiah: Fuck Off! And go prey on some weak minded, soggy brained people, who are susceptible to your manipulations. I am in another league.
