One of more "cultish" arguments raised by followers of a particular scheme (starts with V) is "I don't have to listen to you. I listen to people who made money! How much did you make, huh?"
A somewhat more polite version would be, "If I want to play basketball I want to be like Michael Jordan. If I want to play football I want to be like Peyton Manning. If I want to make money I'll want to be someone who has made lots of money, such as my leader _______ in ______."
This sounds like it made sense... For about 3 seconds.
Why would you NOT want to emulate the top billionaires in the US of A... like Bill Gates (Microsoft), Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway), or Larry Ellison (Oracle), or heck, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)? Why would you suddenly lower your goalpost? What sort of crazy argument is that?
It's like saying, "I want to be the best in the field... EXCEPT when it comes to money!"
WTF?! Man... WTF.
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But wait, there's more!
Those who look into the first statement will also immediately see a potential problem... that it ASSUMES that whoever is used as idol, that person is making money through a legitimate enterprise or method. After all, technically anybody can make a ton of money by going into the illegal narcotics business, right? The risks are huge, but those people *do* know how to make money... supposedly. Why not look up to them?
Both statements also has a "cult" feel, in that it discourages people from seeking alternate views, and shuts down learning, as if anybody else is not worth listening to. This is an integral part of cult mentality, known as "Thought Control". Once they got you thinking only their thoughts instead thinking your own thoughts, they own (pwn?) you totally.
Basically, this is a slogan that sounds good, but makes no sense upon inspection. It's useful to occupy one's mind temporarily, used as a part of "shock and awe" to overwhelm the target's mental reserves as a form of subtle coercion, but does not stand up to closer scrutiny.
[Inspired by YPRPariah blog post http://yprpariah.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/vemma-ypr-who-do-you-listen-to/ ]
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A somewhat more polite version would be, "If I want to play basketball I want to be like Michael Jordan. If I want to play football I want to be like Peyton Manning. If I want to make money I'll want to be someone who has made lots of money, such as my leader _______ in ______."
This sounds like it made sense... For about 3 seconds.
Why would you NOT want to emulate the top billionaires in the US of A... like Bill Gates (Microsoft), Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway), or Larry Ellison (Oracle), or heck, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)? Why would you suddenly lower your goalpost? What sort of crazy argument is that?
It's like saying, "I want to be the best in the field... EXCEPT when it comes to money!"
WTF?! Man... WTF.
But wait, there's more!
Those who look into the first statement will also immediately see a potential problem... that it ASSUMES that whoever is used as idol, that person is making money through a legitimate enterprise or method. After all, technically anybody can make a ton of money by going into the illegal narcotics business, right? The risks are huge, but those people *do* know how to make money... supposedly. Why not look up to them?
Both statements also has a "cult" feel, in that it discourages people from seeking alternate views, and shuts down learning, as if anybody else is not worth listening to. This is an integral part of cult mentality, known as "Thought Control". Once they got you thinking only their thoughts instead thinking your own thoughts, they own (pwn?) you totally.
Basically, this is a slogan that sounds good, but makes no sense upon inspection. It's useful to occupy one's mind temporarily, used as a part of "shock and awe" to overwhelm the target's mental reserves as a form of subtle coercion, but does not stand up to closer scrutiny.
[Inspired by YPRPariah blog post http://yprpariah.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/vemma-ypr-who-do-you-listen-to/ ]
