Category Archives: November 6

Heaven’s Gate and the Social Psychology of Humiliation

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In looking at the Heaven’s Gate site first and then reading the essays, I understood after the fact what everyone else did as they were reading. Even then, the first thing that caught my attention were how outrageous it all sounded, which is something Applewhite thankfully acknowledged in the video that Amy linked us to. What does validate his words is his confidence though, the conviction that what he is telling us is the Truth whether we like it or not or even believe it. That he actually says outright how the rest of society will look at them works to keep potential believers interested. Someone who knows they’re different trying to get other people to join them is much more convincing and likable than someone who tries to play off that their very different group is normal.

It’s how you get Nichelle Nichols’ brother to join your cult, after all.

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Heaven’s Gate: More Likelihood Towards Violence?

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Having never heard of Marshall Applewhite or Heaven’s Gate before, I was completely absorbed upon going to the main website. In relation to Strozier’s points about charismatic leadership, and how a group member must maintain absolute conviction in a cause, separate to what that cause logically/rationally is, I was amazed at the convictions of the Heaven’s Gate website writers and/or Marshalle Applewhite’s writing.

Upon watching most of initiation tape of Heaven’s Gate, I noticed the elements of charismatic leadership occurring. The idea of self-confidence that a charismatic leader must have is very evident in watching Applewhite. The tape may not be the same as a real interaction with him may have been, but I found myself listening and thinking, “Maybe you’re on to something here!” because he managed to speak in a way that held absolute confidence, yet was not forceful or dogmatic. In general I think that is the kind of speaking that draws people in the most. It is, “Hello, I am presenting The Truth. You may not believe me, and that is fine, but it is The Truth. If you want it, please listen.”

As “The Charistmatic Leader and Total Conversion” (Essay 4) states, a charismatic leader is most convincing when that leader sticks to social norms, lore, leadership styles, and convictions. What was so interesting to me about the way Heaven’s Gate operated was how openly it addresses that, “There will be people who think that you are an outsider, cult member, etc.” By operating in the language that the cult knew it would be addressed with, I found it was able to subvert that label of abnormality that would otherwise prevent people from accessing it. There is this, indeed, paranoia mentioned (to me) in the writing of the Heaven’s Gate website. The cult went so far as to address that they may commit suicide (which they indeed did – it was as though the note on suicide was meant as a pre-nuptial, “We make an acception in case this happens.”). They even said that because member are ascending to the Next Level of Human, before the UFOs and and people are taken to Heaven, that they will have to revoke society’s rules and regulations. They psychologically convince the reader by mentioning the caveat that members may be arrested, and will feel distinctly different and struggle from abandoning society’s rules — this psychological isolation, and separation from society that would normal cause someone to become anti-social, (and indeed I think increase the likelihood of mental stress, depression, anxiety, and/or suicidal thoughts or tendencies) is all addressed within the mythology of this “religion.” By separating from society one is re-accessing one’s soul, and thus experiencing a level completely separate and within the binary fundamentalist mindset of humanity. One is becoming not “the Other,” but “the Chosen.”

I was also really interested in how this was different than some fundamentalist Christianity. On one hand, Heaven’s Gate operates within the same binary as “believers,” and “non-believers.” But there is a (to me, huge) difference because Christians believe that anyone can be saved, they just must be willing and open their heart. Anyone is fair game. If someone does not mean to be saved, perhaps they are operating under Satan or perhaps they are just lost. Now, it is true that some fundamentalists develop into the violent idea that anyone who is a non-believers is an operator of Satan, while I feel some think that people aren’t being operators in lines with Satan, but under Satan’s control. However, since Heaven’s Gate contains a caste-like system for a human’s capacity and developmental stages in regards to being saved, I feel like the ideas of violence or disregard of non-believers is even higher. A Heaven’s Gate-r (HG, I’ll abbreviate for now) could in theory commit violence upon a non-HG who is at the age of reasoning/self-control because they are not someone with a soul, or someone who is at level to receive a soul and they are operating for Lucifer. Correct me if I am wrong in this line of thinking, or have missed something that states otherwise. I never found anything against violence (except for suicide) or anything stating, like in the Bible, that one should be good to one’s neighbors, even those non-believers. Also, since people can get reincarnated, an HG who commits violence could argue that the person that the HG committed violence on was not at the level for being saved or ready to receive a deposit, and that violence was done as a way of helping that non-HG recognize his/her Luciferian ways.

To me, this element of Heaven’s Gate, with its caste-like separation and levels, made it both much more compelling and much more easily steered towards mass-violence and violent behavior.

Strozier and Heaven’s Gate

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Based on the Strozier readings, I can make sense of how Marshall Applewhite (Do) was able to gain a following for Heaven’s Gate. Applewhite has all of the elements that the authors believe is required for a charismatic leader for a fundamentalist group.

Applewhite presents himself as a messianic in his Introduction in the Heaven’s Gate website. After watching the video that Amy posted, I wouldn’t say that he is the best speaker but I still think that he manages to come across as charismatic. Hoffer argues that “the effectiveness of a leader is dependent on his self-confidence rather than his message.” Applewhite relays his message with his strong personality and conviction in his initiation video, so I think that the video is an effective way to influence new followers.

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The Psychologically Unstable: Perfect for the Cult Life

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In the first paragraph of the reading, Strozier immediately gets to his point that the strength of a group relies on its members’ conviction in the cause as opposed to what that cause actually is. This plays off of the confidence and charisma of the group leader, whose personality and aura can define the nature of the group itself.  There are a few skills that a successful cult leader must encompass. First of all, they must be able to convey ideas with the utmost conviction (meaning many of these leaders can be extremely paranoid, resulting in their overly confident belief that what they believe is the truth). Second of all, a strong [cult] leader must be able to cover up the harshness of death and violence by convincing followers that they are acting in favor of a ‘bigger picture,’ (often gaining the trust of paranoid people who are instilled with a fear of the imminent apocalypse).

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Aesthetics of the Apocalypse

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Although I started my studying with the Fundamentalist Mindset readings, my first reaction upon looking at the Heaven’s Gate website was that it was a complete eyesore and that difficult to understand because of reasons unrelated to content. The bright colored fonts were hard to read on a patterned background. Although the HTML and graphics were par for the course for late nineties web design, odd embellishments  do not enhance the credibility of the site’s creators. Yet it does remind me of something made by someone with as little attachment to earthly possessions as the mission statement claims. It is a recruitment tool, but there is something about this page that seeks to separate Heaven’s Gate from the masses that would criticize its workings and motives.

For those that are curious, results of the readability tests at http://juicystudio.com/services/readability.php place the Heaven’s Gate website homepage http://www.heavensgate.com/index.html#keys somewhere between Time and the Wall Street Journal, at roughly the 6th grade level. Srrody’s Earth exit statement is considered by the program calculator to be simpler than the homepage, but Glonody’s is more complex. I think that this seems to confirm the idea that a fundimentalist ideal being ever present and also so abstract that only the “right people” can be smart enough to understand/believe it and that they feel themselves to be alien from the “they” by the nature of having greater understanding. Certain Apocalyptic ideas are, as the result of a paranoid makers’ insanity, an subconscious attempt to be distance oneself from a more mainstream other while forming a familiar supportive group.

I found Strozier’s discussion for a need for a religious conversion to apocalyptic imagery in Chapter 4 especially interesting. Conversion imagery is seen as a tool to unite the split self by offering something familiar and concrete.

I wonder how a graphic designer’s reprensentation (or an artistic outside observer like Dave Gibbons or Michal Tolkin) of apocalyptic fundamentalists’ mind relates to the media that they create themselves.

Hoping for the best

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Hi everyone,

This has not been an easy time. I just want to say that I hope you and your families and friends are safe.  I had to evacuate from Rockaway on Sunday and am in Manhattan without power, so came to Macaulay to write this.  There is surely a lot of devastation around us but I am grateful to be okay.  Please let us all know how each of you are.

Be safe, Lee