Leaderboard

I hear you. But history shows over and over again that when you give a person too much power, abuse happens. Barnard can be charming, and charismatic and he understands on some levels how to manipulate people to his own ends. I'm shocked that people not only let him have sex with their wives, but they allowed him to basically have their daughters as well. In effect, a child sacrifice. It's very very disturbing. How does it happen? The human psyche can be manipulated, especially if the person is removed from the larger society where other points of view are put forward. The broken patterns of thinking are reinforced by the group, and some more sound reasoning is discouraged, even abhorred by the group. If one is fully invested into the group, meaning one's sense of right-ness or okay-ness is wrapped up in the approval of the group, that person will capitulate to the group's desire which is driven by the leader. Having approval from the group and especially the leader becomes everything and being rejected by the group is the equivalent of being sent to Hell. In fact, losing the group's approval is just plain unacceptable. So an exchange takes place. The leader grants the individual their sense of dignity and worth and in exchange the individual gives the leader complete and total subjection, even worship. The leader manipulates the individual by dangling the persons approval before them and keep them in a constant state of fear. The individual will do anything. This obviously doesn't work on everyone. Those who do not tow the line are ostracized and eventually removed from the group. Even if the leader is exposed, the staunch group members will not acknowledge it as in the case where the young girl escaped from Barnard's compound (or whatever it was) and went to her parents. She told her mother she was being sexually abused and the mother's reaction was that of anger and insisted the girl go back. The girl, being only about 15 went back, she really had no choice. The mother could not face going against her source of value, her god if you will. Amazing, but it is an example of human falleness.