“There are implicit rules to never unmask the toxicity of the group or its decisions. Questions are always met with ambiguous or vague answers or outright reprimands and punishment. The victim’s duty is to keep quiet, remain a scapegoat and not make a fuss about carrying out dirty work for the group.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“To make the conspiracy all the more effective, the victim is further silenced by what makes them so special in the first place – their ability to be discerning, their sensitive nature, their compassion – are all used to paint them as unhinged should they dare to speak out.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“Truth-tellers are commonly scapegoated in groups where there is toxicity brimming beneath the surface.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“This example illustrates something deeply important: groups with one or more sociopaths do not target people who are incompetent. On the contrary, they target those who threaten the status quo in some way.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“These victims may at first be idealized and love-bombed. They are subjected to praise, laser-focused attention, gifts and false promises to lure them into the group. They are “groomed” to feel like a part of the group, which often has many cult-like qualities which discourage dissent and discussion.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“We live in a world where people don’t think conspiracies are possible. We tend to denounce ‘conspiracy theories’ because we are skeptical of privileged claims to knowledge and of strong claims of human agency. Many people think they are not possible, that they can’t be pulled off.”— Peter Thiel, amazon.com