Jacob is a socialist community organizer living in Philadelphia. He helps run the Community Action Relief Project (CARP), a mutual aid organization committed to sharing resources and redistributing wealth throughout the Kensington neighborhood and broader Philadelphia. In addition to hosting political reading groups and building relationships with neighborhood groups for CARP, his creative pursuits include poetry, comedy, and ASMR videos. Jacob joined Rachel not to denounce or advocate for any broad political ideology but to warn potential recruits to the specific group he was involved with (PSL) by sharing his own personal experience.
In this first part of Rachel's two-part conversation with Jacob, he explains how he first got involved with The Party for Socialism and Liberation, a high control group in the world of political organizing. Jacob breaks down some of the cult-like tactics of control that were commonplace in his branch. Rachel offers her insights into the groups' use of manipulative language and pressure to overachieve to the point of exhaustion. They discuss in detail the restrictive nature of the organization, as well as its intolerance of dissent both in public and private.
Before You Go: Rachel emphasizes the point Jacob made about questioning why so many people involved with his group left on bad terms. She explains how you can examine the nature of an organization by noting its reaction to your dissenting opinions or refusal of demands.
Learn more about Jacob's experience and the experiences of many other former PSL members here:
https://medium.com/@jacobscb/documentation-of-corruption-institutional-bigotry-and-high-control-group-cult-like-behavior-in-6afa65b8072e
Find Rachel's book "Now I Know, Kids Talking To Kids About Divorce..." here:
https://www.amazon.com/Now-I-Know-Rachel-Bernstein/dp/1620867893
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