Far-right extremists attack librarians as part of a push to establish an authoritarian America

Are you part of a cult?

• Does your group show unquestioning commitment to its leader, alive or dead?

• Are doubts and questions discouraged or punished?

• Are mind-altering techniques such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, and sleep deprivation or overworking used in excess (which, unwittingly or not, often serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leadership)?

• Does the leadership dictate how members should think, act, and feel? How they should dress, where they should live, and whom they should marry?

• Does the group feel they’re on a special mission to save humanity? Do they see their leader as a special being or an avatar?

• Does the group have an us-versus-them mentality?

• Does the leadership induce feelings of shame or guilt in order to influence or control members? Often this is often done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.

• Does the group require members to cut ties with family and friends, or to radically alter the personal goals and activities members had before they joined?

• Is the group preoccupied with bringing in new members and/or making money?

• Do you fear backlash to yourself or others if you leave—or even consider leaving—the group?

/r/politics Thread Link - msnbc.com