How Capitalists Use the Language of Cults

In her book, Montell offers evidence that these linguistic tactics have seeped out from cults and into wider society. Propelled by capitalist demands and the reach of social media, the language of cults, she says, is now everywhere. If you question the business model of a multi-level marketing scheme, well, that's just "stinkin' thinkin'," a thought-terminating cliche popular with MLMs like Amway. Similarly, when the predictions of QAnon and other conspiracy theorists don't come to pass, foll...

 Thought Terminating Cliche

Another trick in the cult leader's language toolkit is the thought-terminating cliche. These are sayings that end uncomfortable conversations or trains of thoughts. "It is what it is." "Everything happens for a reason." "Let's agree to disagree." They shut down argument and critical thinking, which is why they're so handy to authoritarians who don't like to be questioned. Charles Manson countered any rational objections to his ravings by saying, "No sense makes sense." Try arguing with that. ...

 Advice for Dealing with Trolls

What to do instead So what should we do instead. It's very simple: Ask him what he means. ; interrogate him: "Why do you feel that Python is so bad? What do you find wrong with it?" Agree with him (but use a softer language): "Yes, Perl is a nice language, and I agree that Python has its downsides and/or trade-offs in comparison to Perl." "It's OK to prefer Perl, we'll still accept you here." This will make the troll lose steam and help you find a common ground. And eventually nego...

 Advice for Communicating with Trolls Properly

Some Advice for Communicating with Trolls Properly Relax: don't worry if you don't get everything exactly right. Communicate clearly: write in the best spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, idiomatic speech, etc. that you can, no matter how bad the troll's messages were in this respect. It may be a good idea to avoid too high or complicated words, because many foreign speakers of English often have poor English vocabulary. Don't criticise what he says directly or the way he...