Summary of Max Cutler's Cults

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The Manson Family, a group of followers led by Charles Manson, committed a series of murders in August 1969 that horrified the nation. Manson’s own background in youth homes and prison equipped him with a nearly complete tool kit of criminal psychology.

#2 The 1960s were the television decade, and TV was a transformative force in American history. It was used to broadcast the Vietnam War, which was dubbed the living room war due to its impact on society. In 1965, state and local police routed civil rights marchers in Birmingham, Alabama, and ABC News broke into its scheduled broadcast with shocking coverage of law enforcement trampling, clubbing, and tear-gassing six hundred civilians.

#3 The murders committed by the members of the Manson Family showed the country how quickly all those youthful impulses could go wrong. They were all from the baby boom generation, and they proved to be highly susceptible to Manson’s mix of LSD and psychological manipulation.

#4 Before Manson, the word cult was often applied loosely to die-hard fans of a singer or a television show. But after the murders, the word cult came to refer to what psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton calls destructive cults, which systematically harm and kill others or themselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Aug 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798350016147

IRB Media

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Insights on Max Cutler's Cults

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Manson Family, a group of followers led by Charles Manson, committed a series of murders in August 1969 that horrified the nation. Manson’s own background in youth homes and prison equipped him with a nearly complete tool kit of criminal psychology.

#2

The 1960s were the television decade, and TV was a transformative force in American history. It was used to broadcast the Vietnam War, which was dubbed the living room war due to its impact on society. In 1965, state and local police routed civil rights marchers in Birmingham, Alabama, and ABC News broke into its scheduled broadcast with shocking coverage of law enforcement trampling, clubbing, and tear-gassing six hundred civilians.

#3

The murders committed by the members of the Manson Family showed the country how quickly all those youthful impulses could go wrong. They were all from the baby boom generation, and they proved to be highly susceptible to Manson’s mix of LSD and psychological manipulation.

#4

Before Manson, the word cult was often applied loosely to die-hard fans of a singer or a television show. But after the murders, the word cult came to refer to what psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton calls destructive cults, which systematically harm and kill others or themselves.

#5

Charles Manson’s mother, Nancy Maddox, was a fundamentalist Christian who was strict with her children. She hoped that her discipline would help them grow up to be moral and pious, but Ada Kathleen wanted to have fun like other girls. She began sneaking over the state line to dance clubs.

#6

Charles Manson was abandoned by his father, and many in his community believe he was responsible for the unsolved murder of Darwin Scott, his uncle, four months before the Tate-LaBianca killings. But police came to the more reasonable conclusion that Darwin Scott had a history of lengthy prison stays and an unfortunate habit of running up gambling debts to shady underworld figures.

#7

Charles Manson had a troubled childhood, with frequent run-ins with the law and a rotating cast of relatives who were unable to provide him with the care he needed. He was sent to live with his mother’s sister and her husband, who were unable to discipline him.

#8

The psychologist Robert D. Hare developed a checklist that helps therapists identify potential psychopaths. What could one infer that Charles Manson might check off for the young man. Pathological lying, the ability to manipulate others for personal gain, and lack of empathy.

#9

The more dangerous children are those from loving homes and safe neighborhoods, but who still exhibit the same traits as the ones who grow up in a directly opposite environment. They are heartless and empathetic, only wanting something from a person.

#10

While we can’t say for certain that the incident in the first grade was the turning point in Manson’s life, his elaborate schemes of revenge and his unstable nature may sound familiar to those who study the patterns of cults.

#11

In 1947, Charles was sent to the Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute, Indiana, run by the Brothers of Holy Cross. He had been stealing and blaming others for his crimes since he was twelve years old. In 1948, he was sent to Boys Town, Nebraska, to the home for wayward boys that had been inspired by the Spencer Tracy movie.

#12

Charles was sent to the Indiana Boys School in 1949, at age 14. He was severely abused there, and attempted to run away four times in one month. In