INTERVIEW — Aug 8, 21:28
Interviewee: 29 years old, gender Female, main language German, speaking in English, lives in the US, nationality German.
---
Interviewer: Okay, great. So, my first question is: when you hear the word cult, what comes to your mind?
Interviewee: Something suspicious, something dangerous, something not normal. And also something a little bit frightening.
Interviewer: Okay, do you have a specific example that would come to your mind immediately?
Interviewee: I don't have a specific name, but it's more like — those yoga cults which existed some time ago. I don't have other names.
Interviewer: Okay, what is it that's "culty" to you about them?
Interviewee: I would say it's people participating in something, and then there's a person who has another agenda and kind of manipulates them, and uses, like — their, I don't know — participation, or — I think that's not the right word — but, like, their willingness, and, like, their good [nature] to participate in something. And just, like — yeah, I don't know — I need another word in English — but, like, what's the word in German? Um — "Missbrauch" [German for "abuse"/"misuse"]. Yeah, exactly — he's famous for abusing the trust — the trust, the consent, of the people — and using it for his own purposes.
Interviewer: Okay, if you were to, then, try to give a definition of the cult, which aspect would you feel is the most important of all the things you already said? Or maybe there are other ones that come to your mind?
Interviewee: I think it's benefiting from something the other person, or other people, aren't actually aware that is your intention. I think that, for me, is the core of it. Yeah, because when you have a religion, I don't know — you're all having the same thoughts, beliefs, for one thing, and it's like the common knowledge more, it is, okay — whereas with a cult, it's more — um, like, my opinion, it's — I don't know — someone is [misusing, "Missbrauch"] — [?heavily garbled stammering — see notes] — I think that it's the misuse, the distortion, the distortion, the disrespect — like, you're not doing what you should, what you're intending to do, and you're not doing what other people are expecting you to do — from, like, a moral, spiritual point of view, or — yes, ethically, ethically, morally, I think, all these. They're not really giving you something, they just pretend to give you something, and then you, being part of the cult are not aware of that. You're being part of, like, a cult — you just think you're part of a community, or something like that. Yeah, so you don't actually know you're part of a cult — but, zooming out, you see both kind of perspectives, you see that. And there are some yoga communities doing this.
Interviewer: Yes, interesting. Which documentary do you remember?
Interviewee: I don't know, there were some Netflix documentaries — okay, there was one famous one in the U.S., but I don't remember the name.
Interviewer: Wild Wild Country?
Interviewee: No — I think so, actually — it was, like, famous three years ago, where they bought, like, an entire city — yeah, this land — and then they built their thing, and then they were, like — yes.
---