Tactics/buzzwords used to control you.

[Dark Knight]

cinnabardk

Good Work, even if it was obvious...do it anyone.

cinnabardk, my main problem with this crap is that there are people coming here who have been severely attacked by God knows what. They're boundaries are gone, they're identities are gone, all self worth is gone.

People like that need serious help, and when crap like this comes along, and you're desperate with no boundaries to help you navigate through life and reality, you're a prime target. This guy's tactics will destroy a person's boundaries further, but attempts to stop it will be negated by the "you're acting aggressive," "put your little annoying habits in the spotlight," "nothing of you is valuable" lines of reasoning (talk about building you up and breaking you down all at the same time).

Types like these find people's weakness' in a matter of seconds and exploit them. With no identity or self intact, it's like turning people into cattle.

It's disgusting, and way too cultish for me.

I am not going to sit back and let some jerk take advantage of people who were weakened by bad luck.

[cinnabardk]

What sparked this topic was the topic " Mastery TV ..a path to the masses" by Transducer - http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8562. (I think some topics get too sidetracked, therefore a new one)

In this post, I will comment on some segments of the first post in the thread mentioned above, as it, in my opinion, is an excellent example, although way too obvious. There may be some over interpretation, to illustrate the tactics used. Transducer, this is not a personal attack, though you may perceive it as so.

1.
"I would like to share this opportunity with you."
Ceremonious - you are special (ego baiting, which there is a lot of in that advertisement) - remember the Nigerian/African e-mail money scams ?.
Yet the effect of ego baiting is somewhat countered by the subject line  " Mastery TV ..a path to the masses" . Who likes to be considered one of the masses, a sheep in the flock ? - most people like be someone special, even though they may not in reality be so in the eyes of others. Ego baiting preys on the weak.

2.
"With the impending global shift of consciousness, this is a very interesting concept. We know that many new avenues are going to be opening up that will greatly assist in our personal and planetary transformation."
Saying something unwarranted - if you continue reading, you are probably reading it out of curiosity, or because you already hold similar beliefs, have read channeled material, and probably believe in karma - or something similar. "our personal and planetary transformation" ? - a sign of hive consciousness. "Zeta" is the word which comes to mind. (Dark knight, I had not seen his profile before I wrote this)

3.
"World-renowned visionary author/educators, and a wonderful, amazing, new, global television media, combine forces to profoundly change people's lives and the world for the better."
General population targeted message, drawn from the "one solution fits it all" bucket. How can something really change EVERYONE'S lives ?. Only if everyone is the same, which they fortunately are not, though that seems to be a goal on a political level.

4.
"Please check into it, and see if you think it will benefit you by enhancing the quality of life on Earth and accelerating your financial freedom."
Way too obvious signature of the sender of this message. We all want "quality of life", and "accelerating your financial freedom" is just another way of saying "get rich" in a more refined style - I think Dark knight mentioned something similar. Rarely, however, does both come easily.

5.
"Forward-thinking visionaries and people of goodwill from all walks of life are lauding Mastery Television, calling it an unprecedented force for good."
WHO ?. Argument intended to persuade because Good People naturally buy into this idea. And you naturally consider yourself Good - or want to be Good. The words "unprecedented force for good" sound as ridiculous as some of the more humorous parts of Bush's Good Vs. Evil childlike rhetoric. (try substituting Bush with Homer Simpson, and it becomes Axis of Eeevil)

6.
"The mission of Mastery Television is to uplift and enrich humankind and transform people's lives, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and financially, and advance human awareness, by providing the world's most superlative, life-enriching and life-changing educational programs."
Big mission, VERY little info on their website for such a big mission (http://www.masterytv.biz/). Their Flash advertisement made me laugh by it's simplicity - all form, no content, only pep talk (the only kind of "info" they had).
So it doesn't cost anything ? - of course it does (according to Transducer) - you just aren't told up front.
Another cause for a laugh, was when I clicked on "Help" and the first two sentences said "Mastery television is in PRE-LAUNCH. E-mail your Mastery television website to everyone you know." Sounds like this is the launch to me.

7.
"All men and women of goodwill who are concerned about the welfare and future of Humanity, and all who are working for world peace, to expand and elevate human awareness, and to help constructively transform the world, will love Mastery Television, will be deeply moved by its vision and mission, and will want to become involved in some capacity in this powerful, vitally needed, enlightening, life-enhancing and life-altering public media."
Combine 5. and 6., and you basically have this sentence. Repeat a lie often enough, and it will eventually become the truth. Lots of feel good buzzwords strewn vaguely - intended to make you conform to their agenda, which on the surface, may seem benevolent enough.

8.
"Since the announcement, less than a week ago, word about Mastery TV has spread around the world. Tens of thousands of people from dozens of countries have already taken the Tour at MasteryTV.biz and registered as members. Every hour thousands of more people hear about Mastery TV."
If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you do it ?. It's all form, no content.

Overall, I find that advertisement a simply pathetic effort, and I hope that you can come up with some better, less obvious examples.
I'll give credit to some of the big fish politicians, they do a far better(or worse, depending on your point of view) job in many cases.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I may be a tree-hugger, but I need wood to make a fire.