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Comment by wardedVibe | Hacker News Reader

Jesus Christ dude, they're led by a man who routinely sexually assaults people. Being permissive about that is pretty damning. Kooky beliefs are one thing, but cults combine those with oppressive social structures. It's not that hard unless you're stuck in the middle of one with all it's filtering.

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The similarities keep piling up! Google was co-founded by Sergey Brin, who insisted it was okay to screw his employees in the company massage room because "they're my employees".

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/valley-of-genius-exc...

Thank you for this. I’ve lost (fatally) a dear friend to a polyamorous relationship between herself and her direct manager + manager’s wife at Google.

I’m not trying to claim it’s endemic at Google, I truly have no idea. But mini cults can happen inside corporations.

Fatally?

Yes. I can’t go into more detail without committing libel. But Mountain View police ruled it a “death by natural causes” without bothering to look at GPS history of the last people she was with (staying with late at night) just moments before. It was a very unusual way to die by natural cause, and she chose a very curious mode of transportation given other modes of hers that she had available to her where she was.

The point wasn’t so much the death as it was that generally sexual relations between a boss and a direct report shouldn’t usually be any type of acceptable in a healthy workplace.

No judgement on Poly/ ENM / whatever.

The death merely was my motivation for being passionate about this recurring theme I keep hearing from reports within Google of entanglements between direct reports and management (and sometimes others, like the spouses of management or their other mistresses).

So, like Tesla and SpaceX.

Actually interested - are there multiple allegations against EM other than the recently reported horse-for-handjob offer?

Only one accusation:

https://www.dailyadvent.com/news/45a9223a5a878bd90c386109e55...

There are also consistent allegations of an abusive culture at both SpaceX and Tesla:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/05/tesla-sex...

https://www.businessinsider.com/former-spacex-engineer-inter...

https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/14/22835181/tesla-lawsuit-s...

How different is a cult from a corporation, really?

Having recovered from a high demand religion (which can be considered a modern cult depending on the definition), cults are very different from corporations.

I feel like the best definition of a cult is any group that won't let you dissociate with your dignity intact. Most corporations are fine with that. Some aren't. So this suggests substantial differences.

I don't see that as a good definition of a cult

To be fair, it's a lived experience that I have found among other cult and high demand religion recoverers.

I believe that it's a common feature amongst a large portion of cults, but my scepticism arises at the use of it as a broad definition of what is or isn't one.

The same way you wouldn't say having a charismatic leader is the definition of what a cult is. It's certainly an aspect of most cults, but not the definition, nor unique to cults

That's okay. People have to draw lines to define things. I found the definition I provided above to be sufficient to my experience.

Sexually assaulting people just like Catholic priests or Southern Baptists ministers.

You should look at sexual abuse at public schools if you're interested in the topic

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