Sir Rochard 'Dock' Bunson

Do you think #FalunGong is a #cult or #religion? I can't edit the poll to add another option without messing it up, but I l would lump High Control Groups in with cults.

Have you heard of it? What do you think?

What about the #EpochTimes #newspaper or #ShenYun dance performance?

Same group.

The same organization #FalunGong owns both. The Epoch Times is their #propaganda arm and Shen Yun is the PR cash cow.

They use it to proclaim how awesome China was before #communism and make money. They intentionally keep it distanced from the organization.

https://youtube.com/@TheEpochTimesNews

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html

#Chinese #Philosophy #Tao #FalunDafa #Buddhism #Poll

Religion
6.1%
Cult
62.2%
Familiar, but not sure
17.1%
Never heard of them
14.6%
Poll ended at .
Jan 27, 2023 at 4:35pmWeb
Show threadBrent, in a jarJan 27, 2023
@SrRochardBunson Not just boosters of precommunist China either. Epoch Times has a reporter on the ground at the #CopCity protests outside of ATL, trashing the protestors and supporting the police. Bad news all around
Show threadMatthew MartinJan 27, 2023
@SrRochardBunson "Cult" is a problematic word, it makes the question into "do you approve of them" and not just "is this new"
I've seen the word "New Religion" used, which does a better job of capturing "Is this social phenomena a new religion, or I don't know, a bunch of people grouped by something else, eg Elon Musk fans"
"High Control Groups" captures the crux of what people disapprove of in new religions (And HCG can pop up with old religions, too)
Show threadkelleynnnJan 27, 2023
@SrRochardBunson I did not know Shen Yun was connected to them. I used to see the billboards for it all over Silicon Valley.
Show threadanubis2814Jan 27, 2023
@SrRochardBunson I don't trust the Epoch Times as far as I can throw it, it has a VERY right wing bent to it. Sadly I don't know if Falun Gong is a cult or not because both sides lie and exaggerate. If one side was on the right side, they shouldn't have to lie. But I have seen enough lying on both sides to clearly state that I don't know. They both compromise their own integrity. Shen Yun is beautiful, I saw it once before it got huge, but might also feed a cult. I dunno. Sadly Friendica isn't set up for answering polls.
Show threadSRMiracleJan 28, 2023
@SrRochardBunson
I put it as a religion because I don't know much about it other than the #Epochtimes so called newspaper I got in the mail the other day. The front page was enough for me to throw it away.