The reliability of Quora answers are all over the place. A lot of wishful thinking, ideologically motivated rants, sometimes conspiracy claims. But there are good answers from knowledgeable people. Obviously the first thing is to always look at the credentials of the person answering. This thread will be for the better answers, solely for the topics we cover, esp famous frauds. I am going to start with some questions I have answered, limited solely to our topic here.
-------
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-Unification-Church-founded-in-South-Korea-a-cult/answer/Al-Carroll-17
Is the Unification Church, founded in South Korea, a cult?
Al Carroll
Co founder and researcher for New Age Frauds Plastic Shamans Jun 24
What sets cults apart is they isolate their members from the rest of society in order to control them better. This is usually coupled with abuse, spiritual, psychological, financial, and often sexual. Cults also are not remotely democratic, with an authoritarian leader who usually has enforcers, sometimes a literal army.
Yes, the Moonies are a cult. They are isolated from everyone else. It controls its members right down to telling them who to marry, often people who have never met before. Some of its members have been literally held hostage. So called Reverend Moon, self appointed, was claimed to be literally Jesus, with absolute authority and never to be questioned. When he was convicted of tax fraud in the 1980s and served a brief term in a cushy white collar prison, what did the cult do? Appeal to right wing politicians and American fundamentalists, claim persecution, and of course, raise a lot of funds off this claim.
The Moonies also are a useful front for both the KCIA, the South Korean version of the CIA, and South Korean organized crime. In Japan fully half the members of the Liberal Democratic Party are tied to the Moonies. It was found guilty of defrauding tens of thousands of its Japanese members and ordered dissolved. Conflict with the Moonies led to the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In the US the cult has huge influence, including through fronts such as The Washington Times. It donated millions to the election campaigns of Donald Trump. The cult is rapidly Islamophobic and pro support of the Israeli right wing, including Benjamin Netanyahu. The cult has literally dozens of front groups for their causes, where they conceal their true intentions, beliefs, and even their presence. People can, of course, choose to believe what they wish. Whatever the value of their belief system, as an organization it is extremely corrupt and dangerous to us all, but of course most of all to its own members.
https://www.quora.com/Have-you-ever-been-indoctrinated-into-a-cult-How-did-you-escape-Are-all-of-the-worlds-various-organized-religions-nothing-more-than-cults/answer/Al-Carroll-17
Al Carroll
Co founder and researcher for New Age Frauds Plastic Shamans Jun 25
There are huge differences between cults and all the worlds best known religions, and virtually all the lesser known religions. Those who claim there are no differences either do not know much about the topic and may be lazy in their thinking, or more likely they are bigoted anti theists. An anti theist is quite different from an atheist. Atheists tend to be thoughtful highly ethical people who could not find a religion that lived up to their high standards. Anti theists are hateful, vicious, and take pride in being openly bigoted against every faith.
Cults choose to isolate themselves. They do not mix with outsiders and are very paranoid. Their leader is authoritarian and not to be questioned, with no input from the community of the faithful as most religions practice. Leaders have private enforcers, often a literal army and spy network. Some practice psychologically breaking down followers, including by use and abuse of drugs.
Abuse is epidemic in cults. We all know about the abuse of children and others in the Catholic and other churches. That is horrifying, with as many as 5% of priests guilty of assaults. In cults that percentage may be literally 10 to 20 times higher:
Dwight York of the Nuwaubians abused hundreds of children as young as age 5, fathering 84 children by his victims. Harley Reagan of the so called Deer Tribe ordered his cult members to anally masturbate with objects in their anuses, in groups, and charged them $2000 for this fake ceremony, falsely claiming it was Cherokee sex magic. The so called Rainbow Tribe is notorious for sexual assaults and child abuse, often drugging its victims.
Financial abuse is far worse in cults too. Where churches may ask you to tithe 10%, cults often force members to give them literally everything they own. And then force them to work long hours for the cult. A few cults have actual sex workers working for them.
Finally, many cults have deception on a massive scale. Some just have bizarre claims, like Harley Reagan claiming to simultaneously been in Special Forces, the CIA, a POW in Vietnam, and in the Olympics all at the same time. The Moonies have long been a front for the KCIA, the South Korean version of the CIA, and for both South Korean and Japanese organized crime. Whatever the alleged spiritual value of different beliefs in cults, by their behavior they are criminal and dangerous to us all.
https://www.quora.com/Why-was-the-Unification-Church-created/answer/Al-Carroll-17
Why was the Unification Church created?
Al Carroll
PhD in History, Arizona State University Jun 27
Most of the evidences points toward the supposed church being a useful front for the KCIA (South Korean version of the CIA) and South Korean and Japanese organized crime. It generates huge amounts of income by its control of its followers donating all their income and time, plus the following businesses:
One Up Enterprises Inc.
International Association for Peace and Economic Development (IAED)
Pyeonghwa Motors, an automobile manufacturer
Cheongshim Hospital
Ilhwa Company, producer of ginseng products
Isshin Hospital
Tongil Group pharmaceuticals, tourism, and publishing
Tongil Heavy Industries, machine parts and hardware for the South Korean military
Little Angels Children's Folk Ballet of Korea
Master Marine, shipbuilding and fishing company in Alabama
International Seafood of Kodiak, Alaska
Master Marine owning a factory in Las Vegas
True World Foods, sushi, restaurants, and markets
One Mind Farms
News World Communications includes newspapers New York City Tribune, Noticias del Mundo, United Press International, The World and I, Tiempos del Mundo, The Segye Ilbo (South Korea), The Sekai Nippo (Japan), the Zambezi Times (South Africa), The Middle East Times (Egypt), Insight on the News, and The Washington Times.
American Life TV cable television network
Belvedere Estate
Unification Theological Seminary
New Yorker Hotel
Rolland Denny mansion
In Uruguay owns the country's largest hotel, a leading bank, the second-largest newspaper and two of the largest printing plants.
National Hospitality Corporation
U.S. Property Development Corporation
Yongpyong Resort
The supposed church also controls the following fronts in politics:
Freedom Leadership Foundation
Peace United Family Party
International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP)
The Summit Council for World Peace
Coalition for a Free World
Washington Institute for Values in Public Policy
CAUSA International
International Coalition for Religious Freedom
International Federation for Victory over Communism (IFVOC)
Korean Culture and Freedom Foundation
National Committee Against Religious Bigotry and Racism
National Prayer and Fast Committee
The Moonies also are strong allies and financial supporters of the following groups and organizations:
American Conference on Religious Movements together with Scientology
American Freedom Coalition (AFC)
Christian Heritage Foundation
Empowerment Network, a political PAC of US Senator Joe Lieberman
Foundation for Religious Freedom (Also known as the New Cult Awareness Network) together with Scientology.
George Bush Presidential Library with a $1 million donation.
Geneva Interfaith and Intercultural Alliance
Liberty University, contributing $3.5 million
Married Priests Now!
Million Family March with The Nation of Islam
National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC) with a $500,000 donation.
University of Bridgeport of Bridgeport, Connecticut given $50 million in exchange for a majority of board members to come from Moonie groups.
World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO)
Photos used are at the link.
https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-examples-of-people-playing-pretendian-and-being-caught/answer/Al-Carroll-17
I would not call it playing since the frauds who do so do it as a way to make money, or in some cases build a cult and abuse huge numbers of people. The striking thing is many whites do not care if someone is exposed as a fraud. Their need to control and define Natives is what matters to them, no matter how false and/or racist those beliefs are.
Sam Morningstar already gave plenty of good examples and I will concentrate on others. The one example he mentioned I will add to is Ward Churchill. He was exposed as non Native by 1990 and every actual Native in academia knew it. Univ of Colorado was so eager to hire any supposed Native, they ignored usual vetting and hiring procedures, hired with only an MA, gave him tenure and quickly promoted him to dept head. Supposedly fired for his Little Eichmanns comment, he was really targeted for leftist views.
Except for Churchill, there never has been any such thing as being hired for being Native in academia. There is no Indian preference as in tribal govts and the BIA. Being hired based on race has been illegal since the Bakke decision in 1977.
Where it is a problem is when someone falsely claims to be speaking as an insider. On that count the most notorious academic fraud was actually by a non Native, Carlos Castaneda, falsely claiming to have been taught by a Yaqui holy man, the fictional Don Juan. Never happened, and Castaneda plagiarized his books from Taoist, Buddhist, and Hindu writings. Despite him being debunked USC refused to revoke his PhD and still makes a fortune from selling his books as nonfiction.
The best known debunking of Castaneda
Castaneda books continue to be so popular and influential that one of the most famous fictional characters of all time is based on Don Juan. George Lucas fell for the hoax.
Starting with Castaneda, the worst, most destructive, and most money making frauds all came from the New Age movement and so called neo shamanism, more accurately pseudo shamanism. The worst of them do what con artists call letting the mark in on the con. Admit you are lying and cheating, get the victim to see the con along with you.
The most obvious example is Harley Raper AKA Harley Reagan AKA Swiftdeer. An actual red haired Irishman passing himself off as Cherokee and Mayan, claiming to speak telepathically and across time with a crystal skull named Max.
Start with the obvious. Nothing in that photo is either Cherokee or Mayan. He also claimed to be ex CIA, ex Special Forces, ex Olympic athlete, ex Mormon who went through a non existent Mormon exorcism, and creator of a phony martial arts but somehow also a survivor of being raped in prison.
He also would sell you a fraudulent Cherokee Sex Ceremony for $2000. Sorry to be offensive, but this involved groups of people masturbating together, anally, with objects. That was not all. Sexual assault was made part of these phony ceremonies, with groups of men urged to assault women. They also hire prostitutes and bring drug use into faux ceremony.
He also claimed it was Cherokee tradition for grandparents to commit incest with their grandkids. Naturally this attracted pedophiles. The fake sex ceremony attracted both abusers and abuse survivors wanting to believe it was not abuse, and other very desperate and abusive people. Guess who else was fooled by Harley Reagan?
After protests from Cherokee Nation President Wilma Mankiller, HBO was forced to apologize to avoid a lawsuit.
To top it off, and not surprisingly, Harley Reagan was a deeply racist militia leader. He trained his followers to prepare for a race war against Latinos. Follow this if you can: A white racist posing as Cherokee and Mayan prepared his all white cult who believed they were learning Native spirituality to train with guns and his phony version of martial arts...to fight Latinos who actually are Native or have Native ancestry.
Reagan also was a phony martial artist. The good people at Bullshido have documented how ridiculous his claims are.
Who could be naive enough to believe he was supposedly Native?
He also told his followers to overthrow the US govt in 2000 if Al Gore won the election. His so called Deer Tribe is still around after his early death and claims 3000 members in the US and Europe.
Harley "Swiftdeer" Reagan, Chuluaqui Quodoushka, Chulukai Quodosha
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=528.0
Just as ridiculous and dangerous was Leonard Mattern AKA Buck Ghosthorse. An actual white KKK terrorist from Pennsylvania posing as Lakota medicine man with a cult in Washington state.
Doesnt he look reel spirchul?
Terrorist is not hyperbole. After 14 years in the Klan he was part of the Christian Patriots Defense League for 6 years, an Illinois militia preparing for race war. CPDL and KKK often got in violent confrontations.
Mattern has a long history of killing followers with his incompetence. An elderly woman was burned to death, and others died in fake ceremonies. Mattern also toured colleges spreading his lies and ran fundraising scams to support his cult. The fraud was so profitable they purchased 150 acres. One member of the cult was accused of abusing women.
The Hawkwind Earth Renewal Cooperative that his cult began as part of has ties to some other frauds. "Mary Thunder" endorses them as allies. Also Charla Thomas/Tarwater of the Bear Tribe cult. She co founded HERC along with "Reverend" Charla Herman, who ran an alchemy academy.
The cult continues with Paul Sahayda as their leader.
Buck Ghosthorse (Leonard Albert Mattern)
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=3760.0
Even worse is Dwight York AKA Chief Black Thunderbird Eagle AKA Rabboni Y'shua Bar El Haady.
Yes, those are all him. At different times he claimed to be a pharaoh, a Native chief, a caliph who was supposed to take nothing less than the place of the prophet Mohammed, and an actual space alien. Faux Muslim, faux Jewish, faux Native, faux Egyptian, but definitely Black supremacist sovereign citizen militia. York holds the ugly distinction of being convicted of the most counts of child molesting and child rape in history, more than 110.
His Nuwaubian cult, sometimes called Yamassees, ran protection rackets, theme parks, and a record label with hip hop groups Force MDs and Stetsasonic. They claimed 5,000 members and had cult compounds in Brooklyn and near Atlanta. Members were forbidden to be with their wives unless they had met quotas for donations or work. But York is believed to have fathered over 100 children.
Of course no one ever believed his claims of being Egyptian, Native, Muslim, or an alien except his cult members. He was denounced by civil rights groups, Muslim clerics, and of course Natives. All of which convinced his followers he was being persecuted by white devils.
United Nuwaubian Nation of Muurs or Moors: Georgia Sect Dwindles W Leader Jailed
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=19.0
There are many, many more examples I could point to. Most imposters are very easily found out. Indian Country is a small place. Most rezzes have 3,000–5,000 people, like a small town. When someone makes a claim it is easy to ask around and see if they are full of it. And sometimes them being phony is literally as easy as spotting the bad tanning makeup on their face, or that they failed to put it on their pale arms.
That is Brooke Edwards AKA Medicine Eagle, obvious phony for the past 40 years. Notice the hairline has a different color than the rest of her skin. She also used to post a phony tribal certificate obviously made at Kinkos when they were still around.
This is John Allen Hill AKA John Two Hawks, a phony posing as a Lakota musician. So clumsy a fraud you can see his hairline has a different shade even on his official bio page.
He fooled a Finnish metal band called Nightwish into doing a song with him. Then he was dumb enough to sing in gibberish that sounded nothing like Lakota. He also tried to pass off New Age and Hollywood Indian beliefs as Native. Again, Nightwish could have avoided embarrassment simply by noticing the obvious makeup. To their credit, they publicly apologized and removed Hill from their videos.
There are literally hundreds more examples like this. Why do we at NAFPS keep doing this for over 25 years now if the victims keep being victimized, and often defend their victimizers? Because most people can be reached. Most people can avoid being taken in if they just ask or go with their instincts and stay away and warn others if it feels off or odd