Persistence

Omnipresence | Whatever works | See also

Many groups are nothing if not persistent in hauling in the fish of the new member. Once they have decided that you will make a good member and are ripe for conversion, they will not leave you alone.

Omnipresence

Almost magically, the recruiting group members seem to be around where the target person is. They turn up at where they are studying, working or playing. From conversations and other research they track down their prey and then they play their strategy.

Whatever works

When they are in the presence of the person, they then play out their strategic plans for reeling them in.

Their strategic persistence is often very adaptive. If you are seeking meaning, they offer deep meaning. If you want a platform they will listen very attentively. If you are lost, they will show the way. They will also seek out your weaknesses along the way and will use whatever it takes to get you to join the group.

They may start with friendship but may also become strident and insistent. They may play guilt games and seek to create an exchange, for example by telling the target person how they have 'come all this way' to see them and obliging them to spend time with the cult member.

They may also play games of hurt and rescue, perhaps engineering situations where the target person gets hurt so that they can be rescued. Like a fisherman reeling in the line and then letting it play out again, they steadily pull in their prey towards the net.