> > (Terminology is interesting. "Pro-TMer" isn't > > considered disparaging by either those who support > > TM or its critics, yet "anti-TMer" evokes howls of > > outrage from the latter. And while "anti-TMer" is > > considered offensive by the critics, it doesn't > > bother them at all to label the pro-TMers > > "TBs/True Believers.") > > ******** > > This is an astute observation. For example, I > occasionally use the True Believer or equivalent > lable, while at the same time I usually reject > the anti-TM label when applied to yours truly.
The thing is, "True Believer" is actually more accurate than "pro-TMer." "True Believer" implies all of the characteristics that Eric Hoffer wrote about in his books, while "pro-TMer" only implies someone who feels that the TM *technique* itself is beneficial. The term "anti-TMer" is incredibly inaccurate, and IMO consciously so. I would say that *most* of the people here who have problems with some of the TM dogma and some of the TMO behavior have *no* such problems with the basic TM technique itself. The attempt to call someone who has problems with some of the TM dogma and many of the actions of the TMO an "anti-TMer" is DISHONEST. MOST of the folks here who have been called "anti-TMers" by one of Hoffer's classic TBs have NO problems with TM the technique. It's just that the TBs want people to *think* that they do. Read the list of Hoffer's criteria for a "True Believer." THAT is what I am referring to when I term someone a TB or True Believer. I am *not* suggesting merely that they are "pro-TM" and that being a "pro-TMEer" is a bad thing. Hell, *I* am actually "pro-TM" in that I think that the basic TM technique has value. But at the same time I believe that many of the personality traits and behaviors exhibited by the True Believers are very damaging indeed, both to themselves and to others. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
