malicious hexbears are taking advantage of people's trauma to turn them against the west folks (and judging by the recent survey, turning them trans too? kyle )

https://lemmy.world/comment/12777548 link cuz im not a lib

the comment in the screeshot is responding to @blakeus12@hexbear.net's wholesome introduction post here: https://hexbear.net/post/3631051

I made a TLDR here: https://hexbear.net/comment/5484512

  • heggs_bayer [none/use name]
    ·
    7 days ago

    i need context we were accused of love bombing??? what does that even mean?

    CW: discussion of abuse tactics

    It's a tactic often deployed by abusers and cults where they shower someone with overwhelming positive emotion to try to make the victim let their guard down. It's often used in the early stages of convincing a person to join a cult/enter a relationship by making it seem like a really loving and supporting group/partner. By the time the cult/abuser has the person in their jaws (e.g. the victim has burned bridges with their preexisting support network, moved to the compound, is pregnant with the abuser's child, etc.) the treatment is far worse. The only source of support the victim has now is the cult/abuser.

    It's also often deployed when the victim is nearing their wit's end and mustering up the courage to escape. It's used to convince the victim that the situation their in isn't actually so bad and that they shouldn't try escaping. If you've ever heard a battered person say something to the effect of "But they're so sweet! They might mistreat me very often, but they're so loving when they show the caring side of them self."about their partner, that's love bombing at play.

    While people here on hexbear tend to be very empathetic and caring to each other, I've never seen the kind of coordinated cloying kindness you would associate with cult love bombing. The accusation especially falls apart when one considers users' reactions to someone mentioning their leaving from here; in my experience it's usually either supportive and kind in a way that doesn't go out of its way to try to get someone to stick around, or if they're leaving on bad terms, a swift ban.