Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Applying the BITE Model to UPS


While going through my notes, I found the following which I saved which was shared by a fellow Latter-day Saint. It is a funny critique of the application of the BITE model to UPS. I am reproducing it here as it is pretty spot-on with the problems of Hassan's model and how it is frankly bogus:

I just the other month applied for a job at U.P.S. guys, and I thought that it would be great! I would do work, earn money, and make a living. I went eagerly in the interview, when I was shocked find UPS is a CULT! The BITE model illuminated my path, and I was able to escape without taking the job. Now I'm unemployed, but I am free. Tell your friends! Let them know that the united postal service is a cult! Do you know any friends and family trapped in the UPS? Share the BITE model with them!

Behavior Control

1. Regulate individual’s physical reality - UPS workers must be located only where the UPS store is.
2. Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates - UPS workers must associate with UPS customers and coworkers (which reinforces the groupthink cult environment)
3. When, how and with whom the member has sex - You can't even have sex on the job! How totalitarian can you get!
4. Control types of clothing and hairstyles - UPS employees must wear UPS uniform. UPS members cannot even have facial hair or wear things that don't match UPS colors!
5. Regulate diet - food and drink, hunger and/or fasting -You can only eat at certain times. They give advice on what foods to use at work (sandwiches and sugar for energy) and everything!
6. Manipulation and deprivation of sleep - UPS employees can have to wake up very early in the morning.
7. Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence - UPS employees are forced to rely on UPS for money.
8. Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time - UPS employees can only take scheduled breaks!
9. Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet - UPS regularly gives "training" (indoctrination) courses to its employees
10. Permission required for major decisions - you have a manager over you, and that manager has a manager over then, and you have to report anomalies to them!
11. Thoughts, feelings, and activities (of self and others) reported to superiors - a log is kept of your day to day activities which you give to the manager over you.
12. Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative - A bonus is given for working every day of the week; the threat of being fired constantly looms.
13. Discourage individualism, encourage group-think - see everything above
14. Impose rigid rules and regulations - see everything above
15. Instill dependency and obedience - " "
16. Threaten harm to family and friends - the threat of unemployment. "Without us, who will feed your family?". Its all about control.
18. Instill dependency and obedience - " "

Information Control

1. Deception: -UPS employees kept in the dark about UPS' financial holdings
2. Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information -You can't use a cell phone or computer on the job!
3. Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines -Managers are privileged with more access and information than peons
4. Encourage spying on other members - employees are encouraged to report other employees violating "the rules" and there are even rewards for doing so
5. Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda - There is all kinds of pro-UPS propaganda on the wall, designed to make you feel like you're a part of the UPS "family"
6. Unethical use of confession - they can withhold raises or punish you if you admit to doing things wrong, and they can use it against you in the future!

Thought Control

1. Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
2.Change person’s name and identity - You're a UPSer now!
3. Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words - all kinds of buzzwords and shortcuts are used in the propaganda and safety literature. "Never back, keep on track" for drivers, etc
4. Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts - being depressed or performing poorly could lead to discipline!
5. Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member -see propaganda
7. Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts -I didn't see this, but I bet they do.
8. Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism -"we don't pay you to think!"
9. Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed - Check
10. Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful - Check

Emotional Control

1. Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish - if you spend all day whining every day, you could be fired!
3. Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault - Check
5. Instill fear, such as fear of:
a. Thinking independently -Check
b. The outside world -evil dogs will bite you! Check
c. Enemies
d. Losing one’s salvation (job) - check
e. Leaving or being shunned by the group -check
f. Other’s disapproval -check
6. Extremes of emotional highs and lows – love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner -praises/promotions/discipline/firing
8. Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority - the looming idea of a loss of income and natural peer groups is a surefire way to keep underlings inline

I now see the light! Mormonism is a cult, Christianity is a cult, the military is a cult, atheism is a cult, having a family is definitely a cult, school is a cult, don't even think about having a peer group, and my refrigerator is also a cult.
Thank goodness I'm free of all these influences now. It is difficult to give these things up, but at least now I KNOW I'm not being brainwashed!