Exposing “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult” & “The Vow”

Part 4 of 6

Seduced, Episode 3 (continued):

Keith’s vision of DOS — and beyond (vs pigheaded India)

(Briefly revisiting the “sex slave” claims.)
Keith has the hopes and goal to greatly expand DOS, recruiting more and more women, and through that be strong enough to make a change on an international level.
He is envisioning that all his dreams and ideals can have a large effect on all of American society.

This is distorted into the accusation that “Keith wants more sex slaves to abuse”. Taking a piss on all of it. And as if anyone on the planet would be delusional enough to think that one person, with the help of “collateral”, could have power over thousands of women. At this point, all the claims and arguments made regarding the importance of collateral, are heavily weakened.

India “doesn’t want to”, but still accepts slaves of her own. She insists on talking about “recruiting slaves” with collateral as a threat.

Meanwhile, we learn that Kelly, Debora, and Naomi (the latter two are my conclusion) were invited to join DOS, but declined. So… all these three women who were never part of DOS, are relevant to the documentary how?

Because they are good at talking trash and lie about things they don’t know anything about?

(Naomi says, after reading the FrankReport, that now she saw the things for what they truly were…)

We’re treated with an awkward conversation (monologue?) Debora has with India at a café about recruiting women to DOS, and for those women to call Debora “master”, which “made her feel bad” — when she wasn’t even a part of the sorority. So, we have a non-DOS member tell a DOS veteran what DOS is about…

All these 3ʳᵈ party “voyeurs” should have kept their mouths shut. Where’s the respect?

It’s crystal clear though that despite some pressure on the 2ⁿᵈ line to enroll, there was no pressure on the many women who were approached.

It wasn’t a lie to deny that Keith was behind DOS, because it was the women that made up DOS. An objective fact.

For some perspective, addressing mild-mannered India and her three slaves. India wasn’t forced or encouraged to put a lot of pressure on them, and this seems to be tolerated and understood by both Allison and Keith. With that in mind, when her slaves make “explicit collateral” that is sent to Allison, we can assume that the collateral they made was on the slaves’, terms. Yet still she whines about it.

About her being “constantly sent to EM’s”, maybe she was too obstinate about enrolling women and they wanted to get a point through. Or she really liked the EM’s and what they did for her, alternatively, her own mother’s yelling from afar was a reason (to “deprogram” from her mom). At least it’s clear that it didn’t have anything to do with extra “brainwashing”.

After all that has been said about NXIVM, Jness/Jness tracks and DOS in both documentaries, sex is just one, singled out part of it. To be honest it feels like sex was a very minor “thing” in general, and you’d have to look for it to find it. I find more sex going on, peering over at my own neighbors…

The prosecutor was only interested in calling all of it “sex trafficking”, and she drove this line extremely hard, because she knew the whole case rested on it. Especially since it was all a fraud, just like her.

The branding, and why it catapulted MSM

We are clearly told that women were informed before the branding and even how the process was going to be like. Cauterizing pen videos included. India had even watched Danielle Roberts practicing this. (Showing the video where a guy gets branded is an effective way to make viewers scared and disgusted, especially if the viewer has a thing against physical pain.)

At this point, they could back out. Ross, however, makes up his own fantasy story (involving “Keith had indoctrinated the women to believe…”) why the branding would feel compulsory to them. There’s no need to break down his ridiculous statements anymore, and we have enough facts at hand to tell us what is real.

Both “Jill” and India still claim they were oblivious to the process. (Since “Jill” doesn’t talk about her getting branded, I’m going to assume she jumped ship, which makes her less believable about anything.)

Unsurprisingly, India says nothing that even hints at that this was a horrifying and painful experience. She says that “when all the adrenaline came down, came the pain”, but not how much pain.

It sounds like it was a smooth process, which calmed even my sensitive nerves.

All in all, and accumulated, India says only positive things about the branding and the ceremony.

The talk about the suggested size of the brand is a minute detail.

The focus on the branding, was always and only about making people on the outside freak out. And remember, the people spreading this fear were people not the least bit involved in DOS; Debora, who contacted Piesse, and later also called Vicente. Vicente swallowed the story because by this time, the seed Piesse had planted had finally started to give enough effect. Sadly, since Vicente thought Keith was dishonest with him, Piesse had an easier time “getting through” to Vicente, with her propaganda.

Maybe a blunder was Keith not being upfront with Vicente. Keith might have been able to explain the idea of DOS to him before it was too late. Or he wanted DOS to grow large enough first.

I guess another reason Keith would have to lie to his “only male friend”, could be that he deep down was afraid what Vicente might do and how he would react. He knew that Piesse could cause a lot of trouble, and even more with Vicente on her side. Either way, it’s not illegal to not trust people with secrets.

· Sarah went public with her brand to get NYT’s attention — but Meier wasn’t really interested — until the Weinstein story broke and he could connect some dots and ride on that wave. He saw $$$, not crimes.

· If it’s true that this was what “tipped things over” and made it all “newsworthy”, that says a lot, since this was such a minor thing for the women who got their brand. We already know they were happy with the ritual and that it made them feel stronger. And moreover, the branding wasn’t among the charges in court.

· The story of the branding and the ritual was merely an attempt to prove in court that:

a) Keith was involved in DOS, while he himself testified he wasn’t (DOS was largely run by the women who joined)

b) Keith had a “hold” on the women and dictated the rules.

· The tape on which we can hear Keith talk to Allison about the design of the brand and the details of the ritual is nothing more than an explanation: the branding would still take place and the design itself is arbitrary. Ultimately, the reason for and the effects of getting a brand would be the same regardless; the DOS women would officially be a part of the secret sorority and the ritual would make them feel mentally and physically stronger.

· No woman was threatened with the release of collateral if they didn’t accept, but they wouldn’t be a part of DOS.

· Focusing on the branding would make DOS look like a suspicious cult (since many would argue this was something “else” and “extreme”. And while labeling DOS as a cult, you can also drag it down with whatever other phenomena that were typical for cults in the past. Most likely, despite the wildest accusations, you would get away with it. Even in court. What needed to be established was that Keith was the leader of DOS and that he controlled the women against their will or put enough fear in the women for them to just “obey”.

· In short, the branding and Sarah showing her brand (which she was proud of) in NYT was the thing that “sold issues” and made it go viral.

Some people weren’t meant for NXIVM, but that didn’t mean they had the right to condemn NXIVM or commit sabotage. In Keith’s words, and mine as a fact, these people were not faithful enough. They didn’t believe enough and would rather live a “lazy” life — like so many in the rest of the ordinary world. It’s easier to live like a weak, dependent, self-pitying victim. So, let’s take a closer look at…:

Hyperbolic, fear mongering Bonnie Piesse (the beginning of the end for NXIVM)

It’s safe to say that Piesse ended up hating both Keith and NXIVM. Debora calling her on the phone fueled her fire and set things in motion for real. After that, there was a snowball effect.

Piesse imagines things that aren’t there, won’t take Keith’s or Sarah’s advice to ease down about it, or even her husband Vicente’s advice. She can’t cope with any of her curriculums, because of poor time management, and not enough will power/interest. Most of all though she was hellbent on being a victim.

Because outsider Debora put the words “high control group” in Piesse’s head, she looks it up and projects the symptoms of it onto every other woman in NXIVM/DOS. It’s the same thing as “thinking” you have an illness and look up the symptoms by yourself: you always end up “confirming” your hypochondria.

She then claims, “you can’t ever leave”. How can she say that? Of course you can leave.

Like Piesse says, she was the problem. And she dragged people down with her.

I can’t speak on the behalf of the women in DOS, but, neither can Vicente, Piesse, and definitely not Debora or any of the bitter “leftover” women (Keeffe, Dones, etc.). No matter how you put it, all allegations were based on observations, and subjective feelings of “concern” were applied. There were never any immediate victims, and no one had a reason to stand up and say they were.

It’s clear to me that women playing the victim card is deeply imprinted on them. This is a serious issue, because it hurts a cause much greater than them, and it hurts both women around them as well as everyone else in their destructive paths.

In the 3ʳᵈ episode of The Vow, Sarah has been converted and almost “express-deprogrammed”.

Now she reflects over her whole time in NXIVM, since the very beginning, as a slow but sure journey to ultimately becoming Keith’s sex slave. It’s beyond cynical. It’s even more cynical to believe this narrative is true, when so many involved weren’t women. But men, families, and children as well. It is also more visible in The Vow that Keith kissed both men and women when greeting them.

It’s vital to put everything in perspective. Everything that happened and was achieved in NXIVM’s first +12 years or so. And then what was reported about DOS. The actual mind games, but which didn’t only include Keith. Jealous, sometimes mentally unstable women, and lots of money were factors too.

Maybe it was a case of women thinking “I’m providing Keith with this much but I’m not getting what I want in return”? If Keith had been their sugar daddy, they wouldn’t have had as much to reflect over…

It’s no stretch to compare what happened to Keith, to what happened to Michael Jackson, who did infinitely much for the world, for people and most of all children. Then came all these accusations. Some accusations are worse than others, we can conclude. Even if all of it are lies, you get put under a microscope and the smallest thing becomes “suspicious” and people are like “yeah, that was strange and why didn’t we see it all coming?”
1+1=3…

Wrapping up 3ʳᵈ episode of Seduced, with additional info from The Vow (not too much here of importance…)

Upon Vicente’s idea (“the parents are the way to get to the kids”), Piesse calls Catherine. India was Piesse’s target because she was “friends” with her. (But now she would betray her.) Her hunches:

· India counting calories is translated to “they were starving the girls”

· India “lied”. Well, DOS was a secret sorority

· “The girls were sleep deprived because of doing penances”. I’m quite sure they weren’t “sleep deprived” all the time, but on a few occasions. Despite that, they were referred to as “zombie-like” by both Piesse and Vicente (no doubt he echoed Piesse, though).

In any case, there was nothing there. Just an excuse for Piesse to intrude. And she wasn’t alone in wanting that.

With mental Catherine onboard, and since Vicente and Sarah had “defected”, they can ally themselves and cause trouble. I’m not sure how much they managed to disturb the peace within DOS. Despite being harassed by Sarah’s attempts at intervention, literally like “do you really want to be Keith’s slave?!”, I got the impression the women still chose to stay.

Catherine invades India’s privacy by looking through her stuff, trying to find more reasons to bother her daughter.

At this point, not one soul, except for the “gang”, believed Catherine about her daughter being in any sort of danger.

Catherine’s hate for Keith was growing larger. Or was it jealousy, and Catherine feeling unneeded and insufficient? She has already stated several times that she didn’t have the control over India that she wanted. But had no right to. A rather sick, self-centered trait, if you ask me.

The Vow, Episode 4:

Truthful depiction of India

Catherine and Piesse describe India as “evolved, well-adjusted, successful, capable”. At the same time neither would describe India as deficient or weak. So, in other words, India was not a girl who was easy to manipulate.

Don’t you just love the insanely hypocrite quote from Piesse:

“People don’t understand what it’s like to be in this thing. […] And that’s why I think people getting to tell their story is the most important thing.”

Piesse however doesn’t mind talking on behalf of all women. So, OK, this is from here on Piesse’s story…!

I’m not going into detail about “Jane [Doe]”. Her story doesn’t sway me one way or another and is of little significance other than giving out a few specifics how Keith trusted her. (“Jane” was portrayed by an actress, as was the case with other people in The Vow.)

It’s strange though that “Jane” already having a physical relation with Keith freaks out about the “intimacy assignments”, and the branding.

After “Jane’s” story, we get a more complete — and intimate — portrayal of India than before, as happy, and fully OK with everything in DOS, and she communicates this firmly to Catherine.

Catherine’s words at the end of the episode, fill in the missing pieces, if there were any left; looking at her almost 30-year-old daughter as a child, claiming she was stolen for sex trafficking, but refusing to trust in her. This is the vendetta of a crazed mom.

Notes about the “gang” (Vicente, Piesse, Sarah, Nippy, Catherine)

As noted earlier, there is no doubt that Piesse corrupted Vicente and “reprogrammed” his brain to at first be virtually against her, to completely stand by her side in everything. Vicente finally gave up NXIVM for trusting this small-minded, selfish, self-righteous, attention-craving, and weak woman so much.

Maybe she made an ultimatum; either he was with her or against her, or he decided that himself.

Similarly, it was more than likely Sarah’s husband, Nippy, and his threatening and violent character that put enough fear in her. I would say it’s a fact that Nippy has rather severe issues with anger control. I’m sure Lauren would agree…

Just looking at Nippy gives me the creeps for real. (I might be assuming things, but I’d like to think Jim Del Negro kept Nippy in check.). I wonder if Nippy will ever realize the irony in claiming Keith, Nancy and Lauren had the “moral high ground”. Chances are low.

Sarah also echoes what Mark told Keith regarding Piesse (that his wife comes first), to Lauren, that her husband comes before DOS and Lauren. This suggests that Sarah and Mark were converted in the same ways by their spouses.

So, Sarah, from at first being strong-minded (thinking Vicente should leave Piesse), to wanting nothing but bad things happen to Keith? You don’t do a 180 like that without severe influence.

“Just add Parlato”

No one would listen to Catherine and her outcries. Not the LE (Law Enforcement), not the press. In complete desperation, and despite calling him “too sensationalist”, she (and the rest of the “gang”), turned to Frank Parlato. I would think he was more than ready for this.

Getting Parlato involved was the biggest part of this elaborate (but wonky) scheme, as he despises Keith more than anything else. As already indicated, this supports that the entirety of the case against Keith was built on a hate campaign, and the twisting around of facts and circumstances. E.g., forced labor, his personality, his intentions, his sexuality, the way he was around people in general, but with a rigid focus on (“his”) females.

In either documentary though, you never really see him being inappropriate with anyone. And Vicente did film and record “everything”.

That’s another thing. Vicente says that he never meant to crush NXIVM, but he “feared” that if he quit (as in quitting in the very late days, and when the time was right) he would need this material to “protect” him. But even if he had filmed (most of) it, it wasn’t his to take, let alone use — it was the property of NXIVM! Here we could discuss an ethical breach, with so many (thousands) of people that involuntarily became a part of his “filmmaking”, as The Vow was produced.

He says this as if he had felt that for a long time. That is bullshit. He only got “suspicious” after Piesse had pushed him far enough.

With his full access and involvement, he proved to be the torpedo that would sink this ship. But naturally he had Keith-haters to help him do that. Parlato first and foremost. Vicente was never threatened by Keith in any way, nor was he “hunted”. Vicente, you liar, all you wanted was to not just crush, but to annihilate.

Parlato is well-known for being incredibly eager and persistent in smearing, defaming, accusing and sheer hating on Keith Raniere for over half a decade. He would simply throw anything at Keith.

How is this for an example:
Parlato writes virtual love letters to and about Allison Mack and her innocence, while at the same time calling Keith

“a horrible, fetid, sweaty, flabby old pervert, with erectile dysfunction, and the decided absence of regular bathing”

and goes so far as to insinuate that, ultimately, Keith would have Allison murdered or commit suicide…

First of all, has Parlato taken a good look at himself both physically and mentally? Second: if he claims to care so much for Allison, then why did he help bring NXIVM, Keith and ultimately Allison down? It doesn’t take much brain power to see that Allison too would face serious charges, with all the fake incriminating “evidence” they collected. I’m sure he’s regretful! (It’s likely Parlato was jealous of Keith being with Allison…)

Maybe, in court, this is not what the accusers hoped to happen. They hoped that only Keith would get all the blame.