Reader lists eight things NXIVM was really all about – for Raniere

NXIVM insiders, deep within Raniere’s inner circle, used the training as a way to gather information on those they could extort what Raniere wanted from them:

1. Sex
2. Cheap labor
3. Commit illegal commands from Master
4. Money, lots of money
5. Pony – what could be millions of $$$ from Mexico – to Salzman and Raniere’s hidden SPOTS.
6. Enrollment efforts to keep their cash cow alive
7. Devotion for both Salzman and Raniere
8. Cheap insider Legal Team

The list goes on.

People want to make those who received benefits from the training as a powerful defense for Raniere.

This is not about who benefits from a training program, this is about Raniere and his partners’ illegal actions.

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The prosecution might wish to show that, despite grandiose claims of NXIVM being an organization developed for the benefit of its students, it had really no other objective than to serve the selfish ends of its founder, Keith Raniere.

Throughout all this, Raniere had some co conspirators and enablers. Among the chief ones were Nancy Salzman, Karen Unterreiner, Lauren Salzman, Clare Bronfman, Sara Bronfman, Emiliano Salinas, Alejandro Betancourt, Allison Mack and others – some of whom have defected.  The ones who defected prior to the fall of Raniere deserve, in my mind and in most cases, absolution for their misdeeds and to not be listed as co-conspirators – even though they may have done as much or more to build up Raniere’s dark and bifurcated world of deceit [while pretending to be a noble Vanguard] than some of those listed above.

In some cases, the defectors contributed to the fall of Raniere.  In varying degrees, I think all the co conspirators were both victims and victimizers. In my next post, I will try to illustrate this with a rumination on Clare Bronfman – one of the least sympathetic and vicious of the co conspirators.

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As for the eight things Raniere’s NXIVM was really all about – to him –

1. Sex
2. Cheap labor
3. Commit illegal commands from Master
4. Money, lots of money
5. Pony – what could be millions of $$$ from Mexico – to Salzman and Raniere’s hidden SPOTS.
6. Enrollment efforts to keep their cash cow alive
7. Devotion for both Salzman and Raniere
8. Cheap insider Legal Team

— I am pretty sure we can think of a few others – perks the Vanguard received, or attempted to receive, [none of which he seems to be enjoying now].  I think they all boil down to one primary thing, however: NXIVM was run for the benefit of Keith Raniere – and he alone – although he did let co conspirators enjoy to some degree.

I suspect Raniere derived a sadistic pleasure in watching “fools” worship him [he who had the worst intentions towards them] and see them operate a community, and a mission in his name, where the “fools” [in his eyes, they are ‘fools’] thought they were really trying to do good – who actually really tried to do good – while he manipulated them to serve his selfish ends alone.

And, yes, sure, there were good things in the NXIVM courses. There had to be. Otherwise, the ‘fools’ would not pay tens of thousands for courses – and go into to debt to take more – while trying to recruit others, and serving the mission for free.

But the courses were intended to keep people hooked – that is why the curriculum was endless – no one ever graduated – no one ever achieves the final result — ‘unification’ – he called it.

He would – in the guise of mentor or leader – – worshipful Vanguard – who was thanked in every class for his munificence and brilliance – thwart all their efforts – with many efforts of his own to trip them up along the way — as one judge rightly called his intentions toward Toni Natalie – for their own individual -not Vanguard created – success.

Raniere was constantly creating unnecessary chaos – to prevent success and keep people enslaved. For success for his ‘fools’ was antithetical to Raniere’s goals for Executive Success Programs. Success for them might have meant freedom for his fools/slaves/devotees/students. It was adversarial – but his students did not know it.

He – the man who defines winning as crucial  – even in things that should be shared and not measured in comparatives – such as joy – won by enslaving his followers. Keeping them abject – never seeking their success through equality.

This, I believe, is where the secret of drawing the line between victimizer and victim lies. Many of his most ardent followers were a mix of both.

I think, for instance, that Allison Mack  – in her heart and brain – actually, honestly thought [or was trained to think] his was a mission of goodness – even DOS. I doubt she was ‘out there’ hating the people she recruited. Somewhere, she got caught up in his web of lies, and entered a dim world balanced between wanting to keep her fine [and selfish] role with Raniere [procuring him, for example, fuck toys and etc.] and a world – in her head – where a more deeply embedded hypnotic suggestion lay – where she must serve Raniere for his noble mission – which is for the welfare of a troubled and needlessly suffering world.  There were times when his mere voice, a look or a suggestion would reduce her to tears – so eager was she programmed to believe he was sheer goodness.