Ricken, cults, and white supremacy

Originally posted under the main ep thread in response to u/DarkS7Maneuver's question:

Super upset with Ricken this episode. Why would he let ANYONE from lumon in their home after what happened with their baby and Cobel!?

Prompted to post on main by u/ladywood777. Ty!

ETA: because I’m tired of responding individually in the comments, and this may help get the big, recurring objections out of the way… I’m referring here to American white people, who are socialized in a specific way due to American slavery and racism. All white people are exposed to this socialization in America, regardless of intention, morality, or character. I am American, the show is American, I have some direct family experience with cults and high control, patriarchal groups. I elaborate on the reasoning for my assertion below.

And no, there isn’t a large scale peer reviewed study to back this up. There is unfortunately a dearth of literature on the socialization aspect of cult membership; though a lot focusing on precipitating factors like wealth, social isolation, trauma, etc. These factors exist across cultures pretty uniformly. The large number of white people in cults in America is assumed to be a reflection of disproportionately high population percentage, but again, no studies have been done to confirm, deny, or investigate this further. This makes what I stated below a THEORY. I support it with available evidence from several experts/authors in the field who are also beginning to explore this socialization aspect, who are cult survivors, or both, because this is an emerging consideration. The Pew research study everyone is linking in the comments is from 2018 and refers to Religious Typology Groups, not cults; it’s not relevant to whether white Americans are especially susceptible to cults.

I am a Sociology student (second time back to school after 10 years in a completely different career; I’m not a kid) and yes, I’ve traveled outside the United States and am aware that cults exist all over the world. I hope to conduct my own research study on this topic. It can take years to process this data, so if Reddit is still here when I’m done, I’ll return with my findings and you can all razz me then. Until then… I dunno, accept the premise or don’t, but I won’t respond to comments made in bad faith or that demand to see evidence that just doesn’t exist yet. Engage with the argument on the merits and consider the analysis, or don’t!

I sincerely appreciate everyone who has read, commented, or sent me a kind DM. May your waffles always have syrup.

It’s not a coincidence that he gives cult leader vibes and Lumon is a cult masquerading as a company. There’s a reason white people tend to be especially vulnerable to cults — they operate on a structure identical to white supremacy and capitalism (authoritarianism, hierarchy, control, perfectionism, and performativenss).

His willingness to play that role — and even his deliberate chasing of it for his own ego — is tempered a bit by Devon being married to him (the realist) and his sort of bumbly personality. But he represents white male hegemony. He doesn’t perceive danger where others do, and welcomes unearned adoration for mediocre, surface-level scholarship. He surrounds himself with acolytes who reinforce his self-image. He makes excuses and downplays red flags (“He was talking about the baby!”). He doesn’t see an enemy; he sees opportunity. His woo-woo personality isn't a genuine antidote to these frameworks because it is performative; he's doing it for the rewards it brings, not community it builds.

Devon is interesting because typically cult leaders are propped up by a second in command, usually a “skinny white woman” (more on that here and here), who pacifies the flock and signals safety to other women. She sort of plays this role currently, but unnaturally; I think we’ll see her become uninterested in continuing it. Often when women in cults break free, it is not because they experience harm, but because the children do. Even this week there was some subterfuge and withholding info about the project she and Mark were working on. That’s a recipe for contempt.

Contrast this to someone supremely competent like Milchick, who is tokenized (and given evidence of it by way of the paintings) but who, despite his best efforts, will never really belong. We don't know his backstory yet, but we do know that under capitalism, everyone is forced to participate and excel or else be pathologized for their failure. This is especially true for black people, not just because they have historically been barred from participation, but because their very appearance makes them scapegoats any time the facade slips (examples are the glass cliff phenomenon and what's happening this week with the administration targeting DEI).

I think it’s very intentional that a black man has been the enforcer/jailer to the innies (and that a mixed woman has been the mouthpiece of the Board, for that matter). Besides them swallowing frequent micro-aggressions, they must assimilate to Lumon’s culture even more strictly and be even more grateful, like poster children, to prove their allegiance. (Keep in mind that Helena will never be "enough" either though, because white supremacy prioritizes some, but loves no one.) I think we’ll see him (and possibly Natalie) break from Lumon in the next episode because he can’t ignore the cognitive dissonance anymore.

Alarm bells are starting to sound for everyone EXCEPT Ricken because currently, he benefits from the cult systems the most out of everyone: wife, kid, devoted following, flattery, career.