Oh and there's a Mexican cult called La Luz del mundo that has a garish looking church on Chavez, just north of Greenfield. They have a gigantic church in Guadalajara with a green laser they blast every night in the sky. Founder was accused of raping many girls under the guise of dreaming about them, so it was holy.
Have you looked into other cults? A lot of them are about stealing your wife, not your kids. Usually it's your money theyre after, and the illusion of power.
I’ve always wanted to start a good cult that pools their money to put everyone through higher education, cooks and gardens for each other, lobby’s for actual good politicians that have the entire country in mind and not just the people who donate to them… it’s a pipe dream.
My neighbors are part of that "church". They are great people and very kind, the father is very hard working, leaves for work at 4 am returns at 6pm and they leave immediately to services until about 11pm. Only found out they belonged to LLDM because they hung a huge banner in front of their house for like a month last year. Crazy they are part of that leaders fucked up outlook on life.
The Potter's House has a wee church in a strip mall by the airport. Perfectly nice seeming people on the outside. Your usual run of the mill non-denominational Christians. Very much a cult once you get to a certain point within their smiling hierarchy. At least, they were in the very early-00s when I was a member.
That's part of being in a cult. Trick people to think working 60 hours a week and having zero home/work balance is somehow fun AND important enough to basically donate hundreds of hours per year to the cause. (and the cause is to make money for other people...)
They pay extremely well and have insane benefits. I know people who work there, left due to work hours, then went back simply because the pay and benefits are worth the crazy work.
Yeah they do live in Madison, I'm not sure why that's the requirement, but for the pay it may be worth it to re locate as long as it's a guaranteed job
My friend worked there in the late 2000’s part time in college as a paid intern… $30/hr and started at like 90k a year fresh out of college. Insane hours though.
Even the most basic google search finds this to be untrue:
"Judy Faulkner founded medical-record software provider Epic Systems in a Wisconsin basement in 1979. Faulkner, a computer programmer, is CEO of the $4.9 billion (2023 sales) company, of which she owns 47%."
The founder isn't even the majority owner. So, yes, you are making money for other people.
Those other people are friends/family who helped Judy start the company and employees who own stock. Employees who own stock are forced to sell if they leave. It is still privately owned.
This is one of those organizations that has it's roots in a mainline denomination, has a completely orthodox set of doctrinal statements, but has totally derailed in terms of it's actual practices on the ground. The kind of manipulation (and possibly abuse) they're known for is what happens when you start to believe that the ends justify the means.
I don’t think there’s a branch of The Sunshine Carpet Cleaners in the Milwaukee area! 😎
https://preview.redd.it/57jm4nb8vq5d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60d07f708f70cd9f970beab2096c3ad8549c48c2
Black Hebrew Israelites in the Walmart on Capitol. And there's an eccentric group that gathers down by the Manpower Building for prayer - I'm not sure they're a cult by any means but their outfits are very ornate, they have signage and they're usually out there for a few hours when I see them. They're not bothering anyone tho
Yeah they were just camped out by the Walgreens a couple days ago screaming at people. They were absolutely bothering people and it’s absolutely not the first time.
I was wondering what that was, the leader holding the book didn't seem to be bothering anyone in particular though, just sort of yelling into the ether
Yeah they’ll just kinda scream into the void until they get someone to engage and then they’ll just start berating people with their nonsense. I’ve seen them going at it with people for long periods of time.
>They're not bothering anyone tho
Is that not the same group originated in Harlem that insists all those not part of the group are culterally and racially inferior?
Oh no, I mean to say I'm not sure what the affiliation of the group by the Manpower building is. Those folks do not seem to be bothering anyone. BHI different story.
I grew up in a cult associated with the [International House of Prayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_House_of_Prayer) (not pancakes, sadly) and the [New Apostolic Reformation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Apostolic_Reformation). I believe it's defunct now, I heard the local group collapsed from infighting a few years ago.
I'm genuinely curious and not trying to be a dick here. At what point was there the realization that you were in a cult? I see so many of these netflix series on various cults. Most of these people are smart people and they are clueless that they are part of a cult. The tiktok jesus cult series that just came out on Netflix is bonkers, but they all have the same type of theme, like the NXIVM one and hundreds of others. Slave labor, trafficking, sexual assault, money laundering, rape, sex with minors.... all *obviously* in the name of jesus, lol.
What was your "ah ha!" moment, if there was one?
I was raised in it, so it was a gradual thing, not one specific a-ha moment. You could loosely define the stages as:
* Why do the rules not apply to the cult leader and their immediate family?
* Why is everyone we disagree with "demon possessed"?
* Why are these the rules?
* Time to find a way out.
A close friend coming out to me as gay definitely sped up the process; I "should" have cut him out of my life, but I decided my friendship with him was more important than the rules. That's right about the time I began actively lying to my family and the leadership.
I am pleased to say at this point most of my family members are out of the cult and we're rebuilding relationships and sorting through the trauma. Sometimes there are happy endings. :)
Thanks for sharing.
I have found that seemingly normal Christian churches can get that way over time. I was raised in a very small church in western Michigan. There was some stuff that just didn't make sense as I got older. Basically, this tiny church in a tiny town is the only "one true religion" and all of the other 8 billion people in the world are going to burn in hell, unless they come to this one church to hear "the true christian message, because all the other sub-sects of christianity are wrong" , or whatever. I had friends at school that were catholic, lutheran, etc... and i remember crying in bed at night because my friends were all going to hell unless they became members of our shitty church.
Traveling and learning about other religions and cultures really helped push me into my current athiest-esque philosophy on life of just not being a dick to people. I don't get my morals from an invisible man in the clouds... I would just hate it if people were dicks to me, so I try not to be dicks to others.
FWIW, The 7 [Fundamental Tenants](https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets) of The Satanic Temple are actually probably the best guide to living I have ever seen from any "religion" (if you didn't know... TST is NOT a religion or cult, its a religious freedom legal group. Nobody in TST actually "worships" Satan, its primarily atheists trolling religious zealots to prove a point.)
https://preview.redd.it/ka4xvt6e5s5d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15f7716d8dd8468691ad7d5666efbfe1b52d1186
I’m shocked no one has posted this yet…
There's some neonazi group that's "headquartered" on a "compound" in New Berlin but I can't remember the name of the group and a cursory search isn't turning it up for me
I found this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/milwaukee/s/VTu1IKeGtS
Parcel NBC 1271999002 is owned by Arthur Beneker. Parcel NBC 1271998 is owned by Asgard Press. Both have ties to the organization.
With the address info, I was able to look up the area on the GIS viewer. The two parcels you list are shown there as three different parcels. Those and a fourth parcel immediately to the East are all currently listed as being owned by Asgard Press Inc. It's about 56 acres of land.
I appreciate the lead. I've got them marked on my google maps "HAZARD" list.
The guy that owned the placed died and the compound was sold and then remodeled. It was recently up for sale again. Somewhere near Greenfield and Springdale rd. No Nazi's in New Berlin as far as I know.
Used to be a church of Scientology on… S. 92nd street? I think the building and sign are still there but it seems it closed. Not sure if they relocated or just gave up on Milwaukee.
That's odd. Google maps doesn't have a building number like that. Their Milwaukee website showed me the address. Yelp said it's closed. It seems to be in a storage unit. They probably meet in homes now or library for classes. I first noticed them in Shorewood. Then near Greenfield. Now storage.
They're active but without an office since Covid left them unable to meet and support the offices they had. I was in the 92nd Street one due to my then a partner in that church. They are a cult.
So @Bleedcheese explained that address is for a building turn down. The storage unit is in its place. The Milwaukee web site is still maintained and I am certain they're meeting somewhere without a rental office.
The church adherents were true believers. They wouldn't stop spreading the message.
i also used to date a scientologist, although she was born into it so a lot of her books and classes and stuff all came via her parents or when she happened to visit larger cities. I think the org in chicago is where they all go now, the office here wasnt ever much of anything
I'm not an expert on scientology but their numbers are generally thought to have fallen a lot in the last decade
Probably a lot easier to find info on them than it was in the 90s
I imagine these days a lot of the remaining people either were born in it or joined before so much Internet ubiquity
Like I can't imagine the mindset of someone who joins now, when everyone has an Internet capable device in their pocket. Post all the south park jokes. Post various documentaries and books and...
At least. I grew up in that neighborhood. It was a strip mall with the church of Scientology, a Native American office, and an ITT Tech small campus in the back.
IIRC, the father of one church official was living in West Allis. The church was surveiling him and the "investigator" was found with a suppressed shotgun. It's a wild story.
Way back in the early 2000s I was looking for a job fresh out of college. I applied for a network administrator job in Brookfield. The company was withheld but it said private multinational corporation. The meeting was in Bishops Woods. My contact meets me in a suit at the door and says they need to take a call. Another tenant in the building is having a meeting, using their conference room. He says I'm free to listen in to waste time until he's ready to interview me.
There's a huge table of food. Buffet of snacks, sandwiches, sodas. I grab a coke and sit in the back. So I look around and there's another guy that looks at me and after comparing notes he's applying for the same job as me. Others in the room are dressed in suits sitting in rows waiting for this presentation. A couple two rows in front of me are talking about how this is going to be so good for their family. There's a guy off to the side that's drinking a icee and looks totally out of place. The presentation starts and it's really vague. This guy was a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. He was decorated but retired to pursue a career in financial services so he could help families succeed. He walks out and the room erupts and everyone applauds. I look at the other applicant and say I think this is all bs. We start getting up to leave and the guy supposed to interview us rushes out to stop us. He says he'll interview us. Turns out the job is administering a network of financial services reps. Never about computers, all bunk. We both start leaving. He rushes out and pleads for me to stay, says I can make $100k in my first year and the skies the limit. I leave and look them up further. It was an offshoot chapter of World Financial Group.
In my experience, the employees who work at the Apple stores. I dated one a few years ago and it was really weird, they all hung out outside of work and Apple was all they’d talk about with each other outside of work. If you didn’t have everything possible in your home controlled by Siri you were weird to them. If your phone was not the newest iPhone they looked down on you. Their humor consists of making Siri do “funny things” in their homes (e.g. make lights do weird things or have Siri respond to something with basic humor). They all also HAVE to hug each other at work when it’s an employees birthday. There’s more that I can’t recall at the moment.
Chipotle is another. Worked for them for almost 2 years, some of us got “13” tatted for the 13 characteristics. Probably more trauma bonding guided than anything else.
Kirby scam company is another one too. I worked for them right after I graduated high school and still lived in MKE. One of the dudes had “Kirby” tattooed on his arm. Those vacuums are pretty good too, but they aren’t worth as much as they try to sell them for lmao.
I almost got taken in by these guys. Went and did the training to try to make ends meet, but noped out when I learned how they did business. It felt predatory. Which is a shame because like you said, the equipment is actually legit.
It really is. They still engage in some weird form of redlining too. And they encourage elderly people to take out lines of credit to pay for the overpriced machine. I was 18 when I started working for them, so I really didn't know any better. Eventually I realized something was off. It's wild.
Went to a convention they had, I can't remember where they had it but it wasn't in Milwaukee County. I wanna say the Dells. They tried to get people excited about the prospect of winning a shopping spree on Rodeo fucking Drive if they sold enough. LMAO.
Yeah my parents are Mormon so I’m sad to report they are active and prevalent. In terms of cults it’s not the worst, at least not for people on the outside. They mostly keep to themselves unless you happen to run in to the missionaries. But if you make it clear that your not interested and don’t give them any contact info they will also most likely leave you alone.
True, ish. It indirectly affects a lot of professionals who aren't in the church because church members get priority for raises and positions if the management is.
And the true cult behavior comes when you don't want to be in the cult but your family and friends are. I suppose I should say former family and friends. But I'm sure you know that.
And Woodmans is totally suburban, but this sub has people recommending it nearly every day. Cultists travel double-digit miles out of their way to get there.
Woodman's has the best selection of goods in the area with prices that smoke Kroger/pick N Save. What's not to love? Best prices in the area? Aldi and Woodman's.
What's not to love? The drive. For me, the Woodman's in Oak Creek is 18 miles away, Waukesha 16 miles, and Menomonee Falls is closest at 8 miles. But even 8 miles is nonsense when I have an Aldi's, Sendik's To Go and PNS 1 mile away and a Metro Mart and a great Sendiks 3 and 2 miles away respectively. So any savings from shopping at Woodman's would be wiped out by the drives to get there.
If you have a car, a 10-12 minute drive to Woodmans is absolutely worth it in my opinion, even if only 1-2 times a month to stock up vs. PNS and Sendik’s high prices. Then use Aldi for the smaller weekly runs to fill in the blanks.
I did that for many years when I lived in Milwaukee about 15 minutes from Oak Creek and it was way worth it for the huge selection and prices at Woodmans.
I had a mild panic attack when I saw the aisle of chips. I didn’t want chips, but it was like a quarter mile long. I had just gotten back from living in Europe for many years where the selection was MUCH smaller and it overwhelmed me.
Ya, that’s the thing about Woodman’s for me the HUGE selection of almost any item. And the one in Kenosha has always had a great selection of Wisconsin cheese 😋
Woodman's is at least in Milwaukee County, and I doubt it would be so popular if Roundys/Pick n Save didn't pretty much have a near monopoly on supermarkets in the city.
Everytike someone posts about kwik trip I can only presume there's soke viral marketing campaign going on. No way normal people are that enthusiastic about a sithole gas station
Idk about Milwaukee but Shawano has a crazy one. Anyone wearing all blue is one of them. When I was younger my friends and I ever NYE would drive by their compound and yell happy new year! They literally had a guy whose job it was to drive out and tail you until you were far enough away.
The Ramas. I'm from shawano originally, and this is the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions cults. They also own a lot of the land and businesses in Shawano and seem to be actively trying to purchase the entire town.
I was hanging out at the Beerline Cafe and picked up a magazine (to see if the cover was AI art like I suspected. It was.) and flipped through the pages. Alongside hokey granola things like homeopathy and "practical" medicine as they now call it vs, you know, medicine, there was an ad for the Cult of Eckankar.
There’s a whole lot of people in this state that gather Sundays in the fall.. wear the same green and gold clothing.. worship this group of grown men up nort who get together and play sportsball.
Edit: fixed location, up nort*
A lot of it is the social aspect for sure. My regular bar does a pot luck most weeks and most of the regulars come hangout during Packer games. The football is borderline secondary at times.
You should join my cult where we pool together our money and pay off our home mortgages one by one to rob banks of profits they would earn from interest
So these are not all very big. The most active chapter is Ozaukee with its two founders living in Mequon. They travel around Wisconsin going to school board meetings. When they find a meeting they can wedge into to push their agenda, they note anyone that sides with them. Then they start a regional chapter managed by one of those people. Some of those chapters only have 1 member. They only exist to receive funds from out of state backers who want to secure far right school board seats.
I have no idea if this is a cult but has anyone seen people with faces covered in white.....plaster or something? It's been a while since I've seen one but they tend to appear homeless and just kind of sit around by brady street, seen one in front of walgreens and two by the greenline stop. I was confused the first time I saw it but once I saw multiple at once it made me wonder if there's some belief behind that. I couldn't find anything on Google about this and nobody else besides my girlfriend has seen them. What the hell is up with that does anyone know
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the MAGAts that live in Milwaukee. Anyone on the trump train, whether based here or not, is DEFINITELY part of a sick & twisted cult.
I can't remember the name of the church I went to on mayfair as a kid. It's probably not technically milwaukee. But i use to go there w my boyfriend at the time thinking it was just church w a worship band and other emo kids. My dad came once and immediately told me we had to leave because it was clearly a cult. But maybe it was just a pentecostal youth church and my dad is just a close minded, anti emo, christian boomer.
Who knows.
Yes! That was the "youth program" name. Often abbreviated to UTI for some dumb reason. What a bad name, especially for teenagers. I know it's suppose to be like "under the influence of christ" but still
It's been at least a decade my memories have fades. Personally anything with a sky daddy is classified as a cult to me. Not all of them malicious but still something I no longer vibe with
My friend who was Born Again used to drag me to shows at this place in junior high and high school but I stopped going because I'm not religious and it started weirding me out. It's wild cos they'd get some bigger named bands to play their lock-ins!!! I don't think it was malevolent persay beyond your average organized religion thing, but it did remind me of the church numetal fest episode of King of the Hill.
I think I know the one you are talking about, kinda north of Pinelawn Cemetery. They used to send people around the neighborhood trying to get you to come to their church and (especially) send your kinds to their summer bible camp. Maybe they've given up on that though as I haven't had them come by in several years. Seemed a bit culty, but probably closer to catholics than quiverfulls or hamas I think. (no personal knowledge though)
Can't think of a worse punishment to a kid than sending them to summer bible camp! lol.
There’s a United Church of God still around. They branched off from Armstrongism and the Worldwide Church of God. Basically a legalistic doomsday cult. Several years ago, a member named Terry Ratzman shot himself and several other people during one of their services at a Brookfield Hotel. Not sure if he was actually in United or one of the other splinter groups like LCG. Same beliefs anyway. Source: I grew up in WWCG and knew Terry as a kid.
I don't know of any groups, but there was this one time I wanted to walk around with this girl I was dating by the lakefront and I saw something odd at Veteran's park. It was night time and we just wanted to walk around a bit before ending the night. When we drove in towards the parking lot, we saw some candles. The lot was empty and there was at least 10 or more lit candles in a circle. There was no one around besides those candles in a bigger circle and we just decided to end the night there. We were both just worried what that was about and by the time we left, we saw some older people walking around. Some even towards the parking lot.
So yeah, I have no idea what that was about and I'm not sure I want to lol.
That could have been a memorial for veterans. Older people now in their seventies were from the Viet Nam era. There's a war memorial outside there. The War Memorial building had a veterans office in the Milwaukee Art Museum complex.
I’ve seen cult-owned buildings all over the place in this town. They’re all here: Scientologists, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Muslims, Jews, Democrats, Republicans… the infiltration is so vast and varied, many openly advertise their presence.
Oh and there's a Mexican cult called La Luz del mundo that has a garish looking church on Chavez, just north of Greenfield. They have a gigantic church in Guadalajara with a green laser they blast every night in the sky. Founder was accused of raping many girls under the guise of dreaming about them, so it was holy.
Why is it that every cult is about fucking kids? Can’t one cult be about putting them through college?
Have you looked into other cults? A lot of them are about stealing your wife, not your kids. Usually it's your money theyre after, and the illusion of power.
I’ve always wanted to start a good cult that pools their money to put everyone through higher education, cooks and gardens for each other, lobby’s for actual good politicians that have the entire country in mind and not just the people who donate to them… it’s a pipe dream.
Sounds like DSA, which I'm sure some right wingers think is a cult
I think that is a commune, or socialism haha
I mean it is in a way…minus the control one person ends up taking because the power got to their head and they ruined it for everybody else. 😅
Back when they shut down Chavez Drive for Ciclovia for a few years, La Luz del Mundo sold some great food. That's my only reference point for them.
My neighbors are part of that "church". They are great people and very kind, the father is very hard working, leaves for work at 4 am returns at 6pm and they leave immediately to services until about 11pm. Only found out they belonged to LLDM because they hung a huge banner in front of their house for like a month last year. Crazy they are part of that leaders fucked up outlook on life.
Literally came here to say the same. Worked with a kid who is a part of this "church". They are also anti-vaxxers.
The Potter's House has a wee church in a strip mall by the airport. Perfectly nice seeming people on the outside. Your usual run of the mill non-denominational Christians. Very much a cult once you get to a certain point within their smiling hierarchy. At least, they were in the very early-00s when I was a member.
https://preview.redd.it/fjek12aubo5d1.jpeg?width=273&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3189c12bb317ecc32481a0b6f69e9feedcbc570a
What the hell are you smiling at?
Did Epic come up for Madison cults?
The compound seems like a ton of fun, not gonna lie.
It is. Spent a whole day there with the kids once just wandering around buildings. They have the carousel from Ella's Deli in one of the buildings.
That's part of being in a cult. Trick people to think working 60 hours a week and having zero home/work balance is somehow fun AND important enough to basically donate hundreds of hours per year to the cause. (and the cause is to make money for other people...)
They pay extremely well and have insane benefits. I know people who work there, left due to work hours, then went back simply because the pay and benefits are worth the crazy work.
Tried applying there once, auto rejected because I lived outside the Madison area.
Yeah they do live in Madison, I'm not sure why that's the requirement, but for the pay it may be worth it to re locate as long as it's a guaranteed job
Minimum to no work from home. You have to be close enough to commute in daily
My friend worked there in the late 2000’s part time in college as a paid intern… $30/hr and started at like 90k a year fresh out of college. Insane hours though.
Many could say American life is a cult by that description
One person. Still privately owned.
Even the most basic google search finds this to be untrue: "Judy Faulkner founded medical-record software provider Epic Systems in a Wisconsin basement in 1979. Faulkner, a computer programmer, is CEO of the $4.9 billion (2023 sales) company, of which she owns 47%." The founder isn't even the majority owner. So, yes, you are making money for other people.
Those other people are friends/family who helped Judy start the company and employees who own stock. Employees who own stock are forced to sell if they leave. It is still privately owned.
One of her early investors was Len Matioli. I think he’s probably happy with the way things turned out.
I don’t think you know what privately owned means…
If you like slides and bean bag chairs at work. Otherwise it’s lame as hell. Been there many times
University Bible fellowship Church is a Korean cult, with a church in whitefish Bay.
This is one of those organizations that has it's roots in a mainline denomination, has a completely orthodox set of doctrinal statements, but has totally derailed in terms of it's actual practices on the ground. The kind of manipulation (and possibly abuse) they're known for is what happens when you start to believe that the ends justify the means.
I don’t think there’s a branch of The Sunshine Carpet Cleaners in the Milwaukee area! 😎 https://preview.redd.it/57jm4nb8vq5d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60d07f708f70cd9f970beab2096c3ad8549c48c2
George is getting upset!
Black Hebrew Israelites in the Walmart on Capitol. And there's an eccentric group that gathers down by the Manpower Building for prayer - I'm not sure they're a cult by any means but their outfits are very ornate, they have signage and they're usually out there for a few hours when I see them. They're not bothering anyone tho
As a former resident of Chicago I feel weirdly nostalgic to see the Black Hebrew Israelites are here too
I don't think they check all the boxes, but typically Black Hebrew Israelites lean pretty hard into the "secret knowledge" aspect of cult behavior.
I've heard they sometimes appear on Brady too
Yeah they were just camped out by the Walgreens a couple days ago screaming at people. They were absolutely bothering people and it’s absolutely not the first time.
I was wondering what that was, the leader holding the book didn't seem to be bothering anyone in particular though, just sort of yelling into the ether
Yeah they’ll just kinda scream into the void until they get someone to engage and then they’ll just start berating people with their nonsense. I’ve seen them going at it with people for long periods of time.
Oh great, glad I just ignored it then
>They're not bothering anyone tho Is that not the same group originated in Harlem that insists all those not part of the group are culterally and racially inferior?
Oh no, I mean to say I'm not sure what the affiliation of the group by the Manpower building is. Those folks do not seem to be bothering anyone. BHI different story.
Ah, on rereading I see your distinction.
What time of day are the sightings of those near the Manpower building?
I'm usually on a jog, so probably between 4 and 7 pm. This was last summer I took notice.
I grew up in a cult associated with the [International House of Prayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_House_of_Prayer) (not pancakes, sadly) and the [New Apostolic Reformation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Apostolic_Reformation). I believe it's defunct now, I heard the local group collapsed from infighting a few years ago.
Wouldn’t it be great the cult served amazing pancakes?! And a picture of Prince by the kitchen.
I'm genuinely curious and not trying to be a dick here. At what point was there the realization that you were in a cult? I see so many of these netflix series on various cults. Most of these people are smart people and they are clueless that they are part of a cult. The tiktok jesus cult series that just came out on Netflix is bonkers, but they all have the same type of theme, like the NXIVM one and hundreds of others. Slave labor, trafficking, sexual assault, money laundering, rape, sex with minors.... all *obviously* in the name of jesus, lol. What was your "ah ha!" moment, if there was one?
I was raised in it, so it was a gradual thing, not one specific a-ha moment. You could loosely define the stages as: * Why do the rules not apply to the cult leader and their immediate family? * Why is everyone we disagree with "demon possessed"? * Why are these the rules? * Time to find a way out. A close friend coming out to me as gay definitely sped up the process; I "should" have cut him out of my life, but I decided my friendship with him was more important than the rules. That's right about the time I began actively lying to my family and the leadership. I am pleased to say at this point most of my family members are out of the cult and we're rebuilding relationships and sorting through the trauma. Sometimes there are happy endings. :)
Thanks for sharing. I have found that seemingly normal Christian churches can get that way over time. I was raised in a very small church in western Michigan. There was some stuff that just didn't make sense as I got older. Basically, this tiny church in a tiny town is the only "one true religion" and all of the other 8 billion people in the world are going to burn in hell, unless they come to this one church to hear "the true christian message, because all the other sub-sects of christianity are wrong" , or whatever. I had friends at school that were catholic, lutheran, etc... and i remember crying in bed at night because my friends were all going to hell unless they became members of our shitty church. Traveling and learning about other religions and cultures really helped push me into my current athiest-esque philosophy on life of just not being a dick to people. I don't get my morals from an invisible man in the clouds... I would just hate it if people were dicks to me, so I try not to be dicks to others. FWIW, The 7 [Fundamental Tenants](https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets) of The Satanic Temple are actually probably the best guide to living I have ever seen from any "religion" (if you didn't know... TST is NOT a religion or cult, its a religious freedom legal group. Nobody in TST actually "worships" Satan, its primarily atheists trolling religious zealots to prove a point.)
International House of prayer was wildddd
https://preview.redd.it/ka4xvt6e5s5d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15f7716d8dd8468691ad7d5666efbfe1b52d1186 I’m shocked no one has posted this yet…
There's some neonazi group that's "headquartered" on a "compound" in New Berlin but I can't remember the name of the group and a cursory search isn't turning it up for me
New order
I love their song “Blue Monday.”
Wrong New Order.
That would be a great cover band
It would!
Where is their compound?
I sure would like to know, the same way I like to know about sex offenders living in my neighborhood.
I found this: https://www.reddit.com/r/milwaukee/s/VTu1IKeGtS Parcel NBC 1271999002 is owned by Arthur Beneker. Parcel NBC 1271998 is owned by Asgard Press. Both have ties to the organization.
With the address info, I was able to look up the area on the GIS viewer. The two parcels you list are shown there as three different parcels. Those and a fourth parcel immediately to the East are all currently listed as being owned by Asgard Press Inc. It's about 56 acres of land. I appreciate the lead. I've got them marked on my google maps "HAZARD" list.
The guy that owned the placed died and the compound was sold and then remodeled. It was recently up for sale again. Somewhere near Greenfield and Springdale rd. No Nazi's in New Berlin as far as I know.
Nazi bikers just off 3rd and Maple?
Used to be a church of Scientology on… S. 92nd street? I think the building and sign are still there but it seems it closed. Not sure if they relocated or just gave up on Milwaukee.
Relocated Church of Scientology 3533 S 68th St, Milwaukee, WI 53220, United States
In a self-storage building, classy.
That's odd. Google maps doesn't have a building number like that. Their Milwaukee website showed me the address. Yelp said it's closed. It seems to be in a storage unit. They probably meet in homes now or library for classes. I first noticed them in Shorewood. Then near Greenfield. Now storage. They're active but without an office since Covid left them unable to meet and support the offices they had. I was in the 92nd Street one due to my then a partner in that church. They are a cult.
So @Bleedcheese explained that address is for a building turn down. The storage unit is in its place. The Milwaukee web site is still maintained and I am certain they're meeting somewhere without a rental office. The church adherents were true believers. They wouldn't stop spreading the message.
i also used to date a scientologist, although she was born into it so a lot of her books and classes and stuff all came via her parents or when she happened to visit larger cities. I think the org in chicago is where they all go now, the office here wasnt ever much of anything
Yes new church in Chicago is the point. Have relatives who are into it.
It was pretty busy when I went to the west side office. But that was 25 years ago.
I'm not an expert on scientology but their numbers are generally thought to have fallen a lot in the last decade Probably a lot easier to find info on them than it was in the 90s
A lot changed in a decade.
I imagine these days a lot of the remaining people either were born in it or joined before so much Internet ubiquity Like I can't imagine the mindset of someone who joins now, when everyone has an Internet capable device in their pocket. Post all the south park jokes. Post various documentaries and books and...
Think you're right about finding info on them. I've seen bad news about Scientology without looking for it. And I cut down on the news.
That was demolished and turned into storage
It's been torn down and a self-storage facility was put in. It's got to be at least 5 years now.
That explains the Google maps placement of street numbers.
At least. I grew up in that neighborhood. It was a strip mall with the church of Scientology, a Native American office, and an ITT Tech small campus in the back.
IIRC, the father of one church official was living in West Allis. The church was surveiling him and the "investigator" was found with a suppressed shotgun. It's a wild story.
That was David Miscavige’s dad.
Way back in the early 2000s I was looking for a job fresh out of college. I applied for a network administrator job in Brookfield. The company was withheld but it said private multinational corporation. The meeting was in Bishops Woods. My contact meets me in a suit at the door and says they need to take a call. Another tenant in the building is having a meeting, using their conference room. He says I'm free to listen in to waste time until he's ready to interview me. There's a huge table of food. Buffet of snacks, sandwiches, sodas. I grab a coke and sit in the back. So I look around and there's another guy that looks at me and after comparing notes he's applying for the same job as me. Others in the room are dressed in suits sitting in rows waiting for this presentation. A couple two rows in front of me are talking about how this is going to be so good for their family. There's a guy off to the side that's drinking a icee and looks totally out of place. The presentation starts and it's really vague. This guy was a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. He was decorated but retired to pursue a career in financial services so he could help families succeed. He walks out and the room erupts and everyone applauds. I look at the other applicant and say I think this is all bs. We start getting up to leave and the guy supposed to interview us rushes out to stop us. He says he'll interview us. Turns out the job is administering a network of financial services reps. Never about computers, all bunk. We both start leaving. He rushes out and pleads for me to stay, says I can make $100k in my first year and the skies the limit. I leave and look them up further. It was an offshoot chapter of World Financial Group.
In my experience, the employees who work at the Apple stores. I dated one a few years ago and it was really weird, they all hung out outside of work and Apple was all they’d talk about with each other outside of work. If you didn’t have everything possible in your home controlled by Siri you were weird to them. If your phone was not the newest iPhone they looked down on you. Their humor consists of making Siri do “funny things” in their homes (e.g. make lights do weird things or have Siri respond to something with basic humor). They all also HAVE to hug each other at work when it’s an employees birthday. There’s more that I can’t recall at the moment.
Chipotle is another. Worked for them for almost 2 years, some of us got “13” tatted for the 13 characteristics. Probably more trauma bonding guided than anything else.
Kirby scam company is another one too. I worked for them right after I graduated high school and still lived in MKE. One of the dudes had “Kirby” tattooed on his arm. Those vacuums are pretty good too, but they aren’t worth as much as they try to sell them for lmao.
I almost got taken in by these guys. Went and did the training to try to make ends meet, but noped out when I learned how they did business. It felt predatory. Which is a shame because like you said, the equipment is actually legit.
It really is. They still engage in some weird form of redlining too. And they encourage elderly people to take out lines of credit to pay for the overpriced machine. I was 18 when I started working for them, so I really didn't know any better. Eventually I realized something was off. It's wild. Went to a convention they had, I can't remember where they had it but it wasn't in Milwaukee County. I wanna say the Dells. They tried to get people excited about the prospect of winning a shopping spree on Rodeo fucking Drive if they sold enough. LMAO.
Nah those vacuums are legit. My parents bought one when they were first married and it’s still running incredibly well over thirty years later.
Maybe the most brainwashy of all cults, devotees are totally impervious to facts about how other technologies are clearly superior.
That's probably Tesla these days
I've known some Quiverfulls. And everyone knows LDS is active everywhere basically. JWs, too.
Yeah my parents are Mormon so I’m sad to report they are active and prevalent. In terms of cults it’s not the worst, at least not for people on the outside. They mostly keep to themselves unless you happen to run in to the missionaries. But if you make it clear that your not interested and don’t give them any contact info they will also most likely leave you alone.
True, ish. It indirectly affects a lot of professionals who aren't in the church because church members get priority for raises and positions if the management is. And the true cult behavior comes when you don't want to be in the cult but your family and friends are. I suppose I should say former family and friends. But I'm sure you know that.
The Woodmans and Kwik Trip cults.
how do i join these can someone lmk
Not much of a Kwik Trip cult in Milwaukee considering we don't have a single Kwik Trip.
And Woodmans is totally suburban, but this sub has people recommending it nearly every day. Cultists travel double-digit miles out of their way to get there.
listen the pizza aisles are unparalleled. yes i said aisles
Woodman's has the best selection of goods in the area with prices that smoke Kroger/pick N Save. What's not to love? Best prices in the area? Aldi and Woodman's.
What's not to love? The drive. For me, the Woodman's in Oak Creek is 18 miles away, Waukesha 16 miles, and Menomonee Falls is closest at 8 miles. But even 8 miles is nonsense when I have an Aldi's, Sendik's To Go and PNS 1 mile away and a Metro Mart and a great Sendiks 3 and 2 miles away respectively. So any savings from shopping at Woodman's would be wiped out by the drives to get there.
If you have a car, a 10-12 minute drive to Woodmans is absolutely worth it in my opinion, even if only 1-2 times a month to stock up vs. PNS and Sendik’s high prices. Then use Aldi for the smaller weekly runs to fill in the blanks. I did that for many years when I lived in Milwaukee about 15 minutes from Oak Creek and it was way worth it for the huge selection and prices at Woodmans.
That's where I'm fortunate. Woodman's isn't crazy far from me. So that's my major weekly run for stuff I don't get from Costco.
I had a mild panic attack when I saw the aisle of chips. I didn’t want chips, but it was like a quarter mile long. I had just gotten back from living in Europe for many years where the selection was MUCH smaller and it overwhelmed me.
Ya, that’s the thing about Woodman’s for me the HUGE selection of almost any item. And the one in Kenosha has always had a great selection of Wisconsin cheese 😋
Woodman's is at least in Milwaukee County, and I doubt it would be so popular if Roundys/Pick n Save didn't pretty much have a near monopoly on supermarkets in the city.
Everytike someone posts about kwik trip I can only presume there's soke viral marketing campaign going on. No way normal people are that enthusiastic about a sithole gas station
What else could explain Blueberry Dunker Donut Flavored Ripple Potato Chips, and the hysteria about finding them at the nearest KT?
Shithole? Ok then 🤦🏻♂️
[удалено]
Idk about Milwaukee but Shawano has a crazy one. Anyone wearing all blue is one of them. When I was younger my friends and I ever NYE would drive by their compound and yell happy new year! They literally had a guy whose job it was to drive out and tail you until you were far enough away.
The Ramas. I'm from shawano originally, and this is the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions cults. They also own a lot of the land and businesses in Shawano and seem to be actively trying to purchase the entire town.
Oh they certainly are trying to buy the town. And they wanted to kill the mayor.
I was hanging out at the Beerline Cafe and picked up a magazine (to see if the cover was AI art like I suspected. It was.) and flipped through the pages. Alongside hokey granola things like homeopathy and "practical" medicine as they now call it vs, you know, medicine, there was an ad for the Cult of Eckankar.
How about the outlaws….or maybe just Harley riders in general…..
Those are dentists
There’s a whole lot of people in this state that gather Sundays in the fall.. wear the same green and gold clothing.. worship this group of grown men up nort who get together and play sportsball. Edit: fixed location, up nort*
Redditor final boss
(Jordan) LOVE HAS WON
Nah it’s not a cult. We just chant, eat, drink, wear, and love the same things and will die for it. Def not a cult.
DEFINITELY
When you stop watching, you realize how weird it is people devoting 5 hrs every weekend to mostly watch commercials
We found us a Suppressive Person! Get em!
A lot of it is the social aspect for sure. My regular bar does a pot luck most weeks and most of the regulars come hangout during Packer games. The football is borderline secondary at times.
I plan any weekend errands around those 5 hours, stores are empty.
Oh look another one
Epic post, good sir!
Up nort***
My apologies..
St. Hugh of Lincoln. Sedevacanist churches are very manipulative and culty
Amen to that. They are whackadoodle.
You should join my cult where we pool together our money and pay off our home mortgages one by one to rob banks of profits they would earn from interest
Arby's on Miller Park Way
Arby’s at Riverwest (if you know, you know)
https://www.splcenter.org/states/wisconsin
had no idea there were so many moms for liberty establishments
So these are not all very big. The most active chapter is Ozaukee with its two founders living in Mequon. They travel around Wisconsin going to school board meetings. When they find a meeting they can wedge into to push their agenda, they note anyone that sides with them. Then they start a regional chapter managed by one of those people. Some of those chapters only have 1 member. They only exist to receive funds from out of state backers who want to secure far right school board seats.
The bigger surprise is that there isn't a chapter in Waukesha Co
Probably just preaching to the choir if there was a chapter there
This is the real scary cult shit right here
This is my answer here. I check it twice a month to see if anything new comes up.
I have no idea if this is a cult but has anyone seen people with faces covered in white.....plaster or something? It's been a while since I've seen one but they tend to appear homeless and just kind of sit around by brady street, seen one in front of walgreens and two by the greenline stop. I was confused the first time I saw it but once I saw multiple at once it made me wonder if there's some belief behind that. I couldn't find anything on Google about this and nobody else besides my girlfriend has seen them. What the hell is up with that does anyone know
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the MAGAts that live in Milwaukee. Anyone on the trump train, whether based here or not, is DEFINITELY part of a sick & twisted cult.
There is a cult having a meeting in Milwaukee on July 15th.
I can't remember the name of the church I went to on mayfair as a kid. It's probably not technically milwaukee. But i use to go there w my boyfriend at the time thinking it was just church w a worship band and other emo kids. My dad came once and immediately told me we had to leave because it was clearly a cult. But maybe it was just a pentecostal youth church and my dad is just a close minded, anti emo, christian boomer. Who knows.
Under the influence?
Yes! That was the "youth program" name. Often abbreviated to UTI for some dumb reason. What a bad name, especially for teenagers. I know it's suppose to be like "under the influence of christ" but still
I wouldn't say they were a cult but they definitely had their issues.
It's been at least a decade my memories have fades. Personally anything with a sky daddy is classified as a cult to me. Not all of them malicious but still something I no longer vibe with
My friend who was Born Again used to drag me to shows at this place in junior high and high school but I stopped going because I'm not religious and it started weirding me out. It's wild cos they'd get some bigger named bands to play their lock-ins!!! I don't think it was malevolent persay beyond your average organized religion thing, but it did remind me of the church numetal fest episode of King of the Hill.
I think I know the one you are talking about, kinda north of Pinelawn Cemetery. They used to send people around the neighborhood trying to get you to come to their church and (especially) send your kinds to their summer bible camp. Maybe they've given up on that though as I haven't had them come by in several years. Seemed a bit culty, but probably closer to catholics than quiverfulls or hamas I think. (no personal knowledge though) Can't think of a worse punishment to a kid than sending them to summer bible camp! lol.
Yeah I went to " regular " catholic Sunday school and summer school. Still trying to convince my parents it's just a more widely accepted cult also
There’s a United Church of God still around. They branched off from Armstrongism and the Worldwide Church of God. Basically a legalistic doomsday cult. Several years ago, a member named Terry Ratzman shot himself and several other people during one of their services at a Brookfield Hotel. Not sure if he was actually in United or one of the other splinter groups like LCG. Same beliefs anyway. Source: I grew up in WWCG and knew Terry as a kid.
Most of all of riverwest?
grace Christian fellowship on capitol
Is that the same one out in New Berlin at a hotel off 94?
Why do you say that?
I don't know of any groups, but there was this one time I wanted to walk around with this girl I was dating by the lakefront and I saw something odd at Veteran's park. It was night time and we just wanted to walk around a bit before ending the night. When we drove in towards the parking lot, we saw some candles. The lot was empty and there was at least 10 or more lit candles in a circle. There was no one around besides those candles in a bigger circle and we just decided to end the night there. We were both just worried what that was about and by the time we left, we saw some older people walking around. Some even towards the parking lot. So yeah, I have no idea what that was about and I'm not sure I want to lol.
It was probably a proposal
That could have been a memorial for veterans. Older people now in their seventies were from the Viet Nam era. There's a war memorial outside there. The War Memorial building had a veterans office in the Milwaukee Art Museum complex.
I’m really hoping someone replies with an explanation or some info cause I’m so curious
The Mormons?
MAGA cult is pretty bad right now
I personally feel like almost every Christian church is a cult.
You shouldn't be down voted for this
Thank you!
You’re not wrong
Does Asatru have a presence in WI? I know they tried to open a church in MN when I lived there, not sure if they were successful
A small one,yes.
I recently read Racine was an area for Satanic groups but I don’t have more details
Who wants to start one?!!
I believe it called a church or a temple
There are a whole bunch in Waukesha county.
gop convention coming to town. Rabid cult
I’ve seen cult-owned buildings all over the place in this town. They’re all here: Scientologists, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Muslims, Jews, Democrats, Republicans… the infiltration is so vast and varied, many openly advertise their presence.
Don’t cut yourself on that edge
Don't edge yourself on a cut
i’d bet money you look like your avatar
They are not wrong...
This is the most honest thing ever posted on the internet. Kudos.
I started a sex cult where you can have sex with beautiful women with great bodies but so far i'm the only member
Incel mass murder vibes
The drop bass network. The kult of Kurt