A FEW UPDATES: We have been moderating this comment section more heavily than usual. Here's why. Some commenters are telling these callers to unalive themselves, which is unacceptable and goes against our stance as secular humanists. If you have posted something advocating for anyone's self-harm (regardless of our thoughts about their beliefs) you will be hidden from the channel. You will no longer be able to post on any videos. We have also hidden the caller Sawyer commenting from their TH-cam channel on this video. This is for two reasons: first, we do not allow proselytizing on this channel and that is consistent across religions we discuss. Second, we view Heaven's Gate as an inherently harmful religion and do not want to provide them an unmoderated platform. Thank you for your understanding.
Is there anyway of getting back in touch with these two? There are many therapists throughout the US that help people who have fallen into cults. If you talk to them again I would be begging them to see one of these specialists and talk to them. If they believe they are not in a cult then they would come out with the exact same beliefs as they have now, if they are then someone with experience and knowledge of this area would be better equiped to convince them of the situation they are in and potentially how to get out.
Sawyer is not putting a new class together. When the class left this world, a lot information they wanted left behind was suppressed by other members of the class. Sawyer just wants to help interpret the audio that has only surfaced in recent years. Heavens gate left behind alot of Audio, just like peoples temple. They are not advocating suicide. They just want to provide people with a deeper understanding of the groups beliefs. You Two were very dismissive of them and misinterpreted their intentions.
The audio should have never been released. Heavens Gate was not just a crazy cult but a crazy dangerous cult. Cult leaders are dangerous, not just to the vulnerable, or weak minded but everyone. The tapes need to be destroyed and the current members need serious help. Sawyer and his partner sounded like people in a cult. They should not be talking to anyone publicly, until they are deprogrammed from this dangerous cult. I honestly think that they should have been shut down harder then they were. This is not an idea that anyone should be entertaining. If your friend says to you “I don’t belong to a cult I’m just correcting what people think about the cult.” You get them help, you don’t say gee that’s interesting. Tell me more about your cult.
Me: "How would you know if someone is a representative of heaven?" Cultists: "The representative would let us know." Me: "How would the representative let you know?" Cultists: "The representative would tell us that he is the representative." Me: "How would you know this person is telling you the truth?" Cultists: "The representative wouldn't lie to us." Me: *Double facepalm*
Reminds of a time in college a Christian explained to me that. God appears as a bright light that tells you the truth, and you know it to be true. The Devil appears as a brilliant light and tells you lies you believe to be true. I asked him how he would know which was appearing before him and he told me, "God would tell me the truth, and the Devil would lie." When I pointed out that he already claimed that he would believe the devil's lies, he said "well, I would be able to know it's a lie" My jaw still aches from how hard it dropped that day so long ago.
We have heard that some people are telling these callers to harm themselves. In case you missed it, the whole clip is about how NOT ok promoting suicide is, no matter what we think of someone or their beliefs. Anyone seen commenting in this manner will be banned from commenting on future videos. Thank you.
I’ve been listening to Sawyer for years and not once has he advocated for suicide. Him and his partner even post the suicide prevention hotline number in the description of all of their videos.
Please distinguish between committing suicide for emotional distress such as long-term depression or situational trauma VERSUS ending your life after being diagnosed with a painful, deteriorating disorder that cannot be successfully treated, such as end-stage bone cancer or Alzheimer's. If I know the last few weeks or months of my life will be hellish and medical providers are restricted as to what treatment they're allowed to offer, then "self-deliverance" may be a viable option that can ONLY be decided by the individual.
@@compulsiverambler1352 I'm 100% with you on severe depression! You phrased the situation much better than I could have -- may I use your words and give you credit in future discussions of self-deliverance? And thanks so much for commenting. TH-cam lost a brilliant musician and visual artist about a year ago to suicide; broke a lot of hearts, but I know he was suffering very real pain and couldn't go on. I understand. We miss you, Steve.
Be honest I would prefer y'all not to make calls to people this extreme this giving them any sense of a platform it's scary really scary to think that people could literally did what these people did in this
@@Gabriel_Cook this is getting ridiculous. This is why I liked The Batman. I didn’t have to watch any other movies. Doctor strange, spiderman, the flash. You need to see other movies to get them. Now I have to watch a documentary before this? Sooo annoying. Is there a SCU? Skeptic connected universe?
No one would follow a belief system if they were told from day one that it would ask them to commit suicide in 5 years. But if you get them to believe for 4 years and 11 months, THEN ask them to commit suicide next month... then it doesn't seem so drastic. This call is haunting to listen to.
If you google about Heaven's Gate, even the cult members thought they didn't need to die, they were told at first that their "vehicle" would also be carried with them to Heaven, and later this changed and they were told to do what they did. I understand that the callers were not advocating for people to do that again, but there's nothing stopping another cult to get these ideas and do the same.
Even if this video get demonetized, I thank you for showing it. It is jaw dropping to hear the people still are members of Heaven’s Gate. I can hear Sawyer saying in a few years: "I am the new Do".
To strip Sawyer and Cathy of their cultist beliefs would take many months of psychiatric help. When people are that far gone, you will never get through in 30 mins.
Not sure what you mean. Skeptics believe things. They just don't believe without good evidence. If there is good evidence, then the claim is believed. How could anyone live without believing things?
@@drewharrison6433 I was being cheeky and pointing out the irony of the caller saying “I don’t just believe anything” only to later tell the hosts “believe me!” in that tone that implies that they’re buddies and should just believe each other, like, “come on man, you know I wouldn’t lie to ya!” Just making a little joke.
Out of all the call in shows to receive this particular call, I couldn't imagine two host better suited. The more gentle, get on their page approach was definitely needed here. Not only to progress conversation, but also as a duty of care for these two individuals who arguably are teetering on the edge of a very dangerous edge.
Kindness will likely be far more successful than vicious mockery when it comes to cult members. Remember why most people join cults-loneliness and a need for acceptance and purpose.
Vi and Eric are excellent interlocutors, and the HG cult members sound like any other cult member. It’s so interesting that even though the details may be different, cults are always cults and cult indoctrination follows the same formula no matter the specific beliefs held by the cult.
Holy F. I am just...lost for words right now and I'm not even done with the video. Just want to say thanks for doing this call and uploading this video for us to see, despite possibly (or definitely) getting demonetized. This is important work you two are doing and I can't thank you enough, Eric and Vi. Love your work. Holy F.
"They lost their vehicle." Dude is legit, I'll give him that! I also loved "I'm a skeptic, believe me!" Nobody really caught on how funny that was or exactly why.
I think the ultimate truth is that we know absolutely nothing about what existed or occurred prior to the Big Bang or the Planck Epoch to be more specific, but it is almost infinitely more likely that the universe and life originated naturally and wasn't poofed into existence by some omnipotent entity from another dimension.
@@TheTruthKiwi 100% agree with you. What probably most people don't realise is that we're essentially all star-dust, and a magnificent combination of chemistry and electricity, which led to self-awareness that we have today which we call a conscience. It's all just chemicals and energy. Many people (theists mostly) will hate the simplicity of it, the basic breakdown, but for me, it's beautiful. For them, they prefer magic. Lastly, hey wannah ave some fun? Go ask a christian what the difference is between mircales and magic. Watch them squirm and above all, watch how you'll get various completely different theories on this subject. For me, it's an interesting psychological experiment.
@@Domzdream I just can't understand how theists, specifically christians, think goblins & pixies & wizards & 99% of all supernatural woo woo is absurd and yet they inexplicably think their specific gods are real. Indoctrination, delusion, wishful thinking, fear, gullibility, cognitive dissonance and ignorance are powerful things I guess. It is all chemicals and energy, you're right. It's astronomically amazing that we are here, now but that's just how nature works. If anything was different we just wouldn't be here to experience it. Pretty much every isolated civilisation on earth has made up its own myths and legends regarding origins. It is human nature to make stuff up when we don't have all the facts and christianity is no different. It is interesting, as you say, and also very frustrating.
I don’t agree with that. The “spirit” is what’s moved by art and music or philosophy and beauty and the awesome scale and complexity of the universe or the love of a child or animal etc…
I JUST REMEMBERED THAT ACCORDING TO HEAVEN'S GATE FOUNDER EARTH WOULD BE "RECYCLED" AFTER THE SUICIDE what happened We are all still alive how can these geniuses believe he was right
Maybe it's the Mandela effect and we're all just living in a worse reality. The world has been going down hill since the late 90s. Not like it's climate change and big corporations ruining the earth. Gotta be recycled earth and Mandela effect. (sarcasm)
@@wickjezek1101 I know it's a joke and I don't want to give HG any credit, but it would honestly that would explain the insane political developments we've been seeing lately in the world lately lol
Man I can remember when the news broke about the compound being discovered with the Heaven's Gate members that had harmed themselves. Its always been a strong reminder to me, that and Jim Jones, and the Waco massacre, etc. of why its so important to have a baseline of acceptability for evidence and reasoning in order to keep your keel level in such unsteady waters as the world of nonsense we live in.
"How do you know that the sky is blue?" - It's pretty easy to understand how these people ended up in a suicide cult in the first place... > And out of respect for the pinned warning from the hosts, I will leave it at that...
When I was a Jehovah's Witness, going door to door, and people would say, "I don't want to convert from my religion," one of the responses I was trained to give was, "That's okay, we're not here to convert you. We just want to encourage Bible reading," which of course was a polite lie. It's a technique that would hopefully get them to drop their guard for the next witness who knocked on their door. The idea is that eventually, if every witness they meet is extremely polite, they will eventually feel comfortable enough to show interest, and hopefully god would give them a little push in the right direction. This call sounds like the same thing is going on. These people are super nice, they have a TH-cam channel, they're getting publicity different ways. Going on shows to "correct missinfo" isn't just a hobby. If your trying to correct missinfo in the public, it's because you want more people to join. If the JWs weren't looking for converts, they wouldn't care what anyone else thought of their religion. They would leave everyone who didn't believe to burn at Armageddon.
This was definitely one of the most insane call in's to this show. The crazy part is that these people talk calm, cool, collected....but everything they are saying is completely insane! It never ceases to amaze me what people can believe. Truly it is horrifying and is exactly why humanity will not survive, because we are still far too illogical, unreasonable, violent, dishonest, greedy, emotional and we care more about what is comforting versus what is true.
The thing is, all it takes is one charismatic leader to adopt the ideas of Heaven's Gate and convince others they are the holy representative. Then it doesn't even matter if the original members agree or not. Sawyer is not charismatic, he's not a leader. He's a left behind. To continue the work and sow the seed in someone who will rise up as a charismatic person and take over the reigns and grow the cult. He is faithful enough to continue the propaganda without altering it. He is dangerous. The fact he was selected to not have the "honour" of going on their "spaceship" should tell you everything you need to know.
Actually, he was not selected to remain behind. According to Sawyer's own declarations, he was separated from the group after telling Marshall that he had m*sturb*ted while watching an MTV video.
Agreed except for the humans are precious part. That smacks of arrogance based in the bible's proclamation that we are the masters. We are no more precious than any other form of life, including organisms that do harm.
Witnessing first hand the tactics and thought processes of a cult. Re defining words that they are uncomfortable with etc. That was an amazing insight into this strange sociological phenomena.
@@SkepticGeneration i tried linking them but the links were deleted. If you search for "trigger warning studies" you will find many articles on it from scholarly sources.
So this made me go and checkout the HBO documentary, and yeah just like I suspected, Sawyer is real and featured in it. As for Cathy, I'm having a lot of trouble how she could've possibly been convinced, regardless of using this stuff as a means to beat her addictions. If the footage of Ti and Do in the documentary is anything to go off of, there was absolutely NOTHING they said that would rationally justify accepting their outlandish claims. It was more of the usual: Bold ass assertions coming from nothing but a woo woo amalgamation of new age philosophizing , messiah complexes, and UFOs thrown in for good measure. Beyond that, it was literal text book cult stuff, most notably the reprogramming members to a point they lost all individuality.
Maybe she's just gullible, irrational, ignorant, needs a group/clique to feel wanted, feels the need to rebel against the norm, is looking for recognition/acceptance, has mental issues. Possibly all of the above combined.
As someone who is a social misfit and has “been there” - the driving force behind all this is a want for belonging and purpose. The claims of this cult (any cult or religion, really, but *especially* HG) are absurd, but for those who accept it, it’s really not about the truth of the beliefs. It’s about belonging to a community and having a perceived purpose, a goal to life beyond mere survival and fulfillment of social expectations. This is why people join groups like HG, or why (to use a less extreme example) they convert to religions like Christianity or Islam.
Whelp, at least we all discovered the reach that this show's appeal has across to some of the unlikeliest of demographics. Good job, Vi and Eric? ;) Yikes. Let us hope that they listened to your final remark/message and took it to heart. It's calls like this that can either go well, not really anywhere (which is what I think happened), or into some very uncomfortable and even dangerous territory. Considering the shock, I think the two of you handled this quite well as it began to unfold.
22:30 "alcohol addiction is a terrible thing" For these two, it might be the better option. It's certainly driving me to drink. Sorry not sorry for seeming flippant, but I'm getting too old to have a much patience with people like this.
Still blows my poorly evolved mind on the absolute absurd things people believe in just because they put emotion behind it. Emotion does not equate to evidence. Furthermore, suicide is no joke and people need to talk with actual professionals on the matter.
I was questioning myself about liking and commenting. But if it will help get this to other people to maybe stir clear of dangerous cults I've hit that like.
Just more insanity in a god/alien shaped box . I just can not get my head around how people end up down these absolute nut job rabbit hole's 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Vi, when I was your age, I was a passionate harm reductionist. I heard thanks of 100s of people who told me that my advice may have saved their lives. I once puzzled about why old people so often told me "I've lived enough, I'm ready to die". Now, I am 40.75 years old, but something about persistent chronic major depressive disorder changes a guy... well maybe not my philosophy, because I often spend a day just reading the latest epistemology book, but its just harder.
I hope you’re doing okay. As someone who has been through depression, it can be hard, but perseverance brings personal growth and new opportunities for fulfillment. Don’t give up. :)
It did do a fly by, you just couldn't see it because it was cloaked. The ship didn't decloaked because they were having issues with their newly acquired Romulan cloaking device. It's not easy to integrate alien technology into their own. So don't be too harsh on them, it's like they have a crew of Starfleet engineers on board. 😁
I like it when Vi goes on a rant and Eric looks at her, he seems to be thinking, “What have I got myself into.” 😊😊 Only kidding, I’m sure they are well matched.
Some people are so out there that you have no way to properly debate them. They take that as confirmation that they are right. Love you guys! Eric is so calm and respectful, that's a good thing, but I wanna hear him get more fierce sometimes. Dial back the niceties!
Eric really have the patience of a saint, which is rather ironic. To think the Atheist is more saint-like then the people for whom that term actually means something :D
Early christians also believed in suicide to obtain heaven until the church outlawed it as a sin in the 1500s because they were losing too many members.
That woman is so biased I cringe whenever she opens her mouth, this genuinely would've been a better video if she wasn't even present. She really thinks everything revolves around her opinion
These callers demonstrably show the danger & consequences of having a broken epistemology. Their beliefs are so out of touch with reality that it creates a disconnect of epic proportion & leaves them so open to any type of charlatans or harm that comes along. It’s just Bonkerville! 🤦🏼♂️
Oh wow. What a call. I remember my mom and I doing some research into the Heavens Gate Cult when they did what they did... out of curiosity. It was one of the first realizations I ever had as a young person that people's deeply held beliefs could be so tragically unfounded, hurtful, and dangerous. It may have been the catalyst that started my journey towards atheism. The website is still up. It's freakin wild that people went for this stuff.
This guy unfortunately was (and apparently still is) a genuine believer. There were reportedly a few members who walked away near the end. They also had left a couple of believers behind to keep their website updated. It's a frightening commentary that there are not only survivors still in the cult, but also new members are onboarding. Pun intended. I would be completely stunned by this, but we have a decent size minority of people in the world who believe lots of things that are patently false.
The full recordings of the leader of heavens gate should have NEVER been available. My ex partner worked as a sound engineer for a mega church, they were instructed to wear headphones and rotated engineers every 30 minutes. Cult leaders are effective, no matter how intelligent or strong willed you are. Please please please someone get rid of these recordings.
@@TheTruthKiwi I don’t think it was ever talked about with the church, and it wasn’t a matter of simply getting sucked in. The first event the company worked (when they weren’t prepared) the engineers suffered from physical symptoms - like dizziness and forgetfulness, and there was more then one that donated money to the group at the end of their shift. One person working even strongly thought about joining the church afterwards- this passed once he had been away from it for a few days, but still, linguistic programming, emotional priming and similar tactics work on most people, and cult leaders are masters of these techniques.
A FEW UPDATES: We have been moderating this comment section more heavily than usual. Here's why.
Some commenters are telling these callers to unalive themselves, which is unacceptable and goes against our stance as secular humanists. If you have posted something advocating for anyone's self-harm (regardless of our thoughts about their beliefs) you will be hidden from the channel. You will no longer be able to post on any videos.
We have also hidden the caller Sawyer commenting from their TH-cam channel on this video. This is for two reasons: first, we do not allow proselytizing on this channel and that is consistent across religions we discuss. Second, we view Heaven's Gate as an inherently harmful religion and do not want to provide them an unmoderated platform.
Thank you for your understanding.
Thank you for being great examples for the community
Is there anyway of getting back in touch with these two? There are many therapists throughout the US that help people who have fallen into cults. If you talk to them again I would be begging them to see one of these specialists and talk to them. If they believe they are not in a cult then they would come out with the exact same beliefs as they have now, if they are then someone with experience and knowledge of this area would be better equiped to convince them of the situation they are in and potentially how to get out.
Sawyer is not putting a new class together. When the class left this world, a lot information they wanted left behind was suppressed by other members of the class. Sawyer just wants to help interpret the audio that has only surfaced in recent years. Heavens gate left behind alot of Audio, just like peoples temple. They are not advocating suicide. They just want to provide people with a deeper understanding of the groups beliefs. You Two were very dismissive of them and misinterpreted their intentions.
The audio should have never been released. Heavens Gate was not just a crazy cult but a crazy dangerous cult. Cult leaders are dangerous, not just to the vulnerable, or weak minded but everyone. The tapes need to be destroyed and the current members need serious help. Sawyer and his partner sounded like people in a cult. They should not be talking to anyone publicly, until they are deprogrammed from this dangerous cult. I honestly think that they should have been shut down harder then they were. This is not an idea that anyone should be entertaining. If your friend says to you “I don’t belong to a cult I’m just correcting what people think about the cult.” You get them help, you don’t say gee that’s interesting. Tell me more about your cult.
@@alisontheanimal4009 that isn't up to you to decide. It's history.
Me: "How would you know if someone is a representative of heaven?"
Cultists: "The representative would let us know."
Me: "How would the representative let you know?"
Cultists: "The representative would tell us that he is the representative."
Me: "How would you know this person is telling you the truth?"
Cultists: "The representative wouldn't lie to us."
Me: *Double facepalm*
Reminds of a time in college a Christian explained to me that.
God appears as a bright light that tells you the truth, and you know it to be true.
The Devil appears as a brilliant light and tells you lies you believe to be true.
I asked him how he would know which was appearing before him and he told me, "God would tell me the truth, and the Devil would lie."
When I pointed out that he already claimed that he would believe the devil's lies, he said "well, I would be able to know it's a lie"
My jaw still aches from how hard it dropped that day so long ago.
We have heard that some people are telling these callers to harm themselves. In case you missed it, the whole clip is about how NOT ok promoting suicide is, no matter what we think of someone or their beliefs. Anyone seen commenting in this manner will be banned from commenting on future videos. Thank you.
Also...just never tell people to do that. For any reason. Ever.
I’ve been listening to Sawyer for years and not once has he advocated for suicide. Him and his partner even post the suicide prevention hotline number in the description of all of their videos.
Please distinguish between committing suicide for emotional distress such as long-term depression or situational trauma VERSUS ending your life after being diagnosed with a painful, deteriorating disorder that cannot be successfully treated, such as end-stage bone cancer or Alzheimer's.
If I know the last few weeks or months of my life will be hellish and medical providers are restricted as to what treatment they're allowed to offer, then "self-deliverance" may be a viable option that can ONLY be decided by the individual.
@@compulsiverambler1352 I'm 100% with you on severe depression! You phrased the situation much better than I could have -- may I use your words and give you credit in future discussions of self-deliverance?
And thanks so much for commenting. TH-cam lost a brilliant musician and visual artist about a year ago to suicide; broke a lot of hearts, but I know he was suffering very real pain and couldn't go on. I understand.
We miss you, Steve.
Be honest I would prefer y'all not to make calls to people this extreme this giving them any sense of a platform it's scary really scary to think that people could literally did what these people did in this
Sawyer was a big part of the HBO Heavens Gate documentary, and I recognized that voice immediately. He's the real deal.
So I need to watch the HBO documentary first before I watch this video.
Good to know.
@@Gabriel_Cook nah, not really. Just when they asked if he was for real or not...oh yeah, he definitely is. I do recommend the documentary though!
@@Gabriel_Cook this is getting ridiculous. This is why I liked The Batman. I didn’t have to watch any other movies.
Doctor strange, spiderman, the flash. You need to see other movies to get them. Now I have to watch a documentary before this?
Sooo annoying. Is there a SCU? Skeptic connected universe?
Thanks for this I googled Sawyer and he looked exactly as I expected. I kind of wonder what the gal looks like.
@@finito1989 Ehh The Batman piggybacked on preexisting movies too.
No one would follow a belief system if they were told from day one that it would ask them to commit suicide in 5 years. But if you get them to believe for 4 years and 11 months, THEN ask them to commit suicide next month... then it doesn't seem so drastic. This call is haunting to listen to.
I don’t know, kamikaze pilots often knew they’d be going on to their deaths from day one. And they still went, not much of a choice.
@@Nocturnalux They were, if anything, born into the cult (in this case, a whole society that thought that was a good thing).
If you google about Heaven's Gate, even the cult members thought they didn't need to die, they were told at first that their "vehicle" would also be carried with them to Heaven, and later this changed and they were told to do what they did. I understand that the callers were not advocating for people to do that again, but there's nothing stopping another cult to get these ideas and do the same.
This was insane. And Vi, you're right, this was not slapped down hard enough. Talk about a fucking blindside of a call
Vi had the right reaction
Yeah, Vi & Eric were blindsided by this call. I think they could've done better if they expected it.
@@TheBrutumFulmen
Who could have expected this bat shit crazy call?
I don't know that going really hard on them would do much except make them hide.
@@snooganslestat2030 good, they should hide and shutup
Even if this video get demonetized, I thank you for showing it. It is jaw dropping to hear the people still are members of Heaven’s Gate. I can hear Sawyer saying in a few years: "I am the new Do".
When one emphatic "holy shit" isn't enough, go for two. That was awesome.
Wow - this is next level dangerous stuff. Good on the hosts challenging this stuff.
No it isn't. They can't even crusade!
@@Dr_Wrong so you don't think a suicide cult is dangerous ?
@@nealgrimes4382
_"next level dangerous stuff"_
It never ceases to amaze me the stupidity of some of the people we have to share this planet with.
Unfuckingbelievable.
Never been bored?
Its fucking terrifying the sheer irrational courage they are so deep in their dangerous ideology.
Unfortunately you have two sX off3nders and a dementia patient running for president atm. Two years ago was better
Erics comment "holy shit" sums up the whole call. My, my.
Vi’s facial expressions are classic
I turned the volume off and sat here watching his face then turned it up again when it looked like a good part
Vi’s facial expressions are rude
Fixed it
@@Dr_Wrong sweet. You have an opinion. Just like mine. But I do want to make a small correction. You didn’t “fix” anything.
@@davidohara7669 _"Take the cool aid."_
They're all out..
@@Dr_Wrong They will never be out.l
Sometimes, having your video demonetized is worth it.....especially if it can prevent death by suicide.....
Naw fam
Some mfs needa go
This dudes crazy
To strip Sawyer and Cathy of their cultist beliefs would take many months of psychiatric help. When people are that far gone, you will never get through in 30 mins.
“I’m a skeptic-I don’t just believe anything!”
“I’m a skeptic, believe me!”
Not sure what you mean. Skeptics believe things. They just don't believe without good evidence. If there is good evidence, then the claim is believed.
How could anyone live without believing things?
I couldn't help but LuL at that part
Yeah, if he's a skeptic, I'm Lady Gaga
@@drewharrison6433 I was being cheeky and pointing out the irony of the caller saying “I don’t just believe anything” only to later tell the hosts “believe me!” in that tone that implies that they’re buddies and should just believe each other, like, “come on man, you know I wouldn’t lie to ya!”
Just making a little joke.
@@LaCeiba1924 I see. I misunderstood. Thanks.
And here I am with my spacesuit thinking the ship was coming back 🤣
This was the wackiest call, Sawyer is here to restart the death cult Heavens Gate
Which is truly concerning.... :(
let's get on the spaceship bro vvvvoush * blast off!!🚀
Seed in a mole "deep undercover "
And hope they keep a perspective on reality
No he is not.
Out of all the call in shows to receive this particular call, I couldn't imagine two host better suited.
The more gentle, get on their page approach was definitely needed here.
Not only to progress conversation, but also as a duty of care for these two individuals who arguably are teetering on the edge of a very dangerous edge.
I could not disagree more....these are dangerous nutters who dont need to spread their idiocy anywhere.
Yeah, they should have been way meaner to these delusional kooks.
I would also love if they talked to Matt as well.
Kindness will likely be far more successful than vicious mockery when it comes to cult members. Remember why most people join cults-loneliness and a need for acceptance and purpose.
@@hayvenforpeace they shouldn't have spoken to them at all
Wowwwwwwwww.
Thank you for trying to reach out to these 2 people. That has to be one of the most difficult calls anyone could navigate.
I don't think we ever got any legitimate reason from them for believing other than "It worked out for me."
We didn’t even get that much from Sawyer.
That people can get to a place like that emotionally and intellectually is frightening.
"We're not trying to convince anybody of anything." Then what was the point of calling?
"You're STILL a heavens gate dude! HOLY SHIT!" - That's exactly what it is- it's holy shit.
Vi and Eric are excellent interlocutors, and the HG cult members sound like any other cult member.
It’s so interesting that even though the details may be different, cults are always cults and cult indoctrination follows the same formula no matter the specific beliefs held by the cult.
_"excellent interlocutors"_
BS, they just argue like spoiled brats at bedtime.
Holy F. I am just...lost for words right now and I'm not even done with the video. Just want to say thanks for doing this call and uploading this video for us to see, despite possibly (or definitely) getting demonetized. This is important work you two are doing and I can't thank you enough, Eric and Vi. Love your work. Holy F.
"They lost their vehicle." Dude is legit, I'll give him that!
I also loved "I'm a skeptic, believe me!" Nobody really caught on how funny that was or exactly why.
Sounds like people explaining the lore for a new RPG
SPYYYYYCCCEEEEEEE. Vi and Eric are def. the best personalities to have this discussion kindly but clearly against suicide and anything supporting it.
You always know that whenever anyone proclaims to have the ‘ultimate truth’
Is going to make a lot of terrible decisions, resulting in catastrophe.
I think the ultimate truth is that we know absolutely nothing about what existed or occurred prior to the Big Bang or the Planck Epoch to be more specific, but it is almost infinitely more likely that the universe and life originated naturally and wasn't poofed into existence by some omnipotent entity from another dimension.
@@TheTruthKiwi
I completely agree.
@@Domzdream Cheers man, stay safe :)
@@TheTruthKiwi 100% agree with you.
What probably most people don't realise is that we're essentially all star-dust, and a magnificent combination of chemistry and electricity, which led to self-awareness that we have today which we call a conscience.
It's all just chemicals and energy.
Many people (theists mostly) will hate the simplicity of it, the basic breakdown, but for me, it's beautiful. For them, they prefer magic.
Lastly, hey wannah ave some fun? Go ask a christian what the difference is between mircales and magic. Watch them squirm and above all, watch how you'll get various completely different theories on this subject. For me, it's an interesting psychological experiment.
@@Domzdream I just can't understand how theists, specifically christians, think goblins & pixies & wizards & 99% of all supernatural woo woo is absurd and yet they inexplicably think their specific gods are real.
Indoctrination, delusion, wishful thinking, fear, gullibility, cognitive dissonance and ignorance are powerful things I guess.
It is all chemicals and energy, you're right. It's astronomically amazing that we are here, now but that's just how nature works. If anything was different we just wouldn't be here to experience it.
Pretty much every isolated civilisation on earth has made up its own myths and legends regarding origins. It is human nature to make stuff up when we don't have all the facts and christianity is no different.
It is interesting, as you say, and also very frustrating.
This is what religion does to the human mind. Glad I grew out of it before it infected me whole. Soon as I got into spirituality, hoo boy.
When I hear the word 'spiritual', I immediatlely think 'gullible'..to me, they mean the same thing..
get a dictionary that might help
I don’t agree with that. The “spirit” is what’s moved by art and music or philosophy and beauty and the awesome scale and complexity of the universe or the love of a child or animal etc…
@@johnferry7778 .. They're human emotions m8..nothing 'supernatural' about them..
Wow, this was a gem of a call. I mean it's rare to talk to such people. I genuinely hope they call back!
Rare? I talk to them every day.
@Casey Strange
Good luck with that. Sheesh.
@@caseystrange me too
I JUST REMEMBERED THAT ACCORDING TO HEAVEN'S GATE FOUNDER EARTH WOULD BE "RECYCLED" AFTER THE SUICIDE
what happened
We are all still alive how can these geniuses believe he was right
Maybe it's the Mandela effect and we're all just living in a worse reality. The world has been going down hill since the late 90s. Not like it's climate change and big corporations ruining the earth. Gotta be recycled earth and Mandela effect. (sarcasm)
@@wickjezek1101 I know it's a joke and I don't want to give HG any credit, but it would honestly that would explain the insane political developments we've been seeing lately in the world lately lol
@@night_city_nights I woke up to see the supreme Court trying to undo Roe v Wade. This hit a little different today. 😅
@@wickjezek1101 same. I really hope it doesn't happen, the US is regressing in so many other ways as is
Man I can remember when the news broke about the compound being discovered with the Heaven's Gate members that had harmed themselves. Its always been a strong reminder to me, that and Jim Jones, and the Waco massacre, etc. of why its so important to have a baseline of acceptability for evidence and reasoning in order to keep your keel level in such unsteady waters as the world of nonsense we live in.
For sure man, well said. We would call it common sense and there's a reason it isn't called universal sense.
Good job Vi. Push back on these freaks. They are gullible, delusional and dangerous. U can’t be nice to these cult people.
Lovely skepticism, you sound like Westborough..
It's really hard to describe something that probably does not exist, huh?
"How do you know that the sky is blue?"
- It's pretty easy to understand how these people ended up in a suicide cult in the first place...
> And out of respect for the pinned warning from the hosts, I will leave it at that...
When I was a Jehovah's Witness, going door to door, and people would say, "I don't want to convert from my religion," one of the responses I was trained to give was, "That's okay, we're not here to convert you. We just want to encourage Bible reading," which of course was a polite lie. It's a technique that would hopefully get them to drop their guard for the next witness who knocked on their door. The idea is that eventually, if every witness they meet is extremely polite, they will eventually feel comfortable enough to show interest, and hopefully god would give them a little push in the right direction.
This call sounds like the same thing is going on. These people are super nice, they have a TH-cam channel, they're getting publicity different ways. Going on shows to "correct missinfo" isn't just a hobby. If your trying to correct missinfo in the public, it's because you want more people to join.
If the JWs weren't looking for converts, they wouldn't care what anyone else thought of their religion. They would leave everyone who didn't believe to burn at Armageddon.
Wow. Imagine restarting a suicide cult because you heard from it in a documentary and think they made sense.
I thought I heard Sawyer say that he was an original member of Heaven’s Gate. Did I mishear that?
@@bradleyyurk5744 you heard right
@@bradleyyurk5744 I'm not sure myself, now that you say it. This is all just so confusing.
The woman Cathy said she got into it through watching a documentary. Sawyer is the one in the original Heavens Gate
@@snooganslestat2030 Sawyer "Netflix _my_ documentary & chill"; for their hookup.
Unrelated to Sawyer's... 'ideas' but Vi is rocking that haircut.
If you’re blind lmao
@@ComedyNinjaStar Why are you like this?
@@ComedyNinjaStar I’m not blind and I really like Vi’s look. My wife rocked a similar cut for a few years.
@@ComedyNinjaStar Vi is a solid 10, f outta here.
This was definitely one of the most insane call in's to this show. The crazy part is that these people talk calm, cool, collected....but everything they are saying is completely insane! It never ceases to amaze me what people can believe. Truly it is horrifying and is exactly why humanity will not survive, because we are still far too illogical, unreasonable, violent, dishonest, greedy, emotional and we care more about what is comforting versus what is true.
Okay, enough internet for today, I'm gonna go hug another human and tell them they are precious.
The thing is, all it takes is one charismatic leader to adopt the ideas of Heaven's Gate and convince others they are the holy representative. Then it doesn't even matter if the original members agree or not. Sawyer is not charismatic, he's not a leader. He's a left behind. To continue the work and sow the seed in someone who will rise up as a charismatic person and take over the reigns and grow the cult. He is faithful enough to continue the propaganda without altering it. He is dangerous. The fact he was selected to not have the "honour" of going on their "spaceship" should tell you everything you need to know.
Actually, he was not selected to remain behind. According to Sawyer's own declarations, he was separated from the group after telling Marshall that he had m*sturb*ted while watching an MTV video.
@@DulceN Ah, thank you for the additional information. I think my point still stands even with the added information.
@@DulceNOh…no, that is so…what can I even say.
Watching you try to find reason is heartbreaking. This is disturbing.
Vi looks like they are going to a bowling championship after the show
I think vi's vehemence was warranted. Humans are precious and it's an absolute tragedy what that cult did for the sake of their egotistical leader.
Agreed except for the humans are precious part. That smacks of arrogance based in the bible's proclamation that we are the masters. We are no more precious than any other form of life, including organisms that do harm.
I can't fucking listen to this lol I just shuddered so hard I left my vehicle for a bit xD
As an atheist these heaven's gate people seem more honest than most believers I hear on this channel.
Witnessing first hand the tactics and thought processes of a cult. Re defining words that they are uncomfortable with etc. That was an amazing insight into this strange sociological phenomena.
I loved the way Vi called it what it is. Bravo!!!
holy shit. Talk about a diamond of a conversation.
Lol @9:00, “I don’t like to use the word crazy… let’s say pants-on-head-bonkers”
This was simply gobsmacking to listen to. I am not very often speechless, but this caller left me so.
So she missed the spaceship??
Studies are showing that "trigger warnings'" do not help alleviate the negative impacts and may make things worse.
Interesting, could you provide sources for that?
@@SkepticGeneration i tried linking them but the links were deleted. If you search for "trigger warning studies" you will find many articles on it from scholarly sources.
Creepy at first. Then they got so amorphous in their statements that I doubted they had any beliefs. Just so sad.
So this made me go and checkout the HBO documentary, and yeah just like I suspected, Sawyer is real and featured in it.
As for Cathy, I'm having a lot of trouble how she could've possibly been convinced, regardless of using this stuff as a means to beat her addictions.
If the footage of Ti and Do in the documentary is anything to go off of, there was absolutely NOTHING they said that would rationally justify accepting their outlandish claims. It was more of the usual: Bold ass assertions coming from nothing but a woo woo amalgamation of new age philosophizing , messiah complexes, and UFOs thrown in for good measure. Beyond that, it was literal text book cult stuff, most notably the reprogramming members to a point they lost all individuality.
Maybe she's just gullible, irrational, ignorant, needs a group/clique to feel wanted, feels the need to rebel against the norm, is looking for recognition/acceptance, has mental issues. Possibly all of the above combined.
As someone who is a social misfit and has “been there” - the driving force behind all this is a want for belonging and purpose.
The claims of this cult (any cult or religion, really, but *especially* HG) are absurd, but for those who accept it, it’s really not about the truth of the beliefs. It’s about belonging to a community and having a perceived purpose, a goal to life beyond mere survival and fulfillment of social expectations. This is why people join groups like HG, or why (to use a less extreme example) they convert to religions like Christianity or Islam.
2 minutes and 30 seconds....that’s how long it lasted before it got beyond bizarre.
These people were so f**#$*& up I couldn't even finish... I mean.. wow..
"There is actually no group anymore" *_A N D W H Y I S T H A T_*
At least I got a good laugh - holy bat shit crazy batman
Whelp, at least we all discovered the reach that this show's appeal has across to some of the unlikeliest of demographics. Good job, Vi and Eric? ;) Yikes. Let us hope that they listened to your final remark/message and took it to heart.
It's calls like this that can either go well, not really anywhere (which is what I think happened), or into some very uncomfortable and even dangerous territory. Considering the shock, I think the two of you handled this quite well as it began to unfold.
"It's the cult of cults, because it is not a cult."
Is like saying you're so famous, you're infamous....
Amigos
I don't mean to sound mean, but after Googling these two, they look exactly like I imagined them. These people are dangerous.
22:30 "alcohol addiction is a terrible thing" For these two, it might be the better option. It's certainly driving me to drink. Sorry not sorry for seeming flippant, but I'm getting too old to have a much patience with people like this.
I shouldn't have laughed as hard as I did, at this comment 😅😅😅
I was watching this like, "What the actual fuck???"
It was the |Halle bop comet that they thought wass the space ship coming to collect them i think? and they castrated themselves too.
Still blows my poorly evolved mind on the absolute absurd things people believe in just because they put emotion behind it. Emotion does not equate to evidence. Furthermore, suicide is no joke and people need to talk with actual professionals on the matter.
Long time subscriber first time comment. You guys are awesome and I love how blunt and straightforward Vi is.
Are they waiting for the bop comet to come back, is that why it's not an option anymore? Wow! Nuts.
These were the guys that hitched a lift on Hale Bop, right?
I was questioning myself about liking and commenting. But if it will help get this to other people to maybe stir clear of dangerous cults I've hit that like.
Just more insanity in a god/alien shaped box . I just can not get my head around how people end up down these absolute nut job rabbit hole's 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
"We don't consider it suicide"....Chilling squared....
Agree. While watching I was like "Please be a prank call".
Vi, when I was your age, I was a passionate harm reductionist. I heard thanks of 100s of people who told me that my advice may have saved their lives.
I once puzzled about why old people so often told me "I've lived enough, I'm ready to die". Now, I am 40.75 years old, but something about persistent chronic major depressive disorder changes a guy... well maybe not my philosophy, because I often spend a day just reading the latest epistemology book, but its just harder.
I hope you’re doing okay.
As someone who has been through depression, it can be hard, but perseverance brings personal growth and new opportunities for fulfillment.
Don’t give up. :)
@@hayvenforpeace That's a nice thought but how long must one suffer through the perseverance?
@@tmurphy0919 That’s a very valid question, and one I can’t answer.
I LOVE THE HAIR!!
why didn't the spaceship do a fly by?
It was inside a mountain waiting for a comet. I think so anyway .🤪
It did do a fly by, you just couldn't see it because it was cloaked. The ship didn't decloaked because they were having issues with their newly acquired Romulan cloaking device. It's not easy to integrate alien technology into their own. So don't be too harsh on them, it's like they have a crew of Starfleet engineers on board. 😁
a fucking SPACESHIP!!!!!!!!!
Holy shit, full-on Kool Aid drinkers ... that didn't actually drink the Kool Aid. 😂 Let 'em hitch a ride on the next comet.
This one broke me. You think what kind of mindset members of a cult may have, but when you get a glimpse into it... wow...
We live in a society...
I love Vi's facial expressions... fierce bafflement.😂
I like it when Vi goes on a rant and Eric looks at her, he seems to be thinking, “What have I got myself into.” 😊😊
Only kidding, I’m sure they are well matched.
Vi, you were great.
Chilling episode, tho
I disagree
Some people are so out there that you have no way to properly debate them. They take that as confirmation that they are right.
Love you guys! Eric is so calm and respectful, that's a good thing, but I wanna hear him get more fierce sometimes. Dial back the niceties!
Dangerous nucking futters!
You got that right.
Fierce Vi! 💛💚💙
If this video is demonetized, why are there still ads, TH-cam?
This is the perfect example of the harm that a religion or cult can do to anybody psychologically. Marshall Applewhite, Jesus etc, R.I.P.
Eric really have the patience of a saint, which is rather ironic. To think the Atheist is more saint-like then the people for whom that term actually means something :D
Isn’t this a bit like the kamikaze pilot who comes home?
Early christians also believed in suicide to obtain heaven until the church outlawed it as a sin in the 1500s because they were losing too many members.
That woman is so biased I cringe whenever she opens her mouth, this genuinely would've been a better video if she wasn't even present. She really thinks everything revolves around her opinion
This is so sad to hear
That was a powerful call ! Loved it 👍
These callers demonstrably show the danger & consequences of having a broken epistemology. Their beliefs are so out of touch with reality that it creates a disconnect of epic proportion & leaves them so open to any type of charlatans or harm that comes along. It’s just Bonkerville! 🤦🏼♂️
Oh wow. What a call. I remember my mom and I doing some research into the Heavens Gate Cult when they did what they did... out of curiosity. It was one of the first realizations I ever had as a young person that people's deeply held beliefs could be so tragically unfounded, hurtful, and dangerous. It may have been the catalyst that started my journey towards atheism.
The website is still up. It's freakin wild that people went for this stuff.
This guy unfortunately was (and apparently still is) a genuine believer. There were reportedly a few members who walked away near the end. They also had left a couple of believers behind to keep their website updated. It's a frightening commentary that there are not only survivors still in the cult, but also new members are onboarding. Pun intended. I would be completely stunned by this, but we have a decent size minority of people in the world who believe lots of things that are patently false.
The full recordings of the leader of heavens gate should have NEVER been available. My ex partner worked as a sound engineer for a mega church, they were instructed to wear headphones and rotated engineers every 30 minutes. Cult leaders are effective, no matter how intelligent or strong willed you are. Please please please someone get rid of these recordings.
Hang on a second. They actually rotated the engineers so they wouldn't get sucked in? Did the church know that the sound company was doing that?
@@TheTruthKiwi I don’t think it was ever talked about with the church, and it wasn’t a matter of simply getting sucked in. The first event the company worked (when they weren’t prepared) the engineers suffered from physical symptoms - like dizziness and forgetfulness, and there was more then one that donated money to the group at the end of their shift. One person working even strongly thought about joining the church afterwards- this passed once he had been away from it for a few days, but still, linguistic programming, emotional priming and similar tactics work on most people, and cult leaders are masters of these techniques.
@24:00, the sentence “I’m a skeptic, believe me” has a hilarious lack of self awareness
This video lived up to the click-baity title. I was taken aback.
2:48 Vi’s reaction is…everything.
This is scary.