The same being whether there is any value in sifting through the poop in the catbox.

I guess that my justification is that while all premies are not as vile, ignorant, or as uneducated as the current crop in the catbox, I do very much believe that the basic core thinking or cult thinking that is exhibited in the catbox is pervasive throughout all or most premies. And that core thinking is evidenced in a revisionism that is for the most part in staying close to the official EV propaganda effort. Here we have people like catweasel saying that he never ever thought Maharaji was God and then in his very next utterance he's suggesting that I should be very much afraid of his God.

Premies have a real problem talking about Maharaji. In their hearts and in their minds Maharaji is God. He's always been God. But they aren't supposed to say that any more publicly. Privately and surreptitiously they do acknowledge their beliefs.

And I speak for myself as recently as 1997. As I premie I believed Maharaji was God. However, as time wore on Maharaji was showing us more and more that he was a human being, too. But, I think that he was doing so for a number of reasons. First, he was probably becoming more mature and didn't need to use the old God thing as much. And second, it makes the little premies feel more comfortable with him. Yet, in the end Maharaji does and will give satsang that has the very strong and undeniable allusions that, yes, he is God.

I'm a passionate person and sometimes I like a good scrap and I suspect that if I was still a premie I'd be there in the catbox, too. There's a certain rough and ready appeal as the embattled underdogs that they are. They are desperate and they band together tightly and never call each other on their own shit.

So, I guess I am fascinated with how premies think because, IMO, it's the beginning of the slippery slope where you end up losing your ability to be logical, rational, and consistent.  And I know that in my life as a premie I was often confused as to what to do and what was important.  Hence, I really feel that I made a lot of bad decisions that I'm still paying for.  And I'm talking about quiting jobs, spending money I should have saved, going to college.

One of the last straws for me was a friend was pressuring me to go to Amaroo for the program that was going to be the most important program ever.  And it was one of the few times in my life when I actually had a decent savings built up and I said, "NO."  I'm going to take care of myself.  You go to a program and you feel blissed out and kinda spaced out in my experience.  And then it wears off and what do you have?  Well, you've got a longing to go to the next one with the false hope that somehow the next program will get you into THAT place all the time.  It's like a drug.  It's not real.

Ok, I've blabbed on enough.  And, while I do appreciate everyone here, I know that sometimes I'm doing this for me and me alone.  And that's cool.  I'm worth it.  I care about myself now.  I'm not an excreta machine or rotting vegetables.  No, I'm me and I'm trying to be ok after being told over and over again that unless I surrendered enough that I was going to hell.

Finally, I think it's very important to point out cult thinking because it's very TOXIC and very deluding and very self-destructive.  And in the catbox we see a group of people practicing and reinforcing cult thinking.