By Friend of a Friend
Lying? Yes, he is a liar. He was not transparent about his role in DOS nor did he tell Nx adherants he had a harem.
Manipulation? Yes, he’s a manipulator. He manipulated everyone around him to doing his bidding, paying for courses that after the first course, just strung people along.
Sexual Addiction? Yes, he’s a sex addict. He does not have control over his sexual behavior and that sexual behavior has had negative consequences for his life
Narcissism? Yes, Rainiere is a narcissist. He requires everyone around him to serve and support him, especially women. No surprise he has a harem to take care of his incessant needs.
Pornography? Well, he’s taken pictures of naked women but he has not shared them on the internet so it is questionable if he is really a pornographer
Pedophila? Yes, he believes the age of consent for girls should be 12 in some cases. This is in keeping with traditional religion including early Christianity. I disagree with him and he should not have gone forth with having relationships with young girls because it can be very damaging for them. Was it damaging to Cami, the girl in question? Apparently not! And, this is the situation in question so I would not be prepared to convict Raniere on this if he were in relationship with her.
Tax Evasion, illegally crossing a border, falsifying documents etc? Has anyone here ever sent a sweater or a book abroad to a friend but you called it documents? If so, you’ve broken Federal law. The point is the government is reaching on a bunch of charges so they can find a reason to put him away. This is simply a means of social control to insure everyone pays taxes to pay the salaries of those in power and running the government. I am no Anarchist and I believe everyone should pay taxes but putting people in jail for minor offenses like falsifying a document is criminal on the part of the government. What the government is saying to all it’s citizens is:We are big and powerful and you should be scared of us. Well, IMO, intimidation is not the role of government.
Being easy to dislike? Yes, Rainiere is very easy to dislike. He’s an older guy with a lot of young, sexy girlfriends and gets as much sex as he wants. He also created a very successful business organization but does not live like a wealthy person. How does that make you feel? You and me are stuck with our wives and stuck working 9-5 doing some job we can’t wait to retire from. Aren’t you jealous of him? I am! Isn’t that the real crime? He has something we want: an unlimited stream of young, sexy women and the means to do what he wants every day.
Coercion? Yes, Rainiere was coercive. He collected collateral. He said he did it help others but I don’t buy it because it as not an effective means of behavior change. Negative punishment / self imposed coercive strategies have not been shown to be an effective motivator of enforcing life long behavior change. Apparently, no collateral was released so what should we charge Raniere with: using ineffective, medieval strategies?
Legal harassment and intimidation? Yes, he litigated unnecessarily and caused many people harm when he could have acted humbly, admitted his mistakes, made amends and moved on. Rainiere and Bronfman should pay people back for the harm they’ve caused them including Parlato, Ross and O’Hara and anyone else they’ve hurt. But, this is more of a civil matter than a criminal matter.
What does it come down to? A bunch of people got upset about human branding which is not a crime and then the government looked into everything and decided Rainiere was operating immorally. He was having lots of sex, had an underage girl friend at one time, making lots of money, slipping some people across the border, not paying people fairly and litigating anyone who complained and caused him problems. That’s it.
What should be done with Rainiere? Rainiere is an asshole. He’s a liar who doesn’t live up to what he preaches. What minister or religious leader does? He needs to be publicly shamed and pay those back whom he’s hurt. Does he deserve 15 years to life in prison? IMO, No! He’s just another jerk. He hasn’t committed murder, he hasn’t robbed banks or traded secrets to the Russians. He’s done nothing many of our present leaders haven’t done. He’s had affairs, lied about it, cheated people out of money. Sound like anyone you know?