I was reading quite a few comments on a recent thread in which several posters mentioned feeling cognitive dissonance or fear about quitting SGI because someone in the SGI gave them a job reference (or perhaps did some other nice favor for them).

And I posted this in reply to one of those comments. I felt strongly enough about this that I wanted to share on a separate thread.

It's TOTALLY OKAY to quit a cult [or whatever org], no matter who in that group helped you at some point. Being in a "religion" or any kind of organization that demands SO MUCH of your time is NOT a decision to make lightly!

It makes me so sad for those people (there were more on this particular thread) that say they don't want to actually quit because some member gave them a job reference or whatever. IT DOESN'T MATTER!

If ANY of those members are good people or true friends, they're not going to hold it against you for making a HIGHLY PERSONAL decision for yourself. And if they do, then they are fucking assholes that don't deserve your time.