Originally published at: The surprising link between sushi and an AR-15-obsessed Christian sect | Boing Boing
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The Moon family in some ways eclipses Elron as multi-generational masters of the wildly successful con game. If the founders of the “University” of Austin were half as clever as they think they are they’d establish the first-ever major in griftology, featuring the Moonies, $cientology, Amway, and of course The Former Guy.
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Makes sense. Only armed religious fanatics would serve sushi with cream cheese in it.
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The Moonies Conquer DC feat Elgen Strait
A Korean cult leader with various sex crime allegations kicks off a relationship with Richard Nixon. Before you know it, a chain of Republican Presidents embrace the Unification Church (AKA “the moonies”) and The Washington Times is born. Most recently, a splinter group of the cult — which has been manufacturing AR-15s — ends up participating in the January 6th storming of the capitol. Plus, we speak to Elgen Strait of the Falling Out Podcast about his life growing up in the Unification Church and ultimately deciding to leave it — and how the anti-communist, alt-Christianity promoted by “the moonies” is a blueprint for today’s far-right media landscape.
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Fuck the Moonies. I spent my first year in college back east as a small liberal arts college that was not a good fit for me. I was very alone socially – and on the other side of the country. Anyway, I was in a history seminar with this older gentleman who was the only other fellow who was meaningfully right-of-center along with me and we ended up chatting a fair amount after class. He was finishing a degree, he had a young family, he was perfectly charming. He invited me to dinner at his house – again, just a lovely fellow – charming wife, a couple of young kids. There was some modest public praying (more than I am used to as a Catholic, but nothing that was particularly alarming) Then he suggested I come up to their place by the lake with some other families. I’m like, okay, sure. Anyway, about a week before that, they have on campus a Cult Deprogrammer Guy.
Pretty run-of-the-mill sort of presentation. And when it gets to question time, the first guy in line is my friend. And the presenter sort of roles his eyes. “Hey everyone, I’m Rev. Joe Smith of the Unification Church and I want to brainwash everyone. Ha ha ha.” And then my dude and this guy start arguing. Dude was literally the head of the Unification Church there in town and he never let on about it. But he was happy to invite me up to his little getaway to take a shot at converting me.
That shook my shit up for a solid week
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Wow, I see those True World Foods trucks every morning on my commute, I actually developed an appreciation of their logo design after being stuck in traffic behind a truck once.
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So what wacky religion is behind the Poke boom?
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They actually called themselves “Unification Church” to your face? When I was in college they called it “CARP”, I think? They made it look like it was just a campus club. Like you, I got charmed by an attractive person and I went to a meeting and it became pretty obvious that I and maybe one other dude there were the only people not already indoctrinated into the cult and that there were a whole bunch of people there pretending to be possible recruits who were all just enthusiastic about joining and going on the camping trip or whatever.
Honestly, the Garbage Eaters were slicker with regard to cult recruitment than those guys.
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Well, damn. I was thinking the link might be mercury poisoning. 
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I have to say I don’t recall what they styled themselves as precisely. This was more than 30 years ago and the brain fills in details after a while. But, yah, they wanted to haul my ass out to the woods probably for some sleep deprivation shit or something.
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They tried to infiltrate our Church of Low Level Conscience here in Joshua Tree, I suspect many, but hold my judgement until all the facts are in.
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I guess that they got good at sushi after catering for all those mass weddings.
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Somehow I knew this was going to be about he Moonies.
Turns out it’s not mentioned, but they also own at least one newspaper – The Washington Times. DC folks know that we’re the opposite of New York – the Post is our good paper and the Times is the tabloid rag.
Needless to say, it’s a fairly conservative newspaper that gives some air of legitimacy to all sorts of congress critters and other powerful folk associated with this cult. Good times.
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It’s more complicated than that. Sean and Justin Moon have broken away from the Unification Church, and Sean teaches that their mother is no longer the “True Mother”.
The original Unification Church still owns the Washington Times.
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Wait… what?! Oh that’s wild! I totally missed that.
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