Cute Deli or Dangerous cult?

When you walk down Center St. in Rutland Vermont, you'll see the Yellow Deli. With dark wood, bricks, and yellow curtains. Concealing, suppressing curtains. What exactly is behind them? You walk in, sit down in a wooden booth and get handed a yellow menu with intricate drawings. The food is amazing, organic and fresh, and the staff is kind and always has a happy face. But there is a little more to the story. Lets look at what goes on in the restaurant and in the group that runs it, and if they are right about not being what seems obvious, a cult.

The Yellow Deli looks like any other normal restaurant, if anything better. When you walk into the restaurant you will be astounded by beautiful wood-work with brick walls and stone fireplaces. Everything is perfect about the inside of the deli, right down to the yellow menus with cute drawings of flowers and ingredients. There is painted murals, hanging plants, benches and shelves made out of amazing wood pieces, and so much more. All of the food is organic, and from what I've heard, delicious. Jamie Lee Curtis Taete went to the restaurant and said that, “The staff were also exactly what you’d expect: beautiful, with long shiny hair and blank, smiley faces,” and, “It was almost too on the nose.” There is no sign of the cult or religion aside from some pamphlets near the door. (Taete)

But what goes on in the cult is not amazing like the deli. The restaurant is the funding for their activities, and also a mask on their beliefs. Lets start off with racism. Just like how they deny they are a cult, they deny that they are racist. Although they have black members, they support slavery saying that it was, " a marvelous opportunity." Jaime Taete researched their website and found some contradicting facts. Part of their website says that black people hold jobs in many parts of the communities. But another area says that “ multiculturalism increases murder, crime, and prejudice.”

One of their big beliefs is about abuse. Specifically child abuse. Which is what they call “corporal punishment”. A journalist that went undercover in at the Twelve Tribes filmed 50 videos of children being physically abused. He was told by a former member that "it's normal for children to be beaten everyday." They are reportedly hit with long thin rods. Not only that but they are awoken at 5 A.M. every single day to pray, and then spend the rest of the day forced to work on the farms. In addition to abuse, they believe if a woman is being abused by her husband, to still stay with him and serve all of his needs. Jenny Lynn Fiore said, " I saw very controlling, overbearing husbands treating their wives pretty badly."... "They were basically kitchen slaves."

They're also not into homosexuals. Yeah not surprising, right? They've compared them to dogs, called it "a great evil" and "a capital offence"(SPLC), and said that it can only lead to "misery and destruction". (Taete)

Although they have denied it, they have quite a few of the cult characteristics. Starting off with the “Charismatic leader” who, “May be considered a religious figure like messiah” (Blakeley) who would be Elbert Eugene "Gene” Spriggs , aka Yoneq. Robert Pardon studied the twelve tribes and said, "This man is veiwed as being Moses"..."You've got someone at the top who claims to have a direct pipeline to god and no accountability. When you have those two promises, you've got a deadly combination." (Wedge) A member of the tribe says, "there's no better man than him."

Next up, "Love bombing"..."A practice where new initiates are showered with love and praise." (Blakeley) This is just basically to hypnotize them into joining the cult and make them feel like they are super important. An unnamed hiker had an experience like this. He had twisted his ankle hiking and spent a month working at the farm for free/ cheap lodging. He said “It was such an amazing experience”... “They’re just… all about love.” (Evans)

Finally, “Conformity and control”... “dictating what they can wear and eat and what kinds of relationships they can have.” Conformity is also enforced by group members who police one another.” (Blakeley) The Twelve Tribes is very controlling, like any other cult. Obviously they are controlling of their beliefs, as in they don't want gay or mixed race marriages. They also believe that women should only control other women, and their children.

Those yellow curtains aren’t so innocent anymore are they? So this beautiful cottage-core restaurant is run by a group that is indeed a cult. A terrible cult. We have come a long way in our society of equality and inclusion, and these extreme practices are definitely a step backwards. I hope that anyone who’s being harmed, abused, or simply wants to leave this cult, can be helped and have a good life with the rights that we have fought so hard for.

Image One: https://thetrek.co/twelve-tribes-yellow-deli-hiker-haven-creepy-cult/

Image Two: http://dineries.com/vt/islandpond/common-sense-yellow-deli/28-cross-st

Image Three: https://www.mapquest.com/us/vermont/yellow-deli-522457

Image Four: https://psmag.com/social-justice/children-of-the-tribes

Image Five: https://thetrek.co/my-accidental-sleepover-with-stoneybrook-cult-appalachian-trail/

Image Six: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2021/feb/03/death-twelve-tribes-founder-leaves-future-unc/540927/

Taete, Jamie Lee Curtis April 30, 2018 (Vice)

vice.com/en/article/d35qmz/twelve-tribes-homophobic-cult-owns-california-restaurants

Southern Poverty Law Center August 05, 2018 (SPLC)

splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2018/darkness

Evans, Clay Bonnyman September 21, 2018 (The Trek)

thetrek.co/twelve-tribes-yellow-deli-hiker-haven-creepy-cult/

Blakeley, Sasha June 21, 2021 (Study Article)

study.com/learn/lesson/cult-characteristics-types-behavior.html

Wedge, Dave September 4, 2001 (Cult next door) culteducation.com/group/1198-twelve-tribes-messianic-communities/20702-the-cult-next-door-teen-shares-chilling-tale-of-alleged-abuse-inside-thetwelve-tribes-sect.html