| | Ah, yes, the dysfunctional grifters of the world, and their progeny. How I could go on. I used to find comfort in the quote by Henry Kissinger- "Trust, but verify."
But that didn't comfort me for too long, although it can be a good practice.
You probably weren't used to encountering that kind of thing too often. And, you are an honorable man, so you work based on trust.
The psychology was too in place for one thing. When you hear "mentor," it often really means things like people needing someone else to be codependent upon.
In that case, it seemed to be a uniform way of thinking in their family, which is not unusual. It's all very sad. You have to wonder. Somehow, he got himself to the point of wanting to do something with Objectivism. And, the family probably had a piece of them that was hoping a true "mentor" could help them "fix" things.
Mentors, however, have the challenge (at least according to the general philosophy that most people on this forum adhere to) of teaching self-responsibility. Taking responsibility. That is the piece of Objectivism that Branden amplified and developed. The psychological piece of it. It is too much for some people, sometimes- when how you are helping them is by telling them they have to help themselves. That is the teaching.
On the other hand, they could have been up for a conscious grift.
My take on it is that they were not entirely conscious of the grifting behavior that was going on. Conscious grifters tend to be more polished than that.
It is all very sad. I try not to let my experiences like this overly affect how I assess each person, each situation. Fools rush in.
Don't let it spoil the next benevolent thing you do, Luke. The reason we do benevolent things is to act in our own self-interest. That is what we are doing- our true values show as the objects of our actions.
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