Here are a couple of the more interesting emails I’ve received regarding Hate the Radio. I’ve decided to remove the sender’s names and share them with you, because I’m not ready to share my thoughts with you. So stay tuned for that, and in the meantime check out some of the great entries and comments at achtung-al.info. We have fun picking on Al so you don’t have to.

Pomp,

What’s up. I got a call from Al that was pretty weird. He was trying to recruit for Quixtar (which is the new name for Amway), said he had accepted Jesus and was getting married. I was not (and am still not) sure if it was real or some kind of prank call for Hate the Radio… which if it was, it was pretty brilliant and well-executed and my hats off to you guys. But… if it’s for real… I feel bad for Al that he got sucked into this MLM hell… and I just can’t see Uncle NorMe bowing down to worship Jesus…

Anyway, just wanted to see if you knew anything about all this… he mentioned you and Ray, and getting married and moving to Texas but I forget who he was referring to.

I do miss Hate The Radio. I did listen to it. That last episode was radio gold, but maybe telling that story pushed Al over the edge…?

Keep in touch!

I didn’t know Al all that well, but from what I could gather, he seemed very calulated. His thoughts and actions were totally based on logic and careful investigation. When I was involved, they used to tell us things (when we had specific questions) like, “If the dream is big enough, the questions don’t matter.” Laughable. I also know that the papers signed to get involved aren’t a business license, as they want you to believe. The contracts only protect them so you cannot come after them at some later date. When I signed up (long since inactive and have been out of the business for ten years), they said “Don’t go online and research this. People who don’t know what this is will have their own opinions based on nothing. If you google Wal-mart, someone has something bad to say about that company, and they don’t deserve that.”

They got rid of the Amway brand in ’99 to move away from all the negativity. Now that they are dumping Quixtar for Amway, all the negative vibe will magically be gone after eight years?

Oh yeah … they also used to tell us, “Don’t talk specific business ideas with crossline. Also, don’t give negative downline.” This was their way of keeping you quiet about any bad vibes to yourself, and not let others know how you feel. According to them, “It will keep others from building their businesses because you are distracting them.” Every cult tactic, I believe, was used to keep people from discovering the truth.