Zizians
KRON4: Who are the 'Zizians'? Bay Area murder suspect linked to 'cult
KROG4: Who are the 'Zizians'? Recent deaths linked to Bay Area 'cult'
KRON4: Who are the 'Zizians'? Bay Area murder suspect linked to 'cult
KROG4: Who are the 'Zizians'? Recent deaths linked to Bay Area 'cult'
A spree of killings across the country, including one in Vallejo, have been linked to a radical online community called the "Zizians."
Not much is known about the Zizians, but a non-verified online webpage dedicated to preventing people from joining the group calls it "a peculiar online cult that operates in the Bay Area." An investigation by Open Vallejo found that people involved in the recent Vallejo killing and the shooting of a Border Patrol agent in Vermont are possibly connected to the group.
Who are the Zizians?
Open Vallejo reviewed police records, spoke to a person familiar with the group and reviewed years of Internet posts as part of its investigation into the group. It said the Zizians follow a self-described "vegan Sith" ideology.
According to SFist, the Zizians appear to be computer-savvy and well-educated, and many or all of them identify as transgender or nonbinary.
The group follows "Rationalism," an ideology described by Oxford as "the belief that all behaviour, opinions, etc. should be based on reason rather than on emotions or religious beliefs."
Jessica Taylor, a person familiar with the Zizians who was interviewed by Open Vallejo, told the publication that Zizians believe human decisions and their effects are mathematically quantifiable. Veganism and animal rights are a core part of the group's belief, Taylor said.
The Zizians follow a person that goes by "Ziz" and ran a blog that is now shut down. Open Vallejo said Ziz, whose legal name is Jack LaSota, previously lived at the Vallejo property where the recent murder happened.
LaSota was named by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of four people arrested for protesting a Berkeley nonprofit in Sonoma County in 2019. The protestors were allegedly wearing black robes and Guy Fawkes masks as they barricaded off an area where the nonprofit was holding an event.
" ... Transgender and BigenderAll four of the people arrested as part of Ziz's protest were transgender women (the fifth was let go without charges). This is far from coincidence as Ziz seems to go out of her way to target transgender people. In terms of cult indoctrination such folks are an excellent fit. They're often:
Financially vulnerable.
Newly out transgender people are especially likely to already be estranged from friends or family.
It is common for them to lack stable housing.
Many traditional social services (illegally) reject them for cultural or religious reasons (e.g., Christian homeless shelters).
Intolerant attitudes among the underclass hit twice: they can't rely on strangers for help and being transgender often makes them a target for violence; making them outcasts even among outcasts.
Already creating a new identity.
During transition people change their name. This creates an opportunity for Ziz to insert themselves into a recruits ongoing transition. By showing them their "double personhood" as they're abandoning an old identity it's possible to convince recruits to adopt a Zizian name (e.g., left hemisphere / right hemisphere) as their new social identity.
As the name implies transition is a time of transition; old patterns and habits tend to fall away. People who have spent years repressing important parts of themselves suddenly have the opportunity to completely
change their social presentation. This does not always mean someone wants to play the same role as before but a different gender. With the radical changes that can accompany transition come strong opportunities for radicalization.
All of these factors combine to make Ziz, themselves a transgender woman, more credible to recruits than she might otherwise be. A privileged cis person with close family and stable housing might reject boat housing out of hand: "I don't know, that sounds iffy to me". For someone facing mortal danger after their rude ejection into the underclass it's an easier pill to swallow: "It can't be worse than sleeping on the street right?"
Another important concept Ziz uses to manipulate people is the idea of being "bigender". Ziz claims that each hemisphere has a gender and that fairly often people have opposing gender identities between hemispheres. This provides a convenient basis for her to undermine the identity of people she's recruiting. If the target is cis, tell them their other half is trans, if the target is trans tell them their other half is cis. It's a similar disorienting trick to the idea of single and double good. If the target identifies as good tell them their other half is irredeemably evil, if they identify amorally insist that half of them is a saint. The pattern is to take aspects of folks identities that they're invested in and disrupt them by creating a domain of self which Ziz (and only Ziz) has knowledge about so the target is forced to trust their interpretation."
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