by ignoring the cheerleaders we best stand to gain. If the masses observe that we take no notice as to what they say they will see that the 900 failed paitents do not take the 9 successful ones seriously, and thus neither will anyone else.
Numbers don't lie
at least not these ones.
The cheerleaders are an odd bunch...they thrived in the "peer-on-peer" milieu and became the darlings of the staffers by helping break down the less aggressive kids.
They view anyone who got chewed up by the program (and
them) as non-entities beneath contempt. Trying to deal with them is the same as dealing with a KoolAid pissing zealot staffer with a B+D fetish.
Pegler's Pep Squad - "None of them alone are as cruel and hateful as they are together", to borrow a bit. The few I've encountered act like hyenas on acid if PV is being criticized. They've got cultish devotion to the Village, and they worship Bob Pegler, the guy who saved them from
endingupdeadorinjail. They've got an unhealthy preoccupation with Pegler and attribute supernatural powers to him - he's impossible to lie to, he will get you to admit your darkest and worst secrets, etc., etc. If a kid doesn't
have any hideous secrets to divulge, Pegler will invent some especially for them, and force them to spout it as truth until they really believe it. He's not a guru, he just read
1984.
Catch Pegler and his devotees in a situation where they can't show their PV skills - in public, while they're performing for the rubes and easy marks.