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In Reply to: Does the punishment outlive the Offense? posted by Acheick on January 20, 2003 at 13:05:24:
Hi A!
Those are good thoughts and points to me Acheick. Thanks for sharing your experiences with your son. I am glad life turned around for him.
I believe the key point for me is that these individuals have accepted responsibility for their actions, recognized the evil and changed their lives. They have stepped forward and tried to make a difference in a very public way. That in and of itself indicates that they are being up front and honest about what happened. I have watched a number of people, including high profile leaders, leave the family over a period of many years.
It is very difficult for any ex member to move on and it takes a significant amount of work. I think when we leave the family, we begin to dismantle the famly from within our hearts and our characters. It takes awhile and ii can be a difficult, complicated process but is a very necessary part of recovery.
The problem I have with family members, or those attempting to excuse or explain away the offences caused by berg and his doctrines, is they are not entering the process of dismantling the lie that is the family. (Kind of like trying to sneak into the building without due proocess). In my opinion, the only possible "good" or "truth" we as members experienced had nothing to do with berg. Anything he touched turned to shit in the family. In this area I have learned that when I let it all go, the inherant falseness and harmful nature of the family, then I am able to move on, a step at a time. I still have to accept responsibility for my actions but I have reached a point where I do not hate myself as much for my stupidity regarding berg. Generally I am able to avoid my ass kicking machine for longer and longer periods of time. Thanks again for raising the issue!
Sincerely
Rocky
