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In Reply to: Re: Reframing Family-think: I did not "join" the family! posted by kafka on December 08, 2003 at 14:14:17:
Firstly, let me say that I fully take responsibility in any damages that may have occured to my children during my tenure in the F. Or any children, for that matter.
However, I do see where spiritual manipulation is being bypassed here. Maybe no one was forced, but there was definitely coercion going on. There was such a heavy guilt placed, with God as the wielder of the guilt card, that it took me years, literally, to move out of that guilt phase and caused me anguish I can barely describe. That was and is wrong and I do believe some people - not all - were led by these feelings of guilt and and fear. For some people - maybe some are more gullible, or sensitive or trusting, or whatever, but believe deeper and become too afraid to go against God. Or how about leaving their children behind? I simply couldn't do that and with a husband who still is a dyed in the wool loyalist, I knew I had no chance of taking any of them with me if I left TF, or even him IN TF. I don't know if you can understand the horror I went through to keep my family together and by some stroke of luck or miracle of God, I was sent back to the States with almost all of my children. I literally thought the heavens had parted. I think everyone's story is different and I think there are different scenarios one has to judge by. There is no way of putting people into a black and white category. I believe there are perpetrators and leeches within TF preying off of the naive and genuine members. I believe my daughter is genuine and is completely manipulated by her father. I believe the leadership has no conscience and are guilty of coercion and many other crimes, let alone what they did to the children. It's spiritual abuse and I wish there were some laws against that because they took people who trusted in them as their spiritual advisers and abused that trust.
