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In Reply to: Some answers posted by Thinker on January 15, 2004 at 09:43:10:
How I joined the COG:
I was a teen, had left an abusive home. I had high ideals but also felt disillusioned. Not only that, but I was in a very scarey situation in a large city. The cults were out on the streets recruiting and I went home with the COG. They spoke of having "all the answers to all the problems in the world." And they were young and lived communally where it seemed to be "safe".
How I left the COG: I was burnt out when I left. I felt like I was right at the edge of sanity and falling over into the IN-sanity. I was deeply disturbed by the continual changes, the constant moving, the breaking up of family, the "being dealt with", purging sessions, humiliations and I was being greatly triggered by the sexual revolution. Not because I had moral thoughts against it, but because it bothered me personally because of a history of sexual abuse as a child. When I saw that it was filtering down to children, I started having very very bad reactions emotionally. (Panic attacks) and I left when the kids were all there, I had access to some funds. It was a sudden decision without planning.
"Have you experimented with Flirty Fishing?"
To answer this clearly, I would have to say that I don't consider that Flirty Fishing was something that people experimented with in the family. That sounds like "have you ever experimented with drugs?" Usually when someone experiments with something it suggests they are curious about it and want to try it to see what it is like. in the family, FFing was not an experiment, but a doctrine that was introduced by the leader, David Berg. It was expected that people were to practice it and some perhaps wanted to, but many, including me, were very alarmed by it and were coerced to participate in it.
What was your typical day like?
This varied. But everything was scheduled.
For example, when I joined, there was wake up, hygiene, exercise, "tribe meeting", chores, breakfast, chores, classes, classes, classes, memorization, exhortations, dinner, inspiration (singing of songs, "testimonies") another class or exhortation, maybe a purging session thrown in. Sometimes an all nighter class or session with a communion to follow around sunrise. Then there would be "eight hours" before time to get up again. This was a systematic sleep deprivation tool. Sometimes the schedule would include going out witnessing with others, or going out for a group witness to the beach or a university campus. This usually occurred on a weekend. For the most part though, intensive work and classes and sessions.
Later, when "litnessing" started a typical day was like this:
Wake up early a.m., hygiene, brief reading from literature of family, out to pass out lit for several hours. Had quotas to meet before could come home. Sold lit to eat meals out and were expected to bring home a minimum amount of money. At first this was hard and maybe around 8 or so at night I would call in to say I had not made my quota and see if I could get permission to come home. Often this included taking your kids with you (unless you were separated from them) for all those hours, and raising funds for their food too. If you made your quota, you came home and had a letter reading or just gathered stats and then studied and went to bed.
Then when FFing started, there was litnessing in the day and FFing at night. For a long time the emphasis was on fund raising all day long.
Night times still scheduled.
Once I started playing music and singing, I would go and sing in bars and clubs and such for money and then pass out lit for free. It was pretty liberating compared to the tedious job of stopping people over and over again asking for donations for pieces of paper (Berg letters).
As things got mobile and more scattered, there was morning "devotions", chores, and work, work work, then preparing to go out for the evening and working either by singing or FFing all nite.
I got out before "clowning" and "postering" and "taping" started.
