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In Reply to: hmm..interesting question posted by Acheick on April 28, 2004 at 05:50:23:
What we appear to be talking about here is judging and evaluating people at the moment that they leave the cult. These messages are in a thread about large numbers leaving right now. We are given examples by both the original poster, and you of what a real ex-member is and does. I'm not sure that I've jumped to any conclusions. I'm must reading what you guys are writing.
If we applied those standards to you the first few weeks after you left, would you have passed your own test?
As people who operate websites that strive to help people who have left the cult, what are our responsibilities? How are we going to operate if we are suddenly hit with a landslide of new ex-members?
What percentage of them do you think will meet the guidelines that you have outlined, and in what time frame?
One thing I've noticed over my years of observing ex-members is that a lot of people get out, and then re-join. Of course, many of the people I met didn't have the benefit of a large online community. All of us have worked very hard over the last few years to document and publish stories on the web that constitute undeniable proof that The Family is a corrupt organization.
However, the Family has worked very hard to convince memebers that we are under the influence of the devil, and our websites are evil, and filled with lies.
If they can get past all that, perhaps it is possible that the new ex-members can move much faster than others that I have met, due to the availability of information that is cheap and easy to access. I hope so.
I think that some of it will have to do with what kind of a reception they get when they show up on the boards. If they are treated as not being true ex-members, I'm not sure where they will feel that they fit in.
I'm not saying that people on the boards should encourage them to tithe to the Family or worship Berg. I just hope that they aren't shut out right in the beginning because they don't yet meet a standard that almost nobody ever has.
