link to email from James Chancellor to Jules

http://www.movingon.org/article.asp?sID=4&Cat=24&ID=3161


James Chancellor

from Jules - Saturday, August 20, 2005
accessed 117 times

The following is an email I recently received from James Chancellor and my response to him. I do not usually publish private emails, but since he made some rather sweeping accusations about the participants on this site, I think you all have the right to know what he has said.


Date: June 22, 2005
From : James Chancellor
Subject : RE: web site
To : Jules

Dear Julia,

...

Yes I was aware that you were the person featured on the Dateline show [Loosing Faith, which aired 2004-07-16]. Do you remember doing that - the process I mean? I gave about a two-hour interview and they selected out maybe 5-6 minutes. Since I was the person chosen to provide "balance" to the show, they choose those things I said that would do just that.

Surely you are aware of this, and that all you said was not put into the show.

But I can say this, everything I said in the entire interview; I believed to be fully accurate and true. Can you say the same?

Now, as to "defending" the Family - that is a curious charge. Particularly since you have not read the book.

To my knowledge, my book is the only place where current, still committed members of the Family are on record admitting the sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse of the children. I have adults admitting they did it, and mothers admitting they allowed their daughters to be used in this way. My book contains substantive quotes from the Davidito Book and other Family literature that make clear these things were done under the direction and consent of Family leadership. There are young adults (who are still loyal members) who talk of the lack of educational opportunities, long periods of child care responsibilities, sexual abuse, victor programs, silence restrictions, teen camps, etc. Since these statements come from persons still within the Family, they carry far more credibility than those accusations from some ex-members, whose stories often change and grow with time.

I know that many of the children raised in the Family have very legitimate cases - and I agree, and have said to Family leadership on many occasions, that until those guilty persons are brought to justice, they will not be able to put this whole tragic episode behind them.

But Julia, you need to be aware that the more the people in your community of abused ex-members amplify, exaggerate, and fabricate - then the less credible your cries for justice become - and the less likely any resolution will follow.

Just today I was informed of a rumor now circulating on one of your web sites that my wife is an ex-member of the Family - a ridiculous falsehood. If you really want to attain a level of credibility - then some person or persons within your community needs to exercise some real leadership to get control of things. Every instance when an extreme exaggeration or outright falsehood appears, your chances of a just outcome diminish.

I want you to know that if the time ever comes in a civil or criminal proceeding - I will testify to what I know to be true about the Family in general, and about specific persons in the Family. I will continue to tell the truth about what happened to some of the children, and what is not happening to them now.

Now, Julia, I want you to read my book carefully. If you find anywhere that I "downplay" what happened to some of the children, or anything that is false - and can demonstrate that to me, I will apologize to you and all those in your community. But, please do not make accusations that are not substantive.

I wish you well - really.

jdc

*********************************************

Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005

From: Jules
Subject: RE: web site
To: James Chancellor
James,
Thank you for your email.

While you have asked me not to publish the ... email from you and that it is for me alone, you make rather sweeping accusations of about not only me but the other people raised in the Family who are speaking out about the abuse they survived, claiming that we "amplify, exaggerate, and fabricate" our accounts.

Since you claim to be an expert on the group, and represent yourself as such, I think that people have a right to know what you actually think and how credible your claims of objectivity actually are. I feel that people have the right to answer this for themselves and I will not be put in the position of speaking for them, no matter how much you demand that I "exercise leadership".

I can hardly believe that you have accused me of lying. I told my own story, nothing more or less. Your accusation is both offensive and extremely unprofessional. What evidence do you have that I fabricated my story of my own life? Why would I invent such a horrible and traumatic past for myself? What did I say that did not fit with what you yourself admit has occurred in the group?

Your Meltonism that "persons still within the Family, ... carry far more credibility than those accusations from some ex-members, whose stories often change and grow with time." is equally outrageous. What evidence do you have for this claim? What knowledge do you have of the effects of abuse and the process of recovery?

As to "rumours circulating" on former member web sites about you, I suggest that you take your own advice and read the information from the source in it's entirety for yourself. If you only read the snippets sent to you by Marc and Claire, you are not getting the full picture. MovingOn.org is a dialogue between participants and comments on anything other than our own lives and experiences are often just speculation or one reply in an ongoing conversation.

With all the self proclaimed "experts" out there, it can be difficult to remember who is who. Someone probably confused you with Ian Hayworth.

If our discussion really has no credibility, then I am not sure why anyone would care what people write? If however, you would like to straighten out which of the experts you are and the details about your own life and credentials, then you are welcome to correct any errors for yourself. I thought about it and I really have no interest in being a go-between for anyone. That is not my role there. I provide a forum and people interact and/or speak for themselves.

The same offer has been made to The Family representatives and they are also free to interact themselves and to correct anything they feel is inaccurate. To date, Claire Borowick has only once seen the need to, as she put it, "set the record straight" on MovingOn.org. http://www.movingon.org/article.asp?sID=1&Cat=9&ID=526

Julia