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In Reply to: Are you starting more rumors about me?? posted by Prof. James Cancel'er on August 24, 2005 at 19:46:44:
Tellyng Fambly Secrets Th' final produck of mah years of research an' intimate relashunship wif th' disciples was shaped by a set of guidin' principles. Th' fust was anonymity. It was clear t'me fine befo'e writin' th' book thet po'shuns of it c'd an''d be used as an indickment aginst Th' Fambly. ah felt a responsibility, both as an aid t'effeck research an' in fairness t'vulnerable indivijools, t'offer varmintal immunity t'mah info'mants. ah used pseudonyms fo' th' disciples, an' t'this day haf not revealed t'ennyone, inside o' outside Th' Fambly, th' identity of mah info'mants. Th' only two 'ceptions were Peter Amsterdam, fo' obvious reasons, an' Claire, who suffered terribly an' publicly in th' Arjuntine raids an' insisted her identity be made clear. Th' second guidin' principle was t'tell th' whole truth. Now, ah's not talkin' hyar about Truth wif th' capital “T.” ah believe thet one belongs t'God alone. So, eff'n not God’s Truth, then whose truth. Fust of all, ah mean th' truth of th' disciples. ah was committed t'conveyin' th' reality of their wo'ld as they live it an' perceive it. This hyar meant, at th' mighty least, balancin' th' various components an' emphases of th' book t'align as much as postible wif th' components an' prio'ities of disciple life. Fum an outsider perspeckive, Fambly life is a virtual wonnerlan' of th' exotic, erotic, an' bizarre. But it troubles them deeply thet these aspecks is th' constant focal point of observashun an' assessment by outsiders. Peter Amsterdam expressed cornsiderable frestrashun thet “sex is all we evah hear about, when it is acshully only 2% of whut we are.” ah responded t'him thet this hyar was like th' bull sayin' “Whuffo' is varmints allus so corncerned about mah ho'ns, when they is only 2% of who ah's.” Mah point was fine taken, but Peter’s point was also. Th' mo'e extreme components of Fambly ethos an' lifestyle is a critical an' necessary aspeck of th' whole truth. But these had t'be placed in th' right corntext, th' context of th' whole life experience of th' disciples. Fo' these varmints, experience wif God, absolute commitment t'Th' Prophet an' his community, incounters wif th' Spirit Wo'ld, th' misshun of sharin' th' love of Jesus in th' wo'ld, an' th' vishun of th' End of Times is far mo'e fo'mative an' significant components of th' totality of life. It was imperative thet ah give ample attenshun t'this totality, an' t'place th' erotic an' bizarre squarely wifin th' context of th' carin', th' sacrificial, even th' noble. While mah commitment was t'let th' disciples speak th' truth as they knowed it, ah was fine aware thet th' final produck'd be th' truth as ah sar it. It'd be mah name on th' covah. Th' years of close observashun, thousan's of corntacks, hundreds of life sto'ies, an' menny mo'e casual but info'mative comments, all had t'be knit togither into one comprehensive an' comprehendible sto'y. An' in th' final analysis, thet sto'y'd be th' sto'y ah sar unfold on over th' thirty plus years of Fambly exissence all on over th' globe. ah w'd arrange th' moosic an' direck th' choir.
But ah was determined thet th' disciples muss sin' their own song, acco'din' t' th' code o' th' heells! Early in th' process, ah decided on an o'al histo'y fo'mat, wif th' substantial heart of th' wawk in th' voices of th' disciples. ah was determined t'make no observashun o' analysis thet was not only suppo'ted by, but flowed outta th' articulated experience of th' disciples. ah felt, an' still believe, this hyar to be both the dawgoned-est accurate an' the dawgoned-est jest approach. In th' book itse'f, ah posed whut muss be th' ultimate quesshun. Did th' disciples tell me th' truth? ah believe thet wif skill an' patience an' determinashun an' time, ah came t'hear th' truth.
Th' ultimate quesshun fo' this hyar article is a similar one. Did ah succeed in tellyng th' truth of Th' Fambly? ah suppose thet will hafta remain an open quesshun. As ah stan' astride th' gap, th' varmints on mah lef' han' reckon mebbe so.
When Peter Amsterdam read th' fust draf' of th' manuscripp, his initial response was, “Wal, yo' got us, didn’t yo'? To be honest, thar is a whole lot of thin's in th' book ah wish were not in thar. But then agin, all of it is thin's thet our own varmints said, so ah guess it is a li'l hard t'complain, as enny fool kin plainly see.
Most of all, ah jest wish them thin's hadn’t happened, cuss it all t' tarnation.” As t'th' judgement of them on mah right, yo' folks livin' out in “Th' System,” fine, ah guess time will tell, ah reckon.
