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In Reply to: Jim the former leader blames the victim posted by reposter on December 09, 2005 at 12:21:39:
Reposter-
I'm sure that if you had all the emails between Jo and I for the last 8 months over these claims, that you may not have a different opinion, but at least you'd be better informed. Why, at the point Jo's children are removed from her immediate and direct care, she didn't leave TFI is a question that is beyond me. Why didn't other parents in Thailand stop the abuse they saw happening to my children is beyond me? I just can't slip it into the box of "We were being abused too, so we didn't do anything." I not saying that this box is their defense that they are using, and it is only an "impression" that I am getting from posts like yours, but I can't for the life of me understand what they are saying was the reason.
This is not to shift blame. The victims in Jo's situation were the children, in my opinion. I did a lot of things while in the COG that I would consider spiritually abusive, including the routine of witnessing and trying to convert others to my new found "faith." I regreted that, and other choices I made- choices I could never blame on "leadership" or anyone else in the group. Choices that I came to grips with and caused me to leave early on. I can sympathize with Jo's feelings of rage over her children being removed from her immediate care, I cannot, however, sympathize with her choice to remain after the incident happened. I am sensitive to why she may have stayed, but I could never condone it. Just as I could not condone my staying any longer than I did.
