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In Reply to: Re: Is it aiding and abetting? posted by moonshiner on May 06, 2006 at 13:38:00:
That is all well and good, but when we were in TF there were lots of newspaper articles and Deb's book. We rationalized as taught to why we were "deceivers yet true" or outright deceivers because the "system" owed us for being God's elite. Or working for God's elite anyway. Deb's book helped me to get out and got me to thinking in spite of the tendency to chalk it up to lies of a bitter person. That, and hearing things over time that I knew were lied about for "security reasons" but felt inside were wrong though I interpreted that as a weakness of MINE.
How did you think before you left the family, when you read newspaper articles or saw the second 60 minutes documentary? Or whatever articles you may have read in major magazines?
There was info out on the Family before leaving but interpreting that info was done through a TF filter.
I didn't realize how messed up TF actually was until I was out and got the cobwebs out of my head. Now when I see letters posted here and I read them I think OMG how did I ever believe that? So much of the literature is so degrading and objectifies people in general; men women and children.
Before I came to the boards and when I looked at some of the sites which cater to the Family or were written by them with lawyers or whatever, I had the strangest feeling because these professionals were giving their stamp of approval to the Family and minimizing the hell out of what they actually stand for or are about. But seeing those articles before seeing the ex-member boards, I sort of had a flash back experience and felt like I was wrong or something.
Even when 911 happened, I had some feelings about endtime fear reading Revelations about Babylon and a center of trade being destroyed in one hr., about how long it took the towers to fall.
That doesn't mean that I believe like the Family but because of all the past training there is still a filter there which I know is false but nevertheless can feel eerie at times.
I have come a long way since being in and I am very glad for that. I dispelled the myth of the Family quite quickly after getting out but realized how feelings are tricky. They sometimes take years to catch up to rational thinking. So I can't just go on a crusade against individuals that are PR robots or paying tithes to the Family but are just associated or even still in full-fledged.
I was never associated, but I remember when people were allowed to tithe and got GP letters. many of them did not FF or do things mainstream family were doing. No doubt some did. I think it felt like an opportunity to leave and still benefit the family so a person did not feel like a complete failure and then there was the horrible letter IRFer's Beware to tell people what happens when they make the wrong choice.
Obviously WS income must have fallen some and so I don't doubt for financial reasons M & P have allowed the FM status so they can continue to collect from people who otherwise might be likely to leave. I don't know.
I just think that one of the most effective ways to combat a cult is exposing the org as a whole and specific known criminals and I don't mean traffic violations or tax issues. I mean molestation, rape etc. Then that needs to be addressed by the victims. IMO anyway.
I am fine with photos of M&P and for any victims that want to post pics of their perps and write their own stories about it. I believe them.
