Rocky

Social psychologist Philip Zimbardo on the Lucifer Effect. It's directly related to what took place in The Way and in Victor Barnard's cult. "Perhaps no one comprehends the roots of depravity and cruelty better than Philip Zimbardo. He is renowned for such research as the Stanford Prison Experiment, which demonstrated how, in the right circumstances, ordinary people can swiftly become amoral monsters. Evil is not so much inherent in individuals, Zimbardo showed, but emerges dependably when a sequence of dehumanizing and stressful circumstances unfolds." You can skip the first 4:45 wihich is entirely introductions It's all about lack of social accountability.

Close, but you have to take out the spaces to make it work (not magic, but on Twitter) #LetMyPeopleGo

"Everything somehow needs to be dramatized!" It's somebody's story. She has a right to tell it. What anyone does with it after that is not something she can be expected to control. I don't mind criticism (not necessarily assuming you were criticizing any one of the posters/commenters here, including me), but I will offer some in return. Have you even considered what it's like to be in Ms. Knight's shoes? I have plenty of disdain for corporate media that may exploit the situation for a salacious ratings grab, but really if the person whose story it is wants the story told, and people are interested in knowing it, who am I to judge her? She doesn't come off as a publicity hound, but rather as someone who did, indeed experience unspeakable horror. It's not my place to judge her. I question whether it's any of ours. My question then would be, why are you watching it?

Another excerpt from Kristen's post (linked above): The code of silence is penetrated through one’s initial decision to heal and one’s courage to begin to tell the truth about oneself in a safe place. This, accompanied by education about physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse allows the individual to start on the journey towards wholeness. True expression of one’s feelings, especially anger, makes healing possible. As one grows stronger, one may even expand the stage of disclosure to include the world at large. So then, truth begets truth. Light begets light. But it is not enough to know the truth. Survivors of abuse are accustomed to disconnecting psychologically and emotionally from a painful reality . This dissociation is a major survival tool. In order to heal, it becomes necessary to connect with oneself, not dissociate from the trauma. In mind control situations, this again becomes doubly difficult because the conscience, overtaken by the cult leader, becomes an inner abuser and oppressor.

<3 Me too. Btw, Kristen S, author of Losing the Way wrote something on the subject back in 2008. On Breaking the Code of Silence Written by Kristen Skedgell Saturday, 29 March 2008 In order to speak, one must have a voice. Now this might seem obvious to most people but to people who have been abused in a cult, it's not always the case. The voice has been overtaken by another stronger voice, the voice of the leader. Through mind control, the cult leader imposes his will and views on the follower so the follower loses her own will and views. When mind control is accompanied by physical or sexual abuse, the task of speaking up becomes even more complicated and difficult. continued

I agree... if this gal wants to tell her story publicly, that's up to her. She's brave. And yes, I can see how it can represent difficult triggers sometimes. I understand Lindsay T (one of Victor Barnard's "maidens") has spoken with Karl Kahler... it might be interesting to see what Karl might be up to by digging into the VB saga.

I know this book isn't about TWI, but it is about the journey one young woman is taking after escape from 10 years of horrendous abuse in capitvity in Cleveland. It might provide some encouragement for those who suffered spiritual and sexual abuse in TWI. Finding Me by Michelle Knight.

Certainly not shocking at this point. Btw, I didn't post that to contradict you.

Apparently, VB has followers in and from Brazil. ----- New news, an additional report from Fox9.

I was thinking, "grifter" but Flim Flam fits well.

There likely have been multiple factors contribute to the delay. Two that I think are likely: Lazy prosecutor and public accountability. County attorneys have built-in rationalizations for procrastination. They can (almost) always claim that they don't believe they have enough evidence to secure a conviction. That was something cited in the Fox 9 news coverage. And the fact that county attorneys are elected positions, the public pressure brought to bear by the local news investigation was likely enough to light a fire under his butt. That said, there are still several obstacles to securing conviction, the first being finding him. All accounts seem to indicate, however, that VB is one seriously slick operator who probably thinks he can talk his way out of any jam. If his closest confidants believe that, maybe they will encourage him to turn himself in and let it play out in court. Others who knew VB's wife have been surprised she was not "smart enough" to see through his BS and let him get away with this stuff for so long. Indications seem to be that "smartness" has nothing to do with any of this.

Barnard had, as one former follower put it, Wierwille's spiritual DNA.

Having both a daughter and a granddaughter, here's how I feel about Victor Barnard...

Karl nailed it in quotes in this story.

Right, it doesn't particularly matter to me, but Kark Kahler says he and Barnard were in the same corps. Karl has spoken on the phone with Minnesota Public Radio and Fox 9 reporter Tom Lyden.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2606160/Minister-fringe-sect-sexually-abused-10-handpicked-underage-maidens-isolated-camp-nearly-decade.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/minnesota-cult-leader-charged-59-sexual-abuse-counts-maidens-article-1.1758703 http://www.wsp.wa.gov/information/releases/2014_archive/mr041614b.htm http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/16/victor-arden-barnard_n_5161313.html

Do any of you remember Victor Barnard, Way Corps 14. http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/24835377/investigators-maidens-of-river-road http://www.startribune.com/local/255322011.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/24910720/pine-county-attorney-reviews-case-against-alleged-cult-leader http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/25250672/alleged-cult-leader-victor-barnard-charged-sexual-assault http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/clip/10055698/victor-barnard-manhunt

Have you ever read any of John Grisham's novels? I spent about six months in Mississippi as a (very) young adult, but really didn't get much exposure to MS culture. I think I'd hate it there.

Published on the Daily Beast, March 23, 2014 In early March, blogger Samantha Field contacted her alma mater, the notoriously fundamentalist Pensacola Christian College in Florida, before she published an explosive story. Field, who blogs about “overcoming fundamentalist indoctrination,” was going public with allegations from two former students who said they had been raped at Pensacola, and that the school had shamed and expelled them instead of punishing the alleged perpetrators. The stories had come in after Field posted a call on her blog. She contacted four different departments at Pensacola to ask how such cases were handled, and was finally told by the college’s communications officer that the school didn’t respond to “blog-type articles.” That didn’t last long. Field’s “blog-type article” was quickly shared tens of thousands of times, and Pensacola was forced to respond to the allegations with an official statement. continued...

No. Geez, Martindale made a habit of berating corps trainees too. But I was the target of one or more of wierwille's verbal tirades when he didn't get instant satisfaction on an A/V technical set up. Packing up and leaving then and there, didn't really occur to me yet as a result of the first couple of red flags. Interim year was another story. For another late night story. Rejoice. We're free from that .... place (TFP). :)

UPDATE on this situation including an 11 minute video from a MN news broadcast just a couple of days ago.

Nope, wasn't my point at all.

It was indeed to skyrider. Of course, it's wonderful that anyone can share here. He may have stolen more from me than I realize, but I've moved on and don't have much of a sense anymore about what I lost in the 12 years I was involved with twi. I've had other traumas in my life since, including divorce. I can count it a victory that despite a horrendous two years of litigation (that ended 15 years ago) I'm friends with both my-ex (who never was in twi, but now is a committed mormon) and the judge who finally got to sign the divorce decree. I enjoy my life now. I feel like I've found my calling and it isn't in being subject to an emotionally abusive cult. I can say, however, that I draw on the experience in twi when I analyze situations, groups and public figures about whom I write. Anyway, enough about me. Hmmm.... well, I can't say I've felt like I've gotten to know much about you from your posts, so I don't really know what to say to that comment other than I hope you didn't really take anything I wrote as personally addressed to you.

Yeah... I hear that. Last time I saw JAL in person was when my daughter was just a couple of months old... I was highly unimpressed. I'm doing well. Have found a calling, in a way to positively impact my community. Hopefully I have a few more decades to make a difference. :)