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In Reply to: Re: Learning and mental illness posted by Carol on May 23, 2004 at 09:12:49:
From written accts, Maria was an opportunist who went for the leadership with Jethro first in her sites, then got the top psychopath instead. In the earliest days, unknown to most FGs incl. me, Berg came on to many different girls and at least one he wrote about could have had Maria's spot if she had submitted. He primarily seems to have targeted the more petite and girlish looking youth. Maria did not reject him. Hell, it looks like she lunged for him. The ones who joined and were blinded by optimism and idealism were the lower rank and file who largely had no clue.
When I saw how leadership, from right under Berg acted and talked about others, they were quite calculating, often ridiculing those under them. I don't doubt that Maria has some screws loose, but I think she is most guilty of being a child molesting psychopath who was just as power hungry as Berg. (I saw from what you wrote that you have similar thoughts about her.)
How do people become monsters within that system known as the Family? I think they (usually unknowingly) surrender their conscience in order to be in favor due to two things, hope for success and fear of consequences, incl. death AND belief that God is behind the insanity. I didn't care about either at the time that i got out. I was so burnt out that if the plane had crashed (and I thought God was likely to cause that for me leaving and taking my kids).
I think that there are different things that happen to people in the family that stay there long term and continue even when it comes to not protecting their own children:
1. no longer able to think rationally and have systematically lost a conscience, piece by piece until no more is left, but taught that this is good and from God. Reinforcement in the name of GOD is drilled into you and likely you are not on the fringes like out in the "fields" where you can avoid the worst.
So you are still functional.
2. You get ill and die prematurely due to lack of medical care and you are blamed for not having faith. You go to your death in shame and are rejected.
3. You get a power position and have to keep sucking up to keep it and nothing is bad enough to stop you from sucking. These are the positions of the so called "cream of the crop". Ass sucking ass blasters that willingly surrender their conscience and are more " sold out ".
4. Emotional breaking, and get dumped by the family or remove yourself, feeling wrong,and like God the hitman is out with his telescopic lens lining up his sites on ya.
In all cases, people who manage to leave can recover their sanity. Or join another cult. I opt for aiding anyone with recovery if they need a word of encouragment or some referrals for where to get help.
Some who have engaged in the worst of the worst would do a favor to themselves to be accountable for crimes committed under the influence, like molesting kids. But it should be recognized, by the legal system that the king and queen perps are still evading the justice that Manson could not evade.
I see the family as similar to the Manson thing but with a more PR appearing top. Many of the manson members were not prosecuted because they did not take part in the murders. But they still supported the ones that did.
*So would it be fair to say that while hoping for restoration of former members, I do understand that what SGAS have related as occuring to them are TRUE, absolutely believable and typical of the family, STARTED and propagated by Berg, then Zerby with Peter in tow.
*That there is ample documentation via letters and some former FG testimony not to mention the well documented SG cases and others that have been told but perhaps not documented, that know who wrote and approved of what.
Since Maria was with Berg from close to the very beginning, and was aware of what Berg was doing, it would stand to reason that she had awareness of much of the motivation he had. In her time with him, she played the devil's(not) advocate by feigning to be caring and addressing concerns of family members. IRFers Beware is such a good example. Acheick, Do you still have the version of the letter gone over by that DR? I wish you could post that by itself in its entirety. (Letter with commentary paragraph by paragraph.
I think the compilation of all the different input produced something long and complicated to get into.
