In Reply to: Great Spirit posted by kinda gentler on March 16, 2004 at 21:58:48:
Your story points out just how vulnerable many people are to The Family's snare and subsequent control. When I think about them doing outreach with street kids in Eastern Europe, South America, and Asia, it makes me very upset. The very core of the Family's story is about predators and their prey.
I also came from an abusive family, although I was not in the vulnerable position of living on the streets. I was in Austin, Texas, in the Fall of 1970 as a freshman at UT. I saw TF do a sackcloth demonstration at a anti-war march that Fall. I seriously considered going out to TSC for a visit, but decided instead to move up to Boston to live with a friend and earn money for a trip to Europe.
Back in the US (a year later), still living on the east coast, I ran into a group that were trained at the Ellenville colony. I thought it was a sign from God to meet them again. At this point, I was even more socially isolated and cut off from family and friends, and TF seemed to offer a safe haven from the struggle of trying to make it on my own.
I was exposed to some of the sex doctrines fairly early on. Since I was a "free love hippie," the drift of those teachings didn't really bother me very much. On the other hand, I joined (in part) because I wanted to be celibate and withdraw from the field of play. There was this double standard, where certain leaders talked about sexual liberty, but acting on it was verboten, especially for babes.
The Family does offer a certain form of comfort and security--in exchange for your intellectual honesty and spiritual integrity--but nevertheless, it's understandable why people join or stay in it, especially if they've slept together. Sex can produce a very powerful emotional glue that binds people who would probably not be much more than acquaintances otherwise.