On 2005-02-18 18:23:00, Anonymous wrote:
"Antigen, you mention the "malice and rage" heaped on these kids that post here.
I am not so sure that it is the kids at Whitmore who are posting these angry malicious statements all of the time.
Oh, I'm absolutely sure it's not all coming from the Whitmore location. I was just commenting on the tone of some of the posts defending the Whitmore as compared to the tone of those critical of it.
When and if kids are allowed access to computers at Whitmore is very questionable from what my child reports.
But others are saying that kids have been encouraged to post. I can't know for certain which, if either, is true. But it seems likely, in the context of the rest of what we're hearing, that the kids and parents have been encouraged to say these things because that's perfectly consistent w/ what I remember from my days w/ The Seed and Straight and w/ a lot of stories coming out of the rest of the troubled parent industry.
IF an adult is posting and pretending to be a student(s) at Whitmore--then there again, the kids are being manipulated and hurt."
That actually seems unlikely.
Look, I'm really not about trying to force any particular pre-concieved notions about any of these places. All I'm trying to do is to provide a forum where people can tell their own view of the issue and the reader can decide for themselves what to make of it.
When I talk about malice and rage, I'm talking about some of the threats of violence, the horrible names and very personal, cutting accusations that have been posted here. Some of the kids and adults who are critical of the Whitmore have stated very level, matter of fact accounts.
Some of those include acts of violence allegedly commited by the Whitmore kids w/ the encouragement or at least tacit approval of the people who run the place. If those are true (I honestly don't know, but I understand that law enforcement is looking into those allegations) then I'm very concerned about the threats of violence against Leah and Erica and anyone else who might come along.
What do you think, Anon? (the one who started this thread) Should Leah be concerned about a Whitmore supporter who threatens to look her up and find a way to stuff a rag in her mouth? Should her grandma be concerned? Normally, I'd write that sort of stuff off as just vitriole, keyboard bravado. But several different people have now stated in these forums that they've received similarly threatening phone calls at home.
As to why I care, let's just say I have a soft spot in my heart for anyone who has been or is in danger of being held by an abusive cult in the guise of 'therapy'. It happened to me. When I got out, no one really believed me. That made my life so much harder. Maybe if people had a better understanding of how these groups work then you kids won't have such a rough time.
The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being of His Father, in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter.
--Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President, author, scientist, architect, educator, and diplomat
_________________
Ginger Warbis ~ Antigen
Seed sibling `71 - `80
Straight South (Sarasota, FL)
10/80 - 10/82
Anonymity AnonymousSome days, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.