Here is another story from a person who grew up in Armstrongism and the abuse she received and witnessed. Scores of rabid Armstrong worshipers deny anything like this ever happened. Everything is always rainbows, lollipops and unicorns in their eyes.
Here is another sad story of a childhood robbed by Armstrongism.
From Exit and Support:
I just read the story about the boy who ran away from home at an early age to escape abusive parents. His dad quit his government job as did my dad in 1972. I never knew this was a command of HWA until I read it here. I have called my mom as my dad died, and she refuses to discuss anything. Typical mind controlled member in a remnant group.
I was not allowed to attend SEP because of what happened to my elder sister there. Her things were stolen and she learned to smoke there--imagine that. Now I realize why I was never encouraged to go to college, which I did on my own in 1986. Again, HWA didn't believe in any college other than his own.
Luckily I had a very good imagination and sat through all those long sermons on Saturdays pretending I was traveling in space and never understood what WWCG was about. However, I knew enough to know I was going to escape as soon as possible.
My mom would beat the hell out of me at times and then make me thank her for the correction and smile to show her my attitude. Another revelation I had this week is that HWA taught her to do that. Finding this site has been good for me.
My parents never kept us from our school friends or "unbelieving" family, thank God. I think my dad definitely used his own thinking power on that one. I think feeling weird and ostracized and missing so much school hurt me the worst. Also, now realizing how deceived my mom and sister still are makes me sick. The language they use is the epitome of a cult but they are sheep nonetheless.
I saw many of my age mates in the WWCG get severely abused--starved, burned, beat, just to name a few. I also remember the year that the state department of children showed up in St. Petersburg at the feast and the paddles were removed from the walls of the Mother's Room (i. e., the "beating chamber"). The members were told not to spank at services.
My sisters and I knew how to obey like good little girls. I was a smart child and refused to go spend the night with any WWCG members that I knew were cruel to their children. My sister was not as smart and I will never forget a few times my parents had to go in the middle of the night to pick her up because she was sick. When we would go back to bed, she would relay terrible stories of things she witnessed, one of which a child being burned terribly bad for playing with matches. My parents tried to talk to the minister, but were politely told to mind their own business.
13 comments:
Yep, lived it myself, for years. And, of course, I happened to be one of the people who was actually teaching people how to smoke at SEP. At some point in my youth, I realized that no matter how good or bad I was, there were always going to be absurd pretenses to punish. It was arbitrary, it was excessive, and it was unfair. An inevitable constant. So, my attitude was one of trying to make up for it by doing whatever I felt like doing, and trying to get away with as much as possible.
By the way, if anybody thinks that it is a good idea to make a child thank them for a horrible, pants down, 40 lash belt whooping, you should probably know that while your child is tearfully thanking you, he or she is inwardly thinking all the nasty fuck language about you that is commonly used at school. I can't imagine any Christian wanting to deliberately cause that sort of rage in their children. Anger management can become a very serious problem for that child to need to deal with for the rest of his or her life. Anger often causes horrible violent sin! As a mentor to your children, wouldn't this be a concern to take precautions against?
By the way, if you are a splinter group member, and one of these "parents", the news isn't all bad. Several months ago, someone who was raised this way shared that now that his parents are sinking into Alzheimers, and forgetting a lot of the Armstrongism, it's almost possible to normalize relationships with them.
Yea where are the great all knowing all seeing God ministers when you need help right?
I let my then ten year old daughter spend the night with her WWCOG friend once back in the nineties and the next morning she was calling me scared to death because she woke up down the hall in their living room. Found out later that a male WWCOG older friend of the family was around the night before reading beddy time stories to my daughter and her church friend. Everyone trusted this guy so much they left him alone with the kids, and I didn't know. Of course this could happen anywhere anytime but goes to show you no one is really watching and caring about you and yours except YOU! Sure couldn't tell those dumb ass ministers about the episode. That would become a fiasco.
Moral to the story: Just because they are part of a church, doesn't mean they are OK. I've found EVEN PREDATORS GO TO CHURCH. Everybody say amen...AMEN!
And of course, I remember clearly during bible lessons for Y.E.S. kiddies how it was always a point of emphasis to tell young kids to follow the example of little obedient Isaac and what a good boy he was because he didn't complain to anyone when his dad tied him up and took a knife to him. Way to groom a kid to shut up and take their abuse quietly, huh?
"Several months ago, someone who was raised this way shared that now that his parents are sinking into Alzheimers, and forgetting a lot of the Armstrongism, it's almost possible to normalize relationships with them."
Having a father with Alzheimers, I cannot imagine having even a close to "normal" relationship with him.
I was raised abusively, though, and in the process of growing up, reconnected with both my parents, especially before my dad's Alzheimers disease got more pronounced.
Although the reconnection wasn't 100% of the ideal I'd wish it to be (they never stopped believing armstrongite stuff), I've been happy to accept it in it's realistic and human proportions.
"A little less blame, and a little more love" is a good recipe for better human relationships.
As it's happened, my bond and empathy with my mom has increased greatly, and I am very grateful for that.
My father's disease has gotten worse, as has the possibility for anyone to have a meaningful relationship with him.
In what I've experienced, it's far from reality to think that my father "sinking into Alzheimers, and forgetting a lot of the Armstrongism" means that "it's almost possible to normalize" relations with him. I believe that it was good for both of us that I grew up enough to be able to forgive and reconnect with him- both of us in our ability to smile together, before the disease became a barrier.
Around Thanksgiving, I read an article by someone who talked about how it can be freeing to accept others for how they are, rather than how we insist they are or should have been or are to us. It was really good, and I'll post it if I can dig it up, because it seems apropos to this discussion. Problem is, it was a 'link from a link from a link' I came across, making it hard to find since I was remiss and didn't bookmark it at the time.
We were at services once and a guy (later revealed to be a pedophile) tripped my young son as he made his way to the restroom. I had to physically restrain my husband so he wouldn't beat the snot out of the guy. Looking back, I should have just held his coat for him. So glad we were never fully sucked into the COG life. We're all much better off without them.
Why don't you whiney people get over it and move on!
Anon: 10:03 pm. They have every right to whine and unless you actually experienced it yourself you are oblivious to why they have good reason to whine. Even if what they went through is just a warning to others to be on guard for things like this in any church they may be going to is good reason for them to comment. Why are you even on here reading all of these comments if you disagree? As far as I am concerned everyone who experienced things that ought not have been in any COG group, keep whinning, we who have experienced similar things or worse feel for you.
"Why don't you whiney people get over it and move on?"
Exactly what predators and abusers want.
Because, sweetie, there are still people stuck in the COG cults. If they come to sites critical of Armstrongism, they just might learn a few things or find the courage to leave. And if you've moved on, why are you here?
Are they STILL digging up Jerusalem? Like that's going to get them into the kingdom of god.
Back in the 60's, my 15 year old brother and his friend, a minister's kid, wrote eachother some smutty notes to eachother during services at the FOT in the Poconos. When my mother, a widow, found them, she marched my brother into the administration building and demanded thst some minister flog him for his dirty deeds. When no man would do it, she proceeded to beat the shit out of him in front of 2 minister witnesses. This devastated my brother, he was never the same. Abuse? My mother wrote the book on abuse. It was sanctioned, encouraged. Now, at 90, and living with me, she can't understand why I don't have warm fuzzy feelings for her. Get over it? Not until she's 6 feet under.
the sexism, racism, child abuse, general lack of emphasis on the Love of Christ in the cogs, etc., should not lead one to reject the principles of Loving God and Loving mankind as yourself;
regardless of the stiffneckedness of they who lead these organizations, their adherence to certain biblical Doctrine is more than the absolute rejection of biblical Doctrine demonstrated by they who follow the roman perversion of Christianity...
"Why don't you whiney people get over it and move on!"
Translation: "Why can't you guys shut up and quit foiling our dastardly schemes to recruit unsuspecting bystanders into our abuse clubs?"
Gee, I dunno. Lemme think about it. Can I get back to you when hell freezes over?
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