#151
Posted: 2/3/14 at 4:25pm
On the one hand, it's amazing what the memory can create all on its own. On the other, lives can be devastated when it is taken at face value.
It really is worth looking at the Wikipedia entry on "The Courage to Heal." I can't stress the importance of how foundational the book was in building the abuse survivor cottage industry. Worth noting is the refusal of the authors to remove references to the completely discredited trope of "satanic ritual abuse" in the many reprints the book has had. I start to hyperventilate when I read this stuff.
I recall a conversation with a terrific woman I knew 20 years ago who was a lesbian therapist. She bought completely into the satanic ritual abuse hysteria of the times. Her partner was much more skeptical (it must have been the partner's background in journalism, back in the era when skepticism was valued in journalism). The therapist made a reference to a famous satanic ritual abuse case in our area, which had been disproven. The partner mentioned that the judge in the case determined that no abuse had happened and without missing a beat, the therapist said, "The judge is part of the satanic ritual abuse network!" Cuz, you know, the perps were EVERYWHERE.
Believe me, it was even harder then to put rationality into such discussions than it is now. A skeptic would be accused of "dishonoring" the survivor. (The "a slap in the face" line we keep hearing in this current discussion.) Worse, skeptics were "part of the network of satanic ritual abusers".
There is such a thin membrane between sanity and insanity.
It really is worth looking at the Wikipedia entry on "The Courage to Heal." I can't stress the importance of how foundational the book was in building the abuse survivor cottage industry. Worth noting is the refusal of the authors to remove references to the completely discredited trope of "satanic ritual abuse" in the many reprints the book has had. I start to hyperventilate when I read this stuff.
I recall a conversation with a terrific woman I knew 20 years ago who was a lesbian therapist. She bought completely into the satanic ritual abuse hysteria of the times. Her partner was much more skeptical (it must have been the partner's background in journalism, back in the era when skepticism was valued in journalism). The therapist made a reference to a famous satanic ritual abuse case in our area, which had been disproven. The partner mentioned that the judge in the case determined that no abuse had happened and without missing a beat, the therapist said, "The judge is part of the satanic ritual abuse network!" Cuz, you know, the perps were EVERYWHERE.
Believe me, it was even harder then to put rationality into such discussions than it is now. A skeptic would be accused of "dishonoring" the survivor. (The "a slap in the face" line we keep hearing in this current discussion.) Worse, skeptics were "part of the network of satanic ritual abusers".
There is such a thin membrane between sanity and insanity.
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