Satanic Ritual Abuse
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David 
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda
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| Post subject: Satanic Ritual Abuse |  |
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In order to cut down on the costs of our brief trip to Tasmania, Lola and I elected to 'couch-surf' — a phenomenon in which people offer up their couches or spare bedrooms to strangers free of charge for a night or two. While all of our hosts were generous and interesting to talk to, one in particular raised a topic I'd never even heard of, let alone discussed before.
A 55 year-old single woman living alone in an old house up on the north coast, she came across as intelligent, well-read and articulate. After Lola went to bed we had an interesting, far-ranging conversation about environmentalism, religion, education and body image. The topic turned to cults, at which point she revealed that she had been raised in a cult herself.
Like most, I am aware of the fact that cults exist — from high-profile corrupt organisations like Scientology to small, Heaven's-Gate-esque communes to shadier 'mainstream' groups such as the Exclusive Brethren — and I have heard of some of the awful things that can happen in some of these groups. What our host described, however, seemed even more disturbing still: child sacrifice, rape, cannibalism, Satanic liturgies — it seemed like something out of some B-grade horror film from the '60s. And yet, I had no reason to doubt the veracity of her claims. She seemed sincere enough, and I could only presume that what she referred to as 'ritual abuse' was a real (albeit surely obscure) phenomenon. She had even penned a book about her experiences. We took a copy.
Our curiosity piqued, we decided to do some research when we got back to Melbourne. What we found was remarkable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_Abuse
| Quote: | | Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organised abuse, sadistic ritual abuse and other variants) was a moral panic that originated in the United States in the 1980s, spreading throughout the country and eventually to many parts of the world, before subsiding in the late 1990s. Allegations of SRA involved reports of physical and sexual abuse of individuals in the context of occult or Satanic rituals. At its most extreme definition, SRA involved a worldwide conspiracy involving the wealthy and powerful of the world elite in which children were abducted or bred for sacrifices, pornography and prostitution. |
| Quote: | The SRA panic repeated many of the features of historical moral panics and conspiracy theories such as the blood libel against Jews by Apion in the 30s AD, Christians in the Roman empire, later allegations of a Jewish conspiracy alleging the killing of Christian babies and desecration of the Eucharist, the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. Allegations of horrific acts by outsider groups — including cannibalism, child murder, torture and incestuous orgies — may have served as a form of "Othering" for minority groups, as well scapegoating to provide simple explanations to complex problems in times of social disruption. Torture and imprisonment were used by authority figures to coerce confessions from alleged Satanists, confessions that were later used to justify their execution. Records of these older allegations were linked by contemporary proponents in an effort to demonstrate the contemporary Satanic cults were part of an ancient conspiracy of evil, though ultimately there is no evidence for devil-worshipping cults in Europe at any time. A more immediate precedent to the context of the United States was McCarthyism in the 1950s.
The underpinnings for the contemporary moral panic were found in a rise of five factors in the years leading up to the 1980s: The establishment of Fundamentalist Christianity and political organization of the Moral Majority; the rise of the Anti-cult movement which spread ideas of abusive cults kidnapping and brainwashing children and teens; the appearance of the Church of Satan and other explicitly Satanist groups that added a kernel of truth to the existence of Satanic cults; the appearance of the child abuse industry and a group of professionals dedicated to the protection of children; and the popularization of posttraumatic stress disorder, repressed memory and corresponding survivor movement. |
| Quote: | In the early 1980s, during the implementation of mandatory reporting laws there was an exponential increase in child protection investigations in America, Britain and other developed countries and an increased public awareness of child abuse. The investigation of incest allegations in California was also changed, with cases led by social workers using leading and coercive interviewing techniques avoided by police investigators, and alterations to the prosecution of these cases that resulted in a greater number of confessions in exchange for plea bargains from fathers.
Shortly thereafter some children in child protection cases began making allegations of horrific physical and sexual abuse by caregivers within organized rituals, disclosing sexual abuse in Satanic rituals and the use of Satanic symbols, garnering the label "satanic ritual abuse" in the media and among professionals. Childhood memories of similar abuse began to appear in the psychotherapy sessions of adults.
In 1983 charges were laid in the McMartin preschool trial, a major case in California, which received attention throughout the United States, and contained allegations of satanic ritual abuse. The case caused tremendous polarization in how to interpret the evidence that was available, and shortly after more than 100 preschools across the country had similar sensationalist allegations eagerly and uncritically reported by the press. Throughout the trial the media coverage against the defendants (Peggy McMartin and Ray Buckey) was unrelentingly negative, focusing only on statements by the prosecution. Smith and other alleged survivors met with parents involved in the trial, and it is believed that they influenced testimony against the accused.
Kee MacFarlane, a social worker employed by the Children's Institute International, developed a new way to interrogate children with anatomically correct dolls and used them in an effort to assist disclosures of abuse with the McMartin children. After asking the children to point to the places on the dolls where they had allegedly been touched and asking leading questions, she diagnosed sexual abuse in virtually all McMartin children, and coerced disclosures using lengthy interviews which rewarded discussions of abuse and punished denials; testimony during the trial was often contradictory and vague on all details except for the assertion that the abuse had occurred. Though the initial charges featured allegations of Satanic abuse and a vast conspiracy, these features were dropped relatively early in the trial and prosecution continued only for non-ritual allegations of child abuse against only two individuals. After three years of testimony, McMartin and Buckey were acquitted on 52 of 65 counts, and the jury was deadlocked on the remaining 13 charges against Buckey, with 11 of 13 jurors choosing not guilty. Buckey was re-charged and two years later released without conviction. |
| Quote: | The majority of adult testimonials occurred as a result of adults undergoing psychotherapy, in most cases therapy designed to elicit memories of SRA. Therapists claimed the pain expressed by the patients, internal consistency of their stories and similarity of allegations by different patients was evidence for SRA, but despite this, the disclosures of patients never resulted in any corroboration; allegations of alleged victims that were obtained from mental health practitioners lacked verifiable evidence, were anecdotal and involved incidents that were years or decades old. The concern for therapists revolved around the pain of their clients, which is for them more important than the truth of their patients' statements. A sample of 29 patients in a medical clinic reporting SRA found no corroboration of the claims in medical records or in discussion with family members. and a survey of 2709 American therapists found the majority of allegations of SRA came from only sixteen therapists, suggesting that the determining factor in a patient making allegations of SRA was the therapist's predisposition. Further, the alleged similarities between patient accounts (particularly between adults and children) turned out to be illusory upon review, with adults describing far more elaborate, severe and bizarre abuse than children. Bette Bottoms, who reviewed hundreds of claims of adult and child abuse, described the ultimate evidence for the abuse as "astonishingly weak and ambiguous" particularly given the severity of the alleged abuse. Therapists however, were found to believe patients more as the allegations became more bizarre and severe.
In cases where patients made claims that were physically impossible, or evidence found by police was contradictory, the details reported will often change. If patients pointed to a spot where a body was buried, but no body was found and no earth was disturbed, therapists resort to special pleading, saying the patient was hypnotically programmed to direct investigators to the wrong location, or that they were fooled by the cult into believing a crime was not committed. If alleged bodies were cremated and police point out ordinary fires are inadequate to completely destroy a body, stories include special industrial furnaces. The patients' allegations change and creatively find "solutions" to objections. |
| Quote: | | By 2003 allegations of ritual abuse were met with great skepticism and belief in SRA is no longer considered mainstream in professional circles |
Do any Nicksters remember when this was a big deal back in the '80s? It seems like it was not only widely reported, but considered a genuine, troubling phenomenon. Elsewhere in the article it's stated that police investigation prioritised 'ritual abuse' cases over all other child abuse allegations. I just find this all totally inconceivable.
WPT, RR and others: have you come across this in your work? Do you think there could be a grain of truth to these allegations? Or is it possible that our host, like so many others, is simply a victim of implanted memories?
_________________
All watched over by machines of loving grace
Last edited by David on Sat Jul 28, 2012 3:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Nick - Pie Man
Joined: 04 Aug 2010
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| So that's why Satanism was considered such a scary and evil thing when I was growing up. I never understood what the big deal was. |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda
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Did you hear much about it? Do you remember your parents talking about it, or news pieces?
_________________
All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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3.14159 
Joined: 12 Sep 2009
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A friend of mine has told some of the horrible things that were done to her growing-up in Jerhova's Witness's household. She was beaten and starved when-ever she showed un-godly habits and inclinations. She suffers from obsesive compulsive dis-order, bi-polarism and host of other ...quirks.
Last edited by 3.14159 on Sat Jul 28, 2012 9:02 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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stui magpie 
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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From memory there wasn't a lot of stuff in the papers or TV news in the 80's about satanic cults, at least not in Australia.
I have memories of fringe crap happening in the USA around music, where the god botherers were getting their knickers in a twist about the so called heavy rock music. References to AC-DC standing for "Anti Christ - Devil Christ" and KISS was supposedly an acronym for Knights In Satans Service.
May have been a deeper issue causing the paranoia, or it could have just been the Conservative bible belt.
It was a little harder to get information before the internet.
_________________
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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Nick - Pie Man
Joined: 04 Aug 2010
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| David wrote: | | Did you hear much about it? Do you remember your parents talking about it, or news pieces? |
Unfortuantely no. I was born in 81. My only memories consist of me being scared of evil bad men who worship the devil. Thanks to my parents, who tried to raise me to be a 'good boy' by telling me that people who play the electric guitar are evil and that Bart Simpson was the devil.
Not kidding.
The devil worshippers aren't the only ones with strange ideas about raising kids.
As to your topic - Satan worship is still practiced by some members of the wealthy elite. I know a couple... |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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^
So now you're a Collingwood supporter, Simpsons fan and are learning to play the electric guitar?
_________________
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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| Are you a student? |
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And
Joined: 02 Jun 2012
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No satanic cults around us in the 80's but we did have a family of Orange people in our street.
60 minutes loved that stuff in the 80's. |
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Nick - Pie Man
Joined: 04 Aug 2010
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| Guitars are useless without other musicians nearby. My massive ego only allows me to play the piano |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda
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| Nick - Pie Man wrote: | | As to your topic - Satan worship is still practiced by some members of the wealthy elite. I know a couple... |
That's very interesting — how much do you know about them, and what does their Satan-worship constitute?
I ask because the woman we stayed with claimed that these cults mostly consist of academics and politicians. Perhaps there is some truth to this after all?
I wasn't allowed to watch The Simpsons either, btw. 
_________________
All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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Skids 
Quitting drinking will be one of the best choices you make in your life.
Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Location: Joined 3/6/02 . Member #175
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There's an evil monkey in my cupboard!
_________________
Don't count the days, make the days count. |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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| Nick - Pie Man wrote: | | Guitars are useless without other musicians nearby. My massive ego only allows me to play the piano |
So you're Elton and I'm billy?
_________________
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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ronrat
Joined: 22 May 2006
Location: Thailand
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Show me a man preaching morals and I will show you a despot.
Angus Young
Look at the people accusing us of being devil worshippers. Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Bakker. Where are they now, in gaol for morals crimes.
Brian Johnson
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Annoying opposition supporters since 1967. |
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swoop42 
Whatcha gonna do when he comes for you?
Joined: 02 Aug 2008
Location: The 18
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From what I've heard and read over the years the whole Satanic cult claims were found to be totally false by the F.B.I
_________________
He's mad. He's bad. He's MaynHARD! |
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