Volunteer duty: support ritual abuse c

From page 14

says thar his impetus to write his monograph on the sub- ject was the dramatic inci- dence of MPD in North America relative to its virtual absence elsewhere in rhe world.

Canadian psychiatrist

Harold Merskey, who pub- lished an extensive historical review of the syndrome, concluded that no case has been found where MPD emerged without any shap- ing or preparation by exter- nal factors such as physicians or the media.

The research done by another Canadian, Nicholas

Spanos, goes a long way in explaining the social role being played out, unwitting- ly, by patients respandirig to subtle cues of MPD.

Just as thase possessed by demons played a social role well known to the average person of earlier times, so

MPD patients are sufficiently

artuned to the story of Sybil

and the culture of the Oprah menagerie to play along with a therapist’s suggestions.

Back ac the NSCSS, I had voiced my concerns over the dissemination of the ritual abuse and MPD folklore to volunteers. But I was on quicksand.

Gloria Steinem, the mother of the feminist

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Sunday, June 28, 1998 - North Shore News - 19°

movement, has personally embraced recovered memo- ries and ritual abuse allega- tions as an appropriate metaphor for the eppression of women,

Feminist and pro-child pretenses have been coupled to recovered-memory claims for so Jong, that even pro- gressives like civil libertarians

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*elear,

aims haven’t exactly rushed to the defence of those accused.

Not to mention the judi- cial tilt towards the accusers. By sticking with this ruse, the self-appointed represen- tatives of women are rolling back the clock and promot- ing women as helpless vic- tims of male oppression.

As a volunteer, my duty was not to challenge but to support ritual-abuse claims- makers, preferably not in red or black attire.

Apparently, for the sur- vivor of ritual abuse, these colors can be a fife-threaten- ing message from the high- priests of darkness.

In any case, if the promo- - tion of mythical thinking in organizations that serve our community, doesn’t get your blood up, the fact chat this riff is supported by some of your tax doflars should.

And if you still can’t work up a sweat, remember,

> what we have here is the

zero-sum-game of resource

“allocation.

_For every self-styled vic~

tim embraced, areal victim”

is turned away, Footnote: To date, the NSCSS hasn’t changed its “readings” on the topic. Ir.

_ plans on some updating. -

What kind of updating isn *t

— Mana Mercer i ira North Shore. ivriter. |

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