Name: Jonathan Brown
Age: 20
Location: Mexico (Mexico State)
Nationality: Canadian/Italian

First thing I want to say is to tell all of you who posted on this site to Rock on, keep the faith and keep serving Jesus Christ in spite of any who would try to stop us or deter us from our mission of changing this world as best we can. And to those who are no longer in The Family, I admire and thank you. Rock on likewise.

On the subject of abuse, I myself was never abused and neither were any of the kids that grew up with me. I lived for over 5 years in what we called a “Combo” which happened to be one of the largest in Southern Europe, so the traffic going through that community was a fair amount. I never witnessed any abuse although I do remember a few of our teachers losing their patience at times and dishing out some corporal punishment I remember feeling wasn’t always fair. Anyone who really wants to get upset about a few extra spankings though should first try taking care of 15 rowdy kids and being with them 24/7 and then they can tell everyone how they were always just and fair.

Us kids had a great time at that school and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else. We were always surrounded by our friends and had constant input and fun experiences.

Overall I think my upbringing was just amazing and I want to thank all of you who helped raise me. I have my own kid now (the cutest and naughtiest in the world) and I’m convinced the Family is the best place to raise her.

I think the whole “let’s rescue the poor abused kids who were raised in the family” is a joke so ironic it’s almost funny. Just because a few people might have been abused or coerced into doing something they didn’t want does not mean there’s anything wrong with the Family. Is there something wrong with the Pope or the Catholics because a couple of his priests starting being perverts? What the Family stands for is more idealistic and world-changing than any other religious or non-religious entity that exists, and I’m gonna stand with it even if I have to die for it.

On a different subject, I get along great with most of the kids who grew up in the Family but are no longer an active part of it. We respect each others’ decision and it doesn’t stop us from hanging out and having a good time. In fact there’s a lot of people I’m dying to see but lack the money to fly over.

But there’s this small group of annoying squealers I want to address, who seem to have a depressing little grudge. I pity them because when you let something stop you from progressing and having a good life, well then, you don’t have much of a life at all. You’re just making excuses for why you can’t achieve a satisfactory life and as Benjamin Franklin put it: “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

Aristotle said, “Happiness depends on ourselves.”

Buddha said, “Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

Georgia O’Keeffe said, “Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.”

Pat Messiti said, “Who we are today is the result of yesterday’s choices. Who we will be tomorrow is the result of today’s decisions.”

Robert Collier said, “One comes to believe whatever one repeats to oneself sufficiently often, whether the statement be true or false. It comes to be a dominating thought in one’s mind.”

Bishop Steere said, “Do not think that what your thoughts dwell on does not matter. Your thoughts are making you.”

Obviously Ricky’s thoughts turned him into a murderer, nothing else. I’m convinced he wasn’t abused or harmed in any way, and I hope the negative tongue waggers who post crap and are egging each other on will take this tragedy as a lesson.

And to the loser who made that threatening call to Dan Johnson, I want to let you know that that guy is like a brother to me so if you want to pick a fight I’ll be right there. I don’t believe in violence but self-defense can be the only option at times so count me in. This site is thoroughly appreciated by the rest of us whose voices need to be heard so I guess you’ll just have to learn to live with it. I wouldn’t try to take down your website because I believe in freedom of speech so try and do the same if you can.

I’m not asking you to believe what I believe, you can think whatever you want, but we can be cordial about it and we definitely don’t need to be attacking each other over anything or be trying to ruin each others’ lives. Many of you have gone through similar experiences as I have in growing up and I sincerely love all of you who have passed through “The Family” at one time or another, including the squealers.

Why in the world I have to write this at 3 in the morning is insane, but then again, it feels great to be busy.