João C. Sooter, 19, São Paulo, Brazil.
Second-generation member of the Family International.

OH MY GOD!!! Could it really be true? It must be since so many are saying it, I mean there are tons of people (I’m not sure exactly how many, maybe only 5 or 10, but surely that must be enough) out there (on the WEB somewhere) who claim to have been “there” (please don’t ask “where” because I have no idea myself) and know what “really” happened, thus I really must’ve wasted my whole life in an abusive “sex cult.”

I must clarify here that the members of this “terrible cult” are also part of the “Men in Black” and once they’ve abused me they flash their little “neuralizer” at me and I thus forget everything. But now that these friends of mine—who by the way are extremely worried about my personal well being since they were “there” (???)—showed me the light, no longer will I be deluded, I will break free! I will be “de-neuralized”!

But wait, somehow or another as much as I try to convince myself that I truly have been abused, and that my real memories were stolen from me by a “neutralizer.” I still have extremely vivid memories of all sorts of fun, enjoyable, and memorable events that transpired with the exact same people who I’m told were treating me abusively. Could that possibly be true? I guess maybe it was what those “evil” people told me to believe once I had been “neuralized” by them.

I’ve got to find Jeebs, he is the only one who holds the key to the truth and can de-neuralize me, then and only then will I know what transpired in my childhood.

However I must admit that it still seems kind of preposterous, but I guess I could believe it since these friends—who care so much about me—told me so. But I still can’t seem to find a “neuralizer” in order to prove it all, even though I’m “all grown up” and thus haven’t been subject to it any more, unless maybe every time I do find one I unknowingly flash myself with it and thus can’t remember a thing, I suppose that might be a viable possibility.

Something just doesn’t seem to fit though; it’s like if there’s a “missing link” or something, because most of the story is quite believable except for the fact that everyone involved is quite nameless!!! Untold numbers have been abused, and many more are continuing to suffer such treatments every day (???), but who exactly are we talking about? Can you name someone?

I know for a fact that I have never been abused, I also know for a fact that there have been plenty of people my age around the world who suffer abuses daily—the same ones you say happened to me and you—and if you were to really think about it the few incidents that may or may not have happened—leaning more toward NOT since everyone is so… nameless—are really blown WAY out of proportion when you state that the Family at large is wrong, considering the amount of Family members and the amount of people who claim to have been “abused and mistreated.”

I’ve also come to see that hatred and bitterness could lead anyone—even me—to do what Ricky did because once you start down that road it’s friggin’ hard to turn around—but it’s not impossible. It is most definitely crushing to your pride and that hurts, but it can be done. The reason that so few do it is simply because it’s just too humbling to face the facts, and much easier to keep coming up with new accusations and complaints, even if they are totally unfounded, with the sole purpose of justifying their reasons for hate.

The curious thing about all this is that I’m accused of being brainwashed, even though I have hung on to my beliefs—what I’ve been taught since babyhood—and stuck it out in the Family—despite peer pressure and accusations from a few. Whereas these apostates seem to have come up with a whole new thought system once they started congregating with those who hate us. That’s when I begin to really wonder who’s been brainwashing who?!

My conclusion is simply this, I love this way of life and I’m not about to trade it for anything—not even if I found a “neuralizer”—or a “de-neuralizer” for that matter. Even though I’ve considered leaving the Family in the past, and carrying on a “normal” life so that I could be free from all the “awful” rules and regulations—such as “don’t do drugs,” “love one another,” and “thou shalt not kill”—that I was “forced” to adhere to, I’ve concluded that this is the best possible place to be, and that I want nothing more than to serve God and mankind in the Family.

So why not just leave the past behind. Move on with life—what’s that web site called  —and make the most out of it all, I’m sure everyone will be better for it since there’s tons to be done just making a living, and even more so if you have the slightest desire to help others. I wish you could understand how much I love you guys and pray for you all.

I have no desire to hide my face or remain behind a featureless mask—thus nameless—but rather I stand by all that I have said here and will defend my Family with everything that I posses. If God be for us who could be against us!!!

João C. Sooter, 19, São Paulo, Brazil