From Gabriel Glaser (age 25), South Africa

I’m a second generation member of the Family, and like most people I was shocked and saddened to hear of Angela’s murder and Ricky’s subsequent suicide. Unfortunately I have to say most people, as I’ve seen articles and internet postings that not only condone this vicious murder, but go on to call for more! In my book anyone who can coldly praise a murderer and say that they wish he had managed to kill even more is about as sick as they come, and these are the same people who are now gleefully sending you their malicious slander.

I know their supposedly “true life stories” are shocking, and I realize that this is a juicy story that is just too good to miss, but I want to give you the opportunity to hear the other side as well.

To be honest at first I had trouble believing the news. The problem was that I knew Ricky personally, and the thought of him committing a cruel, painful, cold blooded murder was just unimaginable! It was hard to think of someone that I had counted as a friend committing murder, and certainly not someone who had grown up in the Family like I did, as in our communities physical violence of any kind is practically unheard of.

Another reason for my disbelief was that my childhood was spent in World Service Centers in much the same way as Ricky’s was. From the time I was born until I was 11 years old I was raised in a WS home, so in many ways I think I can say that my childhood experiences were comparable to his. Where I get confused is where all these juicy “abuse” stories come from, as I never saw or experienced any form of abuse as I was growing up.

I had a very happy childhood, probably an idyllic one by the world’s standards. I was loved, cared for, well educated, every need I ever had was met; frankly I think that if you and I were to compare our childhood experiences you would be the one to come away envious! I traveled all over the world enjoying the best of many countries, and I’ve done and seen more in my 25 years than most people do in three lifetimes! I’ve lived in 10 countries and visited many more, and before I hear our detractor’s cries of “Poor child! He never had a place to call home, never had friends…” Oh please! Do you have any idea how fun that was? I had the time of my life traveling and learning new cultures, and as for friends, I have them all over the world!

Now I’m sure that the tantalizing allegations of sexual abuse are far more interesting than hearing about my childhood, but I wanted to give you some sense of balance to the junk you’re hearing. For the record: I was never abused in any way, nor was anyone that I lived with.

How did I know Ricky? His name was Pete at the time and I lived with him in England when I was 20 for about six months. Just a short time before that he had been living with his mother, and I’m sure that he had a pretty good recollection of his life with her at the time I lived with him. The reason I say that is simple – somehow his story has changed drastically from the time I knew him. He was happy, he enjoyed life, and he had only good to say about his mom, the Family, and his upbringing.

He was an intelligent man; I lost to him in chess at least two times out of three! I can still remember helping him hide the engagement ring he wanted to surprise Elixir with, and to make a long story short, he was my friend.

How did he go from being a happy, sane man to a lunatic committing a terrible murder? How did he go from someone who loved his mother to someone who wanted to find and kill her? I don’t know how it’s possible for someone to change so drastically, but all I know for certain is what I saw in my own life. The Family that both I and Ricky grew up in was a wonderful place, full of loving and caring people who did their level best to protect us from anything that could have caused us harm.

My parents loved me, cared for me, taught me the joy of bringing salvation to others, and gave me the best start in life that any child could wish for. The people that I’ve lived with in World Service homes, as well as everywhere that I’ve been since then have been wonderful people who never, ever, showed me anything but love and kindness. Now these same people are being accused of the worst crimes imaginable, and I want to set the record straight. I for one intend to continue as a member of the Family for as long as I live, and one day when I have children of my own I can only hope that with the help of the Family I will be able to give them a childhood as wonderful as mine was.

Sincerely,
Gabriel Glaser

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2005 and is filed under Speaking Out, By Age, Where From, Those who knew them, With Photo, 25 to 35, Africa, Archived, Unspecified. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.