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Mx. Luna CorbdenWhile we're interpreting the Pope's death right after Vance's visit in a certain humorous way, you'd better believe that a significant number of anti-Catholic evangelicals and Mormons will see it as Vance single-handedly conquering the church of the devil.🤷<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#USPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/religion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#religion</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvie" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvie</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvangelical" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvangelical</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenAlso the economic system of Zion, The United Order, is basically communism, which the LDS Church fights tooth and nail.The lyrics to John Lennon's Imagine basically described how things would be in New Jerusalem, and as a child this was crystal clear to me. (No religion either, because everyone would believe the same thing because Bro Jesus is like *right there*, so that's just "reality".)But John Lennon was a hippie pinko commie so I was supposed to hate him. This was in fact one of the earliest items on my shelf. I might have been 7 when I had these thoughts. I never did, in fact, hate John Lennon. I mean, how can you?<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenI explored some of the logic of Zion awhile back, but more to do with power structures.What does it say of a God that erases nearly all trace of a city that managed to eradicate poverty and abuses of power? Such that any knowledge of *how* they did it no longer exists, so that anyone hoping to replicate it will have to start from scratch?If you've never been Mormon, keep in mind that Mormons do hope to replicate Zion. But that's kind of difficult when its leadership and perhaps even its God keeps putting up barriers.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenWait, so if the Curse of Cain was a "skin of blackness," and Enoch was the son of Cain, then the City of Enoch, aka Zion, was a city founded by a Black man. Yes, that city, the one so righteous ("there were no poor among them") it got lifted up into heaven...🤔 <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenAlong the lines of what I've been saying about asking questions, being curious and promoting curiosity, avoiding talking points, and sticking to core values in discussion.This applies to political dogma as well."The only thing that can get someone to think critically about their dogma is to think about their foundation for the dogmas, which is their sense of themselves, their worldview, and their social identities that are important to them."(Probably paraphrased slightly.)<a href="https://youtu.be/lzr_1jEkq7Y" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/lzr_1jEkq7Y</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/MindControl" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MindControl</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Manipulation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Manipulation</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/religion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#religion</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/CriticalThinking" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CriticalThinking</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/psychology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#psychology</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenTo literalist promotors of life-dictating takes from the Bible, remember Christ's Pearl-Swine corollary:Do not cast your costume jewelry before scholars.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/TheCostumeJewelryOfGreatPrice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TheCostumeJewelryOfGreatPrice</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenAn excerpt from the most recent issue of ICSA Today, on how to help someone escape coercive indoctrination, by Dr. Janja Lalich, one of the cult researchers I quote in Recovering Agency.In short, DON'T PREACH. DON'T ARGUE. Instead, show someone what having a choice looks like."Effective Intervention Approaches"1. Creating Safe Spaces for Ambivalence: Rather than demanding immediate recognition of abuse or control, effective intervention allows people to safely explore their doubts without threatening their entire meaning system at once. This might mean supporting someone in questioning specific practices while temporarily accepting their continued commitment to the group’s core beliefs."2. Reconnecting with One’s Pre-Group Identity: Helping individuals reconnect with aspects of their identity that preceded their involvement in the totalistic environment. This isn’t about erasing their experience but about expanding their frame of reference beyond the bounded system. I describe this as doing something that will hopefully tug at their emotional heart strings, reawakening thoughts, feelings, memories that have been suppressed by the group’s indoctrination processes."3. Addressing Practical Constraints: Understanding that bounded choice operates through both ideological and practical constraints. Effective intervention often requires addressing concrete obstacles to leaving—financial dependencies, fear of social isolation, lack of practical life skills—along with psychological barriers."4. Building Alternative Support Systems: Recognizing that totalistic environments become self-reinforcing partly because they meet real human needs for belonging and meaning. Intervention must include helping individuals find alternative sources for these needs."<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/MindControl" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MindControl</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#USPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenEssentially that's what my <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> model does. It addresses those beliefs, not just within an individual survivor, but for all of us, in how we help abusers with our language, beliefs, preferences, in who we choose to defend, in our moral systems, in our laws and biases.I've taken what I've learned from my own abuse recovery and therapy of many years, my studies on psychology and trauma, but most importantly, from learning about cults, high-demand groups, coercive persuasion, and religious trauma recovery, and merged those into a unified theory.There really isn't much difference between domestic abuse and cult membership.And cult recovery involves deconstructing those beliefs, making yourself aware of them so that you can consciously choose which to keep and which to throw away.I've been out of Mormonism for 24 years, and I still find beliefs I have not been aware of this whole time. I've been away from my worst abuser for almost a decade, and still find beliefs he instilled in me that I have not yet examined.The undue influence techniques used by cults are almost identical to those used by abusers and manipulators. These techniques are used at the societal and political levels as well, and can also demonstrate how racism, sexism, etc all work.I can't tell you specifically which beliefs you have in you, but I can show you the purposes they serve... there will be beliefs about who you can and cannot trust, what you should be afraid of, what punishments await you for misbehaving, and a couple dozen others. Knowing that framework can guide you through discovering your own induced phobias, milieu control, and thought-terminating clichés.(Brief plug for my book, Recovering Agency, which outlines 31 manipulation techniques in context of Mormonism, but that can be applied elsewhere.)<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Abuse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Abuse</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/PTSD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PTSD</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/CPTSD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CPTSD</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/cults" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#cults</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/MindControl" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MindControl</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenThere's an aspect of <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/CPTSD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CPTSD</a> I don't see much discussed or even studied, but you can bet that whoever is causing the CPTSD thinks of it this way, either with conscious awareness or not:Behavior modification.That's what really separates PTSD, say from a random act of violence, from complex PTSD that affects almost every area of one's life.CPTSD is a result of a behavior modification program. An abuser or abusive system conditioned you to believe and behave a certain way, often many sets of behaviors across most areas of your life. That's what makes something a cult or a high-demand group. That's what makes for a domestic abuse situation – it's in the things they force you to do.The recovery focus tends to be on the trauma itself -- ok we're in sympathetic nervous state, let's unpack triggers, get coping skills, EMDR, meditation, calm you down. Fine.But rarely (outside of cult exit counseling) have I seen much focus on the BELIEFS an abuser or system has instilled in us. Beliefs that modify behavior. That sense that if I touch a hot stove I'll be burned, but it's not a stove, it's normal everyday things that I can't avoid and I'm wandering an inescapable maze of pain-points.Address the beliefs themselves.It's a major gap in how PTSD is treated in our culture. EVEN the helping professional community is so bogged down in these abuse culture assumptions (that trauma is "in the past," that the abusers are no longer present, that it's just a nervous system thing, just process the trauma events) that they often ignore the set of interlocking ever-present beliefs, and they ignore the very aspects of society we're just supposed to tolerate (bad workplaces, chronic stress, toxic religious beliefs).What did my abuser make me *believe* about myself? What did my toxic religion make me believe about the world? How do I view reality through an abuser-provided lens?<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fascism</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/antifa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#antifa</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Abuse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Abuse</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/PTSD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PTSD</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a>

Mx. Luna Corbdenlol looks like I was on about this last week when I was editing these letters. Probably the same letter. Because the behavior of a bishop and stake president towards a child in this case is not excusable. *I* am angry at them and I wasn't even there.But I do understand that impulse to excuse and lay palm fronds in the path of my abusers. Very, very much.<a href="https://defcon.social/@corbden/114275598543827504" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://defcon.social/@corbden/114275598543827504</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fascism</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/antifa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#antifa</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Abuse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Abuse</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenI'm at the stage of my work researching and writing about abuse and religious trauma, where whenever I read something like, "I'm sure they had the best of intentions," I become appalled and amazed at the dissociation people carry, their utter naiveté, like all the abusers are somewhere "out there," mysterious beings we never meet and only hear about, but never the people we know or occupying positions of power we respect. If one or two of every ten people is on the Dark Triad of personality disorders, and even more are abusers, then statistically, naw hun, there's a very good chance they did, in fact, do it intentionally or were driven by dark impulses. That draconian policy is there for a reason. That clergy you're writing to begging for leniency is actually a bonafide asshole. He's not merely ignorant, but is getting off on this horrible process, and very likely laughing at your innocence, how easily misled you are.I see a reflection of my old self, and how such views kept me going back for more, if not from the first person who had finally proved themself as an abuser, then from the next person or system, ready to give the worst people the best benefit of the doubt until they proved themselves beyond a shadow of a doubt. Until I finally saw the connections between them all and learned not just some of the red flags, but ALL of them.I give no more excuses for harmful behavior. Even if I misjudge bad behavior as abuse when it's really just ignorance, letting someone with truly good intentions off the hook helps no one either. Accountability for EVERYONE. Even myself and the harm I've done. I answer for it and improve.Our programming runs deep. That's my goal in talking about the <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> model. If you're not woke to how it all works, then you're a flying monkey, an enabler, a dupe, a sucker, an accomplice. That's how THEY see you. So wise up. There's no other way to fight back.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fascism</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/antifa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#antifa</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Abuse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Abuse</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenBut that's just a (conspiracy) THEORY!<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/UTPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UTPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/HandsOff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HandsOff</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenThere's a reason why cults can get away with just about any crime in this society. And it isn't the First Amendment.Cults serve an important function for the establishment:They get passionate, principled people out of circulation, directing all that Change-the-World energy towards bullshit. Cults protect the status quo.(You'll notice it's generally only the cults with large arsenals that they ever go after. I see you Janet Reno.)<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/UTPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UTPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/HandsOff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HandsOff</a>

Mx. Luna Corbdenidk I guess I'd like to think that some of the folks in that photo read Recovering Agency, got over a bunch of their pain and confusion, and were able to attend that protest because of it.Based on feedback I've gotten in the past, this is very likely true.And that's why I want to restore my health, so I can do more of that. That's my calling. That's what stirs my spirit.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Mormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/LDS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LDS</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#USPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/UTPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UTPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/HandsOff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HandsOff</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenThat said, there's also a lot of authoritarianism running through Mormon doctrines, and those with authoritarian mindsets glom onto those ideals instead.They have their eye on a Utah theocracy, just like ol' Brother Brigham once ruled over. And many of them are in Utah government and police. So I also wouldn't be surprised if that comes to blows.The prophecy about separating the wheat from the chaff has never felt so poignant, so imminent. <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Mormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/LDS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LDS</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#USPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/UTPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UTPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/HandsOff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HandsOff</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenThat photo of the Utah protest keeps going around. Social media and news outlets are all surprised for some reason.I'm not. Not at all. That's because 1. I was raised LDS and know the fire they implanted in people like me to stand for what is right, and 2. I've followed activism in Mormon spaces for the last two decades, and know that when educated on these issues, nuanced Mormons and exmormons bring all that fire with them. They've been largely working within Mormon spaces to change the Church and help those wounded by it, and have accomplished amazing things, moving the mountain that is the world's wealthiest religion with hardly a mustard seed.Most of the base values Mormonism teaches are perfect for anti-Trumpism. The Book of Mormon is anti-monarchy and pro-liberty. The driving core doctrine is "free agency." The world after Jesus returns is basically a functioning global commune.This is why I've chosen to work in this space as my own activism, my calling, to heal Mormons and exmormons of their trauma, teach them critical thinking, educate them on these issues, expose them to progressive ideas, and then they'll have the energy for changing the wider world. We were reared to change the world, pushed to magnify our talents, taught to be leaders, shown how to organize, and then they chained us to a hamster wheel of useless activity that did the opposite of changing the world. Once released from that hamster wheel, we are a force to be reckoned with.So yeah, folks in Utah are gonna show up. Don't underestimate the Mormons.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/HandsOff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HandsOff</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/UTPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UTPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#USPol</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/LDS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LDS</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/Mormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenAfter all, the God of the Christian Bible as widely interpreted is awfully authoritarian. You couldn't find a better example of squishy principles, double-standards, might makes right, the ends justify the means, cruelty is the point, justice as defined by punishment, punishment that vastly outsizes the crime, transactional love, exclusion as a definitive value, hierarchy based on birthright as the perfect system, torture as a test of character, speaking love but not practicing it...Almighty makes Alrighty. It's a perfect fit for abusers. They shaped God into that figure, as the Bible was being written thousands of years ago, in how it was translated and encoded into traditions centuries ago, and in how they interpret it today. Whether at the top of the chain as a prophet or pope, or in the downline as a impoverished drunk who beats his kids, authoritarians are preferenced in the religious culture that has claimed a monopoly on love and morality.And nobody really wins. Not the prophet or pope, and not the impoverished drunk or his kids. After a time, the system is the only entity that "wins" as it feeds on every human being involved.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvangelical" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvangelical</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvie" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvie</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenHave you ever thought to yourself, "You know, I could just *stop* trying to be a good person, or stop trying to do X thing they say I'm supposed to do... I could just lie and go on doing that thing"? And then you probably decided, naw, my reasons for doing the good thing are fairly solid, so I will keep trying to do what I'm supposed to even if it's hard."Yeah, there are people who take the other fork. They stop trying to be kind, or be honest, or be giving, or trying to protect the weak, or any of those things. They decide that so long as they don't *get caught* they'll be fine.Religion is supposed to help with that problem, because God knows everything and the myth goes that they'll be caught in the end. But there are many, many ways for a determined person to weasel their way out of that threat. Either they stop believing that myth and instead of leaving they stay and *pretend* to believe, or they rationalize that the ends according to them justify the means, or that they're inherently such a good person it's ok if they bend the rules now and then.They took a different fork than you took. And they exist. They're out there. Or *in here*, wherever here is to you. And they get very, very good a lying.Religious settings are perfect for them, because it's easier to lie about things that can't be seen, touched, heard, or proven. The Bible says this, God wants that, I had a dream, I felt prompted, and all the people who took the fork of continuing to try, but who believe the Bible and God? They eat it up. That's why Christianity in the US is a bastion of Abuse Culture. Because this cycle has been going on for thousands of years. <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvangelical" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvangelical</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvie" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvie</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenFor clarity, I am not dishing on the letter writers. Trust is not a crime. Naivety is not a crime. Giving one's best shot at defending someone from a miscarriage of spiritual justice is not a crime. Processing things with what you know about this world is not a crime. Their words will (editor willing) go into this book and stand as testament against religious authoritarianism, and against President Daley specifically. I am simply referencing their approach as a way to educate on how we do need to change our thinking, in that someone who acts the way Daley did is not persuadable using ideas like "compassion" because he doesn't understand that worldview the way you and I do. And we need to get wise to that so they can stop running the world.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvangelical" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvangelical</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvie" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvie</a>

Mx. Luna CorbdenLearning about the abuser mindset makes me read differently the arguments people make in seeking justice or trying to get people and systems to stop being abusive.When abuse is the point, "Stop doing this because it's harming people" won't work.My client, Natasha Helfer, was excommunicated from the LDS Church for a number of things, including calling out abuse of authority. I'm editing letters of support people sent that Stake President, for inclusion in the book. They're like, "I'm a true believer, please don't excommunicate Sister Helfer, this is how she helped me escape abuse, or helped my daughter process her assault, or helped my gay kid, or saved my mental health from debilitating shame," and I'm reading them with President Daley's authoritarian mind (yeah, sue me, prick, your actions are clear), or with the mind of "the system," and like, naw, hun, this will not phase an abuser, who thinks you deserved it, your child needs to change, that guy is an acceptable casualty for the Lord, and haha you suckers you haven't even begun to figure out how this works, have you?And I was thinking last night about the word "predator" while watching a homesteading show. Where the bears and cougars had people crying and ready to give up. You think "predator" is an insult to someone who does those things to women and kids? Naw, hun, that's a BADGE OF HONOR to some of those creeps. They like people crying and running around helplessly failing to stop them. They get off more on that than on the predation. Even better when they can trick a congregation full of "christlike" people to defend them and heap further abuse on a victim.Some abusers are unconscious, and maybe this kind of language might sway them or at least shame them. For sure. But the ones who are fully aware of who they are? Who have created an entire worldview around their impulses? All of this pain and chaos is the point.That's <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AbuseCulture</a>.<a href="https://defcon.social/tags/ReligiousTrauma" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReligiousTrauma</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmo</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exmormon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exmormon</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvangelical" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvangelical</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/exvie" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exvie</a>

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