seeking_spirals said:
Thanks for posting this session. That was quite a series of unfortunate events and indeed a tragic story. But it is a very good real life example of that sort of dynamic and a good learning experience. And I must commend you all for your patience with them! Well I hope that Bob wont permanently leave the group. It would be a "battle won" by STS forces...
Well, the STS forces have won. Received the following from Bob this morning.
Bob said:
Sue and I will not be continuing with the group. We feel that you
don't have a clear picture of who Sue really is and because of that
you haven't shown her much respect. Without that there is no way to
move forward. There were also a number of factual errors in the intro
to the latest C session. We met in January of 2006 before I had become
a Sott editor and before I joined QFS in 2008 so there wouldn't have
been any asking for feedback from the group on relationships, etc. We
were also engaged before we came to Casstoberfest in 2007. We were just
thinking about getting married in France because we thought it would be
romantic.
We are also highly disturbed by yours and others comments about Johnny. We understand that you think you have our best interests at heart, but it isn’t working. Because this isn’t a good fit for the both of us we feel that it is in the best interests for all that we leave. No need to reply. Please unsubscribe us from the lists.
Sincerely,
Bob & Sue
Now, notice that he repeats again the legalistic nitpicking about when they met which he had sent to me earlier and which I had posted yesterday at the end of the intro post as an edit "ADDED". Obviously these small details that, in no way affect the substance of the problem, are all he has to hang onto.
What we see here is confused reasoning which is evidence of ponerization. Lobaczewski has the story of the characteropathic woman who dominated her brothers and they thought she was a saint, and I think the description is fairly close here.
Lobaczewski said:
The author studied an entire generation of older, educated, people wherein the source of such influence was the eldest sister who suffered perinatal damage of frontal centers. From early childhood, her four younger brothers assimilated pathologically altered psychological material, including their sister’s growing component of hysteria. They retained well into their sixties the deformities of personality and world view, as well as the hysterical features thus caused, whose intensity diminished in proportion to the greater difference in age. Subconscious selection of information made it impossible for them to apprehend any critical comments regarding their sister’s character; also, such comments were capable of offending family honor.
The brothers accepted as real their sister’s pathological delusions and complaints about her “bad” husband (who was actually a decent person) and her son, in whom she found a scapegoat to avenge her failures. They thereby participated in a world of vengeful emotions, considering their sister a completely normal person whom they were prepared to defend by the most unsavory methods, if need be, against any suggestion of her abnormality. They thought normal woman were insipid and naive, good for nothing but sexual conquest. Not one among the brothers ever created a healthy family or developed even average wisdom of life.
The character development of these people also included many other factors dependent upon the time and place in which they were reared: the turn of the century, with a patriotic Polish father and German mother who obeyed contemporary custom by formally accepting her husband’s nationality, but who still remained an advocate of the militarism, and customary accepting of the intensified hysteria, which covered Europe at the time. That was the Europe of the three Emperors: the splendor of three people with limited intelligence, two of whom revealed pathological traits. The concept of “honor” sanctified triumph. Staring at someone too long was sufficient pretext for a duel. These brothers were thus raised to be valiant duelists covered with saber-scars; however, the slashes they inflicted upon their opponents were more frequent and much worse.
When people with a humanistic education pondered the personalities of this family, they concluded that the causes for this formation should be sought in contemporary time and customs. If, however, the sister had not suffered brain damage and the pathological factor had not existed (exclusionary hypothesis), their personalities would have developed more normally even during those times. They would have become more critical and more amenable to the values of healthy reasoning and humanistic contents. They would have founded better families and received more sensible advice from wives more wisely chosen. As for the evil they sowed too liberally during their lives, it would either not have existed at all, or else would have been reduced to a scope conditioned by more remote pathological factors. {...}
Detailed analysis of the personality of the average person nearly always reveals certain results and certain difficulties caused by the effects upon him of some kind of pathological factor. If the activity was far removed or the factor relatively obvious, healthy common sense is better able to correct such effects. If the factor remains incomprehensible, the person has difficulty understanding the cause of his problems; he sometimes appears to remain a life-long slave of imaginings and patterns of response which originated under the influence of pathological individuals. Much the same occurred in the above-mentioned family, where the source of pathological induction was the eldest sister with perinatal damage of the prefrontal fields of her brain cortex. Even when she obviously abused her youngest child, her brothers attempted to interpret this in a paramoralistic manner, a sacrifice in the name of “family honor”.
One suspects that the Cs are right about Bob's "scars of the soul."
un chien anadolu said:
I wonder how did Sue become a member of the group in the first place ? Has she ever shown positive attitudes, contributions recognized and appreciated by others ?
She became a member because that's what Bob wanted. My guess is that she agreed with the covert intention of extracting him from the group because individuals like her are never satisfied unless they have total control over those around them. And, of course, this kind of control is built and exercised in the guise of "I do so much for you... for your own good... " and variations of the female vampire that is described in "Unholy Hungers". (Not to mention "In Sheep's Clothing.")
Críostóir said:
This experience with Bob and Sue seems to coincide with an unrelated experience I had on approximately the same dates. On Thursday, the 18th, I began to get really frustrated and anxious to the point that I couldn't study and do my homework. It seems like there might have been some slight background tension prior in the week, but, not to the point that I was seriously affected, or that it was very noticeable. Also, Wednesday night, the 17th, my son had difficulty sleeping and kept waking up crying, like he was having nightmares. My daughter and I also had troubling dreams that night. I don't remember them, but my wife said that I was thrashing about.
I think that would be circumstantial evidence of the waves being beamed that activated Sue and possibly that poor guy that flew his plane into the IRS building in Texas.
Críostóir said:
I thought that the occurrence on Wednesday might have been an indicator of hyper-dimensional phenomenon according to the research of John Keel in his book Operation Trojan Horse and The Eighth Tower.
Well, I thought I would relate this experience in case it might be useful.
It's certainly useful to consider as many factors as possible. And you may very well be right: it could have been hyperdimensional activation as well as 3D wave beaming activation.
Lauranimal said:
Thanks to you all for turning this unfortunate experience into a teaching tool for us all. My heart goes out to Sue, Bob & Baby. I cannot imagine the challenges ahead for them.
Actually, that was probably the cause of the emotional state of Sue that, along with any "beaming activity" put her into the state she was in when she read the email I wrote that she was sure was a direct attack on her. What is really sad is the fact that her denial of reality is so strong that she will sacrifice anything and anybody to keep it intact, even her infant.
When my kids were little, I was on the constant look-out for problems with the idea that if I spotted any, I would then figure out a way to solve them. Sue, on the other hand, is constantly alert to stave off any impression of problems for her own peace of mind. That means that problems that may be noted about her child will be shoved under the rug so that she can maintain her self-image as perfect. Because, of course, her child is an extension of herself and must be perfect too.
Very sad for the child.
LissyLou said:
The icing on the cake came last evening, when instead of simply packing and leaving for home as planned... She went to a bar, got drunk, couldn’t drive, got a ride, only because the fellow knew my husband and I and graciously agreed to drive her the 20 miles to our house. And then, invites the fellow to spend the night with her, in my house, without even consulting me! I had met the fellow twice, as he was a patron of our restaurant, but not someone I would consider a close friend. And certainly not somebody I would allow to stay in my home, uninvited.
My husband and I had to put our foot down, told her if she wanted to spend the night with him, why bring him here? Go to his place. So she dressed to leave and my husband said just pack everything and I am so sorry, you cannot stay here anymore.
Well, this is actually closer to the situation with Bob and Sue than one might initially think. Bob is "drunk" on emotional and sexual chemicals and his behavior is that of a man who has taken leave of his senses. Not very promising situation for a man who claims that he wants a family and wants to be the protector of that family.
Ennio said:
This whole event reminded me of the idea of
Conscious Suffering. Of choosing to act on some knowledge that is painful even to think about, simply because it is the right thing to do. And because it is done with the conscience of what it means to the people involved - in this case people in the groups that she works with, came to know and care about - the efforts required must have been ten times larger for that alone. Because even if Bob has some inkling of what all this means, Laura knows better than anyone - and is probably suffering
for them and their predicament.
So thank you, Laura. Who knows how many people will read what you wrote and prevent what's described from happening to themselves because of it.
Only the people here know how hard it was for me to publish that session. And even they don't know my inner struggle. As I wrote to someone else: Knowing what I know about Bob & Sue, that they are really clueless and narcissistic, I shouldn't let anything they say or do bother me, but it really hit me hard to have spent so much time trying to be nice to someone who challenged everything I said and did in a rude way, and then, still trying to be nice, to be accused of being mean!
That's where the conscious suffering comes in.
Before, I would have done anything to shove it under the rug, to make nice, to protect my "I need to be approved of or liked" program. But instead, I just sat in the hurt of the completely false and uncalled for accusations, continued to try to deal with her and him over a period of days, and even thought seriously about withholding the session. I had a long discussion with my personal network about it and all agreed that it would do more good for others to read it, and it was doing no good at all for Bob and Sue to try to "make nice."
Well, I'm sure that she thinks I'm really mean now! And I'm sure that he now agrees. She "wins" where he is concerned, but it is a Pyrrhic victory - they both lose their souls by believing the lie. But one hopes that their drama serves as a lesson that will protect someone else from the same errors.
go2 said:
Does
InVitro Fertilization increase the risk of autism?
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/why-children-born-by-ivf-may-be-more-at-risk-of-autism-and-childhood-cancers-422353.html said:
Yet for some, according to research published last week, the cost could be high. A study at the University of California appears to show that children born by IVF are more likely to be diagnosed with autism, childhood cancers and cerebral palsy. <snip>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_548-H1Cl7Y
A TV news clip on new studies confirming association of IVF and autism. The rate of autism in ART children is
ten times the rate of autism in children conceived by natural reproduction.
Edit: IMHO....The infertility industry profits from human emotion, ignorance, and suffering; offering a "miracle " contravening natural infertility and miscarriage
protection from birthing weak and defective children. It is an industry with knowledge and no common sense.
Edit: These new studies linking ART and autism are in the news today. Here is more from the industry.....
http://theafa.typepad.com/theafablog/2010/02/crowds-carrying-pitchforks-is-public-anxiety-about-ivf-warranted-.html said:
Yes, this is something we found while trying to find out what we were seeing in this child. I agonized over saying anything at all to Bob & Sue but there were hints that help was available and it could make a difference if it was implemented early enough. So, for the sake of the baby, I carefully spoke up. There was a strong psychic element to this that I simply could not resist. I was literally biting my tongue to try to suppress it. And, as I said above, I think that it was really this that set Sue off, though she hid it well and looked for some other thing to make a fuss over because she didn't want to be seen as not caring about her child. It's amazing the maneuvers and manipulations she went through to maintain her facade with Bob... and, of course, he bought it. But, as Lobaczewski says:
Lobaczewski said:
One phenomenon all ponerogenic groups and associations have in common is the fact that their members lose (or have already lost) the capacity to perceive pathological individuals as such, interpreting their behavior in a fascinated, heroic, or melodramatic way. The opinions, ideas, and judgments of people carrying various psychological deficits are endowed with an importance at least equal to that of outstanding individuals among normal people. The atrophy of natural critical faculties with respect to pathological individuals becomes an opening to their activities, and, at the same time, a criterion for recognizing the association in concern as ponerogenic. Let us call this the first criterion of ponerogenesis.
I would say that Sue is VERY good. She's cute, small, helpless looking, and very well preserved for her age, looking like someone in their 20s. The one thing that gives her away is her hands. She has really old-looking, ugly hands, like the hands of a witch. When I noticed them, I was actually shocked at the discrepancy between her hands and the rest of her.
The main thing about her is: she uses pity constantly to control others. That's why Bob thinks she is such a "wonderful woman." He doesn't see that her wonderful "care" of others is designed to get something major for herself and that removes all value from it. She just puts up with SOOOO much and all she ever does is give, give, give...
Megan said:
I am on the autistic spectrum myself (an "Aspie"), and I can comment a little <snip>
Whatever is going on with this child would appear to me to be very severe at this point, because he is so young and yet is already behaving this way. I wouldn't call him "high functioning" from what I have read here.
I have to agree though I didn't have the heart to say that to Bob & Sue, but rather suggested that if they act now, they might be able to reverse it. I couldn't see taking away hope.
Fact is, the baby is developmentally about 7 or 8 months old, and that is a LOT of discrepancy for one so young. Also, there was something I didn't mention: the crab walking. This was the strangest thing I've ever seen a child do.
He would have one leg in front, one leg in back, and scoot with his hands assisting. He could get around quite well, but it was really bizarre to see this. He COULD crawl normally, because he would do it once in awhile, but he constantly reverted to this crab maneuver. Also, when you would try to get him to stand up and walk holding a hand, (he did this a TINY bit), he would then collapse to the floor in this strange position, one leg bent in front, one leg bent in back.
I described this to one of the forum members in an email, Hildegarda, who is pretty much on top of child development stuff, and she said:
Hildegarda said:
Crawling is the single most important predictor for developmental issues. A child can be a late or early walker, or a late or early talker -- it doesn't matter, as long as he/she sits up by the age of 6 months there isn't much else to go by other then that. There was a recent study by one professor who looked at video tapes of autistic children and saw a lot of uncoordinated crawling just like the one described above. You really want to see right-left hand-leg coordination in crawling by this age especially. But -- this is common knowledge among educational psychologists, early ed teachers and special ed teachers; there are whole therapy methods built around promoting these skills in young kids (e.g., Brain Gym), it's even TOLD to parents by pediatricians now! The fact that Sue is a special ed teacher and didn't take notice of that is mind-boggling, that's serious denial.
Well, of course, Bob has joined the "denial club" and insists that Johnny is "much too interactive and engaging to be classified autistic in any sense. He wrote to me as follows:
Bob said:
A
search of the web on crab crawling brings up a lot of videos and
articles on "normal" kids doing it. He also doesn't really favor right
or left. He throws really well with both arms. When you mentioned your
concerns he (and I) were both pretty sick at the time and so he may have
appeared lethargic. He seems to do the crawl more for having one hand
free to carry something. He used to push things along the floor ahead
of him before learning to pick them up and doing the crab crawl.
Perhaps there is a muscle issue with one leg, but then again he can
stand without any problem and move along furniture and push chairs
around. Since we've been back he's been standing and cruising much
more, too. The trip may have been just what he needed to be stimulated.
Any chance you can ask the C's about this in the next session?
Well, we did ask with the results you see. And they have both dived into DeNile because it is a lot more than just the dull look in his face, the crab-crawling, etc. As Andromeda mentioned, there was an odd smell to the child that the girls described as like "wet cement" that had gone sour. And this was AFTER he was over being sick. His body had no real tone, either. Like I said, in many ways, he presented as a 7 or 8 month old and that's a big gap for one who measures his life in months.
If they take some actions, they might be able to fix things. Or, they might make things worse. Time will tell a lot of things.
I tell ya, being in this "line of work" is gruelling.