Date: 07 May 93 23:46:52
From: Fredric Rice
To: All
Subj: Walk Away
____________________________________________________________________________
WALK AWAY -
During the last year or two, several people have expressed an interest
in the publication called "Walk Away." There was some speculation that
Walk Away was also a deprogramming group which assisted in physically
helping victims of cult 'mind control' escape from destructive
religions. Not so.
To finally put rumors to rest and to provide a reference for further
inquiries into the Walk Away publication (in A_Theist and HolySmoke) I
wrote a letter to Simon, Porteous, and Assoc., Inc., asking for
information on the group and publication offering the hopes that they
might call so that an informal telephone interview might be granted.
Though I was not granted an interview with the Institute for First
Amendment Studies, they very graciously forwarded a great deal of
information about the publications "Walk Away" and "Freedom Writer."
"Walk Away" is merely a very fine publication which offers either
monologues or interviews of people who have "walked away" from
destructive religions. Some people express a slow realization of the
impossibilities of deity belief whereas others refine the point at
which they had realized they simply could not believe. Everyone
expressed the nature of their virtual enslavement to their churches,
remarking upon the demands that questioning their beliefs is evil.
Anyone they talked to who offered opinions and oppositional facts,
they are usually told, are working for "the devil." For the people
reviewed in Walk Away, the story is generally the same yet always with
damned interesting twists.
In the end, people who walk away are amazed that there are others like
them who feel no guilt for doing so. The expression of freedom felt
yet not previously realized is offered by the more emotive people
whereas most express relief that their ordeals were over. For so many
people, the religion of their parents becomes the single-most important
aspect of their lives around which all else revolves. Being told what
to believe in all aspects of life, these people are isolated from the
constraints of living in an uncomfortable world and fall easily into a
realm where others instruct them in _all_ their activities, assuring
them that, no matter what they do, if they believe in their deities,
eventually they'll live without the worry and the strife that runs
through the streets of the real world -- God will protect them from
real life.
The publication also covers violations of first amendment laws by the
"religious right," offering detailed quotes from preachers as well as
information on tax laws violations by right-wing churches which engage
in politics. Walk Away insiders have somewhat covert access to such
groups as "Operation Rescue" and Pat Robertson's crowd. Walk Away
readers are offered a view of the agendas of right-wing groups which
are often quite different than those stated in public. It traces the
ties (financial or philosophical) between groups and political figures
and will at times interview the 'opposition' -- those who would impose
a theocracy in America.
Some of the quotes of various preachers are outrageous -- we've heard
them from the fundi crowd within this forum on a daily basis, of
course, yet to hear these fundi's masters spout them underscores and
gives a measure of solidity to the hatred and intolerance we see daily
-- either here in HolySmoke or in the real world whenever an abortion
clinic is attacked.
The success of Walk Away's efforts to drag right-wing religious
extremists out into the open for all to see is itself underscored in
damned-funny letters to the editor by fundies. They're much the same
as we get in this forum, of course, with claims that the editorship is
"working for 'Satan.'" No doubt Walk Away receives its quota of
mythology quotations as well.
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