Bangkok Strikes Hard at Commenter for Attack of Ruth

Anonymous
September 8, 2022 at 10:56 pm
Physical evidence. Does anyone have any??? Law enforcement doe not give a crap about he said/he said/she said/ she said/ she said/ she said. Bottom line. What you have here is called G-O-S-S-I-P.

As I , Jayne Lyons, I wrote in the article Frank published, Mother of Victim: Were You Abused by Swami Chetanananda? You can ask Christine Mascal to listen to your interview with Detective Wollstein or Paul Chang, the Western Region Coordinator for Human Trafficking, 714-418-8620, Chang.Paul@dol.gov. Detective Wollstein or Paul Chang will need to apply the state or federal statutes to determine if what was done to you or others is a crime, and if it falls within the statute of limitations regarding when the crime occurred. Using these criteria, if your complaint is considered not a “crime” and you suffered harm and abuse, there is the opportunity for a civil settlement.

Christine Mascal can help you gain a civil settlement. Civil settlements require a lower bar of evidence. 503-320-1020, cmascal@mascal-law.com

Carol Merchasine is also available to consult regarding both a criminal and/or civil complaint. cmmerchasin@gmail.com

One common reaction to someone escaping a cult is the cry from bystanders to go to the authorities. My own experience has been that it is a rare cult escapee or family member who can convince law enforcement to take any action. When statements were provided to the police and social services by ex- members and me in 2019, when the cult was still situated in the Movement Center in Portland, full of “loved ones” who knew what was going on there, not one law enforcement officer or social service worker went to the Center to ask questions.

Everyone who has been harmed by Shoemaker and his group can use the Frank Report to expose what was done to them or to others. with or without “physical evidence”. The Frank Report is a space (not sure how safe a space) but it is a space where experiences can be exposed. The articles can help to bring to light the 50 years of cultic abuse that Shoemaker and his gang have heaped on their “loved ones”. (that is what Shoemaker calls his flying monkeys on his Instagram posts) This harm has all been done through cultic coercive control.

Coercive control is a pattern of psychologically abusive behavior that is used to manipulate someone into doing what the manipulator wants, without physical abuse, though physical abuse may also be present, and the threat of physical abuse is a common method of coercive control. In Oregon, Coercion is a Class C felony. In defining coercive control keep in mind that there is no need for a psychological disorder or injury to conclude that there is a criminal offense, because the process of undermining an individual’s free will IS the offense. In a legal sense, judges and juries (and those who leave comments on Frank’s articles) can have a hard time understanding how someone can claim they have been taken advantage of when they seemed to be a willing participant or handed over their money or belongings voluntarily. But with an understanding of coercive control, this becomes much more straightforward.

I also see DARVO appearing in the comments on the Frank Report, that is, deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. It refers to a reaction that alleged perpetrators of wrongdoing, and maybe cult apologists, particularly sexual offenders, display in response to being exposed or held accountable for their behavior. All these comments about “where is the evidence”, this is “just gossip”, are DARVO statements. What percentage of rapes are reported to law enforcement and what percentage of rape and sexual assault crimes that are reported end up in a conviction? According to Rainn, https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system, 975 out of 1,000 rapists will never go to jail or prison. It is too hard on the sexual assault survivor to go through the trauma all over again that the criminal justice system puts the survivor through. Most just don’t report their abuse.

Statements from survivors on the Frank Report bring out more statements from other survivors. A history of abuse has been built on the Frank Report from Pinky, 50 years ago through the “Leaving Nityananda” letter, to the current abuses being reported. Law enforcement is responsible for building a case, collecting evidence, and bringing charges. Survivors can tell their experiences and support and validate each other. Some may report to law enforcement, others might seek a civil settlement, still others will not speak publicly about their abuse, that is their choice. “

“Where is the evidence?” it is in the words of the survivors on the Frank Report and in the police reports that are being generated, it is in the luxury lifestyle of Shoemaker. It is in the Facebook posts of his “loved ones”, who then disappear when they are harmed. Where are the happy photos of Jessica? of Natacha? Where are the posts of the smiling faces of Andrew Bonner and Rebecca Reese? Where are new photos of bliss filled Faith? Where is Andrew Sheppard? They were called “family” on Instagram. Where are photos of Ruth, joyfully doing “Seva”? Where is Megan who appeared often as the new seva volunteer? Where is Liz, oh yes she is dead? Where is dedicated Molly, we saw her washing windows? Where is energetic Liliana who used to be in most Gold Beach posts? Where is culinary Tom? Where is dish washing Chuck? Where is Jessie Sweeney and his rich mother? Where are their photos with Shoemaker? Are they no longer “loved ones”? Is that love somehow conditional? Have they left? It seems that they all have left Shoemaker, who is a traumatizing narcissist.

Are you a cult apologist?
“I got mine-ism” (IGM)

An apologist is a person who argues in favor of something unpopular. If you’re an apologist for cults and for J. Michael Shoemaker, you would argue that even though some people might have been harmed, such harm is the fault of the person and the benefits received from being associated with Shoemaker and his cult make up for any individual damage. Apologists tend to be seen in a negative light, as defensive people who make excuses.

Since Frank Parlato began publishing articles about J. Michael Shoemaker, aka Swami Chetanananda, several commentators have been published that support Shoemaker and his cultish activities. Jami Currin wrote that she was never pressured to have sex with Shoemaker. Did she leave the impression that those who were sexually abused by Shoemaker took it upon themselves, were open to abuse? Is she a cult apologist? Does she blame the victim?

What about Dr. Alexis Sanderson, is he a cult apologist? He stood up for Shoemaker in the Richard Read, Oregonian newspaper articles. “Alexis Sanderson, a professor of Eastern religions and ethics at Oxford University in England who has lectured at Chetanananda’s ashram, says the swami is a “generous-hearted and pleasant individual” who leads an open and tolerant group. “Accusations of sexual malpractice are the standard way of attacking religious practitioners,” Sanderson says. Taken from Richard Read’s article, In the Grip of the Guru, Part 1 (and there are five parts to this series!) Dr. Sanderson sounds like a cult apologist to me.

There are also comments that support narratives of peaceful and calm deaths for Laura Modena and Dr. John Bonner. Such narratives give the impression that such deaths would have been impossible outside the ‘loving embrace” of the cultic community. Who knows what type of death they could or would have had outside the cult, there are hospice services that respect the natural process of death and that provide respectful, professional, caring support for families and their loved ones.

Laura Modena, Dr. John Bonner, Al DeWit , Louise (Pat) Shoemaker and Phyllis Rudolph were immersed in an abusive cult environment that exploited the labor of others. Who cooked and washed dishes for the common meals? Who cleaned the hallways, the windows, took out the trash, worked on the grounds, ordered the food? Many of these services were provided by residents who paid “tuition” and had to provide “seva” labor. While they were peacefully dying, Shoemaker was abusing and exploiting his “loved ones” (as he calls them). We have read the narratives of those who have been abused and who have escaped, like Ruth, Jes, Jessica and Dan.

The “lates”, Laura Modena, Dr. John Bonner, Al DeWit, Louise (Pat) Shoemaker and Phyllis Rudolph (Rudi’s sister-in-law) were all in a residence or frequently in attendance at the Movement Center. All of them were “vulnerable adults” due to their age, over 65 or their frail physical condition. As vulnerable adults, they had certain legal protections from abuse and exploitation. The Movement Center, where they were residents or students, was the site of drug use, sexual abuse, labor exploitation, financial scams, BDSM sessions, alleged nonconsensual strangulations and fraudulent recruiting. A social work assessment based on the actual living conditions of these vulnerable adults would have raised questions about their safety in such an abusive environment.

What happened to Liz and Natacha? They were not protected from self-harm by the loving embrace of their “cultic siblings”. Shoemaker promoted rivalry, isolation, back biting, gossip and judgement. Where is the love, support, and friendship in such a system? Shoemaker put his “favorites” ahead of all others and promoted dysfunctional dynamics that undercut the formation of social bonds where he was not the center of attention.

There are Facebook posts that show Dr. John Bonner in a Movement Center hallway with his son and daughter in law, welcoming Natacha back to her life of BDSM misery. Natacha is in her hospital bed, back brace, and mind-controlled condition. Did anyone tell Dr. John Bonner about what was being done to Natacha? Shoemaker’s abuse was hidden and covered up by his “loved ones”, his cult gang, his inner circle, that included Dr. John Bonner’s family, Andrew and Becky.
Drs. Rebecca Resse and Andrew Bonner have been licensed medical providers in Oregon. They took an oath to do no harm and to report abuse. Instead, according to comments published in response to Frank’s articles, Dr. Andrew Bonner advised a young woman student of Shoemaker’s to run if Shoemaker began to take off his pants. Given such a comment, Dr. Andrew Bonner must have been aware of Shoemaker’s alleged sexual abuse. Why didn’t he speak out? If the Bonner/Resse family knew of these abuses, why didn’t they look for a safer place for Dr. John Bonner? They couldn’t because they too where under the coercive control of Shoemaker and his inner circle. Their loyalty to Shoemaker was paid back by being expelled from the Movement Center and perhaps from their Shoemaker owned medical offices. (Perhaps others have more information about Dr. Andrew Bonner’s student loans, taken out to become a naturopath at the insistence of Shoemaker? Or the cost of medical office rent?)

Dr. Andrew Bonner paid a medical visit to a victim of Shoemaker’s after one of his “sessions”. The victim was unable to walk, the victim was peeing on towels because no bed pans or toilet were available. The victim was suffering from post-concussion syndrome and could not walk. He did nothing to help the victim. Dear Molly, of whom we have read so much, carried out the soiled towels and cleaned the room after the victim was taken to the hospital, once again, on a stretcher. Why was there no help for this victim? Did anyone of the “loving” community think it odd that a “community” member was in such a terrible state?

Matthew Remski, a survivor of two cultic experiences put it well, “I’ll preface this post by saying that, in accordance with the clinical research, I do not believe there are strong correlations between prior life experience and the likelihood that a person will join or stay in a cult (or “totalist”, or “high-demand” group.) What follows is a speculation, based on memory and anecdote, on why people who are already inside such a group may be more prone to the kind of enabling and moral harm that Facebook friend Joseph Teskey has described to me as “I got mine-ism” (IGM).

IGM is a defensive strategy by which a member who has not (or believes they have not) directly experienced abuse or institutional betrayal within the group deflects stories of abuse within the group by immediately self-referring, saying things like: “I don’t know about other’s experience; I find/found the teacher/teachings to be profoundly helpful in my life.” The statement is usually couched within an unwillingness to act on behalf on victims or mitigate future harm.”
http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/the-unbearable-smugness-of-i-got-mine-ism-amongst-cult-and-ex-cult-members/
Stop being a cult apologist, stop using the defense of I got mine-ism.

I am glad I have this space that Frank has provided to tell what I experienced as the familly member of a person harmed at the Movement Center. You can use this space to tell your story of abuse, institutional betrayal or of your blind loyalty and great benefits that this wicked and evil cult has provided to you. You can decide for yourself if you wish to use your name, you can decide for yourself if you wish to contact law enforcement or an attorney. I know that for many survivors and their families, the “loving community” that Shoemaker and his cult created, has only left a trail of destruction and tears and put Shoemaker in a life of luxury and ease at the expense of his “loved ones”.

Vetting? Not his problem. He lets people say their piece and makes use of the commentary.