Reply to FMSF newsletter article about our organization

In a recent FMSF newsletter, our organization S.M.A.R.T. had an article written about us stating we are proponents of repressed memory. We do cite research that conclusively proves that recovered memory exists,  see

http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/recovered-memory-data/

http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/suggestedrefs.html

http://www.jimhopper.com/memory/

http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/case-archive/

and has fairly high veracity rates.
http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/recovered-memory-corroboration-rates/

The FMSF was the proponent of the existence of the False Memory Syndrome. It has been called “a pseudoscientific syndrome that was developed to defend against claims of child abuse.” http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/6.html

The FMSF was co-founded by the late Ralph Underwager. When Underwager was asked “Is choosing paedophilia for you a responsible choice for the individuals?” he replied “Certainly it is responsible. What I have been struck by as I have come to know more about and understand people who choose paedophilia is that they let themselves be too much defined by other people. That is usually an essentially negative definition. Paedophiles spend a lot of time and energy defending their choice. I don’t think that a paedophile needs to do that. Paedophiles can boldly and courageously affirm what they choose. They can say that what they want is to find the best way to love. I am also a theologian and as a theologian, I believe it is God’s will that there be closeness and intimacy, unity of the flesh, between people. A paedophile can say: “This closeness is possible for me within the choices that I’ve made.” http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/NudistHallofShame/Underwager2.html

Underwager’s work and accuracy have been strongly critiqued here http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/NudistHallofShame/MrBubbles.html
and here http://vlex.com/vid/underwager-hollida-wakefield-salter-36092881

Another co-founder is Pamela Freyd (who is still the executive director). In reply to a TV documentary about FMS, William Freyd, (Pamela Freyd’s step brother and sister-in-law) wrote:

“The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a fraud designed to deny a reality that Peter and Pam have spent most of their lives trying to escape. There is no such thing as a False Memory Syndrome.” (Whitfield M.D., Charles L. 1995. Memory and Abuse – Remembering and Healing the Effects of Trauma. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc. ISBN 1-55874-320-0 – page 7 – http://books.google.com/books?id=z1LW3u1e04YC&pg=PP1&dq=Memory+and+Abuse ) “In addition, Peter Freyd’s own mother (who is also Pamela’s step-mother) and his only sibling, a brother, were also estranged from Pamela and Peter. It should be noted that these family members support Jennifer’s Pamela’s daughter’s) side of the story.” http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/6.html

The FMSF newsletter article mentions a journalist that attended our conference. He did not mention he was a reporter there for the media when registering for the conference. Our conference of child abuse survivors is closed to the media for the protection of its attendees. He stopped payment on his registration check after the conference. He is listed on a website for radiofreesatan, where he is a DJ and is described as “an unscrupulous journalist.” It has been stated that he is connected to the Process organization.

His articles about our conference contained many misquotes, inaccuracies and personal insults about the attendees. In the original version of his article, he wrote  “Disassociative Disorders” and “Disassociative Identity Disorder” which are actually  “Dissociative Disorders” and “Dissociative Identity Disorder” and he did not correct these until we mentioned this on our website rebuttal page. The FMSF article does not mention any of the above facts, nor does it mention the author’s affiliations or immoral behavior. The journalist continued his attacks on our organization when we defended our organization on several websites. Comments appeared on these websites either by himself or by aliases in his writing style calling conference members and supporters pedophiles, quacks, exploiters and frauds. His article was removed from several websites. Our rebuttal to the journalist’s article is at :
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/rebuttal-to-the-report-from-the-smart-2009-conference/

The FMSF newsletter article about our conference quotes the journalist:
“To Neil Brick, the FMSF is nothing more than a group of “pedophile sympathizers”,
the executive director of which – Pamela Freyd – serves as the oft-cited arch-villain of the conference. There is Satan, and there is Pamela Freyd. Without them, the world would be okay, and no children would ever get hurt…” Yet, Neil Brick never stated any of this, nor is the FMSF “oft-cited” at our conference.

The FMSF newsletter article makes the false comparison between alien abductions and ritual abuse. Yet these concepts have nothing in common and this is used to falsely discredit the scientifically proven ritual abuse phenomenon. The FMSF article states that ritual abuse survivors have remembered what happened to them during therapy. This is of course unproven and often untrue.

In conclusion, one needs to question the motives of both the FMSF and the journalist that attended our conference. The extreme one-sided nature of their articles, the journalist’s connections to Satanic websites and his frequent misstatements and personal attacks and the accusations made against the founders of the FMSF should make one think as to whether either should be considered an accurate or credible source of information.

Notes:
The FMSF article cites an article written by a local weekly written by a reporter that was invited to a press conference about our conference several years ago. The author had promised to write a balanced article about the topic of ritual abuse and our conference. He received a great deal of information to do this, but decided to write a one sided article calling us “crazy” and leaving out almost all of our data and statements.

Our rebuttals to his article are at:
rebuttal letters printed in the Hartford Advocate
http://web.archive.org/web/20041018212633/http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:32803

additional letters not printed are online at:
Survivor letters to the Hartford Advocate
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/survivor-letters-to-the-hartford-advocate/

In the same issue, the FMSF discusses the Paul Shanley case. Shanley had a long history of allegations of child abuse, see: http://web.archive.org/web/20020602180710/http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/shan04092002.htm and http://www.projecttruth2.com/Paul%20Richard%20Shanley.htm
for information on Shanley.

Conclusive evidence that ritual abuse exists is on a variety of pages on the web, including:
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/studies/satanic-ritual-abuse-evidence-with-information-on-the-mcmartin-preschool-case/