Private Eye (1213 p. 25) draws attention to a forthcoming book, entitled Forensic Aspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder:
The book’s contributors include…Dr Joan Coleman, founder of RAINS (Ritual Abuse Information Network and Support), writing on “Satanist Ritual Abuse and the Problem of Credibility”; Valerie Sinason PhD, a child psychologist and a psychotherapist who practises in Harley Street and has written two chapters, including “When murder moves inside”; and Ellen Lacter PhD, a psychologist from San Diego, California, who writes about “Mind Control: Simple to Complex”.
The Eye also gives us the response of Jean La Fontaine, author of Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England, which (alongside Jeffery Victor’s Satanic Panic) debunked claims of Satanic abuse in the 1990s:
“It fills me with rage”
La Fontaine’s book was written in the wake of the “Satanic Panics” which blighted a lot of innocent people’s lives in both the USA and the UK.
Lacter, meanwhile, tells us that the book’s publication is a sign that “the tide is beginning to turn” after years of sceptical dismissal.
As I noted in 2006, Lacter is a particular fan of Steve Oglevie, who was one of those responsible for causing a Satanic panic in Idaho in 1989 when he declared that a dead baby found on a garbage dump had been sacrificed by Satanists – in fact, the body had been mutilated by wild animals. Sinason and RAINS have also featured in Private Eye’s discussions of Satanism, as I blogged here.
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Well, here’s the thing. Sometimes stuff that passes as “satanic” — such as the use of masks, robes, rituals, etc. — are more about props for professional pornographers who recognize that little kiddies who tell stories about having things done to them by grown-ups in masks, robes, and so on are much less unlikely to be believed. And do note that those involved in the McMartin case, now all grown-up, are sticking to what they said. Crowd hysteria is one thing; organized porn another.
I agree the possible use of props ought to be borne in mind, but one McMartin key witness has recanted.
One of the children, now grown-up, the extraordinary brave Kyle Zirpolo has retracted, as detailed in the LA Times;
“The first time I went to CII [Children’s Institute International, now known as Children’s Institute, Inc., a respected century-old L.A. County child welfare organization where approximately 400 former McMartin children were interviewed and given genital exams, and where many were diagnosed as abuse victims], we drove there, our whole family. I remember waiting � for hours while my brothers and sisters were being interviewed. I don’t remember how many days or if it was just one day, but my memory tells me it was weeks, it seemed so long. It was an ordeal. I remember thinking to myself, “I’m not going to get out of here unless I tell them what they want to hear.”
We were examined by a doctor. I took my clothes off and lay down on the table. They checked my butt, my penis. There was a room with a lot of toys and stuffed animals and dolls. The dolls were pasty white and had hair where the private parts were. They wanted us to take off their clothes. It was just really weird.
I remember them asking extremely uncomfortable questions about whether Ray touched me and about all the teachers and what they did�and I remember telling them nothing happened to me. I remember them almost giggling and laughing, saying, “Oh, we know these things happened to you. Why don’t you just go ahead and tell us? Use these dolls if you’re scared.”
Anytime I would give them an answer that they didn’t like, they would ask again and encourage me to give them the answer they were looking for. It was really obvious what they wanted. I know the types of language they used on me: things like I was smart, or I could help the other kids who were scared.”
…
“But the lying really bothered me. One particular night stands out in my mind. I was maybe 10 years old and I tried to tell my mom that nothing had happened. I lay on the bed crying hysterically�I wanted to get it off my chest, to tell her the truth. My mother kept asking me to please tell her what was the matter. I said she would never believe me. She persisted: “I promise I’ll believe you! I love you so much! Tell me what’s bothering you!” This went on for a long time: I told her she wouldn’t believe me, and she kept assuring me she would. I remember finally telling her, “Nothing happened! Nothing ever happened to me at that school.”
She didn’t believe me.”
(http://www.religionnewsblog.com/12637/mcmartin-pre-school-accuser-why-im-sorry)
So darn it! There were no hot air balloons, super-fast jet aircraft, magic, rocket ships…
Conceivably others will come forward in coming years if thy feel their childhoods were impacted by the activities of the investigations.
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