Historically...those who told the truth about a particular regime have been exiled, jailed, or killed by those in power whose fury has been aroused. To be sure, the obvious explanation is that they were dangerous to their respective establishments, and that killing them seemed the best way to protect the status quo. This is true enough, but it does not explain the fact that the truth-sayers are so deeply hated even when they do not constitute a real threat to the established order. The reason lies, I believe, in that by speaking the truth they mobilize the [psychological] resistance of those who repress it. To the latter, the truth is dangerous not only because it can threaten their power but because it shakes their whole conscious system of orientation, deprives them of their rationalizations, and might even force them to act differently. Only those who have experienced the process of becoming aware of important impulses that were repressed know the earthquakelike sense of bewilderment and confusion that occurs as a result. Not all people are willing to risk this adventure, lest of all those people who profit, at least for the moment, from being blind. Erich Fromm
I've been lurking for sometime reading about the struggles and brave battles that the individuals on this board experience. And in reading about your experiences I have come to a measure of peace within myself in dealing with my family who are legalistic in their religious beliefs. I myself have been denied access to my nieces and have never seen my nephew for reasons that are still too painful to write about.
When I read this quote by Erich Fromm it seemed to apply so much to the people on this board and their families both in the "troof" and out that I had to share it with you. Now I shall return to lurker mode .
Peace to All Rad