Moonies are human
Roy Kerridge
IT well remember the first time I ever met member of the Reverend Moon's Unification Church. It was on a rainy day in the city of Cork in 1973. I was hurrying through the crowded streets with my head down, when I was offered a pamphlet by a young Sunday School-teacherish girl, wearing glasses and with her hair in a bun. I was amazed to find that she was English, for in three weeks of travelling around the southern parts of the Republic, she was the first English person I had met. The others had all stayed away in fear of the goings-on hundreds of miles to the north. I promised to call at the commune house for further instruction, and went on my way. Glancing back I saw the poor girl accosting the hurrying shoppers in the pouring rain.
Keeping my promise, I met the Sunday School girl again. With her was a blushing girl from Dublin, who had previously worked for a hairdresser. Rather severely, the bun-haired girl said a prayer to open the meeting, and then began to explain Reverend Moon's philosophy. The younger girl looked on admiringly, for the task was a difficult one, and my instructress seemed rather daunted. She wrinkled her nose, tried hard to recall the Scriptures, and at last managed to draw me a number of diagrams. Divine Love equalled Heat, Divine Truth equalled Light, and a Rich Spiritual Atmosphere equalled Air. At
school, my new friend had specialised in mathematics and science, and had read about little else prior to her conversion. My impression was that she had been able to discover the spirit, and to take that discovery seriously, only when introduced to godly things as if they were formulae, subject to evidential proof. Thanking the two girls for their help, I went back to my hotel (which was also 3 hostel for the local Garda constabulary), and pored over their literature. To 3 background of amiable police chatter, I learned that if a man and a woman exchanged Satan for God in their lives, they would have a perfect child. However, in my experience the godliest of parents sometimes have the worst of children. Many people assume that Moonies and other new cults are so evil that almost any means of rescuing youngsters from their clutches must be justified. This may be so, but I suspect that kidnappers, hired by distraught parents, behave in a way that seems a parody of the cults they oppose' 'Deprogrammers', with nicknames such as 'The Fox' or 'Black Lightning' are now. active in England. As matters stand, it is legal to be a Moonie but illegal to kidnaP Moonies and hold them against their Will, the normal behaviour of self-styled 'de" programmers'. Is such extreme behaviour justified? I am not sure. To date, I have
been unable to meet 'Black Lightning' and his friends, as I was told they 'lead a cloak-and-dagger existence, and secrecy is essential.'
Apparently, the 'deprogrammers' be- lieve that young Moonies, Hare Krishnas and others have been 'programmed' or 'brainwashed:. To snap them out of it, they have to be shut away and interrogated, in order to brainwash them in reverse. Many kidnappers were themselves cult members Who have been 'deprogrammed'. If they succeed in persuading a rescued youngster, or victim, into recanting, then he or she is Often recruited onto the deprogramming team. In other words, 'deprogrammers' have themselves become a self- proliferating cult. Where Moonies use per- suasion, they use force, and while 'deprog- ramming' is going on, parents are seldom allowed to see their children.
From accounts I have read of 'deprog- rammers' in France and America, the kidnappers, who charge enormous fees, are often militant atheists. While shouting at their prisoners, they invite them to deny God and try to induce them to drink, Smoke, swear and indulge in sex, activities forbidden by many cults. Some victims Who break down and renounce their cult are profoundly grateful afterwards. Others pretend to give in so as to seek an oPportunity of escape.
In my view, Moonies and most other cultists have no magic method of brain- washing, and simply convert impression- able young people to their views. I have dined with Moonies many times, and no lcmg spoon has proved to be necessary. Those who believe in the demonic power of Moonies to 'brainwash' overestimate the mental powers of the young, who have always been prone to join bizarre cults Such as punk rockers, Trotskyites and communists. Torture and physical restraint are alien to most Moonies, but not to some deprogrammers'. Kidnappers are already discouraged by the law of the land, but if Moonies and gu.ru-worshippers wish to discourage them Still further, here are some useful tips. Be Open about your beliefs. When collecting rooney and handing out tracts, tell every- body that you are a Moonie, a Hare Krishna or whatever, and have the fact P.nnted on your literature. If you are sincere in your beliefs, why not proclaim them, instead of trying to give the impres- slou that you are a Christian charity? Instead of constantly asking, or luring, Young people to social weekends at coun- trY houses miles from anywhere, (every Parent's nightmare), visit them in their nomes and meet the parents straight away. You may be rebuffed at first, your mem- bership might decline, but what will be the end of such efforts? You will have ceased to be a cult and you will have become a church. The more scrupulous your be- haviour, the less demand for 'deprogram- r.ners' there will be, until 'possibly- JUs. tified-kidnappers' will have become a tiling of the past.
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