OK now,
Warning: My opinion only, my conclusions based upon many many hours and days of research, digging deep and really reading, rereading and thinking about a lot.
I want to say this.. and believe me, I have carefully pondered my words, am not a rumor monger. I take it very seriously when I have something so serious to say about a person and I investigate and have what i need to back up what I say and why i say it.
I have put a lot of time into researching this case and thru this have become privy to conversations from people who once believed in this church and put their life, heart and faith into it and were manipulated, abused and traumatized.
I further looked into such sources and independently ascertained that they did indeed prove to be who they said they were and did indeed hold the positions in the church that were very close to Ron and the leadership there for many many years, had put a lot of their heart, heard work and life into building up this church and there is some rotten stuff indeed that happened.
Consider this. How would you expect a man who had a *advertiser censored* addiction to treat women? A man who viewed a huge amount (hours a day) and variety of *advertiser censored* during his teenage years, and who was close friends with the son of a man who owned a huge collection of *advertiser censored* (or store? i forget) and was obviously happy to share.
Consider what he saw and obviously enjoyed along in the camaraderie of the other *advertiser censored* addicts who shared common feeling about *advertiser censored* and women. The opinions and conversation they had about women as they bonded together watching *advertiser censored* together. The sick fantasies that they shared or that they kept private and went on to do later.
How do you think he would really feel about women and view them? What would he think about position in the world and what they had to offer. Think he is respectful of women and values them as human beings or would he consider them as sex objects who deserve to be treated nastily, hit upon and degraded and then blamed for "asking for it"?
Now add that to a man who also has
a position of power,
who is also gifted at manipulation,
who has access of many women who may be vulnerable because of their faith,
who knows vulnerable women because they go to him in a time of trouble seeking guidance and support,
who has many peers who support him and have issues of their own that are co-mingled with your abuser so they have double reason to help him cover up.
who has the power to condemn a person for their confessions or confidences to them,
who can have them cast out of a community they have considered family for many years and turn people against them, just with his word.
who has a following of people who refuse to believe that this man does anything wrong and blindly follow him.
Now say you are a woman who has been a victim of such a person, who is now shattered spiritually, emotionally anguished, dealing with depression and self esteem issues, have been told by your abuser and his supporters that you are the problem, that you are an evil person, etc..
Do you think such victims can really gather the strength to go up against such an abusers and his loyal powerful peers who have their own misdeeds women into his that they need to hide?
Can you really go up against hundreds, thousands of people who follow this man though they have never met him in person?
Can you really go up against this evil which has its greedy tentacles outreached to the entire world and can ruin your reputation and shame you not only on a congregation lever, a community level but a worldwide level.
Can you really go into a lengthy battle in which much of it is your word against his and those of his most loyal supporters who just as equally guilty?
Do you have the unlimited resources that your abusers have?
Can you subject your loved ones to the scandal, the condemnation by ignorant followers?
Oh yes an don't forget that the abuser owns the church, hand picks the people on the board and is really accountable to no one.
Now these are my words based upon what I have been privy to knowing about others experience with RWOC and those in charge there. This is my summary of what I read and what i believe after much careful research and consideration. Again, these are all my words, my views, my opinion.
They have no reason to lie. They are NOT seeking publicity, money or anything else. They are seemingly lovely and sweet people, genuinely hurt by what happened to them. They have gone on to continue to do well in life, rebuild their faith and help others thru their similar issues. They have no agenda to push, they have nothing to gain.
I do not wish to reveal them to public scrutiny. I have made the acquaintance of a few or befriended them and they accepted my friendship. I would not betray their trust in me or subject them to any further harm. They are strong, beautiful and loving women who have risen from the ashes of being so badly burned. I admire them and genuinely like them.
But how does Hope fit into that? What was she aware of and how did it affect her actions, reactions and emotions as a woman, a wife and a person in the public eye. I do not claim to know that.
But i do know that it puts Ron in a highly questionable light. He is not going to allow what he has done to a female to interfere with HIS church. He is not going to accept any blame for things he did wrong. He has no issue with shifting the blame to the victim and then claiming to be the victim himself and surrounding himself with his co-conspirators and those who follow him blindly.
And so that is how I see it. MOO, IMHO,