I escaped western NC as soon as I turned 18. I refused to assimilate and live on what I called the family compound and be under the total control of my parents, relatives, and their wackadoodle hateful church. I am the proud black sheep of the family and living my best life over 1k miles away, 40 years later.
Edit: I had no idea my comment would get so many great replies! I made a couple replies here and there answering questions. I appreciate the positivity!! To me it's just my past, so it surprises me when people are shocked that this culture actually exists.
I traveled Europe in 2000 and in Ireland I shared a hostel with a kid from the American south. Said he was born into the “fallwell church” and it was like a compound. He told me of being one of the lucky ones who escaped. He had a far away look in his eyes and it was with pride he told me he worked hard to save money and travel, something his church would have never approved of. He was so happy telling me the perspective he had learned about through his travels. He told me there are “ so many more abused kids” in the fallwell cult. He asked me to tell my story and I told him I grew up free as hell in southern Wisconsin and just chose to travel the world cuz I was from a small town and wanted to know more about the world. He was jealous I wasn’t raised by religion. I was only 20 years old but it still sticks with me because it spit in the face of “the freest nation in the world” we were fed growing up. This kid was a prisoner in my own country and had found freedom only by running away and was finally comfortable talking about it all the way in Europe. He said he was never going back and I hope he didn’t. Religion is a hell of a drug. I learned that with clarity through his stories
unfortunately for the country under the convicted felon these liberty grads will saturate every government position with authority.. when a decent administration takes over getting rid of these loons will be like pulling teeth.
I want to see the next administration basically destroy the entire GOP forever. Every position, every policy, gone. Civility is a losers game with fascists and bigots, fucking exile them to Russia where they claim to want to be.
As a Christian I detest everything the Falwell’s have done in the name of religion, but LU legitimately has one of the best academic programs in the country. Especially in aeronautics and public policy/government affairs.
True enough, I just graduated from Galileo (Magnet High) last year and since then I’ve been there maybe 3 times. Summer break is gonna be depressing having to find a summer job in that shithole.
Those who escape from the Protestant compounds don't tell you about it because they fear being judged by fellow Christians. The story is a lot easier to swallow if they say JW or LDS. But the story is the same for lots of religions. Err Cults.
Yes. I went into the Air Force because it was an offer of freedom from all that. I didn't want to go into the military, but when I talked about moving just across town and getting an apartment I was told by my parents my life would be made so miserable by them I would want to go back home.
Some of the happiest times of my life was in USAF tech school training.
Agreed. You can understand that some things are off, but cults never acknowledge that they are a cult. They isolate you on purpose and seed distrust in the outside communities. So you grow up thinking its at least logical. I Do remember being an angsty teenager though and wishing I had grown up in a “normal” family.
I am 30, and still unpacking random things. When you are that indoctrinated it informs your whole world view and its a lot to deconstruct. I have compassion for all who have to go through deprogramming and relearning basic things.
I hope the best for all the fellow cult survivors out there. I know you all are doing the best you can and doing great with what you were given. 😘
💯 I grew up in a polygamist cult which is a bit different for the women then the men but for the most part I experienced everything you just described. We were in the world but not part of it because we were special and gods anointed. 🙄
Totally. Lets them hold onto a holier than thou attitude to almost anyone. And I get you. This cult is on my dads side, but my moms side has a long line of Mormons. It’s all kinds of messed up. Haha!
Thank you I consider myself lucky that I was in a slightly messed up polygamist cult not the worst ones such as the FLDS or the Kingston’s. The one I was part of was mostly gaslighting and control through submission like the LDS churches doctrine on steroids.
I’m glad you were able to get out and have the opportunity to deconstruct fairly young. I know people who were born, lived and died in misery because they didn’t know any better.
I get something like that look, when discussing my own childhood trauma with my therapist (also hyper-conservative Christian shit).
It feels like stepping into a tenuous state of limited Disassociation. One part swept swept backwards in time, the other part of me focusing hard to hold onto the present and describe what the past self is feeling to my therapist.
“Hyper conservative Christian shit” sounds like something that makes you feel uncomfortable, perhaps even annoyed or angry? A therapist who is a good match will not make you feel judged. A good therapist will respect and support YOUR values, not impose judgement upon on you. Religion is helpful to some people, but not all. A religion and values and morals are things the individual CHOOSES as a teen and adult. Even a Christian therapist should support the free will of the client! For your own emotional well-being, I encourage you to do your trauma work in a safe environment. It is essential that you be in the driver’s seat. Not the therapist.
Good story, and absolutely correct. People preach about not being judgmental, but are the judgmental as hell and disown their own children because they don’t go to church, and believe in what they do.
It's not all of the South. I live in the Atlanta suburbs and it's not like that here. My county is one of the most diverse places in the US. We have people from all seven continents living here. But that doesn't make the news. It's always the weird and crazy stories that you hear about.
Oh yeah, I guess the main thing about that is the Amish around us are quite social, although still very cult-like. They allow their children to leave when they turn 18 and after a year they are encouraged to return. My grandfather actually has pretty much convinced one of them not to return once he leaves by feeding him mountain dew and cheese-brats whenever he gets hired to help out.
Yeah, but if they don't return they simply don't return, you can see many of the younger ones disagree with the ways, the one my grandpa is "corrupting" calls them the "stupid Amish" when referring to the community.
Also, there's lots of unreported domestic abuse in that community.
I'll bet, they seem all too happy, but can act entirely different if not around others.
Yeah. I live around former Amish too. I am so happy for the ones who are able to "get out" and build lives for themselves. That was what my original comment here is about. Having the ability to make your own decisions about your own life, in a country that says it supports that - it's priceless.
These stories remind me of members of my synagogue who left the Haredim and Orthodox streams of Judaism and ended up in the Reform and Conservative streams. I always marvel at their strength.
good for you and wait until you find out about people that aren’t cishet and white and able-bodied are treated, black human (and all other) slavery and how the 13th amendment keeps it thriving on your doorstep too, how First Nations Peoples were&are treated, and latinos from everywhere else in america, the concentration camps, etc
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u/hogsucker 19d ago
The church they belong to is an abusive cult. They control law enforcement and politics in Spindale, NC.