what I'm going to do
Date: December 06, 2007 10:42AM
I had a conversation with a friend's father who is has been in recovery for nearly 10 years and is on the board for AA in the city where I live, because I wanted to see if he was aware of LGATS and that members of AA are prime targets...I assumed he would want to know and he did...as we sat at Starbucks and I filled him in not only on what has happened to my boyfriend but what my research has brought forth..on the internet (blogs, interviews, reports, documentarys, etc) and what I have 'uncovered' from many of my friends who also at one time have been victims to these groups groups either firsthand or secondhand...as he listened to me and as he let it all sink in his first reaction was even more intense than I had thought...he was livid and grapsed for words to describe people who would do this to people...he is an attorney and with a pretty interesting and connected background...and most caring...as he struggled to express just how upset he was, he first used the word 'evil'..but then,"No, evil is not low enough..evil with... a capital E...these people are the lowest of predators, they prey on the weak and downtrodden"...as we talked about why these groups are allowed to exist he mulled over many legal points that might be cause for shutting them down (as obvioulsy no one has to date been successful at doing so)...and we brainstromed for a while...he had been aware of est in it's day because of the press, mostly negative, and like most Americans, had thought it had died off...because there was no real mention of it anymore in the press...no recent 60 Minutes about 'Guess what? There baaack!...or, actually never left...just regrouped renamed and went underground' ...so he suggested there be a big push, city by city to get the 'news' out... and he had one widely respected magazine with a national circulationin mind for starters...a publication who we agreed this type of story would be right up their alley...and one well respected journalist/writer in particular...who, I happen to be good friends with...so I'm going to approach him this week about this...it was his opinion and I believe as well...that if we can't shut them down we could kill them off...with the facts...the truth...with public awareness that goes way beyond blogs and such that are only found by people who have already been hurt...more effecive than lobbying...go straight to the real top, those with the real power..the press