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[This excerpt is from Second Thoughts: Understanding the False Memory Crisis and How It Could Affect You, pp. 25-26, by Paul Simpson. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Atlanta, GA. Copyright (c) 1996. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Read our review or order it from Amazon.com.]

Strange Bedfellows

So who are the people that promote regressionism?  On a national level there are four social groups: feminists, Christians, New Agers, and Science-fiction advocates.  In my work with regressionists, I've noticed that the different regression camps (much like competing denominations) tend to not get along with each other.  Each group is certain that it's the real thing while the other "denominations" are ruining credibility for actual victims.  Feminists assert their hypnotic images are authentic and wish the space alien advocates would quit making their outrageous claims.  Meanwhile, ritual abuse believers are often Christians who side with the feminists, but take offense at the stories of the New Agers who journey into past lives.  The New Agers, who side with the space alien advocates, are disgusted by the Christians who are so closed-minded.  In last place, the space alien advocates get the least respect and just want to be invited to the party.

As I've talked with regressionists from the different "denominations," I've found they take great offense at being associated with the others." Usually they'll ask me to quit bringing up the other denominations and stick with their particular camp (which is, of course, the legitimate one).  Interestingly, when I ask one camp about other forms of repressed memories, they explain them to their own particular worldview.  The feminists tell me that recovered memories of space alien traumas are due to an abused child's distortion of actual sexual abuse.  The Christian regressionists agree with the feminists but point out that space alien abductions are actually satanic ritual abuses in which the victim has been preprogrammed to see the cult members as space aliens.  Meanwhile, the Science-fiction advocates tell me that ritual abuse believers are actually seeing traumas on spaceships but because of religious bias are mistaking the images as being satanic in nature.  The New Age believers agree with the Sdence-fiction advocates and feminists, but think that the Christians are misguided fanatics and that satanic ritual abuse (SRA) is actually space alien and past life trauma that has been distorted.

Of particular interest to me is the fact that a regression believer never tells me that the other denominations are having false memories.  Contrary memories are always explained as a distortion of a "real abuse event" ("real abuse" being defined by the person I'm talking to).  To allow for the possibility of false memories, at any level, is to ultimately endanger one's own denomination--"If it could be false in their case, it could be false in mine." Therefore, the underlying belief in repressed memories is always affirmed, while discrepancies are reshaped into each camp's particular world conspiracy.

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