The comments following this article are well worth reading.
The basics:
Corboy: How abusers work -- selecting exactly those persons who are less likely to
fight back or leave. The person who wrote the comment below is referencing stage
hypnotists, but this strategy is used by opportunistic Lotharios and at worst,
by molester types. One Zen master who later resigned in disgrace had bedded a
number of adult women students. The way he found his targets, was to test various women. One way he did it would be to walk alongside the lady and then bump into her. If she protested or vigorously moved away, that signaled that she was not not worth the risk.
If the lady didnt back away or protest, this signaled that she was potential prey.
Corboy can inform you that growing up terrified in a bad family can leave a person (male or female) afraid to speak up or fight back when someone tests them in this manner. One tends to go into a 'freeze' response.
Blaming the victim -- and rebuttals to that.
Corboy: The worst victim bashing occurs when persons dare to speculate that the
victim suffered from some sort of psychiatric disorder.
Keep the eye on the ball, folks. The law. Again, one discussant summed it up:
A thoughtful overview from 'Pine State'
(Corboy. Damn, it. Decades ago, I donated in support of Kindness House. I even attended a couple of Bo Lozoff's lectures. Am very, very sad that he turned into just another guru bully. I can tell you that Bo's first book, "We are All Doing Time" was and is, a charming and delightful read. And...it does put Bo Lozoff in a very good light. Must tell you that prisoners are as vulnerable as elders and young children. They dared not refuse Bo, or they'd lose probation and be 'violated' back to prison and with bad marks in their records.)
The basics:
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On thinking about it, the victim could probably easily win if she can prove the following:
1. Did the victim have good reason to believe that if she did not comply with Lady Ruth's requests, her career would be negatively affected?
2. Did Jivamukti make it clear, if unwritten, that dissent of any kind was intolerable?
If either statement is true, then Faurot has a solid case. Universities and corporations understand this so why shouldn't a stinky old ashram?
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I've done yoga for more than 15 years, and studios like Jivamukti and Bikram and the teachers mentioned in this article have been a total turnoff for me. If everyone is crowding around someone and fighting to get into their class, I go to another class. When people are expressing wide-eyed devotion to the person beaming beatifically at the front of the room, that makes me look a lot more critically at the person who's at the front of the room. And if a yoga teacher isn't capable of bringing their own water to class, then I don't really know if they're capable of teaching me anything valuable.
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These predators become experts at identifying the people who will be most vulnerable to their advances.
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I was just going to post the same thing! The fact that power was given means nothing in this regard. To an extent, we've "given" power to many adults in our lives, like our bosses. This woman was in a teacher/boss capacity and manipulated an intimate relationship. The fact that the relationship was entered into willingly initially should have any bearing.
Corboy: How abusers work -- selecting exactly those persons who are less likely to
fight back or leave. The person who wrote the comment below is referencing stage
hypnotists, but this strategy is used by opportunistic Lotharios and at worst,
by molester types. One Zen master who later resigned in disgrace had bedded a
number of adult women students. The way he found his targets, was to test various women. One way he did it would be to walk alongside the lady and then bump into her. If she protested or vigorously moved away, that signaled that she was not not worth the risk.
If the lady didnt back away or protest, this signaled that she was potential prey.
Corboy can inform you that growing up terrified in a bad family can leave a person (male or female) afraid to speak up or fight back when someone tests them in this manner. One tends to go into a 'freeze' response.
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The problem is that abusers work like those entertainment hypnotists: they start with a simple request of say, 50 people, and find the 30 people suggestible enough to go along with it. Then they slowly escalate the requests, winnowing down the field from 30 people willing to do some of the requests, then 20 people willing to do half the requests, 10 people willing to do most of the requests, until they have three people who are so suggestible that they're willing to humiliate themselves because they're gullible enough to believe they're truly hypnotized.
Blaming the victim -- and rebuttals to that.
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It may be cultish, but Holly made a choice to worship there. Nobody forced her.
. 1 day ago
No nobody forced her. But remember, this was both her boss, and her pastor. A double dose of influence - and after spending all that money, can you blame her for being afraid to fall out of favor and therefore loose the good (well paying) shifts?
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The P
The P 23 hours ago
. Nobody forced her but it's not like they stated up front that her job would include creepy behavior from her supervisor/spiritual advisor as well as retribution if she spoke out against these abuses. There were clear negative impacts to her job as a result of her complaints against her supervisor. It's pretty clear cut sexual harassment and there are laws in place to hold people and businesses accountable for this behavior.
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Corboy: The worst victim bashing occurs when persons dare to speculate that the
victim suffered from some sort of psychiatric disorder.
Keep the eye on the ball, folks. The law. Again, one discussant summed it up:
Quote
On thinking about it, the victim could probably easily win if she can prove the following:
1. Did the victim have good reason to believe that if she did not comply with Lady Ruth's requests, her career would be negatively affected?
2. Did Jivamukti make it clear, if unwritten, that dissent of any kind was intolerable?
If either statement is true, then Faurot has a solid case. Universities and corporations understand this so why shouldn't a stinky old ashram?
A thoughtful overview from 'Pine State'
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There have been plenty of scandals involving south Asian mystics and gurus. I spent some time at Satchidananda Ashram and was aware of the allegations, though not in depth, against its founder before I went to stay for an internship program. Coming from a Protestant Christian background, guru worship never felt right to me, but my experience there actually made me ambivalent when I did learn more about the allegations. On one hand, I get annoyed with people who think that woman have nothing better to do with their energy than falsely accuse others of sexual misconduct toward them. On the other hand, the competition for closeness to the guru had to make me wonder whether jealousy could lead to the accusations. (To be clear, I had no personal contact with Satchidananda, just the monks and nuns conducting the program.) After I learned the extent of the allegations, my first instinct took over, but there were good and spiritually gifted people there (who were also betrayed, IMO) and it didn't make me devalue my experiences there.
The only difference I see is that this is happening in a newer generation of U.S. yogic culture that is in upscale studios and not spartan monasteries. The offenders seem to be western teachers. I don't doubt that guru worship creates a setting that is ripe for letting unethical people commit sexual abuse. The desire to turn yoga into an exercise program has made westerners forget that it's a spiritual practice. That could be a good thing for the many who need it, but it holds the same dangers that deference to religious authority figures has generated for many religions.
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Human Kindness Foundation in Durham N.C, which is an ashram-style commune based on helping prisoners was exposed when their founder/leader and guru Bo Lozoff was found to be sleeping with just about everyone working there.
(URL inserted by Corboy -- [www.indyweek.com]
Bo died in a motorcycle crash not too long after the sexual escapades were exposed and the place shut down. It re-opened after his death and is still operating today. He had required the workers to give up all personal wealth/property and devote themselves entirely to the cult.
Look at the history of Kripalu Yoga Center. The contrast between the bare-walled cells that the students/disciples slept in versus the beautifully appointed house the guru built for himself is pretty striking.
Ironically, after guru was unmasked as serial sexual predator, many Kripalu-ites joined up with John Friend, who, of course, turned out to have the same predilection for sleeping with his youngest, hottest students.
(Corboy. Damn, it. Decades ago, I donated in support of Kindness House. I even attended a couple of Bo Lozoff's lectures. Am very, very sad that he turned into just another guru bully. I can tell you that Bo's first book, "We are All Doing Time" was and is, a charming and delightful read. And...it does put Bo Lozoff in a very good light. Must tell you that prisoners are as vulnerable as elders and young children. They dared not refuse Bo, or they'd lose probation and be 'violated' back to prison and with bad marks in their records.)