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I've been lurking on the "Recovery" board for a while, and have
really been astonished by what I've seen here. The following are my
observations. They are not meant to be an indictment of everyone who
posts on this board. I have certainly not read everything said here,
and have no interest in doing so. I've merely selected to read from
a few topics that piqued my interest. However, I've seen enough of
the following characteristics to lead one to suspect there might be
some endemic problems on this board.
Non-Recovery
Using this board as a place to "recover" from Mormonism is like
holding an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in a bar during Happy Hour
when the drinks are on the house. Recovery from Mormonism will occur
only when you let it go. If you don't believe in or like the Church,
leave it and let it go. Move on. There are lots of wonderful things
to do in life, but ranting about Mormonism is not one of them.
People who hang around this board obsessing about everything the
Church does will never "recover" from Mormonism.
Bigotry
All one needs to do to see the bigotry on this board is replace the
ubiquitous terms Morg and Morgbot with Kike. Try the following on
for size:
"I get mad every time I think about those Kikes. The Kikes
are so clannish; and they wear funny cloths. Those stupid Kikes
always do what their Rabbis tell them. They think they should be
obedient to God. What mindless Kikebots. They actually have 613
commandments; count 'em—six hundred and thirteen. This proves
they're a mind-control cult. You know, Kikes have committed murder
and embezzled money. In fact, when a Kike commits murder, it's
because he's a Kike. There is something about those Kikes that makes
them violent. The Kikes are all rich, too. They control the money
and politics of New York. Not just New York, they control Hollywood
too, and want to control the politics of the entire country. Indeed,
they are a threat to freedom and democracy. And their kosher rules
are so-ooo stupid. They make me want to gag. Why shouldn't I eat a
cheeseburger if I want to? You can't get a good ham sandwich in a
Kike deli. I want a ham sandwich, and I'm not going to let those
Kikes stop me from eating it. I sure hate those Kikes! They drive
me nuts."
It simply won't do to insist that you're not really a
bigot because what you believe about Mormonism is really true.
Anti-Semites honestly think they're not bigots either--what they
believe about Jews is really true: "I'm not bigoted! There really is
an international Jewish banking conspiracy."
Vulgarity
It is quite amazing how vulgar some people on this board are. Is
this what "recovery" is supposed to do? Is there any point to this
vulgarity? Now you're at last free from the chains of Mormonism so
you can be as vulgar as you want to be. Congratulations!
Stereotyping
All Morgbots walk in single file; at least the one I saw did.
I once knew a Mormon who was stupid; all Mormons are stupid.
There was a Bishop who offended me; all Mormons are offensive.
There is a Mormon who committed murder; all Mormons are violent.
There is a Mormon who made a stupid argument in favor of the Book of
Mormon; all arguments in favor of the Book of Mormon are stupid.
Close-mindedness
I'm astonished at how many times people on this board have said that
they don't need to read anything written by Mormon scholars because
they know the Church is false. This is precisely as stupid as a
Mormon who says he doesn't need to read anything about Hinduism
because he knows Hinduism is false. If one is uninformed and refuses
to read on a topic, the proper intellectual posture is to withhold
judgment on the topic. But not on the "Recovery" board.
Gullibility
Anything negative said about the Church, its beliefs, practices and
members finds an instant gullible audience on this board. Everything
negative about the Church is automatically thought to be true by some
here. There is apparently no anti-Mormon argument so stupid that it
won't be believed by some people on this board. In reality, however:
- The Church may still be false, even if Krakauer is wrong about
Mormonism being responsible for the Lafferty murders.
- The Church may
still be false, even if Brigham Young did not order the Mountain
Meadows Massacre.
- The Church may still be false, even if most
Latter-day Saints are basically decent people.
- The Church may still
be false, even if there is evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon.
- The Church may still be false, even if there is no great conspiracy
in Salt Lake to suppress the freedom of speech of the Unitarians and
ACLU.
- The Church may still be false, even if it's unhealthy to drink
alcohol.
- The Church may still be false, even if sexual promiscuity is
a social and personal ill.
- The Church may still be false, even if it
does some good in the world.
- The Church may still be false, even if
some of its teachings are true.
You can still logically believe the
Church is false, even if some of the bad things said about the Church
are false.
Arrogance
For many on this board, it seems that once your mind is freed from
the shackles of Mormonism you are suddenly capable of being
absolutely right about absolutely everything. When I find a
cartoonist pontificating with absolute certitude about the history of
religion, for example—on topics where mere mortals with PhDs have
spent lifetimes of study and still are unable to resolve disputed
issues—you will have to forgive me for being dubious about the
intellectual rigor required by many on this board.
It is possible for
stupid people to believe a true idea for illogical reasons. In fact,
it is quite likely that all true ideas are believed by someone or
another for fallacious reasons. Because a stupid person believes an
idea for an illogical reason, it does not prove the idea is wrong.
It is also possible for very intelligent people to believe false
ideas for very good reasons. (Take geocentricity, for example.) It
is possible to give valid arguments for a false proposition. It is
also possible to give invalid arguments for a true proposition. There
are a number of reasons--limitations of human reason, human
fallibility, opposing paradigms, ambiguities of evidence--why
intelligent people of good will can disagree about complicated and
controversial matters.
But not on the "Recovery" board. Here all
intelligent, right-thinking, and honest people agree with absolute
certitude that Mormonism is not simply false, but so manifestly
absurd that anyone who believes in it is a liar or an idiot.
Ad Hominem
It seems that if you disagree with any of the dogmas of the Recovery
board, you are a bad person. Once again, for some on this board, it
is not possible that intelligent people of good will can honestly
disagree about complicated and controversial issues. If someone
happens to believe that a plausible case can be made for the
historicity of the Book of Mormon, that person is not simply
mistaken. He is a moron and a liar. In the real world one can be
mistaken without being an idiot and a liar. But not for some on the
"Recovery" board. If Latter-day Saints have a different
understanding of their history than do non-Latter-day Saints, the
Church is not simply mistaken, it is hiding THE TRUTH about its
history. Rather than seriously dealing with the evidence and
analysis on the issue, it is a sufficient response to simply note
that all Morgbots are brain-dead. You see, they are psychologically
trapped in a mind-controlling cult; only when one has "recovered"
from this cult can one see THE TRUTH. It is inconceivable that a
brain-dead Morgbot could possibly think for himself, let alone come
up with a cogent argument in favor of his beliefs.
I'm not going to lurk on this board any more. It is a monumental
waste of time. So feel free to blast away at me. Be sure to note
that I once made a joke comparing an anti-Mormon to an inane cartoon
character. Oh, and since someone claims (no need to actually
demonstrate) that I once made a mistake on some topic, everything I
say about every topic is not only suspect, but demonstrably wrong.
Therefore, you can all ignore what I have to say. After all, I'm a
mindless Morgbot.
Enough said. Don't forget that cogent argument--"I
know you are, but what am I." You see, some Mormons are gullible;
therefore, all Mormons are gullible. And since people on the
"Recovery" board are not Mormons, it's impossible that they might be
gullible.
I have rarely seen such a manifestation of unbridled obsession,
contempt, bigotry and hatred as found among some on this "recovery"
board. But what is truly sad is that no one here has the courage to
stand up and say so.
-William Hamblin
August 2003
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