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Idaho Bar Ripped After Organizing 'Hetero Awesome Fest' During Pride Month
May 05, 2025
An Idaho bar is drawing criticism after announcing it will be hosting a "Hetero Awesome Festival" (is that really the BEST name you could come up with? Maybe workshop it a bit more...) in response to LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
The grown adults who run Old State Saloon in the Boise suburb of Eagle are convinced that "traditional family values" are under assault because of Pride, so they will be holding their event on June 20 and 21 outside Idaho's state Capitol, to coincide with Pride celebrations.
Old State Saloon announced their celebration with an Instagram video that is frankly hilarious in its delusion.
It's exactly what you'd expect—a bunch of far-right grievance politics over things that are not happening but which Fox News and other propagandists have been insisting are real for decades.
As owner Mark Fitzpatrick put it in an email to NBC News:
"The Hetero Awesome Fest and Heterosexual Awesomeness Month aim to celebrate the traditional family unit and address concerns about cultural trends influenced by liberal progressivism."
"Our event is not about targeting any group but about raising awareness of practices we find troubling, such as the encouragement of 'gender transitions' among children or their exposure to inappropriate content."
That's the publicist-approved version. The video itself was a lot more specific:
"The Battle Lines of Heterosexual Awesomeness ... are the unyielding front where we plant our flag for family, truth, and liberty—no retreat, no surrender."
Retreat from what or surrender to whom, the video does not specify, likely because the threat is completely invented in their own gay-obsessed brains.
Anyway, it goes on to say that Fitzpatrick and his saloon are "slugging it out against the gutless enemies of traditional values" which includes "the LGBTQ+ agenda's anti-kin chaos," which sounds like something Yosemite Sam would say while shooting off his pistols if he were a weird conservatives with an inexplicable fixation on gay sex.
As you might guess, Fitzpatrick's announcement hasn't been very popular, including with the sponsors he's tried to line up, which he told NBC have all ignored his requests for donations.
It didn't go over well on social media, either, unless mockery was the goal. Cuz there was plenty of that!
Just for the record, Fitzgerald told NBC that his event is "a love thing" and there will be "no hate at all" despite claiming on social media that LGBTQ+ people are "criminals" who cut off children's genitals.
Lots of absolutely normal stuff going on at the Old State Saloon so the fest should be a good time!
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Marlon Wayans Opens Up About Why He Openly Supports His Trans Child In Powerful Interview With Michelle Obama
May 05, 2025
On the April 30, 2025, episode of the IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast, the former First Lady and her older brother Craig were joined by two members of the Wayans' entertainment dynasty, brothers Damon and Marlon Wayans.
As two of 10 children, the discussion covered stories from their childhood in the Fulton Houses housing project in New York City, their family's still growing Hollywood legacy, and what they've learned from raising their own kids and being uncles and great-uncles to many more.
Marlon once joked to Black America Web that his family needed to be introduced to condoms because he had "40 nieces and nephews." Damon, at age 64, is a father of four and grandfather of seven. Marlon, at age 52, has three children, but no grandchildren yet.
A lot of attention has been paid to Marlon's parenting of late, after he publicly announced his support for his transgender son Kai Zackery Wayans.
On the podcast, Marlon Wayans shared:
"When they went through the transition, I actually went through transition."
You can see the clip here:
Near the end of the podcast episode, Michelle Obama asked Marlon Wayans about their son, Kai Zackery Wayans:
“Well, speaking of parenting, I wanted to talk, Marlon, a bit about, you know, just so proud of how you are being a role model for dealing with a child that's transgender."
"And that's, you know, that warms my heart—particularly [for you] as a black man—you know...would you care to share that journey?”
Marlon responded:
“Well, I learned, like—and their transition really taught me—what real unconditional love was. When they went through the transition, I actually went through transition."
"I went from denial to complete acceptance. And it took me a week to get there."
"And what I've learned as a parent is for you to stop loving your child because of their choice and their life? That's a poor reflection on you. You know what I mean?"
Regarding people who aren't accepting, he said:
"When there's people that go, 'I'm not going to associate with you because you do that or this is against God and this isn't'. It's like, listen, I am not here to judge. I am NOT God. Only God can judge. I say this, you know?"
"And if that's a mistake and we get to heaven and God don't let my child in, I'ma shave a beard and sneak him in through the back."
"But I'm going to love my baby and I'm never going to, I'm a father and I'm always going to defend them. I was going to protect them. I was gonna respect them. And there's nothing anybody could ever tell me."
Speaking of the backlash from some fans, Marlon stated:
"I could lose fans—good. I lost people that are small minded, small hearted and self-loathing. So goodbye. And I gained, for every one I lose, I gained 150 more, you know?”
Damon Wayans interjected:
“So for me as uncle, you know, it's, I love you, period. Right? But somebody got to write a rule book and how I need to treat you. Because I don't know.”
After referring to the roughhousing done with his other nephews, Damon added:
“Can I treat you like my other nephews? I don't know. You know, and I don't want you to ever feel that I'm judging you.”
Obama replied:
“That's right. Because you just don't know. I used to say it's like going to your grandmother and expecting them to learn a new language overnight, you know?"
"It's like they've been speaking this language, using pronouns in this way for their entire life. And to get it wrong, it's a mutual patience with the process.”
Marlon—whose son Kai uses they/them pronouns— responded:
“And they've been very patient with me and their mother, because, you know, when they changed their name, I'm like, I called you Amai for 23 years. What do you mean, Kai? Kai, I know you as Amai."
"What do you mean them? I know you as her. And it was, it was a process. And at the end of the day, it's respect that… that's what they want. And that's their wishes."
"So respect their wishes and I know that the same child is in there. That's it! They're brilliant, right? And that's all I really care about is they're kind-hearted, they're really funny, have a great sense of humor, and extremely intelligent."
Focusing on what's important, Marlon stated:
"And, you know, those are the things I'm proud of. Are you a good person?"
"I don't care about your sexualities and, you know, all these other things, your genders or associations. I care that you are a good-hearted person. That you take care of your siblings, your mother, you’re respectful."
"They have been wonderful their whole life. I've never had any problem with them at all. So, you know?”
Obama added:
“And I like to be putting that out there for the world, I mean, because we just, especially in our community, we've sacrificed a lot over this issue. Um, and, and it's all about realizing that we got to love people how they come to us, period."
"Not just our kids, but all kids. And the notion that, you know, we would, uh, you know put people in unfair advantages, put them, their lives at risk over some nonsense.”
Marlon concluded:
“Because those are bad people. End of the day, when you are being divisive like that, you are a bad person. Your core is bad."
"No matter what you do, you're not gonna make your way in heaven."
"My job is to be here to give laughter and to give love and everything that gotta be my intention and will always be. And like I said, I'm a father, that's my baby. And I fight with them to the end. Period.”
The small-minded ignorance Marlon called out in the podcast showed up when the clip was shared on X...
...but some people shared support.
Being the Wayans—well known for their humor—there were some laughs mixed in with serious topics.
Like when Damon shared insight into becoming a grandfather.
Or when the brothers talked about who was tougher—the five Wayans brothers or the five Wayans sisters.
You can watch the full episode of the IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast featuring guests Damon and Marlon Wayans here:
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RFK Jr. Slammed After Falsely Claiming Measles Vaccine Contains 'Aborted Fetus Debris'
May 05, 2025
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was criticized after he falsely claimed during a NewsNation town hall that the measles vaccine "contains a lot of aborted fetus debris and DNA particles," further promoting more anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
Kennedy stated that the U.S. is managing its measles outbreak more effectively than other countries, noting that the number of cases has "plateaued."
He said:
“Now, there are populations in our country, like the Mennonites in Texas, who were most afflicted, and they have religious objections to vaccination, because the MMR vaccine contains a lot of aborted fetus debris and DNA particles, so they don’t want to take it."
"We ought to be taking care of those populations when they get sick."
You can hear his remarks in the video below.
Kennedy's statement is easily disproven.
Fetal cells are sometimes used in the development of certain vaccines because viruses require living cells to reproduce. Since viruses don’t grow in just any type of cell, researchers must identify which cells a virus will infect and replicate in, and human cells are often the most effective starting point.
Fetal cells, in particular, offer a key advantage: they are typically isolated from the sterile environment of the womb, reducing the risk of contamination from other viruses. This makes them especially useful for producing vaccines that are both safe and effective.
However, as the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia points out, "even though fetal cells are used to grow vaccine viruses, vaccines do not contain these cells or pieces of DNA that are recognizable as human DNA."
This is because "when viruses grow in cells, the cells are killed because in most cases the new viruses burst the cells to be released," "once the vaccine virus is grown, it is purified, so that cellular debris and growth reagents are removed," and "during this process of purification, any remaining cellular DNA is also broken down."
Vaccination remains the most effective tool to prevent the spread of measles. The two-dose measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is 97% effective at preventing infection, widely regarded as safe, and recommended for nearly everyone starting at 12 months of age.
Kennedy was swiftly called out.
Kennedy's words came as health officials confirmed that the measles outbreak in northwest Texas has grown to 683 cases.
Texas’ case count does not include related cases from the same outbreak reported in neighboring states. As of Friday, New Mexico had confirmed 67 cases and Oklahoma reported 15. Altogether, the outbreak has resulted in 765 reported cases across the three states.
Several weeks ago, just after Texas health officials confirmed the death of an unvaccinated child—the first U.S. death from the highly contagious but preventable disease since 2015—Kennedy said the outbreak is "not unusual," downplaying the worsening health crisis.
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Photo by Jaclyn Moy on Unsplash
People Divulge The Most Awkward Situations They've Ever Gone Through
May 05, 2025
We've all made mistakes and done things we're not proud of, but usually, we're not so embarrassed that we can't shake the feeling.
But every once in a while, something so awkward happens, it just kind of stays with you.
Curious, Redditor Salty-Mud5211 asked:
"What is the most awkward situation you have gone through?"
Sit And Wait
"My parents were going through a divorce. My mom found out that my dad had been cheating and tracked the woman down."
"She went over to her house to catch my dad there. She had nothing else to do with my brother and me, so she brought us along."
"We got to sit in this strange woman's living room while my mom and dad had a giant fight."
- thereisonlyoneme
Too Soon
"My older brother died in a car accident when he was 20 and I was 16. He was ejected from the car through the windshield."
"We lived in a small town where everyone knows everyone, so everyone at my high school knew what happened before I came back to school. It happened on a Wednesday, and I came back to school the next Monday."
"I was walking to the library during class and passed a friend of mine who had fake blood dripping down her face. I didn’t know it was fake and asked her what happened, in a bit of a panic. She said, 'Oh, I flew through a windshield!'"
"She was in costume for a part in a play or something. I don’t remember exactly what the situation was. I do remember my heart stopping and us just staring at each other for a moment before her face dropped. She tried to say sorry, and I said it was okay, but I have no memory of anything after that moment."
"I think I blocked it out because it was the most uncomfortable, awkward situation I’ve ever been in."
- maryautumnn
Awkward Elevator Vibes
"My roommate threw a New Year’s Eve party and we invited over 30 to 40 people."
"Four people came. FOUR people and me and my roommate. Four people who didn’t really know each other and had nothing in common."
"It was baaaad, but that didn’t stop me from trying to have fun, got super drunk, and after the ball drop, I hid away to my room. But man, that was bad. The fourth person to arrive said, 'Oh, am I early?' And we were like: ...no."
- Shaneski101
Dance Fighting
"In college, I skipped class one evening with an acquaintance because she was upset over a breakup. She proceeded to take me to the grand opening of a local gym (complete with an open bar and DJ??)."
"On the way there, she got in a screaming fight over the phone with her ex, and when we got there, he showed up with a trash bag full of her stuff, and they got in a fistfight on the dance floor."
"They both got arrested, and the cop who took my statement offered to drive me home, since she had been my ride. When we pulled up to my apartment, he asked me out."
- EnvironmentFront7945
Too Proud To Backpedal
"In college, I tried to bamboozle the professor by claiming I missed his sign-in sheet last week, and I was there, even though I wasn't. He said, 'Okay, no problem. What did we do?'"
"Me, thinking I was prepared, told him basically what we would have gone over in our syllabus. He just blankly stared at me and said we sat in a circle and discussed something about current events instead. Then he said, if you were here, you woulda have gotten this sheet and pulled out a paper with some questions on it."
"The correct move here was to claim I have a bad memory and apologize. Instead, I claimed that I thought I did have that paper and I just forgot. I went back pretending to look for it and acting progressively frustrated when I couldn't find what I knew wasn't there."
"This all happened during a break in class so like half the students were just watching this go down. Eventually, he looked up and said, 'How's that paper coming? Nothing? Okay, let's begin again.'"
"He was clearly having fun with me, but it seriously made me change my behavior from how cringe it felt getting caught lying so badly, twice. Just own your dumbassery, doubling down is never a good idea."
- birdlawyer86
A Spooky Cringe
"Failed proposal on Halloween."
"A recently single girl was at our Halloween party. Her ex-boyfriend drove 1200 miles and arrived on our doorstep during the party at 9:00 PM dressed as a knight, not a knight in shining armor, but rather as a Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail-style knight."
"We were all shocked that he was there in the first place. But then he came in, found her still dancing, and dropped down on one knee while reciting an obviously rehearsed speech about how much he missed her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her."
"She was shaking her head no the entire time but let him finish speaking and didn’t say a word before she ran down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms. He followed her awkwardly into the room, and emerged/left a few minutes later without looking at anyone or saying anything on his way out the door."
"We haven’t seen him since. But I’m told he’s now happily married to someone else and has a couple of kids."
- Symie5
Holding Himself Accountable
"When I was younger, I left a huge hickey on the neck of my girlfriend one month into our relationship. Her father was NOT happy at all and told her he’d punch me if he ever saw me."
"I was absolutely in love with this girl and didn’t want to jeopardize our relationship so… I sucked it up, and when she went to work, I drove to her house by myself, knocked on her door, and apologized to that man face-to-face."
"Thank f**k he did not deck me like he threatened. He ended up shaking my hand and letting me go, and he later told my girlfriend he was so impressed I came by and apologized to him. My then-girlfriend is now my wife, and we’ve been together for 15 years now."
- Beard341
A Quick Escalation
"A friend and his wife, out of f**king NOWHERE, just started absolutely screaming and swearing at one another. In front of me, their two kids, and three other people, while we were all chilling in their hotel room before going to a wedding. It was like a light switch."
"Never seen anything like it. None of us knew what to do because they were supposed to drive us to the venue."
- ProjectSunlight
Caught In The Act
"As a teen, I was having sex with my girlfriend in her living room. Middle of the day, I thought her parents were at work, and we were completely naked. Suddenly, we hear her mom come home in the kitchen, greeting their dog. We panic."
"Girlfriend runs upstairs to her bedroom, I look around and then bolt for the coat closet. As I'm standing there with nothing on, in the closet, it occurs to me, what if her mom needs to hang her coat? Longest five minutes of my life."
"I can hear her mom going about her business... my clothes are still lying somewhere in the living room. Finally, my girlfriend returns from her room (dressed), finds me in the closet, and hands me my clothes. I get dressed and go to the kitchen like nothing was wrong."
- DoradoPulido2
On The Sly
"I get on an elevator with a lady, and we each push our floors. It’s summertime, so I’m wearing shorts. Just as the door is about to open on her floor, I hear the camera shutter noise phones make."
"I look over and she’s beet red and literally dives off the elevator and collides with another lady who was waiting to get on. She gets on and says, 'What the f**k was her problem?'"
"I explain that she tried to snap a pic of me on the sly, but the camera noise went off. We both laughed."
- Tangboy50000
Muscle Memory
"My friend was trying to book a table at a restaurant and told the guy on the phone, 'Love you,' and then hung up. I couldn't stop laughing so badly that day, and she was so embarrassed."
- pkjoan
"I was picking up pizza one time, and I heard a young (teen) guy take a phone order and end the call by saying, 'Bye, love you.' I think he had hoped no one heard, but one of the females asked him, and he said it was an accident while his face reddened. I was amused but didn't let him see, haha."
- mychaoticbubble
In The Moment
"I was visiting my mother, who lives about an hour away, and when it came time to leave, I full-on kissed her on the mouth without any hesitation whatsoever. This was not a quick peck on the cheek or whatever, but a full-on my lips pressed to her kiss."
"As soon as I realized what happened, all of my higher brain functions ceased working, and all I managed to do was stammer like an idiot. The look on my mom's face was priceless."
"Apparently I'm too used to giving my wife a kiss before I leave the house, and in the moment,t I just didn't think about it. It still gets brought up occasionally."
- sims_antle
A Domino Effect
"After giving my best man speech, I hugged the bride who knocked over a flower vase, which knocked over a glass of red wine all over her dress. I still cringe at that 15 years later. Nailed the speech though, lol."
- burnsrado
Wrong Door
"Around 1981, I was a sophomore in high school competing in track. We were visiting another school, one I had never been to before, for a track meet. Some buddies and I needed to use the restroom, so we walked toward where we'd been directed for the locker rooms."
"We get there, and I needed to take a seat for what I had to accomplish, and my friends did what they needed to do and left."
"I hear the door open, and this chorus of chattering female voices coming closer and closer. I sat there frozen in fear. In days, thankfully, I was wearing over-the-calf tube socks, so my hairy shins weren't showing. The girls did what they needed, and I stayed quiet, and then they left."
"Fortunately, no one else came in and I made my escape without being caught. Except, of course, for my friends who'd abandoned me. They were laughing their butts off. But that's what friends are for."
- Pale-Life-2968
From being in the wrong place to participating in activities that don't work out, there's no doubt why these were such awkward moments for these Redditors. At least in most of these cases, they could laugh them off later, but some of them were cringeworthy, even years later.
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people standing near white cross
Photo by Luan Cabral on Unsplash
People Who Escaped From A Cult Share Their Experiences
May 04, 2025
Many people are brought up in a strict upbringing.
What some people don't realize until they are adults, however, is that their upbringing wasn't strict, but they were, in fact, brought up in a cult.
As such, their perception of the world isn't different, it's completely distorted.
Frighteningly, most people who are born into or raised in cults never manage to escape from them.
You can bet that the lucky ones who do escape have memorable stories to tell.
Redditor Dear_Position8323 was curious to hear the stories of former cult members, specifically their escape, leading them to ask:
"People who Escaped from a cult, what happened in there?"
Multi-Level Marketing Is An Understatement...
"I was in the cult known as 'Amway' for two months."
"I learned that they love to dress up in formal business attire and sit and listen to 'successful' people talk for hours."
"They put on this facade about how much they care about you and creating a friendship with you until you open your eyes and realize they only 'care' about you because you can help them earn more money."
"God forbid you miss a phone call, or else they think you aren’t committed to your business."
"They try to brainwash you into believing that if you listen to 3 audios of people talking a day, you’ll become successful."
"Once a week, you meet up (in my experience, it was in a hotel conference room) at like 7pm until 10pm listening to the same exact pitch, and they expect you to take notes every. Single. Time."
"Then every month they’ll host these gatherings called Night Owls where they’ll meet up at a location (for us it was Pizza Ranch), you pay $10 to get in, and you sit and eat and listen to the so-called 'successful' people talk until 3am."
"The moment I realized I needed to get out of the cult was when I was giving my pitch to a buddy of mine via text, and he said I sounded like I was using ChatGPT to text him."
"Needless to say if anyone ever approaches you asking if you’re open to making additional income, SAY NO."- DevinDelta
Wellness, Indeed...
"I was in a 'wellness community' for 3 years."
"They started by telling us to drink special green juice every morning, but it got darker."
"Eventually, they isolated us from family, took our phones, and made us work 18-hour days in their 'healing gardens'."
"The leader claimed she could cure cancer with meditation."
"Got out when I saw them forcing a diabetic girl to stop her insulin. Called my sister at 2 AM from a gas station payphone and never looked back."- FriendlyNsexy
When In Doubt, The Answer Is No
"No BDs."
"No Holidays."
"No Friday night fun, nor Saturday until after sunset."
"No dating."
"No 'unclean' meat."
"Holy Days like a week w no leavened products."
"Go to school with your sandwich made on motza and listen to the kids make you feel SO FN WEIRD."
"Men rule, women and children are beneath men."
"God first."
"At 18/19 I finally got out."
"54 now and my dad still thinks I turned from God and ruined my life."- SwanImmediate4211
Religions Should Not Be Built On Exclusion...
"Where my ex JWs at?"
"I left at 16."
"Then had my very first birthday party."- KitchenBreadfruit237
Talk About False Prophets...
"Not really escaped so much as it collapsed."
"It was a MegaChurch, and the pastor would do a sermon, then the recording was played in each branch of the church multiple times on every Sunday morning and evening."
"Backstory on how I got in:"
"I married young, he was saving himself for marriage and had never even held a girl's hand."
"He was from a Russian community, so I learned the language and immersed myself all in, even though it was an American church in the USA."
"He takes me to this church, and we get involved and do a pre-marital class together (totally legit so far)."
"The classes became awful."
"They pretty much insisted on successful marriages only looking one way, and they said that if we don't put out enough our dudes will cheat on us - and while that logic may track, the methodology is where I take issue - it was pretty much stuff your feelings and character to bow to your husband - don't question anything, you only get to this result on one path."
'Also, give us your money and live modestly even though our pastor is wearing fancy clothes."
'Then we started doing these 'Redemption' classes and buying the Pastors books.. "
"And men and women did them separate."
"Essentially, they would break you down and then offer you the one and only relief psychologically."
"Same with my first husband, my fiancé at the time."
'I held onto my identity and gave them so much push back when they would start group criticism sessions, I'd always bring in reality checks, and I eventually stopped going to the meetings."
"Our marriage fell apart - the church + his fam convinced him I was the problem, and oddly enough at the same time the entire MegaChurch also crumbled and the pastor was discharged for some scandal (I think because he published some horrific female subordination literature or something) and every branch of his church was sold off this was 2014."
"I have seen him now trying to make a comeback but I don't think it's taken off."
"As for me, I moved overseas and my therapy is galloping my horse across the rolling fields, and I am happily remarried and raising a lad."
"There's a documentary on it."
"The Rise and fall of Mars Hill"- Sigbac
Not Many People Realize Just How Easily They Begin...
"We turned into a cult."
"It happened so subtly and slowed, we had no idea."
"It was a gradual move to only hanging around with people in our group and a teaching not to trust those outside, to listen to the head teachers., to look with suspicion on any ideas or words that came from outside the group."
"When the police came to remove my underaged sister, that started the wakeup to see how far we'd gone."- Intagvalley
When It's Your Only Known Reality...
"I was in a band with someone who left a cult! "
"The band dissolved as a result."
"Everything was literally prescribed by the cult, leader, and the members of the cult that were senior to him, his clothing, his job, his lifestyle where he lived who he associated with, he couldn’t function in regular reality and slowly unwound after that."
'He is a really amazing guitar player it was a pixies tribute band back in the 90s days such a bummer!"- Local_gyal168
One Of The Many Reasons So Little Has Changed...
"I grew up evangelical."
"I was taught to tell school shooters I was a Christian so I could 'Die for my faith'."
"We were also severely over-sexualized."
"Girls were taught that men couldn't control themselves around women."
"Boys were taught that we were controlled by our sex drive."
"We were also taught how evil sex was."
"Don't get me started on the judgement."- readitareyoudeaf
If They Control EVERY Element Of Your Life, It's A Cult...
"Does the fundamentalist Christian’s count as a cult?"
"I’m still working through everything after that."
"Like can you have a life without shame?"
"And if so how?"
"Cuz that sh*t is deep."
"Also, when we say we value others but then actively take away opportunities or programs that would help them, how is that loving thy neighbor?"
"It’s a lot."
"Very glad I walked away."- laminatedcheesepizza
Brainwashing 101
"I was raised in one for school."
"Christian dominionism, Rapture theology, Young Earth Creationism, Biblical inerrancy - I was a Jesus Camp kid."
"I also attended Youth Group in a different flavor of evangelical cult, one that was starting to tip towards the Gothardites."
"It's complicated, but my mother was discovered to have cancer when I was 4."
"The Satanic Panic had done enormous psychological damage to her, as she was almost certainly autistic with an abnormally strong terror/disgust fixation on sin and hell."
"She did not want her children in a Catholic school, as she had been raised Catholic and was scarred by her obsessive confessing to trespasses."
"She chose a school that taught the A Beka/Abeka curriculum out of Pensecola Christian College."
"She died when I was 6, at which point the cult had already told me the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man."
"You can see out of heaven to see the suffering in hell, but as there is no unhappiness in heaven, if I didn't stay in the cult, my Mommy would see me burning in hell and be happy about it."
"When I was almost 8, I made friends with some kids in a different church."
"They were more afflicted with active purity culture than my cult school, which mostly just acted like anything involving sex didn't exist."
"We had to focus much more on fighting demons and protecting our hearts from Satan."
"I was told in both that abortion is not just murder, but literal human sacrifices to Satan."
"I was told in both that Democrats were literally blood-drinking, baby-murdering, child-trafficking monsters."
"My father, who didn't care much what I was being taught, pulled me out of the school in 8th grade, because he realized I needed to graduate from an accredited school to go to college."
"The fact that my foundational education in everything but reading was done completely inadequately if not just with outright lies was ignored."
"Because I was removed from the cult, it had a harder time holding me long term."
"It took a long time to realize it was a cult, though."
"My older sister was violent, and my father was neglectful where he wasn't exploitative."
"I used to pray daily for the Rapture because I was sure my sister was going to eventually murder me in a rage, and I didn't want my father to have to live with that."
"Somewhat ironically, my sister realized many of the teachings of the cult made no moral sense."
"It took me a lot longer to reach the same conclusions because she was so violent that I could not believe she would figure out morals and ethics."- saintsithney
Destined For A Different Kind Of Mission
"Ex Church of Christ here."
"Very strict on attendance, you are expected to be there for every service and if you aren’t or miss often, there’s unspoken/hush hush judgement about it."
"You are expected to not question the authority of the Elders nor the preacher."
"You are mostly only expected to answer the questions they pose in bible class."
"If you’re a woman, you’re expected to not speak hardly at all, even in bible class."
"You are expected to feel guilt about all of your sins and outwardly show that you do by coming forward at the end of the sermon/invitation to ask for the entire congregation's thoughts and prayers'.”
"You are expected to follow what the Bible says and ONLY what the Bible says."
"You do not do anything the Bible doesn’t explicitly say or give an example of early Christian’s doing."
"You are definitely not allowed to do anything the Bible expressly says not to do."
"You are expected to conform and be one of the Congregation."
"You are to dress, act, and behave like everyone else, especially to imitate the Elders as they are the 'Shepherds of the congregation'.”
"Men are expected to work in the congregation through song leading, preaching/invitation, leading prayers, serving the Lords Supper."
"Women are expected to be silent and do no work except teaching children’s Bible class, prepping the Lords Supper, and cleaning the building."
"You are expected to engage in worship through singing (acapella, everybody sings), praying silently/personally during prayer, and partaking in the Lords Supper."- Total-Improvement535
Brings To Mind A Very Different Sort Of Camp...
"Highly recommend the documentary film 'Jesus Camp' to see the indoctrination."- pipishortstocking
Back To Church We Go...
"On the first day of joining this particular church, when it can to giving offerings, the pastor demanded that the ushers lock the doors so that everyone contribute."
"Lol."- VendaMel
Way.Too.Soon...
"Nothing."
"Our leader got elected a second time, and this time it's gonna be great."
"Again."
The way one is raised will have significant, possibly detrimental effects on your life.
Impossible though it may seem, there is always a way out...
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