A War at Home - As Cults Prey Upon the Vulnerable
One Man's Fight
March 31, 2003
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
As America watches the humiliation, abuse, and even murder of captured allied troops in the war against the regime of Saddam Hussein, another war is being fought within the United States using physical and psychological weapons against the most vulnerable members of society.
The Smart Case
The brazen crimes of cult leaders and their tactics are being vividly brought to America's attention as judicial proceedings continue against the alleged abductors of Utah teen Elizabeth Smart.
When found, Smart initially denied her real identity, giving her name as "Augustine Marshall…a member of the Church of Christ," according to an extensive report from the Australian news daily, The Age.
"I know who you think I am…you think I'm that Elizabeth Smart girl who ran away," Smart said to a police officer when she was found.
Smart was abducted from her bedroom in the early morning hours of June 5, 2002, and found March 12, 2003. Clearly, she did not "run away."
Brian Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, are alleged to have taken Smart to supply Mitchell with another wife.
Mitchell, a self-styled fundamentalist Mormon preacher, hid with Smart and Barzee in a hole just over three miles from the Smart home. Mitchell took the precaution of placing wooden planks over the hole to frustrate heat-seeking devices used by police helicopters.
Initially held captive with a cable tying her leg to a tree, Smart apparently became psychologically dependent upon her captives, enabling them to take her into public, disguised in a wig, veil, headdress, and long white robes.
Smart's apparent psychological dependence upon her captors is not unique.
The Stockholm Syndrome
Following a series of abductions of civilians at the hands of Muslim guerrillas, two women were recently recovered by the military forces of the Philippine government. The Philippine military noted that two of the women gave evidence of significant psychological dependence upon their captors. Both women converted to Islam during their captivity, and one is reported to have married the leader of the guerrilla band, according to the Philippine news site, INQ7.
The phenomena termed the Stockholm Syndrome describe a captive's identification with and psychological dependence upon his or her captors. The term came into use following a 1973 bank robbery incident in Stockholm, Sweden, during which time captives held by the robbers began to identify with their captors.
The Stockholm Syndrome is recognized as potentially dangerous phenomena by the U.S. military.
The U.S. Marine Corps addresses the Stockholm Syndrome in a publication entitled "The Individual's Guide for Understanding and Surviving Terrorism," (MCRP-302E).
The Marine Corps warns its troops that the Stockholm Syndrome "is an automatic, unconscious emotional response to the trauma of becoming a victim" resulting in "a positive bond that affects both the hostage and the hostage-taker."
"This bond unites its victims against the outside world," in an "us against them" psychological framework, according to the Marine Corps publication.
One Man Fights Back
One man in the forefront of the fight against cult abuse and its psychological damage is Phillip Kronzer, founder of the Kronzer Foundation.
The Kronzer Foundation's current projects include a joint effort with Mary Alice Chrnalogar, author of the recognized anti-cult work, "Twisted Scriptures." A survivor of cult abuse herself, Chrnalogar is devoting her life to aiding victims of abuse.
In an exclusive interview with INA Today.com, Phillip Kronzer stated that his foundation is working with Chrnalogar and a Baptist anti-cult group to assist in reuniting family members separated through cult involvement.
The Kronzer Foundation is also coming to the aid of one victim of clerical abuse, perpetrated by a member of a Catholic religious order. Complete details on both efforts cannot presently be revealed, however, because investigations and court proceedings are ongoing, Kronzer stated.
Kronzer's interest in cult abuse began in 1994, when his wife, Ardie, left him without warning on his 60th birthday. The marriage soon ended after his wife's increasingly intense interest in the reported visions at Medjugorje, Bosnia, and in the messages of a self-styled California mystic connected with Medjugorje, according to Kronzer.
Although Kronzer and his wife are both Catholic, a divorce followed after Ardie left Phil. Ardie now goes by her maiden name, and has purchased a home with the California mystic.
Kronzer states that he and his wife have had no contact since her departure, and Ardie now is seldom
seen in public, especially in the past six months.
Kronzer revealed to INA Today.com that the California mystic was behind an intimidating letter sent to a key member of Kronzer's corporate staff. Kronzer supports his assertion with a sworn affidavit he states was obtained from the woman who affirms that she typed the threatening note.
Despite years of separation, Kronzer remains determined to win back Ardie, and put back together his shattered marriage. Revealing the reality of cult and religious abuse, Kronzer believes, will help him obtain his most important goal.
Copyright 2003
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