Hi Joe,

I'll say this first:  I am quite biased on this subject.  I do agree Marolyn was at least as mind-controlled (and I'm sure much more) as the rest of us, and she was in a unique position.  But she knew more than we did and did nothing.  She's still doing nothing.  So I don't accept your argument on her behalf. 

Marolyn Rawat lacks something and it doesn't matter why, that prevented her from getting herself and her kids out of there and away from M.  It's obvious that he was abusive to her and even though her situation is definitely more unique than other women's situations, it still doesn't excuse her for not protecting her kids.  She could have given everything up and gone to a women's shelter, to her parents, to the Catholic church even, or to the courts, but she chose not to and now her kids are all grown up.  No excuses.  I don't accept that argument anymore about women in abused situations.  Why?  Because I know that any mother who doesn't do everything in her power to use their instintive Lioness inside her to do everything in their power to protect her cubs, or at least try more than once or twice to get out, they don't deserve my pity.

I'm so familiar with the subject of how the dynamics of the battered wife syndrome works, and it's not all that much different for Marolyn, when compared to any other victim of spousal mind-control and emotional battering.  Yet, there are plenty of women, rich to poor, who find their maternal instincts and courage to do something about their situation to protect their kids.  So many of these women do it on real threats of death, too.  I know it takes a lot of work for those women to reach the point of leaving, but based on the fact that so many women do leave -- some will even change their identities -- I don't accept your pov on this.  But as I said, I'm very biased on this subject.

I've had many long discussions with my sisters (who are all mothers) about this subject and they cannot imagine or figure out why and how our mom never found the courage to leave, and her situation was far worse than Marolyn Rawat's.  And it was not she who suffered the most, it was all of us who paid dearly for it right through adulthood.  None of them can figure out why our mother never had that deep, maternal protective instinct to just run away at any cost -- and she did have options that she refused to use.  It's not the mother ultimately who suffers the most -- it's the kids -- and the effects on kids from living with megalomaniacs is enormous through adulthood.  A person doesn't have to be a wealthy cult leader to exert their megaolmania on their family.  It happens every day.  And it is mothers who are the primary caregivers of their children and their responsibility to protect them.

I know I sound really harsh about this, but I've thought about it in depth.    I think it's a some kind of character flaw -- I'm not sure what flaw -- but I do think it may be some kind of character flaw that's lacking in women who don't do everything in their power, to even try to find their power, in order to to right by their children..

Cynthia