On Wed, 17 Nov 1999, Maureen Therese Anderson wrote:
> From post-browsing, it seems Alex C's attack was colorfully dismissed and
> Katha defended, but all in ways that accepted AC's terms of debate. Either
> a bunch of real satanists controlled hundreds of daycare centers or the
> whole thing reflected nothing but mindless group hysteria and manipulative
> therapists: all true or all lunacy.
Maureen, do you think there was a daycare center that really was the site of a satanic conspiracy to abuse children? If so, which one?
If no, then this particular point really is all or nothing. No one, not even Alex, is denying the reality child abuse. Just satanic child abuse.
But of course you are right that, like every moral panic, there is a whole lot of fascinating meaning and projection in the phenomenon that is not captured in mere denouncing.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com