Santanic Ritual Abuse Essay Example

arguments came from people like Kenneth Lanning, the head of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, and Dr Pamela Freyd of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.

Although there seemed to be a little bias, the way in which O’Reilly presented claims and counterclaims, made it appear more fact than opinion and speculation. In reading Jeffrey Victors article, Satanic Cult’s Ritual Abuse of Children: Horror of Hoax? , in the November 1993 USA Today it is easy to see that Victor prefers the contemporary legend theory for explaining the SRA phenomenon.Contemporary legends or “urban legends” are rumor stories that are shared orally using symbolic metaphors to “communicate shared anxieties about newly perceived threats” (Victor 3). Victor puts much of the blame for spreading these rumors on the psychotherapy community. He goes on to claim that counselors of all levels attending seminars on SRA and unknowingly placing those ideas in their patients heads. He then says that the false allegations have ruined the personal and professional lives of many of the accused.

Victor finally concludes that the real losers are the patients, who are “victims of a new psychotherapy fad, which offers false hope of solving their real psychological problems” (6). Jeffrey Victor is a sociology professor at Jamestown community college in New York. He wrote a book on the subject of Satanism called Satanic Panic: Creation of a Contemporary Legend. Victor uses his sociological perspective, well throughout the article. He applies it masterfully when comparing validity of the different theories.He does not cite many sources, and has no problem expressing his opinion.

While he sounds bias towards his opinions, he does a good job of backing them up and convincing

the reader. It was a informative and thought provoking article. In the February 5 1989 issue of the St Louis Post-Dispatch Ellen Futterman wrote a piece called Hints of Darkness: Satanism Reports Stir Worry, in which she discusses the events warranting the Satanism scare. She opens with the story of Liza a four year old girl whose father was convicted of sodomizing her in a satanic ritual.

Futterman goes on to say that the number of stories alone is enough to warrant some concern, although she admits much of it is not corroborated. She continues by saying that satanic rituals are on the rise with teen-agers, in the worst case a classmate was murdered with a baseball bat and dumped in a cistern with two squirrels and a cat. Futterman claims that there are fifty thousand human sacrifices a year, “and the bodies are not found because they are mutilated, the blood drained and any remains not used for ritual purposes are burned” (3). She hen talks about officer Bopp a police officer who specializes in Satanism and tries to help the community however he can. In the end she tells of make shift altars, vague satanic symbols, seances, and mutilated animals.

Which leaves the reader no real conclusion but much to ponder. Ellen Futterman had a very fair-minded approach to this article. There is not much opinion expressed, more of a presentation of events. While it appears that that she leans towards believing the SRA stories, she presents the facts in a manner that allows you to form your own opinion and decide for yourself.She does not attempt to discredit any other sources, but this could

be seen has fueling the fire of the Satanism scare.

She comes off as reliable, credible, and just trying to help inform her community. I was able to learn a lot about the Satanism scare of the eighties through reading these three articles. They each took a different approach to the subject. David O’Reilly believes that it is all a bunch of hype, made worse by the media, and others who attempt to use fear for their own personal gains.Jeffrey Victor took different approach saying that the problem is nothing more than an urban legend, fueled by our fear of the unknown and our similar anxieties. Ellen Futterman is the only one of these three that thinks it may be true.

Based on the convictions of a few, and the sheer volume of stories she believes that there must be something going own. I personally understand were they are all coming from. I believe that Satanism does exist, but it is less about human sacrifice and more about scaring your parents.It is hard to say whether recovered memories are real or not, with the therapist being able to easily influence the patient it hard to decipher what is real and what isn’t. In conclusion, I found all the articles to be entertaining and informative, and don’t believe SRA was as widespread as some people would like you to believe.

Works Cited

• Futterman, Ellen. “Hints of Darkness: Satanism Reports Stir Worry. ” St Louis Post-Dispatch 5 February 1989: 1A. SIRS Researcher. SIRS knowledge resource.Guilford Technical Community College.
• Lib, NC. 13 September 2008 Article@sirs. com Victor, Jeffrey S. “Satanic Cult’s Ritual Abuse of Children: Horror or Hoax? ” USA
  

Today Magazine November 1993: 58-60. Academic Search Premier.