https://dfw.cbslocal.com/video/3793664-before-california-the-turpin-family-lived-in-north-texas/
I’m not sure if folks really understand the gravity and magnitude associated with this story about David and Louis Turpin.
But it really is a story about enabling and continuing the cycle of abuse.
Phyllis is Louise’s sister. And, of course, Louise is the mother of these adorable kiddos who have now been rescued.
But go back to the cycle of fundamentalism abuse for a minute. (Yes, abuse can have a cycle. But it’s most prominent in some of these right wing religious cults like fundamentalism.)
Phyllis is the mother of Louise or said another way, she is the grandmother of all these children.
It’s what Phyllis did years ago that has forever changed the lives of this family. You see, she would have never married some abusive jerk like David had her mother left, left quickly, and gotten help.
Not just some superficial level of mediocre counselling from the local small town marriage therapist.
We’re talking about real help. Had Phyllis left the cult like fundamentalist behaviors with an honest and courageous heart, she could have been completely and totally honest with her experiences, the level of her abuse, and the horrific things that had happened to her.
But, Phyllis didn’t. Like a lot of fundamentalist cults, Phyllis stayed and then had a kiddo of her own.
Along comes Louise, The mother of all these kiddos. And, obviously Louise married some douche bag of a guy named David.
Did Louise ever try to leave? Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t. Perhaps she was cognitively programmed with fear based delusional beliefs that she could not leave.
While that’s a horrific part of the story, let’s focus on something else for a minute.
It’s the cycle of abuse that remains consistent. And that’s what needs to change.
We need to recognize when these patterns of abuse occur. No one has to be prolifically educated on these weird cult delusional programming fears. But we should become more understanding and fervent in watching out for & helping ladies who’ve been in a fundamentalist cult.
It’s not that anyone is going to come out and announce it to you. You have to be very attentive to the understanding that no one is to ever talk about it. -EVER! That’s one of the core things taught to cult survivors.
Go back to that little girl who crawled out the window of David & Louise Turpin’s house.
Now count how many kiddos -sisters and brothers- there are in that household.
That’s a lot of kiddos, right? So, years from now, when those kiddos are grown, who is going to recognize the cult programming that has happened in their minds, in their home, and in the very upbringing of those children’s soul?
Even Louise’s own sister couldn’t recognize the abuse.
But that’s an interesting point as well about the fundamentalist programming. Everyone’s recovery is different and unique. YES EVEN FROM SIBLING TO SIBLING, the recovery and experience is unique.
Recognize that. Realize that. Be sensitive that each of those abused individuals has both a uniquely individual response to the abuse that has happened to them.
Here’s a list of qualifying questions that can be worked into any counselling session: