Why I'm Writing

 It may seem strange that I’ve started a blog called “Leaving MOVE” when I haven’t had anything to do with MOVE publicly in two years, and I left MOVE intellectually in 2007. I understand how this may come off and I’ve seen it play out before. However, once Beth McNamara contacted me about the podcast regarding the murder of John Gilbride I wasn’t able to get John out of my head. Thinking about that murder and the events that led up to it caused me to go back and reread letters I had written with the MOVE 9 at the time. As I read those letters I also began reexamining other documents and soon enough I was seeing the entire history of MOVE in a new light. 

The primary reason I’m writing at this point is that I believe that the Gilbride family has been gravely wronged and deserves justice. I do not know who murdered John Gilbride, but I know for a fact that Alberta is directly responsible for a campaign of psychological torture that made John’s last years a living hell and continued to torment the Gilbride family long after. I know this with certainty because I took part in that campaign at the explicit direction of Alberta, and for that I am deeply regretful. Though nearly 19 years have passed I still believe that those events are worthy of a great deal of reflection. Even if one believed that MOVE is a largely benevolent force (I do not) then this campaign of terror against John and his family would be enough on its own to call that legacy into question. 

The secondary reason that I’m writing is that the murder of John Gilbride fits into a pattern within MOVE that stretches back to its very foundation in 1972. MOVE’s history is long and complex, and laying out these patterns will take some time. In my past year of reexamining MOVE I have happened upon some original documents and other information that I’ll be commenting on here. This is a long project and there is some groundwork that needs to be laid before I can jump into the project of revisiting the history of MOVE. 

Another reason I decided to start writing about my experience as a close MOVE supporter of two decades is because first-person accounts of people who left cults were very helpful to me when I was working to intellectually extricate myself in 2007. Until now the love that I had, and still have, for many in MOVE was enough to keep me from reflecting on my time in MOVE (that was coupled with the threat of ad-hominem attack and potential physical violence). However, at a certain point I realized that until I worked through some of these things publicly I would always be bothered by what I left unsaid. I hope that my words here may be helpful to others who are trying to distance themselves from similar groups or situations of undue influence. 

I also hope that these reflections will help to provide a counterpoint to the recent take on MOVE by many media outlets, which has been unquestioningly favorable. I believe that portraying MOVE as an activist group or radical organization is dangerous because MOVE is a destructive cult, and until they are viewed through this lens they will continue to refuse to answer any critical questions, control the narrative in all media, intimidate critics and silence their victims.  We must all stop letting MOVE talk in circles and make a circus out of very serious issues within MOVE and communities that MOVE claims to support and represent.