Wislan and LP: Hello to you both. Glad to see you here and to read your contributions. There is a great range of opinion on this forum. The debate can get heated at times. But that is the value of the forum - we can be mad, disagree, and it is ok. So please don't be offended when - it will happen - there are heated disputes about issues here. It is a measure of our health that this occurs.

I felt the urge to pipe up for a couple of reasons. LP mentioned he learned about the attempted murder of Pat Halley around when it happened. wislan wonders whether folks need to take responsibility for their choices in the early '70's and mentions she (?) was 21 when she took k. These issues are interrelated to me and that is the purpose of my post.

Have either of you read the information on www.ex-premie.org about Mahatma Jagdeo's sexual abuse of children? Surely the children of premies were not responsible for their molestation by Jagdeo, don't you agree?

I was 16 when I received k, in November 1972. I was in Detroit in August, 1973, when Rawat got pied. I was a few seats away from Pat Halley and friends and saw it happen. I also learned from my friends in the Detroit ashram that something terrible had happened in the aftermath. Then the press reports appeared about the attempt by Mahatma Fakiranand and a Detroit ashram premie to kill Pat Halley. I was truly stunned and mortified by this reaction. I should have paid attention to my instincts and left this all behind.

But I did not. Certainly my youth was a part of that. wislan, did you know about the attempt to murder Pat Halley? What was your reaction to this information?

I hope that both of you will read the Journeys that are posted on ex-premie.org in order to help you understand why this site is here and to understand its history. The people who post here do so at great personal expense and risk. I know this through personal experience as internet posts have been made calling me a convicted criminal.

In the early days of ex-premie.org, those who had left posted their journeys, and we all learned from our shared experiences. Few people do that now because they are likely to be attacked for speaking out. But if you can share a few details about when and how you got involved, and why you left or drifted away, we could all learn from you.

You can read my journey on EPO. You can find it by my first name.

I look forward to your thoughts and responses.

Marianne