From: revpk@cellar.org (Brian 'Rev P-K' Siano)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: "Satanic Ritual Abuse" in the media
Date: 9 Jan 93 17:55:54 GMT
Organization: The Cellar BBS and public access system

SASTPH@vm.sas.com writes:

> I noted in a recent sci.skeptic posting of a copy of an article in
> the Weekly World News, that as many as 1 in 5 Americans may actually be
> aliens in human guise.  This startling information was discovered
> by "regressing" people under hypnosis, the same technique that is
> being used to uncover memories of ritual abuse (and alien abduction,
> for that matter).
> 
> Does this imply that 20% of the "people" suffering from ritual abuse
> are actually aliens? :-)

	I interviewed George ganaway of Emory University, one of the critics
of Satanic Ritual Abuse claims the "Prime Time Live" ahow presented. He had
a pretty nifty anecdote that, sadly, didn't make it into my finished
article.

	He'd said that he'd attended the conference on UFO abductions at MIT
a few months back, and he remarked to several people the similarity between
UFO abduction s\stories and Satanic Ritula Abuse stories-- not just in the
methods used to 'find' these memories, but in actual events (tiedto tables,
being poked, prodded, violated, the "baby" imagery, etc.). The people at the
UFO conference shook their heads, were also surprisedat thesimilarities, and
hypothesized that these Satanic Ritual Abuse memories might be "screen"
memories for what are really UFO abductions. But Ganaway said that when he'd
pointed out the same similarity to therapists involved in SRA claims,
_they'd_ said that UFO abduction memories are probably 'screen' memories for
real Satanic Ritual Abuse events.

> 
> Seriously, I'm a bit frightened by what seems to be "ritual abuse"
> by so-called therapists using hypnotic regression to cause patients
> to "discover" these obviously false (and frequently painful) memories.
> I did not hear anything on "Primetime" that indicated that somebody
> responsible in the medical* profession is investigating this particular
> theraputic technique.  Does anybody know if that's happening?

	Actually, yes. The False Memory Syndrome Foundation, located in
Philadelphia, is a growing clearinghouse for scientific information
regarding these claims. There are several respectable scientists on the
Board of Advisors (George Ganaway, Ray Hyman, and Martin Orne, for example), and the
material they provide is detailed, well-researched, and fascinating.

	(Caveat Emptor; I'm not happy that the FMSF has Ralph Underwager on
its B of As. He strikes me as someone who tends to make sweeping dismissals
of abuse claims, and seems to have a nice career as an 'expert witness.'
It's not as though _proponents_ of SRA claims aren't also making bux as
expert witnesses, but I'd keep Underwager at arm's length. Luckily, the
FMSF's info comes from other, better sourcesTheir phone number is
215-387-1865, or 1-800-568-8882.)

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Brian "Rev. P-K" Siano                                  revpk@cellar.org

"Do I BELIEVE in the Bible? Hell, man, I've even SEEN one!!"
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Newsgroups: sci.skeptic,alt.conspiracy,alt.alien.visitors,new.age,alt.paranormal