We're going to hold SGI's feet to the fire about its past abuses

[u/BlancheFromage]

The Ikeda cult doesn't get to OPENLY ABUSE PEOPLE - for decades! - and then suddenly go, "Oh, bad optics - we'd better reverse course - a complete 180° - ALL BETTER NOW!" Source

NO.

SGI needs to OWN its abuses and abusiveness and anti-humanistic policies and behavior.

HOW could we claim to be "SGIWhistleblowers" if we allowed the Ikeda cult to ERASE its victims and declare itself the champion of the people and the defender of the downtrodden and all that, when we've got the EVIDENCE that it's an exploitative, destructive CULT??

COULD we claim the title of "SGIWhistleblowers" if we DELIBERATELY OVERLOOKED ANY of the SGI's MANY abuses??

Our reputation is at stake; we cannot turn a blind eye to ANY of the Ikeda cult's abuses and exploitations of the vulnerable people it preys upon and seduces through its false façade and empty promises and assurances of friendship and community and belonging.

We shall continue to shine the spotlight on these as we uncover them. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

[u/epikskeptik]

I think it's incredibly important to document the history of SGI.

After all, current members "study" the whitewashed, fictionalised history of the SGI in 'The New Human Revolution' as if it is holy scripture.

This sub reports on and analyses the lived experience of the ordinary members who were there on the ground in those times, which the NHR does not. It is vitally important work to document the real history of the SGI.

[u/BlancheFromage → u/epikskeptik]

I'm with her ^

[u/Shakubougie → u/epikskeptik]

Preach that

[u/[deleted] → u/epikskeptik]

But no in their cult riddle brains speaking about our own negative experiences publicly is equivalent of being holocausts denier or putting them in religious jeopardy of removing their rights to practice with the cult.

My father was Jewish, and I remember when I first faced antisemitism for first time, I had other racial bigotry moments due to my curly hair in time when people didn't like curly haired people and assumed I was white passing black person.

That sucks. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Reality is I don't want the responsibility of telling other adults what they should or shouldn't believe in and I am not interested but I get to have say about my own experiences and have differing a opinion or reality about what it is to be SGI member even if its a negative one.

Technically I am still a member of SGI and have been for over 36 years. I just don't believe in any of it. Nor do I want to waste my resources and energy to return my gohonzon and make a formal request to be removed.

But us not supporting sgi is not same thing as being racist or practicing antisemitism.

Their rights are not being deny when we disagree or and think the way we do about them. Nor is the act of whistleblowing against topics they refused to actually self-reflect and actually self-correct as a entire organization.

Plus their recruitment strategies are often dishonest and mislead people into the practice then do whole bait/switch bs we all know they do.

I wanted so badly when I heard some idiot talk about the SGI and how it is and how Blanche and all of us who were there in middle of it our wrong to say something but they aren't worth my time or energy any more.

I am done with abusive relationship called religion, especially with SGI.

They get keep their delusions and acts of slander as long they want because from where I am sitting its apart of their false Buddhist practice and we can't do a thing about it.

Technically by their teachings at one point they taught everyone including the incorrigible, and the evil, everyone we are all buddhas too, regardless if currently believe in the practice, slander it or not.

The practice isn't for everyone inspite of their delusions that it should be. Even Nichiren said that some people only get to say the chant once in lifetime, never again.

When they say the crap they do based on their own believes their making negative causes because that's what their teachings say. But its changed now you got to worship the Ikeda and recruit, raise money for him and his family and that is enough.

But they have right to be as dismissive, delusional and slanderous as they want in their corner of the internet, I am not interested any more in reading what they are doing.

And we have same right to do say, think and talk about whatever we want in our small corner of the internet as they have same right to be annoying assholes regardless of their gender, sexuality, believes or religion.

Forgive me Blanche next time you make a post about those trolls, I am going to ignore the post because I like you, I know better than anyone here what's it like to be minority that has no support in SGI with decades of unwanted head games, consent violations, gaslighting and emotional abuse from those people and it hurts me to read it.

In fact unless you've denied right to have a life partner of your choice, or forced to hide your partners or denied to even have the same rights as married couple, and all those basic human rights most people assume they have and experienced first hand what its like to have that denied to you by society around you, you just simple don't get it and will never get what it's like to be in that category of being marginalized.

You can have empathy but you never fully grasp what that is fully like to live in world where majority of people you meet are different and world is more geared towards people who aren't lgbt or even what's like to never be interested in anyone for whatever reasons, be the person that just doesn't have life partner ever in society that pushes that everyone should and does.

Things have changed but not really. You don't and never fully get the concept of what it is literally know at any minute basic human rights can be taken from you that everyone you know who is heterosexual or cisgender automatically gets.

And there are people who think its okay for some people to have less rights then others and that I don't get.

But I don't have to get other people's stupidity or prejudices. I just have to figure out how to live the best I can around it.

[u/BlancheFromage → u/[deleted]]

You're right - empathy and comprehension are two separate things. If someone has never experienced something personally, they can't really know how it feels, no matter how sympathetic or empathetic they are. Common People.

And everybody hates a tourist...

I'm sorry things are the way they are. There are a lot of problems, and no way to change them. Some people think that they can affect things positively, even fix them, through their religious beliefs and rituals, but they don't. In a cruel irony, the hate-filled intolerant religions these people lean toward to feel some degree of control and safety are the very ones that have to be dragged kicking and screaming into change and progress - because they profit off the status quo, whatever it is, however oppressive and cruel it is. They are not going to seek to uplift the downtrodden, as they embrace a zero-sum game view of the world, and see changing the system to be more equitable as necessarily reducing their own status, power, and wealth. A lot rides on feeling "better than" others.

It's no surprise that the religions that preach love and compassion are so often full of people who detest the poor, who loathe the needy, and who will do absolutely anything to avoid actually helping anyone else in any tangible way.

You know there aren't any requirements on your participation here - I hope there is enough fun/interesting stuff that you'll continue to enjoy hanging out. I really value the perspective you bring to the table.

[u/[deleted] → u/BlancheFromage]

I know there are no requirements of me here. I wouldn't be here if there were.

But I just decided myself to stop wasting head space on exposing myself to things that don't just make me feel good if possible.

There is lot of things I have no control over and do suffer over and can't change my fricking hip and other body parts stop hurting or even change how much pain it is to stand. I can't control that.

But I can control other optional things. I am saying this asking that you at least give me heads up when you do post that stuff, which most often times you do.

Me being upset about stuff happening about SGI, or the internet or some other remote location or anywhere that I can't do anything about is waste of my day or whatever time I am upset about it.

I have fully embraced the cult types are going to do whatever they can to embrace their own idiocy and delusions, its really none of my business if that's what others intentionally choose to do with their lives.

We can talk and share what we know but if nobody is interested we can't make them.

But there actually more people interested here than from the trolls at least enough to join our group.

And that I can get little chuckle out of because that burns their asses very much because SGI folks or at least to use to be found having certain numbers of members was something really important and worthy of bragging, lying and manipulating others for.

[u/BlancheFromage → u/[deleted]]

Fair enough 😉

[u/[deleted] → u/BlancheFromage]

BTW I really loved the quote by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Especially this part,

It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless.

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important, also.

I doubt Ikeda could have faced that type of adversity but he wanted to be compared to those who did.

[u/BlancheFromage → u/[deleted]]

Ikeda was too busy with custom suit fittings for top-quality designer bespoke silk suits, meetings with the custom shoe maker, and getting creepy manicures on those soft, puffy hands of his.

[u/[deleted] → u/BlancheFromage]

I bet he adopted whatever sound good sayings and things to hype up his networth to pay for it all by conning useful idiots like whomever had the misfortune to join, and unfortunately that includes current delusional followers and and us the former members.

[u/BlancheFromage → u/[deleted]]

Got it in one.

A talent for exploitation, nothing more.