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A review by sarah_tellesbo
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice by Rebecca Musser
3.0
I know, I know, I know. You all probably need a break from the series of disturbing cult books, and I hear you. I get it. But lucky for me, I own this little space of zen, so I can obsess and rant and review to my morbid little heart’s content! For those of you who’ve had enough FLDS-cult-activist talk, please feel free to go ahead and click that little red x button at the top of left. For the rest of you, my iron willed allies in justice, I invite you to stay, read, commiserate.
AND THEN DO SOMETHING.
Of all the memoirs I’ve read by FLDS escapees, this is by far the most gentle. And by gentle, I mean gentle in everything. It was gentle toward her community, her home (much more forgiving and kind than other memoirs I’ve read). Gentle toward her family members and loved ones. Gentle, even, toward ill-equipped, under-prepared, and willfully ignorant government agencies that, time and time again, have failed to live up to the tasks entrusted to them. Even her language was gentle.
Soft spoken as she is, Musser’s true brilliance is in her ability to be both respectfully gentle and fiercely honest in the same breath. No easy task, eh?
And, using this impressive approach, Musser ultimately reveals a more complex, human truth than has been discussed before. Despite the plethora of harsh, intensely critical pieces, Musser is able to highlight that there are in fact two sides to every story. For every well-meaning CPS worker there’s a terrified and confused family. For every arrest and conviction, there are difficult religious and familial ramifications. For every abuser, there’s a genuinely healthy mother/father/sister/brother. For every sorrow, there is a modicum of happiness.
I think Musser would likely agree, however, that there’s a time to shelve the gentle and bring out the fierce. Acknowledging humanity in us all is admirable and productive, but that revelation does not warrant total amnesty for despicable behavior. Particularly behavior that involves brainwashing an entire community of thousands to believe that sexual abuse, rape, underage marriage, child neglect, abandonment, tax evasion, welfare fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, kidnapping, illegal eviction, and hostage holding is God’s will and their only salvation.
Yeah, I’m looking at you, Warren Jeffs. You are NOT EXCUSED.
So my nerdy, compassionate, bookworm allies, I again invite and challenge you to action.
Do anything. Take a stand, pull up a chair. Listen. LISTEN. Read, inform. Offer a hand, a blanket, a home, a refuge. Make a friend, be a mentor, learn a culture, learn a language. Donate. Give time, give money, give love, give service. Embody compassion, empathy, hope. Reject ignorance, ask hard questions, get mad, stay present. Petition the government, create accountability. Fight the man, the system, the oppressor. Heal the hurt, bring people with you into better worlds.
What else were you going to do today, anyway?
Because really, who needs Grey’s Anatomy when you have one short, itty bitty life to make this world a better place?
Hop to it, kids. Hop to it.
AND THEN DO SOMETHING.
Of all the memoirs I’ve read by FLDS escapees, this is by far the most gentle. And by gentle, I mean gentle in everything. It was gentle toward her community, her home (much more forgiving and kind than other memoirs I’ve read). Gentle toward her family members and loved ones. Gentle, even, toward ill-equipped, under-prepared, and willfully ignorant government agencies that, time and time again, have failed to live up to the tasks entrusted to them. Even her language was gentle.
Soft spoken as she is, Musser’s true brilliance is in her ability to be both respectfully gentle and fiercely honest in the same breath. No easy task, eh?
And, using this impressive approach, Musser ultimately reveals a more complex, human truth than has been discussed before. Despite the plethora of harsh, intensely critical pieces, Musser is able to highlight that there are in fact two sides to every story. For every well-meaning CPS worker there’s a terrified and confused family. For every arrest and conviction, there are difficult religious and familial ramifications. For every abuser, there’s a genuinely healthy mother/father/sister/brother. For every sorrow, there is a modicum of happiness.
I think Musser would likely agree, however, that there’s a time to shelve the gentle and bring out the fierce. Acknowledging humanity in us all is admirable and productive, but that revelation does not warrant total amnesty for despicable behavior. Particularly behavior that involves brainwashing an entire community of thousands to believe that sexual abuse, rape, underage marriage, child neglect, abandonment, tax evasion, welfare fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, kidnapping, illegal eviction, and hostage holding is God’s will and their only salvation.
Yeah, I’m looking at you, Warren Jeffs. You are NOT EXCUSED.
So my nerdy, compassionate, bookworm allies, I again invite and challenge you to action.
Do anything. Take a stand, pull up a chair. Listen. LISTEN. Read, inform. Offer a hand, a blanket, a home, a refuge. Make a friend, be a mentor, learn a culture, learn a language. Donate. Give time, give money, give love, give service. Embody compassion, empathy, hope. Reject ignorance, ask hard questions, get mad, stay present. Petition the government, create accountability. Fight the man, the system, the oppressor. Heal the hurt, bring people with you into better worlds.
What else were you going to do today, anyway?
Because really, who needs Grey’s Anatomy when you have one short, itty bitty life to make this world a better place?
Hop to it, kids. Hop to it.