Brainwashing the Love Away

My family for the most part, is pretty close. I’m very lucky in that regard. I’m one of 6 kids and have a ton of extended family as well. Get togethers and holidays were always grand and choc full of good times and memories that I’ll keep with me forever. We are always there for each other during tough times. I had great support through the loss of my pups and my bitter & insane divorce which one day I’ll write about. Sometimes to be a shoulder to cry on, to give advice, or just listen when I needed to vent. That’s why I’m there for my cousin as he navagates through his tough time.

I did ask him if I could write about this as it’s too insane a situation not to bring attention to. He was more than happy to share his story and said he was looking forward to reading it once I was done. He didn’t ask me to do this, but I’m changing all the names here out of respect.

My cousin Rick is a standup dude. Him, his 2 brothers, and I are all really close. We’ve all done cruises together where we’ve had a blast. We all play Disc Golf together whenever we have the opportunity to do so. It’s a great way of bonding and helps keep us close and in contact. They are more like brothers to me. That’s why I was so shocked to hear that Rick & his girlfriend Anna, of over 4 years had split.

I had just had them over at our house when they were in town from Charlotte, North Carolina. They stayed for several days and we all had a great time together. Everything seemed normal and that they were happy. He even mentioned and discussed taking the next step of getting her a ring for the holidays and asking for her hand in marriage.

I’ll also preface this by mentioning that Anna has a child that I believe is around 5 years old...so Rick has been this child’s father figure her entire life. I’ve heard that the biological father is pretty much a deadbeat. I know first hand how that goes, as the last time I saw my sperm donor was 31 years ago. My stepfather IS my father and I’m thankful to have had such an amazing, fun, and stable role model to learn from.

Rick was the same for the youngster. She loved him and vice versa. He accepted her as his own and you could see it crystal clear, that he was owning the role of father. Not that he ever needed my approval, but it was so rewarding and inspiring to watch him grow into one of the kindest people I personally know.

Kind in regards to basically doing whatever Anna wished. She currently is unemployed and Rick has been taking care of all the financial obligations for the 3 of them so she could go back to school. Oh, did I mention that she asked if her brother could stay with them?? So he’s paying for everything. Just...keep that in mind as well.

Now before I delve into what caused the split, I want to clearly state that it’s a very touchy subject. I am no way passing judgement as a whole, although I have my strong opinions on the matter. I will pass judgement and question this specific particular case and all that surrounds it though as it's hard not to...especially when scorning someone I care about deeply.

Right before leaving for Steemfest in Poland, I learned from my aunt that Anna had broken up with Rick. I was completely shocked to say the least. When I asked why, my aunt said it had to do with the fact that he didn’t share the same faith as her. Huh?!? They’ve been together over 4 years and this is just NOW turning out to be an issue? It didn’t add up and I decided to reach out to Rick to find out what the hell happened.

When I got in touch with him, I could hear and feel his pain. It’s an awful feeling watching someone you care about go through some real rough life changing shit. He basically spilled the beans to me that she has been battling severe depression for some time. Ok... Then mentioned how she recently had been going to church more. Like, alot more. Go on... Then how she just told him all of a sudden that she was no longer in love with him anymore. Just like that?!?

Having gone through myself, a happy and healthy marriage to one that seemed to turn toxic overnight...my Spidey Senses were immediately tingling. Towards the end, my ex had told me the same thing. Just blurted it out to me one day. I was in shock and it turned my world upside down. She swore to me that there was nobody else but keen detective work on my part proved that to be a lie. Once again, that's a story for another day though. Either way, I immediately thought that there was another dude in the picture. I couldn't have been more wrong...

An emotionally drained Rick then proceeds to tell me what else is at play. That she's been spending so much of her spare time with the church. It's a Christian Church from what I gathered but unlike any I've heard of before. She told him that the fact that he was not very spiritual and religious was a deal breaker. That's bad enough in my opinion but the crazy hasn't even started yet folks. The need for him to believe as she did was enough to break away from her life. The life she had been buiding to provide a stable foundation for her young daughter. She had stopped going to school as well I should mention.

It turns out that they convinced Anna that she has demons inside of her. They persuaded her to let them perform an exorcism on her that she was weirdly aparantly paid for. Then they held a gathering in the house they rented together, where they prayed for Rick and her brother who just happens to be gay. The reason? They are both infected with demons and are the doorway that has allowed Anna to be infected and posessed.

Since Rick and her brother aren't accepting of Christ, the only logical conclusion is that they are housing evil demons which can travel through bodies and infect others. In this case, Anna. Forget that Rick has been the sole breadwinner and has taken care of her and the little one along with the brother for years. Ignore the fact that he's a hard working dude with a heart of gold who has showered them with endless love. Yet focus on the fact that he smokes and does not accept Christ into his life. That is what the lovely church told her was the culprit. Along with her brother who I mentioned is gay. I guess demons love gay people along with smokers.

The crazy is not over yet people. After trying to pray the gay away from her brother and a clear mind and lungs for my cousin, the church then decided they needed to perform another exorcism on her right there in the house. Oh, that's right. The house is aparantly also infected with evil according to the priest and his followers. It seems that when they entered it, they just determined that it housed evil due to withcraft being performed there in the past. Amazing!!!

The 2nd exorcism was a brutal one according to Rick. Not only was she speaking in tongues but was screaming and going a bit ballistic. He said it was like, she was a different person. She bought into it. She also tried to cut herself according to the priest but he didn't see that himself as it happened when he was asked to leave his own house by the church.

You are probably wondering as I was... "Why did you put up with this nonsense Rick?" I would have told everyone to "Fuck Off" and would not have even let those nut bags in my house to begin with. He simply said, "I knew it was over but I just wanted to see firsthand, how bad it truly was." He also told me that after the home exorcism, that they discovered Evil Idols throughout the house. They spent 4 hours combing through the house where they found several items that they claimed were housing evil. These items included her brother's Gay Pride Flag in his room, and an old Magic the Gathering Card Deck of Rick's from years earlier amongst other things. The church then removed them from the house where Rick and Anna's brother were told they had to be burnt. Yup...nothing speaks evil like playing a game of Magic with friends. I hope the church doesn't ever find out about Steem Monsters. I mean...look at the evil seeping from this game...

So the situation is he's now accepted that she lost her mind. He realizes that he has dodged a major bullet as he was literally 50 days away from asking her to marry him. She's not the same person she was throughout their relationship. She's so far removed from any semblence of reality and has not only put her own life in a questionable position, but is doing the same for her daughter which is just a downright shame. They most likely saw a fragile person battling some form of depression and the claws came out. This Cult...let's face it...that is exactly what this is....saw an opening to corrupt and add to their already damaged flock & siezed the opportunity.

I still cannot comprehend how someone could be brainwashed into this complete horseshit. It actually makes me angry. I met Anna. I have known her for years. She stayed at my house a couple of months back and we all had a blast together. She was a cool chick but I am glad that this happened now instead of later on after marriage or having a kid together. It's tough but he will recover from this. He's obviously beat up about losing his partner but he's exteemely bummed about the little one.

They broke the news to her that they were going to be splitting up and she started bawling which in turn made Rick hysterical. That was the hardest thing he told me. He's currently staying with his brother who also happens to be in Charlotte while he figures out a proper exit strategy. Anna and the youngin are staying with one of the church parishoners over 30 minutes away from the child's school. His name is the one on the house rental agreement so he is in the process of trying to navagate through that with as little damage as possible. Hopefully he can be all squared away and out of there completely in the coming weeks.

It sucks to see this happen but life is unpredictable. I know he will overcome this and in time be much stronger because of it. I just cannot believe in this day and age, that people can be so easily turned and persuaded to complete horseshit. I am not even talking about religion in general but more of this crazy cult like mentality. Seriously, how do these scumbags live with themselves?!? Tearing families apart? Being a catalyst for a relationship failing. Placing the new members of the flock into such uncertain waters. It's absolutely disgusting and I wish nothing but the worst for those involved in with these acts.

I myself, am not a religious guy at all. I was born and raised Catholic but strayed from it for many reasons but if believing in something of a higher power makes you a better you, by all means...enjoy it. Just don't be a scumbag. When you start hurting others is where I have a major issue...which is exactly what has happened here. I hope one day Anna snaps out of it. It will have been too late but I hope she one day realizes the grand mistake she has made in putting her faith into a bunch of con artists & brainwashed individuals who claim her significant other's card game is infected by the devil. It sounds so ludicrous to me but so do alot of things in this crazy world.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this and with Rick's permission to do so, this seemed like the right outlet for me to vent a bit about it as it's been weirdly bothering me. I love ya buddy. I know you'll get through this and I am sorry that this happened to ya. Looking forward to playing disc golf and hopefully laughing about all of this when I see ya next...

Thanks for reading folks,

Blewitt