Eddie Long, Pastor of New Birth accused of being on the "down low" (Bishop: lawyer, litigation)

[StilltheSame]

Regardless of their motives, if true - his congregation has a right to know. To me it goes beyond whether they were complicit or their age. Of course those things complicate it - but even if they were adult males who were willing - and he engaged in this conduct - he needs to be exposed. BTW - if true - his wife knew, or at least could have known by asking a few questions.

[PKCorey]

Only in the black community is child molestation downplayed...from R. Kelly to Michael Jackson and now, Eddie Long...

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

Only in the black community is child molestation downplayed...from R. Kelly to Michael Jackson and now, Eddie Long...

oooh-weee

[PKCorey]

Its the truth.

Same the arguments against these boys should have known better was used for those 2 cases.

In the R Kelly case, the girls were acting too grown.

In the Michael Jackson case, why was the boy there with him?

Point of the matter is, they are still children, I don't care how close they are to being 18 who are being manipulated by adults who know what they doing is incorrect. Yet, we always have people blaming the victim. Sounds like the case of a rape victim getting what she deserved because of what she wore or like a friend of mine who was molested by her stepfather told by her mother, " You were always too close to him."

Is it no wonder, its take 10, 20 and 30 years before families found out their children was molested? Cause of stuff like this. It always the children fault.
These folks are predators and should be treated like what they are, Monsters!

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by Childfree35

Were they boys or men? Are you saying all four are lying?

It's a clear difference between rape and having sex. How were these boys "raped" when they go kept going back??? They weren't forced to perform sexual acts with Eddie with a gun to their head.

I never said they were lying or that they were taken advantage of, but seriously.....at 16 and 17?? They knew damn well what they were doing.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

Its the truth.

Same the arguments against these boys should have known better was used for those 2 cases.

In the R Kelly case, the girls were acting too grown.

In the Michael Jackson case, why was the boy there with him?

Point of the matter is, they are still children, I don't care how close they are to being 18 who are being manipulated by adults who know what they doing is incorrect. Yet, we always have people blaming the victim. Sounds like the case of a rape victim getting what she deserved because of what she wore or like a friend of mine who was molested by her stepfather told by her mother, " You were always too close to him."

Is it no wonder, its take 10, 20 and 30 years before families found out their children was molested? Cause of stuff like this. It always the children fault.
These folks are predators and should be treated like what they are, Monsters!

Weak argument.

You fool me once; shame on you. You fool me twice; shame on me.

These boys kept going back to him. He didn't force them to doing anything. They had the opportunity to get out whenever they felt like it, but instead they were greedy and wanted the money and gifts; so they kept doing it.

This the problem with american today; you got all kids of teenagers walking around doing whatever they feel like and they know they can do it because people will look at them at kids. These kids aren't stupid; we ain't talking about clueless 8 year olds. We're talking about boys who were nearly about to graduate. Are you going to sit here and act like they are just that damn dumb that they had no idea what they were doing with the pastor???

Like I said; Eddie is a sneak and disgusting, but these boys are no victims or innocent either.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by jluke65780

Weak argument.

You fool me once; shame on you. You fool me twice; shame on me.

These boys kept going back to him. He didn't force them to doing anything. They had the opportunity to get out whenever they felt like it, but instead they were greedy and wanted the money and gifts; so they kept doing it.

This the problem with american today; you got all kids of teenagers walking around doing whatever they feel like and they know they can do it because people will look at them at kids. These kids aren't stupid; we ain't talking about clueless 8 year olds. We're talking about boys who were nearly about to graduate. Are you going to sit here and act like they are just that damn dumb that they had no idea what they were doing with the pastor???

Like I said; Eddie is a sneak and disgusting, but these boys are no victims or innocent either.

Imo, a 'leader', especially a religious leader, is accountable at a higher standard. I've read several comments regarding the difficulty of proving the allegations or of any sort of legal consequences being an outcome.
A friend of mine attended a mainstream church and when some serious allegations were made against the senior minister, there was sufficient 'proof', he had to step down. It doesn't sound like this church operates in the same way. I would have a problem with that if I were a member.

[NYPeach]

Originally Posted by arjay57

There might be an element of revenge but I think it's probably more complicated. Sometimes people who've been seduced by an older, more powerful person have intense feelings of guilt and shame. They may fear that their seducer will attack and try to undermine them. They may worry that people will not believe them or take them seriously, or claim that they should have known better. They may even feel some affection for the man who seduced them and not want to hurt him. In the case of a father-figure/preacher, they may still believe that the older man hold some kind of power or moral authority over them. Some victims feel alone and powerless, and it's only after they've gotten older and stronger, or learned that they were not the only ones who'd been taken advantage of, that they find the courage to come forward. Some victims are motivated by a desire to see that the seducer is stopped and that he doesn't keep doing it to others.

Those are just some of the reasons why the sexual seduction of the young by older, powerful men is so inappropriate. They hold all the cards, including the power to silence the people they prey on, often for many years or maybe even forever.

Great post

I agree with your post, especially on the part I bolded. Especially in the case of a preacher there could be an element of moral authority these young men might have felt Eddie had over them.

And yes, I understand how easily one could be seduced, especially at a young age, for usually the older person does possess something ie., money, knowledge or prestige that the younger person wants to be associated with or learn from or about; a whole new world is being laid at the young person's feet, very seductive indeed..

But I still believe this could have been nipped in the bud, as the saying goes, before it became full blown long term affairs. This is where a good parental relationships would have been paramount for these children, imo. But unfortunately it has been proven that people put blinders on to things and unfortunately the 'victims' are left to suffer.

I still think some of the parents knew what was going on, but they were reaping some benefits and that outweighed any thing else- imo, that is just as bad if not worse than what Eddie is accused of.

It has been said that one of Eddie's tactics was to quote them scripture to justify why it was okay for these young men to "be with him", I am still looking for the scriptures that will nullify "Thou shall not commit adultery."

Even at 16 or 17 if you've been in the church for any length of time you will learn the 10 Commandments and everyone knows Eddie is married with children.

Like I've said before there is alot of blame to go around. And I believe the parents/guardians of these children hold alot of responsibility as well as Eddie and possibly the upper echelons within the church.

Although I don't believe this suit is being brought at this point in time for only justice sake, it is time it is brought to light if for no other reason to save another person from going through this.

This ugly situation will only get uglier especially if it goes to trial.

Side note: If this thread is any example of a what the deliberations could be like in the real trial, it will really be interesting..... just saying

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

Its the truth.

Same the arguments against these boys should have known better was used for those 2 cases.

In the R Kelly case, the girls were acting too grown.

In the Michael Jackson case, why was the boy there with him?

Point of the matter is, they are still children, I don't care how close they are to being 18 who are being manipulated by adults who know what they doing is incorrect. Yet, we always have people blaming the victim. Sounds like the case of a rape victim getting what she deserved because of what she wore or like a friend of mine who was molested by her stepfather told by her mother, " You were always too close to him."

Is it no wonder, its take 10, 20 and 30 years before families found out their children was molested? Cause of stuff like this. It always the children fault.
These folks are predators and should be treated like what they are, Monsters!

Oh, I totally agree with you. Adults should know better than to cross this line, and as a teacher I loathe these predatory/sick individuals. It's socially and morally unacceptable not to mention illegal - I don't care if the child in question looks "18ish" or not.

[bdawk]

[quote=jluke65780;16127182]It's a clear difference between rape and having sex. How were these boys "raped" when they go kept going back??? They weren't forced to perform sexual acts with Eddie with a gun to their head.

I never said they were lying or that they were taken advantage of, but seriously.....at 16 and 17?? They knew damn well what they were doing.[/quote]

I take it you don't happen to have a 16 or 17 year old daughter do you? I can't imagine you would use the same logic if some authority figure manipulated and coerced your daughter into sexual acts.