By Walter Hoye II
“I propose that the core issue is betrayal—a betrayal of trust that produces conflict between external reality and a necessary system of social dependence.” — Jennifer J. Freyd
Betrayal Trauma Theory believes that there is a “social utility” in remaining unaware of abuse when the victim is dependent on the perpetrator. In such cases Dr. Jennifer J. Freyd, author of the terms “betrayal trauma” and “Betrayal Trauma Theory,” argues that under some circumstances detecting betrayals may be counterproductive to survival.1 I am suggesting that in the case where the victim and the perpetrator are the same (self-betrayal), Dr. Freyd’s argument is especially true.
While traditionally trauma research purports that fear is at the core of all responses to trauma, Freyd believes that traumatic events differ in degree of “fear and betrayal,” depending on the context and characteristics of the event. According to Freyd, “research suggests that the distinction between fear and betrayal may be important to post-traumatic outcomes.”2 I believe the distinction between fear and betrayal is important to post-traumatic responses [see illustration at http://issues4lifefoundation.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/betrayal-trauma-3-of-7/].
This is part three (3) of a seven (7) part series examining why black leadership rejects the pro-life movement, is helping to perpetrate the genocide of their own people, and what can be done to reverse this horrific reality.
Betrayal Trauma: Socially Inflicted
“Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.” — Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail
The number two reason black leadership rejects the pro-life movement is that he or she is: Racist. In other words, some black leaders hate or are intolerant of white leaders. While the imbalance between black and white Americans, as a result of nearly 240 years of “chattel slavery,”3 is an ugly reality of American society, it is also a fact that in light of the incontestable evil of abortion, many black leaders have become victims of their own hate. Abortion is oxymoronic, a “cruel kindness” if you will. Abortion is the lie that promises to improve the “quality of life” at the “expense of life.” Abortion kills over 1,000 black babies every day in America. Over 15,000,000 black babies have been killed since 1973. That’s more than the entire populations of Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Boston, Oakland, Dallas, D.C., Chicago, Miami, and Baltimore combined. Black children are aborted at a rate three (3) to five (5) times higher than white children. In New York City, the home of Planned Parenthood, sixty percent (60%) of all black pregnancies are aborted.4 In Washington, D.C., where blacks make up 52.7 percent of the population, there are 265 abortions for every 100 live births.5 Abortion never reduces poverty, health care disparities, or unintended pregnancy rates. Abortion reduces us.6 When black leaders embrace black leaders that embrace abortion as a necessary “social policy” or “social utility” to guarantee life, black leaders are ultimately embracing black genocide, a racist and eugenic strategy designed to end black life. We were the oppressed. Now we are our own oppressor. Furthermore, if we don’t stop aborting our children, we will once again become the oppressed. Oh “that we [would] be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us,” even from ourselves (Luke 1:71).7
Betrayal Trauma: Fear Is at the Core
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” — Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963.
If Betrayal Trauma Theory is true, and our response to the world around us is shaped by fear and betrayal [see illustration on website], then it is easy to understand why black leaders embrace black leaders. However, when black leaders embrace black leaders because black leaders are black, versus the content of their character, we are engaging in a sadistic type of reverse racism that betrays us at the deepest levels. It’s easy to say: “Trust God!” However, when the cold winds of fear and betrayal blow into the reality of our lives, it is easier to be angry at God than to trust Him. Yet, in light of our response to the fact that black America is aborting their children at three times (3x) the rate of white America, I’m asking the same question the Lord asked Jonah in chapter four (4).8
Brothers, we really need to talk.
Reference(s):
1. Freyd, J.J. Memory repression, dissociative states, and other cognitive control processes involved in adult sequelae of childhood trauma. Invited paper given at the Second Annual Conference on A Psychodynamics–Cognitive Science Interface, Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco, August 21-22, 1991.
2. Freyd, J.J. (2009). What is a Betrayal Trauma? What is Betrayal Trauma Theory? Retrieved Friday, August 26th, 2011 from:http://bit.ly/q0Uuop.
3. “Myth Busting: Africans Sold Their Own Into Slavery and Are Just As Guilty as Whites …” (http://bit.ly/rhZDmb).
4. Atlanta, July 1, 2011, The National Black Prolife Coalition at released: “EPIDEMIC” (http://bit.ly/o5Rtn7).
5. “DC Mayor Vincent Gray Wants No Black Child Left Unaborted,” LifeNews.Com (http://bit.ly/nqrMhL).
6. National Black Prolife Coalition, op. cit.
7. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles (http://bit.ly/rrKAWH).
8. “Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?” Jonah 4:4 (KJV).
Walter B. Hoye II is both president and founder of the Issues4life Foundation and the California Civil Rights Foundation. God used the premature birth (six months, 2.1 pounds) of his son to teach him that the fetus is a person—a living, breathing human being. In 2008, Walter and his wife, Lori, were the recipients of the 4th Annual Walk for Life West Coast’s St. Gianna Molla Award for “ courage under fire” in the pro-life movement. He serves as an incredible leader for the cause of the preborn despite the personal costs, and has even been unjustly jailed for his peaceful defense of the preborn on a sidewalk outside an abortion clinic. His “ Letter from the Santa Rita Jail” and California Human Rights Amendment appeal for personhood entitled “ Why I Can’t Wait” are now classics. Hoye has also written a book entitled, Leadership from the Inside Out.
This article has been reprinted with permission and can be found at http://issues4lifefoundation.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/betrayal-trauma-3-of-7/...>
