by Refuse & Resist!
On Thursday, March 27, the CBS program 48 Hours broadcast a slanderous attack on the Bruderhof communities. 48 Hours had been preparing a program on the Bruderhof communities for some time, but following the mass suicide of the Heaven's Gate group in San Diego, CBS took the material they had collected and used it produce a program on "cults." The result was that the Bruderhof communities were thrown in with Heaven's Gate, Jonestown, the Branch Dividians, and the Order of the Solar Temple. The fact that the Bruderhof communities maintain a web page on the Internet was used by Dan Rather in this special edition of 48 Hours that "will take a look at the darder side of the Web."
It is fairly obvious that this attack on the Bruderhof communities comes as a result of their active support for Mumia Abu-Jamal. The Bruderhof communities don't begin to fit the establishment's own definition of a "cult" which usually boils down to 1) total isolation from the outside world and 2) total obedience to a maniacal leader.
The Bruderhof communities are Christian communities in the Anabaptist tradition. The name Anabaptist goes back to the Protestant reformation, and was applied to dissenters who opposed infant baptism on the grounds that sacraments of the church could only be accepted knowingly by adults. Other religious communities in this tradition include the Mennonites and Amish. The Bruderhof communities attempt to emulate the communal life of the early Christian communities and oppose all forms of violence. They are very conservative on issues of sex and marriage. They are governed by community meetings and elected elders. They differ from other Anabaptist communities in that they do not isolate themselves from the modern world, and they hold property in common rather than as private property.
People are always welcome to visit the Bruderhof communities, and they actively go out and participate with others in issues such as opposition to the death penalty. So what makes the Bruderhofs a "cult" and a cloistered order of Catholic nuns ruled by a mother superior not a cult? Apparently the difference is that the Bruderhofs have taken up the defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal, put information about him on their web page, and have published his recent book.
People who wish to protest this outrageous lumping of the Bruderhofs with Jonestown and other mass suicides should contact the producer Paul LaRosa by calling 212-975-1517, or faxing at 212-975-5797, or e-mail in care of AUDSVCS@CBS.com.
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