Abuse Of Power Quotes

“Our society tends to regard as a sickness any mode of thought or behavior that is inconvenient for the system and this is plausible because when an individual doesn't fit into the system it causes pain to the individual as well as problems for the system. Thus the manipulation of an individual to adjust him to the system is seen as a cure for a sickness and therefore as good.”
― Theodore Kaczynski

“Because to take away a man's freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice, is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person.”
― Madeline L'Engle

“... in practice the standard for what constitutes rape is set not at the level of women's experience of violation but just above the level of coercion acceptable to men.”
― Judith Lewis Herman

“Why do we try so hard to destroy all that our planet gave us to enjoy?”
― Anthony Merrydew”
― A.R. Merrydew

“The power of one man’s imagination is infinite. The disinterest of the human race in facing the obvious, is exponentially far greater.”
― A.R. Merrydew

“The demise of the human race rests mainly on the shoulders of stupidity, and the abuse of power in the hands of those we have elected.”
― A.R. Merrydew

“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator’s first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure that no one listens. To this end, he marshals an impressive array of arguments, from the most blatant denial to the most sophisticated and elegant rationalization. After every atrocity one can expect to hear the same predictable apologies: it never happened; the victim lies; the victim exaggerates; the victim brought it upon herself; and in any case it is time to forget the past and move on. The more powerful the perpetrator, the greater is his prerogative to name and define reality, and the more completely his arguments prevail.”
― Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

“This generation will witness social and economic changes in our societies, that will be irreversible, thanks to AI.”
― A.R. Merrydew

“Stand up for yourself.
Never give any one permission to abuse you.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“Emotional abuse can leave a victim feeling like a shell of a person, separated from the true essence of who they naturally are. It also leads to a victim feeling tormented and tortured by their own emotions.”
― Lorraine Nilon, Breaking Free From the Chains of Silence: A respectful exploration into the ramifications of Paedophilic abuse

“Can’t a lawyer take his client out to dinner to discuss the case? Haven’t you ever heard of the two-martini lunch?”
“Yes, but this is dinner,” she corrected.
“It’s the same thing. I looked it up in my Etiquette and Tax Deductions
for Lawyers handbook . . .”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Laws become fragile under the influence of dictators.”
― Wayne Gerard Trotman

“Conviction rates in the military are pathetic, with most offenders going free AND THERE IS NO RECOURSE FOR APPEAL! The military believes the Emperor has his clothes on, even when they are down around his ankles and he is coming in the woman's window with a knife! Military juries give low sentences or clear offender's altogether. Women can be heard to say “it's not just me” over and over. Men may get an Article 15, which is just a slap on the wrist, and doesn't even follow them in their career. This is hardly a deterrent. The perpetrator frequently stays in place to continue to intimidate their female victims, who are then treated like mental cases, who need to be discharged. Women find the tables turned, letters in their files, trumped up Women find the tables turned, letters in their files, trumped up charges; isolation and transfer are common, as are court ordered psychiatric referrals that label the women as lying or incompatible with military service because they are “Borderline Personality Disorders” or mentally unbalanced. I attended many of these women, after they were discharged, or were wives of abusers, from xxx Air Force Base, when I was a psychotherapist working in the private sector. That was always their diagnosis, yet retesting tended to show something different after stabilization, like PTSD.”
― Diane Chamberlain, Conduct Unbecoming: Rape, Torture, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from Military Commanders

“What do I want now? I want to be treated with the respect I deserve in the current VA system and not be retraumatized. I want the men who did this to me to be punished and if that isn't possible, I want reassurance what happened to me will never ever happen to another woman in the Armed services. I want some restitution of the damage I have.”
― Diane Chamberlain, Conduct Unbecoming: Rape, Torture, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from Military Commanders

“You’re right, Jen, of course,” she capitulated. “I’m sorry. You’re going through hell, and I’m pontificating instead of being compassionate,” Lynne admitted.
“Pontificating? Interesting choice of words for a nonbeliever,” Jennifer chuckled.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“But why? Who would do such a thing?” Jennifer puzzled, astonished.
“I’m not sure yet who they are or exactly what their function is. My sense is they minimize the impact of these kinds of events and limit damage to the church,” Rothenberg surmised.
“You have got to be kidding!”
― Mark M. Bello

“Rothenberg was dumbfounded, shocked speechless. He was retained to provide treatment in a fourth-degree fondling case. This was far worse. This is a first-degree case. These boys were raped! The floodgates opened—details were pouring out now.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Let me get this straight,” countered Zack. “You’re telling me there is some secret fellow in the church whose job it is to deal with molestation cases when they occur?”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Sleeping with children is not within the scope of a priest’s employment.”
“But an unsuspecting kid doesn’t know that. He trusts the priest to tell him what God likes or doesn’t like, isn’t that true? This is textbook apparent authority . . .”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“These were children. Gerry was their priest. Who could disagree that these children were not justified in trusting their priest? Nobody!”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Because for her, money isn’t the issue. This is about revenge, payback, even worse, justice.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Even the receptionist was new, a pretty, young, buxom blonde named Eden, according to her nameplate. Micah must have handpicked her from the Garden.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Are we interrupting your late-morning nap, Mr. Blake?” District Court Judge Emma Pearl inquired, with a harsh tone and an insistent expression.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Thanks very much, Zack, and God bless you.” He hung up. God bless? That ship has sailed.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“We wait. This man has skills. You don’t build a multi-million-dollar practice by being an idiot. The fact he’s had some hard times does not mean we should underestimate him . . .”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Zachary notified the local newspapers and all pertinent radio and television stations. He called a press conference at the home of his client, Jennifer Tracey, to announce the filing of a major multimillion-dollar lawsuit against a major religious institution. The dye had been cast. A long, tough road lay ahead. For Zachary, Jennifer, Kenny, and Jake, there was no turning back.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“What tenacity! What spirit! I feel so alive in her presence. I can conquer the world with her by my side. If she'd let him, he'd violate his rule about becoming involved with a client . . .”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“Something happened here. I know it, and so do you. I will find out what, when, and to whom. Apparently, I'll have to find out the hard way, but I'll find out . . .”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“No, justice, simple justice. We tend to forget we went to law school to pursue justice for our clients. We get so caught up in the game of the law, we forget the purpose.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith

“We seek compensation, true, but we also seek to prevent future abhorrent conduct by this or any other priest. We seek to punish a vicious predator of children and the religious institution that stands idly by and watches while a whole generation of God’s precious children are physically and psychologically raped of their childhood, their faith, and their trust in role models. This is about a hierarchy whose solution to the problem is to send the offending priest packing, quietly pay off victims, and actively cover up crimes. The cover-up is responsible for a vicious cycle of crime upon crime. This lawsuit says we will not go quietly like those who came before us. The vicious cycle stops here and now.”
― Mark M. Bello, Betrayal of Faith