On Resurrecting A Dead Blog

After some long and careful thought, I have decided to resurrect this blog. I would have preferred to leave the Maetreum of Cybele in the rear-view mirror of my life, as everyone who has passed through there has done. Unfortunately, I do not have that luxury. There are several reasons why. First, because as long as Cathryn Platine is still attempting to recruit vulnerable trans people who may well be fleeing for their lives from persecution in red states, I cannot remain silent. I do not believe that the Maetreum of Cybele, Catskills Phrygianum is a safe environment for trans people, or anyone else for that matter. I covered the reasons for my concern in a prior entry: An Open Letter to Jeremiah Bruce Lennox. Second, given that I was Platine’s second-in-command/heir apparent, I was deeply involved in the organization and heavily promoted it for thirteen years, I feel a moral obligation to continue to speak out. Indeed, I was informed by a credible source that Marina Brown, one of the original four owners of the Maetreum property, credits me personally for the Maetreum’s continued existence. It was her opinion that the Maetreum likely would have folded years ago, had it not been for my involvement, financial investment and downright obsessive promotion of the place. So then why, if I loved it so much, am I now saying negative and critical things about it? And why, if I now claim it is so horrible, did I stick with it for all that time? These are excellent questions, and I absolutely will address them in future blog entries Third, some things are just so awful and so egregious, that they cannot and should not be ignored and forgotten about. My own life was turned upside down and I could have very easily lost my career and livelihood due to the sheer maliciousness and malevolence of these people. Moreover, I was far from the only one. And for that reason, more than anything, is why I am still here blogging about the Maetreum when I have so many better things to do with my life. Fourth, I want to help give cult survivors a voice. My experience with other people since leaving the Maetreum has been positive overall, and I have been touched and overwhelmed by the support that I’ve gotten. Nevertheless, I’ve also run right into a lot of ugly and inaccurate stereotypes and misunderstandings about cult survivors. I want to rectify these. I have also decided to take the blog in a slightly different direction: I am going to open it up as a community space for honest discussion and debate about the Maetreum. I want to emphasize that this is NOT an attack on the Maetreum! Unfortunately, Cathryn Platine is invariably going to regard anything shy of fawning praise as an attack. It’s the nature of the beast and I’m just going to have to live with it. Accountability and honest discussion are only to be feared by those with something to hide. I will accept submissions for guest posts. There are going to be some ground rules, though: 1. Email them to me, viktoriawhittaker@gmail.com with the subject line: Gallae Central House Blog Submission. 2. I will accept all perspectives on the issue, positive, negative and anything else. This is with the caveat that if I disagree with what is said, I will make clear what my objections are. And of course, community discussion in the comments from all perspectives is encouraged. 3. I will put a disclaimer on any such submission indicating that the views expressed in said piece that they reflect solely the opinions of the author and do not necessarily express mine. 4. I will censor the names of any third parties mentioned unless I have written permission for them to be used. 5. I will accept submissions from anyone. This includes the other Maetreum priestesses: Caillean McMahon, Francesca Tronetti and Susan Davis. The only person whom I will NOT accept a submission from is Cathryn Platine herself. There a few reasons for this. First: she has her own blog and her own platforms. Hell, she’s got her own goddamn radio station! Yes, I am aware that she has been using said platform to spew vitriol at me for the last two years. Second, whenever she steps into a debate, she attempts to completely control the narrative and if she cannot, she angrily storms off like a petulant child. You just can’t have a conversation with someone like that. And that is the reason why I have been ignoring the Gish-gallopy word salad that is her blog for the last few years. I will not allow myself to get reeled into an unproductive discussion with a dishonest interlocutor who never intended to fight fair. 6. I will make submissions anonymous if the author wishes. 7. As a final note: NO ONE IS OFF LIMITS. I plan to hold EVERYONE who was involved with the Maetreum who behaved in abusive and unethical ways to account. As terrible as Platine was, she does not and never has operated in a vacuum. She has had supporters and enablers that kept her going. To my great regret, I was one of them for far too long, and that accountability and honesty applies to me as well. I hope to get an honest conversation about the Maetreum going here. Based on what I have seen on online forums regarding Palenville, it seems like there is very little factual information out there and too many of the Palenville community groups shut down discussion of the Maetreum and its place in the community, if there even is one! One day, I hope to share happy memories. Unfortunately, for me, for now, all my memories of the Maetreum are tainted with bitterness. Just how do you get past betrayal trauma, where people whom you loved and trusted not only stole from you but tried to actively destroy your life? I wish I had an answer.