I recently used the word "Moonies" in a post to describe followers of Sun Myung Moon. A member suggested that this word is offensive, and this is not the first time I have heard this notion.

I took the word from a speech entitled "Our Pride", given on December 13, 1981, in which Sung Myung Moon states, "We are Moonies and we are proud of it. We are the people who can digest the cultures of the world."

If Sun Myung Moon doesn't find the word "Moonies" offensive, why do others?

Why do others find that word offensive? They must be ilinformed and unread for them to be offended. I am of the observation that if a person does not "like" something or understand the subject fully, then he's "offended". What a crock of baloney if you ask me. Nowadays it's "chic" to be offended by everything and anything. At least that's what I think. Just like lawsuits are "chic" to file against someone for "offending" the other person for something ridiculous in a normal world.

The Moon organization has a history of deceptively recruiting young people into the group, particularly in the 70s and 80s. They were famous for lying and telling young people they weren't with Moon. Using this deception they'd try to get some unsuspecting soul to come to a 3 or 7 day "seminar," "workshop" or "leadership meeting" and a few days or even in some cases weeks later tell the victim that they follow and believe Moon is the Second Coming. By then they hoped to have hooked another life for Moon. These were very elaborate ruses to con people. They knew no one aware of who they represented then would likely come to one of these events.

They are also known for swindling widows in Japan out of hundreds of millions of dollars and their leader, Moon, was convicted of cheating on his taxes. For these and other reasons they are always shedding their skin and putting on new face. Re-branding their image. They don't want people to associate who they are with who they are.

They know if they tell someone they are members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification or one of the other many front organizations for the Unification Church then the new potential victim will not know they are the same people who deceptively recruited young people and follow Moon as the Messiah.

They have been quite successful in cowering the press into not using the term. They try to say it is like using the "n" word. They just don't want people remembering them for who they are since their past isn't pretty.

Today they have been mainstreamed to the pint where they don't feel the need as much to lie about who they represent. So since they have a new skin the rest of us should forget their past.

See this: MOONIE CUP! Sun Myung Moon and Unification Church, Moonies (http://www.geocities.com/craigmaxim/cup.html)

Well Nigel that's quite a mouthful and I hate to say it but in my community association problems such as you have mentioned have arisen. I guess that's another matter. I'm just surprised that the leader says its Ok to use a word and the followers (and others) call you down for using it. I guess the people who do so assume you haven't seen that particular speech.

Nigel Ligen Has in his post given an excellent definition of a "CULT" and as such I have no problem offending them. Personally I would not worry about calling them "moonies", but would rather simply close the door on them if they come around.

It was me :( and I apologies. I DID misunderstand the word he was using. I misread it to be the same as 'moor'

Again, I'm sorry... forgive me?

Thanks Jennie and as I mentioned above, there are people from this group in my community who really get hot when someone uses this word and I don't think they realize or care to admit that their leader approved of the word in his 1981 speech.

Here is a link to the speech is anyone is interested:


http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon81/811213.htm

I would tell them that you took the word from a speech entitled "Our Pride", given on December 13, 1981, in which Sung Myung Moon states, "We are Moonies and we are proud of it and see what their reply to that is.

Unless they, in turn, tell you that as recently as 1982 he has been cited as saying that the term "moonie" IS offensive. I would read more into it before you take one sentence in one speech and wrap your opinion around it. But then I was raised to question authority and ask my own questions, like you are doing here. Then again, if it were me I would print out that speech, highlight the words you quoted, and go stick it in their mailboxes with a little heart shaped post-it saying, "Sorry to have misunderstood HIM!" But that might be viewed as antagonistic and rude. Safer just to nod and go read up on it yourself as you have done. :cool:

Its one sentence from the leader of the movement. I understand now that they want to be called "Sunnies." These people have caused some problems in our community as well as to me personally and I have zero respect for them as a result.

Tell them they do more harm than good at trying to recruit people and give them examples if you have to.
If they are that bad maybe you need to call a town meeting or something to try and come up with some legal solutions

The problems they are causing are at community meetings. One of their representatives is trying to get the membership to vote to buy a house in the community so that it can be used to store items and train young people in the arts of plumbing, electrical work, etc. The real reason is that they want to use the home to house the transitory groups of young people that the Moonies move around from time to time.

Oh I do remember you saying that
Sorry I didn't go back and reread.

The community needs to back themselves up with the law like commercial vs residential zoning laws, occupancy capcity laws
And all at least to protect from them buying a residential house. Then you would have to deal with them trying to buy commercial property.
IDK if that was taken care of or not but good luck.

Where do they currently live and do their 'work' from?

I'm not on here asking for help in dealing with the Moonies, I merely asked a specific question hoping to stimulate some conversation on a limited topic. We as a community are dealing with these people as we see fit. Let me give you an example of what is going on around here.

Take a look at the website listed below (Service for Peace). Service for Peace is a "Moonie" organization. Of course these organizations will never tell you they are part of the Moon empire. On their website, lower right is a schedule of events. You will notice an event in the community of West Lanham Hills which is listed as one of their events. That is where I live and I have been active in the community for many years. OUR COMMUNITY DID NOT KNOW AND DID NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR THIS EVENT, WHICH WAS A COMMUNITY-ONLY EVENT, TO BE INCLUDED AS PART OF A SCHEDULE OF MOONIE EVENTS.

This happened because the president of our community association was a Moonie at that time and is no longer in office.

If you click on the West Lanham Hills event, you can read what the Moonies have to say about it. They act like it was their event. They are telling a blatant lie when they say that the kids got out of hand but they controlled the situation. They did no such thing and no kids got out of hand. They were a few Moonies there wearing Service for Peace T shirts, but that was it. I was present during the entire event.

When I brought this matter up at our next community meeting, the Moonie president attacked me as a person who was attacking her religion and refused to discuss the matter or allow the printouts of the website you just looked at to be put into the meeting records.

I am currently vice president of the West Lanham Hills Citizens' Assn. Inc. and have since gotten these items into the record. I have created an awareness in the community that we have to watch out for the Moonies. I consider them to be the biggest threat we as a community face at the present time.

Since you asked, there is one large Moonie family living in our community. They are major players and you can read their writings on Moonie websites all over the place as well as in Moonie publications such as the Washington Times and the World and I. We also have a Moonie school (New Hope Academy) in an adjacent neighborhood (Landover Hills). If you go to the website for this school, they are very ready to tell you how great they are, but again, they will not tell you that they are part of the Moon empire.

I do not feel it would be proper to reveal the names of the persons I am discussing, but their website (WAIT) is listed below. This group looks really honorable and motivtated towards a good goal, but you will notice that they say nothing about belonging to the Moon empire. Moonie websites discussing this group say they are used to bring young people into the Unification Church.

http://www.waitteam.org/


http://www.serviceforpeace.org/OLD_SITE/chapters/dc/index.htm