villainess

So, the Twelve Tribes (hippie-fundie-separatist travelling freakshow - oh wait - in the interests of journalistic objectivity, religious group) have bought some buildings in our town and seem ready to start selling coffee and recruiting from the unusually high local population of, shall I say, confused people. The free weekly paper did a puff piece on them that was a disgrace to the name of all journalism (basically they found a member and asked him - so are you guys racist? Sexist? Beat your kids? And he answered nope, nope, and nope, and they ran that) so I have been asked to prepare a counter-story for the Secret Cloaked Media Project ov Doom.

Long question short, anyone have any personal experience with this group? I've found lots of very interesting material on them, but I'd love to have some first hand quotes from ex-members or people who lost loved ones to the group to lend impact.

the.villainess

never been there

I don't have the kind of experience you're looking for, but there's a colony of them here in Winnipeg. They have a coffee shop and a shoe repair business, they look like hippies but only because they have some belief against tailored (or "boughten") clothes. Their neighbours appreciate their communal life because they buy those beautiful massive old houses that no-one can afford to keep up now without ten adults and carpentry skills.

I understand them to be male supremacist. I'm not sure what the story is regarding dissent or leaving the group. If you grew up with 1/3 of your church living in the same house as you it be pretty isolating.

They do arouse such suspicion that a DA somewhere in the US went nuts and launched a series of prosecutions and apprehensions with not a lot of evidence. Despite vindication, that community had to move on, some of them settling here.

Some have stronger views, of course.

Arken

Is this the same as 'The Brotherhood' a.k.a. 'The Garbage-Eaters' or is this a different hippie/fundie sect?