Completely Unnecessary

Some of you know about my infatuation with the book, Don’t Make Me Go Back, Mommy: A Child’s Book about Satanic Ritual Abuse by Doris Sanford. Written in 1990, it attempts to identify children that have been the victims of satanic ritual abuse (SRA).

The SRA hysteria arose in the 1980s, primarily in the United States, as a reaction to several social anxieties, including an increasing number of upper-class women in the workforce, which necessitated the use of day cares, often run by lower-class women. This was also coupled with the rise of “regained memories” in the psychological world - the idea that one could represses and rediscover hidden memories of past traumas.

Beginning in 1982, several high-profile and costly trials accused an ever-expanding groups of people of abusing, sodomizing, and otherwise terrorizing small children. The charges became more and more ludicrous as the children, encouraged by therapists convinced that they were unlocking memories, constructed fanciful tales of abuse, baby murder, animal sacrifice, and the like. One story had a small child in Michigan traveling to Florida to ride on sharks and be sodomized, all during the hours he was at daycare.

Suffice to say, the vast majority of these cases had no validity, but that did not prevent the defendants from being tried and convicted. While some convictions have been overturned, a number of individuals are still in prison, their lives stolen by a hysterical populace, media, medical community, and legal system. Books such as Doris Sanford’s helped to contribute to the hysteria. Supposedly, it is written so that children that have suffered abuse will identify its themes and pictures. Make sure to watch for the pink bunnies; if your child reacts to the small, furry creatures, it is likely a sign that they have been abused.

If the name alone doesn’t convince you that it’s the greatest children’s book ever, please come with me on a photo journey though the disjointed, inarticulate story of one child’s abuse at the hands of her daycare.

I give you:

Don’t Make Me Go Back, Mommy: A Child’s Book about Satanic Ritual Abuse is

We open our scene at dinner:

Mommy looks worn and maybe a bit long of tooth. Her hair is flaccid and shoulder-length. We’ll come back to this.

 

I have highlighted the uneaten chicken. Per 1980s etiquette, I feel the need to mention that children in Africa are starving…

But enough about that - on to the daycare…

Lots of stuff to look at in this picture:

1. Mommy seems to have recovered from the other evening. Her hair is shiny, longer, and she’s much prettier than she was. And do I spy a facelift?
2. The people who run the daycare are an insidious-looking bunch. Patriotic, though. Check out the one with the bun in the oven. That bun is for Satan. [It was widely believed at the time that women in satanic cults were having babies for sacrifice to Satan.]
3. Allison’s got a pretty unhappy drawing there. Could those be bunny ears?
4. Carnations may also be evil.

Bam! Here are the bunnies. Red eyes, probably for Satan, too. Also, as a good rule of thumb, don’t let Bernadette Peters watch your children.

Finally, that “magic juice” probably either has drugs or semen in it, according to theories at the time.

We appear to have moved on because now we’re in the country somewhere!

And we’re performing satanic rituals. There are two pentagrams on the table/altar, as well as, confusingly, a cross.
Personally, I like the teeny hangman’s noose. During the hysteria, various children reported stories of hundreds of infants being ritually murdered; none were ever found.

Oop, we’re back in the classroom. The girl in the purple outfit does not seem to have enjoyed the field trip.

Also note the stuffed bunny. Did your child react to it? Seek professional help.

I wonder if the daycare has a “dark hair only” hiring policy.

And Allison got married. No child has ever played that game before, so Mommy should be worried, but she’s looking kind of blase. Pretty, though.

I love the look on this kid’s face.

The movie star thing is from a rhyme popular among school-aged children in the 1980s. Something along the lines of, “I know what you are/ You’re a naked movie star!” This was taken by the psychological community as proof of abuse of children, and any child confessing to knowing or having heard of “naked movie star” was considered as having been abused.

Wanna take a guess as to what ‘bad shots’ means?

Poor dog. Apparently, these are all signs that your child has been abused. I like the forlorn piece of bunny fluff at the bottom.

I have no idea what’s on Allison’s ankle. Apparently, she’s been taught some pretty severe lessons in autonomy at the daycare. I have no idea where any of this stuff comes from.

Tell you what, though, Mommy looks amazing! The longer this horror goes on, the better she looks. Let’s have a flashback:

Pre-Mommy Post-Mommy

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about SRA, it’s great for your hair and skin.

Time to involve the authorities…

Or she could be terrified about being in a courtroom after being interrogated by the police…

Police and therapists who “interviewed” children often used coercive techniques. In one documented case, a child was told that he wasn’t as smart as other children, after denying anything happened.

Bunnies = bad
Horses = good

We’re going treat you differently, though.

I think those are rabbit tracks… Is Daddy more satanic than we knew?

Yay! Therapy time!

Allison didn’t even learn to stay in the lines at daycare… worthless.

And she is alone with another dark-haired woman! Have these parents learned nothing?Oh, but we can see that she’s married. It’s probably okay then.

Or is it?

What in the fuck is that black thing?
Bunnies = bad
Crab/Spider thing = good?

Also, the therapist is having Allison play with anatomically correct dolls to learn where she was touched. Investigators were surprised at how much the children knew about anatomy. Why might that be?

Couldn’t you just actually talk to your child? You’re standing right there, Mommy.

Lookin’ good, though.

And candy, and Christmas presents, and toys, and…

But not brave. Mommy has to go now. Listen to the cassette.

Grandpa’s got a bit of a leer going on there.

Kittens = good Cassette = good.

 

The last two pages are ten pieces of advice to the parents. They’re not very interesting visually and difficult to read, so I’m actually going to transcribe the best ones:

• To understand ritual abuse, you must thing in opposites, i.e., good is bad, wrong is right, etc

This book is amazing, then.

• “Be sensitive in talking about God, and do not force the child to participate in taking communion, which the child may associate with blood. Keep in mind that the abusers have sometimes worn clerical robes during the abuse.

What about Catholic children? Can we tell them it’s The Body?

• “Some especially frightening experiences for the child are: Halloween, the child’s sixth birthday, nighttime, bathrooms, certain foods that remind the child of particular rituals.

Um, okay. Not sure where this comes from either.

I’m tired now. If you want to see the actual book, I now have a copy…

Best Book Ever.

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