By Aristotle’s Sausage
I encourage anyone who is interested in really understanding the issue of Allison Mack’s attitude toward Keith Raniere to read the full text of her allocution, because its tone and meaning are very different from the excerpts posted by Frank in his story, Did Allison Mack Repudiate Raniere?
It is far more equivocal. It is far gentler on herself and Nxivm.
Allison Mack
For example:
“As Your Honor is aware, I dedicated years of my life to an organization in which I and others truly believed, NXIVM. In the course of my time with NXIVM, I became close with many individuals, many of whom are wonderful people, and some of whom I now realize are not.
“But relevant here, I became close with Keith Raniere. I joined NXIVM first to find purpose. I was lost and I wanted to find a place, a community in which I would feel comfortable. Over time, I truly believed that I had found a group of individuals who believed, as I did, and who were interested in trying to become better people and in doing so make those around them better. And when I came to that realization, misguided though it was, my purpose shifted from trying to help myself to helping other people. Through it all, I believed that Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people, and that my adherence to his system of beliefs would help empower others and help them.”
So many of the people were wonderful individuals and SOME, she later realized, were not. Notice that she doesn’t specify Raniere is one of the “non-wonderful” people. Notice that she doesn’t say anything harsher about these abusers and racketeers than they were “not wonderful”.
This isn’t the tone of sincere repudiation.
Not only the tone but the precise wording of Mack’s allocution is all about making excuses for herself. She was “misled”. It took her years to understand that there was something fishy going on with Nxivm. The organization did so much good. Most of the people were wonderful.
Remember that this essay in excuses and subtlety was spoken before the lurid facts of Nxivm, DOS, and Raniere were exposed in court. (But she knew about them certainly). The blackmail, the branding (that took place in Mack’s own living room). The naked pictures (“you have a pretty c*nt”, quoth Mack). Before the recording was played of Raniere and Mack planning the branding ceremony (held down like a sacrifice). Before it was reveled that she was grooming young women for Raniere’s sexual pleasure and sending him the naked pictures she took of them under threat of blackmail.
Keith Raniere chats with Allison Mack in Nancy Salzman’s home, filmed as part of Keith Raniere Conversations, a series of interviews with the leader of NXIVM.
Now that we know all this go back and re-read the part in Mack’s allocution where she states:
“Through it all, I believed that Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people, and that my adherence to his system of beliefs would help empower others and help them.”
That’s not a repudiation.
