MOVE's Silence

For an Organization that purports to stamp out “misinformation” wherever and whenever it rears it’s head, the members of MOVE have remained uncharacteristically silent in the face of one of the most damning news articles written about the cult since 1985.

Anyone familiar with MOVE’s members and supporters is also familiar with the fact that when MOVE is mentioned in the media that MOVE adherents are correspondingly found generally falling over themselves in order to “respond” or to demand “equal time” in the offending medium.

Take in point the current responses that are still popping up over the relatively benign article written by Stu Bykofsky for the Philadelphia Daily News back on Sept 18th. As recently as October 5th the website of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia had posted yet another hysterical retort to Bykofsky’s column by MOVE.

Suspiciously the group remains mum on the Philadelphia Inquirer article in which MOVE is more or less implicated in the still “unsolved” murder of John Gilbride.

Now, I have written about all I can about John’s killing and who I think bears responsibility. And if you care to you can peruse this blog and my website for more insight into my take on this matter.

Make no mistake about it. MOVE and it’s ever shrinking cadre of zealots have not “overlooked” this article. They have deliberately and consciously made a choice to not respond. I assume, but cannot prove, that their calculated silence is a result of a strategy of ignoring uncomfortable truths as opposed to amplifying them by responding.

As much as this is a departure from MOVE’s general modus operandi, it has, however, been part of how the group has “dealt” with the murder of John Gilbride. They avoid any discussion of John’s death when they can and when they cannot they spin wild conspiracy theories designed to divert attention from themselves and the true circumstances of the murder as much as they possibly can.

Another, more crude tactic the group employs is to employ various methods of intimidation or psychological warfare (see Alberta Africa’s letter to Jack Gilbride, John’s father as evidence of the latter.)

For me there are two overriding issues that remain unresolved. When and not if John’s killers will be brought to justice and secondly just how much longer can MOVE’s supporters ignore the fact that they are in company of killers whose death-cult mentality endangers all of their futures?