Transcript
Denial, bolstering, and transcendence. These are just some of the tactics used by embattled Cedarville President Thomas White in a well-known apology video, according to Dr. Julia Dahl, an image repair analyst.
In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie interviews Dr. Dahl, who explains in depth how leaders and organizations spin the truth to fit their self-serving narrative. Dr. Dahl also analyzes a videotaped apology by Dr. Thomas White, showing how Dr. White uses common image-repair tactics to win over his audience.
Transcript
SPEAKERSJULIE ROYS, DR THOMAS WHITE, DR JULIA DAHL M.D.
JULIE ROYS 00:04She works as a medical school professor is her day job but on the side Dr. Julia Dahl is an advocate for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, and her work as an image repair analyst is opening many people’s eyes to the lies that they’re being told by those who want to cover up abuse in the church. Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys. And today I’m privileged to have Dr. Julia Dahl join me. About 18 months ago I first became aware of Dr. Dahl’s work. She reached out to me when I was in the middle of my investigation of Harvest Bible Chapel and James MacDonald and as I recall, Harvest had just released a statement saying that the church was dropping its lawsuit against me and the authors of The Elephant’s Debt. Now if you follow this story, you know that the real reason is that the church had lost its motion to suppress information that I’d obtained with a subpoena. This was very damaging information and I had already published some of it and it was becoming quite clear that if Harvest and James MacDonald continued its suit that it was going to hurt them dearly. But instead of admitting that the church had dirty secrets that it wanted to hide, Harvest said it was dropping the suits because it didn’t want to, “knowingly subject innocent people to the subpoena process.” The church added that it would receive the court’s ruling as, “God’s direction,” and now the church could focus its energies on, “continued growth, and mitigating the damage such attacks bring to our church, family and friends.” So maybe you hear a little bit of image repair in those comments, and I can tell you that Dr. Dahl heard image repair in those comments, and that’s when she reached out to me and offered to do an analysis of Harvest’s statement. And that’s when I realized how brilliant her work is. And what’s brilliant about it is that it gives labels and names to manipulative tactics that most of us can sense like, we can just feel it but we can’t put our finger on it. And that’s why I’m excited to talk to Dr. Dahl. Today I believe that after listening to this podcast, you’re going to be equipped to discern truth from error. And you’re not going to fall prey to the slick PR or manipulative leaders who are trying to pull the wool over your eyes. So I’m super excited to talk to Julia Dahl. But before we begin our discussion, I just want to take a minute to thank the sponsors of this podcast. Judson University and Marquardt of Barrington. If you’re looking for a car, I encourage you to visit my friends at Marquardt of Barrington. You can visit them in person near the intersection of Barrington and Dundee roads in Barrington, Illinois, or you can shop their entire showroom online just go to BuyACar123.com. Also, I want to let you know that Judson University is planning to resume in person classes this fall for traditional transfer and adult students. And it’s still not too late to apply. You can choose from more than 60 majors and learn in a Christian environment known for its spiritual values, leadership opportunities, and strong financial aid. Judson is locat
