The video is disturbing. But is it true?
My interest (and doubt) piqued by the notorious video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRuKmxQSPSw, I found and read this article: http://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/van-burger-tot-bankier-is-geen-fluitje-van-een-cent~a4449137/ which was published in January 2017, several months before the video was released. There is no reference in the article to any horrific background or personal history that led Bernard to abandon a worldwide conspiracy and work on building an alternative bank, which is what this article is about.
A serene, kindly-looking Mr. Bernard graces the header of the article. The subtitle reads, in English, "From citizen to banker isn't a piece of cake" (Translation of Dutch expression "whistle of a penny" = "really easy thing," "piece of cake").
Regarding Ronald Bernard, the article reads: "Citizens who take care of it and set up their own bank: they exist. Like Ronald Bernard. Under the motto 'Boss in own bank', the self-employed entrepreneur, together with his relatives, took over the initiative for the Blije B for several years." (BTW: Blije= "happy". Blije B = The Happy B[ank]; the B[ank] of Joy)
Regarding the "B of Joy": This is the link to the B of Joy "Team": https://bofjoy.net/about-us/who-are-boj.html These people may or may not be reasonable people. You be the judge: they range from someone who "worked for 5 years for the central government and then 15 years in the financial sector in Switzerland, the Netherlands and in Curaçao" to a "visionary and inspired citizen of the world" to an "energetic healer."
Regarding the parent organization of the B of J, known as the "United People Foundation" (a vague title, I think), you find that there is a combination of "sovereign citizen" movement, evangelical Christian, and Green/alternative economy content.
Read their FAQ. It comes across as a Google-translate version of the Dutch document. Overall, I get the impression of a number of well-meaning, idealistic, if a bit loopy people who are trying to create a not particularly well-considered banking alternative. It reminds me of the two or three times I attended Green Party USA meetings and, sensing idealism untempered by any realism whatsoever, left thinking, "Even if these people have good intentions, I would never want them running a food coop, let alone the government."
So, who is this man? I'm not saying the following is true -- I don't know. But if I set this video side by side with "alien abductees" who truly believe they've been raped and probed by alien "Grays," I find the same kind of emotional authenticity paired with absurdly false memories derived from despicable "hypnotherapists" who create the very conditions that leave such people convinced that they are victims of a grand (in the latter case, intergalactic) conspiracy. Did Mr. Bernard undergo "regression therapy" after a bad (but not Satanic) job experience?
Of course, I could be wrong. I'm not a true believer about anything. For example, it could be that the multiple reminders by the B of Joy and the United People Foundation that you can deposit, or plan on depositing, money to them by buying "Member Certificates," coupled with the ominous statement that some of the people behind the B of Joy work in the "current financial system" and therefore "cannot reveal their identity yet, otherwise they would lose their job" -- maybe these indicate that these organizations are worse than simply promoting a well-meaning if poorly thought out scheme. Maybe they are a way to appeal to an audience who would be receptive to an emotional plea regarding a global conspiracy, which they can apparently combat by sending their money to an organization that can't even, in a country where most people speak fluent English, supply a decent English translation of their own webpage.
It's one thing to come to terms with the sad reality that there is rampant social injustice and a stacked deck for the wealthy in this world. It's another thing to take -- and spread -- the word of someone who, it seems, is unwilling to name names, supply dates, or even give an account of the specific organizations that he alleges pushed him closer and closer into the arms of Satan. Do people really believe that? I, for one, think that Mr. Bernard may have himself supplied a much simpler explanation, which could apply to his own organization: Follow the money.
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purpleabyss ago
How exactly are we supposed to read that "volkskrant" article without a subscription...?
(Btw I found an old picture of Ronald Bernard - in case anyone is interested:
http://kayoo.nl/peter/enterprise.php )
Fence_1984 ago
First, click on the button "Gratis Proberen" ("Free Trial") below the words "Geen abonee?" (Not a subscriber?), which is just below the article cut-off. It's a free trial of De Volkskrant ("The People's Newspaper"), which is a medium circulation daily. I wasn't asked for a credit card – just an email address. Then, if you don't speak Dutch, you can just copy and paste the text into Google Translate. Make sure to use the FULL address for the article ( including the final ~a4449137/ ) in my original post (see above). Good luck with your exploration of the topic.
I only became interested in this because I just felt that the lack of verifiable detail was fishy, despite the intensity of Mr. Bernard's emotions. I don't expect people to share my opinion, of course. However, if Bernard is going to make such accusations, he should provide specific evidence, not just assertions. If he has a past that is different from what he has claimed, I hope this will eventually be revealed.
Most crucially, if he has financial interests in getting people to donate to an (alleged) bank, or bank-like entity, then, given the background he claims to have had, Mr. Bernard, more than anyone, should feel ethically bound to be fully forthcoming and transparent about his motives and fully honest about his past.
The_Roman_Numeral ago
This is why this fails. He's made NO accusations. He simply told his story. Take it, or leave it.
purpleabyss ago
Believe it or not I already tried that weeks ago - signed up, validated my email and THEN I was asked to choose a subscription where I have to type in all my personal data including my bank data (if I understood that correctly) and yeah, no thanks. So, no luck it seems. It certainly doesn't help that I don't speak Dutch. But be it as it is I don't feel like ending up with a paid subscription I have no chance of getting out again lol.
Whatever, would have been nice to read that article but it wouldn't change my opinon on Mr. Bernard anyway.