At first, the weareasyou group [AKA The Forgotten Ones] sought to hide their connection to Nxivm and their lord and master, Keith Alan Raniere, as they danced nightly in front of the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center where Raniere is in custody awaiting sentencing for sex trafficking, forced labor and racketeering.
After the Frank Report broke the story of their Nxivm connection, other media followed.
Now, one of the leaders of the dance-protest movement, Nxivm member Eduardo Asunsolo, appeared on a podcast called “Good Morning Bushwick w/Bud & Roach.” He then posted his interview to the Forgotten Ones’ website.
In it, Asunsolo said media attention is scaring away people from joining their dancing efforts. He specifically referenced a comment by Neil Glazer, an attorney representing litigants in a federal civil lawsuit against Raniere and 14 of his Nxivm followers.
Glazer’s comment was published in the Albany Times Union. Glazer said it was a “cause for concern” to have so many Raniere supporters gathering in one place.
Asunsolo compared this to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany.
He said “This has happened through history. This is what has allowed for whole groups of people to be hated and persecuted. You read the Times Union and it says, you know, it’s a concern that such a big number of Nxians are gathering. This is like seven people there that knew each other from those programs. … That’s like what they said about the Jewish people in the 1930s in Europe. You are seeing, in front of your eyes, character assassinations on whole groups.
“I was a teacher in Nxivm and Keith Raniere is my friend. He’s been my friend for 10 years. It’s interesting that if you go and you read the news and you judge the people that appear in the news just by what appears in the news, that’s what happens. That’s why there’s millions of black people in jail because prejudice rendered them defenseless and if we do that again with another group because you call it a sex cult … it’s no different.”
While admitting seven members of Nxivm have been involved in the dances, Asunsolo said others have shown up who have no connection to Raniere.
Generally, the groups that dance each night number from three to a dozen. They have vowed to dance nightly from 8-9 night indefinitely.
