Saturday, May 01, 2010

Psychotherapy: Nancy Shaffer, Ph.D. -- Letter 3/3/2000

May 3, 2000
3801 Connecticut Avenue, NW
#136
Washington, DC 20008-4530

Nancy Shaffer, Ph.D.
Community Mental Health Center
Washington, DC 20007

Dear Dr. Shaffer:

The attached computer disc contains the most recent version of my autobiography (04/29/00 version).

I have added material from a new source: excerpts from the autobiography of the great-grandson of the composer Richard Wagner, Gottfried Wagner (born 1947). In the recently-published book Gottfried Wagner exposes the extent of Hitler's relationship with the Wagner family, which the family had kept hidden since World War II. Gottfried Wagner has become a pariah among his family; he now lives in Milan, Italy. He describes his father (Wagner's grandson) as a tyrannical ego maniac who used to beat his son, Gottfried, until the age of 16. 1/

The new material highlights a possible insight about whistle blowers. These may be individuals who developed a powerful grudge against their family in childhood, and who in adulthood have displaced their aggression against a substitute, such as a corporate or governmental entity, etc. Aspects of Gottfried Wagner's personality resemble that of psychoanalyst Jeffrey Masson. Both grew up in a cult-like family.

Incidentally, Jeffrey Masson's latest book discloses that he is a Wagner fan, and that he attended the Wagner opera festival in Bayreuth, Germany a few summers back. Big surprise.

The computer disc also contains a revised version of my personality profile. I have extracted out the newly-added material, which is appended to this letter.

Sincerely,

Gary Freedman

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