Im rich. As stated above, as Dederich believed this, his squeezes and toss outslike old timer Bill Crawford was willfully sentencing one to death for CEDs ego and financial gain. No one knows the actual final fate of the 19. Even today, some ex Synanon members, including many who had claimed they were harmed and/or were critical upon leaving, have played an on-line version with each other that slowly brought them back into the fold, confessing what others want to hear and afraid to say what they dont. Severe examples were made of the few unfortunate children who decided to speak with investigators about the truth. Where you at synanon in 1972-1973? But they have settled now, particularly, as stated below, as I slowly learned the results of so many of the Synanon clones, which resulted in so much death and brutality. He became the one to blame, he was the angry one. Ofshe who had been allowed inside Synanon to study it contacted Dave Mitchell in 1978 to ask if he was serious about investigating Synanon because violence could not occur randomly under Synanons controls and can only occur at direction of management (later admitted by Dederich at deposition). The damage that has been done to many ,many children is unfathomable. And, as stated, many of those who left were purposely ejected or forced out by Dederich squeezes. Indeed, that same year Dederich, in his The Wrath of God speech accused addicts of stabbing him in the back by failing to negotiate an apartment complex purchase, and threatened to get rid of all of them and replace them with squares. Sometimes I think women are more revenge orientated, but it probably still comes down to the individual. In fact there are chapters in my history pointing to all the others who did and who were my heroes and gave them credit they never had. If CED had that kind of protection, he would have died a king.. Dr. Casriel in 1963 reported that of 62 people located of 160 entries, 19 were graduates, while 43 remained inside Synanon. Anyway good luck and I hope you found a practice you enjoy. They made people like Bernie Kolb who I loved very much. 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Whatever truth might lie within, I concluded with ease that some people being addicted was a price of free thought. Yet it was from this that the miracle was proclaimed. But is there anything worth giving up freedom of thought? Elan maybe closed though we as survivors are not finished ,we are still seeking justice, and we demand justice for those that did not survive. Education website. Today as it is known that alcoholic recovery has a 40% success rate with no treatment at all; it is doubtful AA can surpass that. The sicker he became, the more he was tormented and tortured by the staff. He was so wrong and he refused to write many who studied Synanon came to an opposite conclusion. Jollett believes the violence to which adults were subjected has received widespread attention. For readers, Hollywood Park is a powerful memoir about one man's journey after he escapes a violent cult as a child. Even if the system had worked, the price was too high free will. And while because it was so small, its influence in non-publicized areas is doubtful. Synanons advertising of its few success stories was so convincing that many professionals like New York psychiatrist Dan Casriel had become convinced of the Games efficacy. He told me he was completing a book on Synanon. Stop telling me this didn't happen, because this happened.'" Oaks and Spokes. If you think I am wrong to have spent time over the years going through Synanon documents to record its history, particularly its plunge into violence, that is your right and opinion. Books have steadily been written stating the same, perhaps the best was Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids by Ms. Maia Szalavitz. I offered them to him but he declined. A small portion decided they had enough, and gave too much credit to Synanon and not enough to their own will power. According to Department of It exposes the cruel abnormal policies, practices and propaganda the Synanon children were forced to endure in a so-called modern America. Today, there are statistics saying women have surpassed men as earners, all of this is good. In 1980, the cult leader received widespread attention when he pleaded no contest to charges of assault and conspiracy to commit murder after he and two other Synanon members attempted to kill Paul Morantz, a lawyer who had successfully sued Synanon, by putting a four-and-a-half foot rattlesnake in his mailbox. Sincerely Despite this, despite the warnings of so many other notables, despite Art Barkers total lack of credentials and less than admirable past, The Seed received a $1.8 million U.S. government grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) soon after it opened. "Our parents weren't bad people, they didn't choose to turn their children into orphans. First, Susan, good to hear from you again. ), "You put stress on a family, unpredictable things happen, and children tend to take on different roles," Jollett says. Spare the Rod Healing. Synanon Survivors. Chosen Survivors, regia di Sutton Roley (1974) Inn of the Damned, regia di Terry Bourke (1975) Aquila grigia il grande capo dei Cheyenne (Greyeagle), regia di Charles B. It still such a bracing business that I like to stay in it. We were indoctrinated quickly thru fear, humiliation,and the constant threat of physical violence. Comments here are for input, questions, and providing of facts. They covered his mouth with a hand and forced him to inhale ammonia, which caused spasm of his vocal cords and prevented him from being able to inhale. Yet by 1968, to justify ending graduation, if Dederich was correct, there was little success in curing addicts. In 1964 a New Jersey Drug Study Commission opted not to give Synanon any funding after reviewing rehabilitation statistics supplied by Synanon Foundation. God bless you. Died of dehydration. In the introduction I asked the question was Charles Dederich just another sociopath who rose to power or was he a Jedi Knight seduced by the Dark Side. And that you should try to see people the way God sees them. "'Ha, ha! I was taken there by my mother. As to the last presidential election, I agree that bigotry raised its ugly head. Matt C. Hoffman Brill studied 2,100 admissions to Phoenix House and found a 96% drop out rate, and of the 4% who graduated, 25% had become staff there. lawyer magazine paul Morantz on you tube. Ramirez set up the synanon-based Phoenix House which hired former Synanite Ted Dibble to manage one of its centers. ***. Early on they selected former Synanite David Deitch to run Daytop but later released him when they claimed he tried to set up a Communist-based political action committee of ex-drug addicts. Correcting Claire Clarks Recovery Revolution, Book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. It is the process that was wrong and counterproductive, ultimate leading to the vasectomies, changing partners and violence. As I wrote, starting in 1998, off and on for 3 years; then quitting, starting again in 2009, stopping in 2011 to write the book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults, and picking up in 2012, that question continued as did the question did Synanon leave any positive legacy along with its revelation that its processes dictated its ultimate outcome and was predictable from the start? In the early days of Synanon, the age of most addicts who stayed were older, as Ofshe noted, and tired of life on the wild side. And you quite accurately describe the reason, it was protected. ), "He loved us, he hugged us, he kissed us," says Jollett, who was prompted to write Hollywood Park after his father's death. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. As to CED I have no clear answer, but certainly his childhood traumas and abandonments were likely to produce pathology. Kenton, through no fault of his own, was placed in the Synanon school by square musician parents and at age 18 became the youngest member of the Imperial Marines. You would know that in general I have a higher regard for Synanon people than the public at large. Neither AA, Synanon, or those that followed, were based on any scientific studies. I did not delete Susans comment, they disappeared and then reappeared; have happy holidays. The article listed more; interesting the largest number of abusive clones were in Arizona, where several juvenile probation officers had became visitor/participators in Synanon and recommended Synanon to officials and courts even though Marin County juvenile probation had stopped all sending of kids to Synanon and returning runaways. Now, if it is not very God damn profitable, I would go into another business. Bringing Luis Home September 26, 2022 10. Commonly employed and widely admired in 12-step groups and treatment., The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it., Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. Sells noted in 1976 that, The more strict the program the lower the percentage of clients retained in the [TC] program..Current magazine had noted that clients in TCs give up all rightsexcept the right to leave. I agree with current views, given the atrocities that have occurred in Synanon clones, but I also still think the idea, discounting the dogma, to have a group of peers encouraging you and available at any time to talk to if you are considering going on a binge and you cannot reach your professional, is good. 65-pound Michael Wiltsie, 12, at Camp E-Kel-Etu, a private Florida facility, in 2000 was suffocated to death by a 320-pound counselor who sat on him until he stopped breathing. And while it may be true that economics was a motivation, economics are part of the motivation for everyone on these issues. WebI run the Synanon Survivors Facebook group and wed love to have to as a member!! It is also a story of the unconditional love between WebSurvivors report physical abuse, exploitation (human trafficking), and several types of psychological torment, including harsh discrimination and LGBTQ+ conversion therapy. But I wrote my book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults with the view of writing the only book anyone need read on the subject. If one thought about it, does one really need to go to a rehab to stop taking pain pills or a little drinking or smoking marijuana; these were and are issues that the medical profession could not fail in guiding if one wanted to quitreducing, changing or eliminating prescriptions. So is the eventual years later reverting to a longing for the days of comrades and cause. Arbitrarily, I would say that young persons under 16 years of age should be excluded from these programs and that careful evaluation be given admitting persons between 16 and 18 years of age . The reviewer for his section on synanons for prisoners is none other than Dr. Robert DuPont, the second White House Drug Czar and founding director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and who administered a whopping $1.8 million contract to an experimental, start-up synanon for kids-only called The Seed in Fort Lauderdale. And in end, its Synanons holocaust that is its legacy, particularly since there were so many who predicted it as early as the 60s from nothing more than reading the books written about Synanon. Finally, even the founder was not cured, returning to marijuana by 1977 and to an alcoholic stupor in 1978 that led to drunken parties throughout Synanon, as Phil Ritters and my murders were plotted, and the supposedly rehabilitated and reformed celebrated at the news of resulting injuries. : troubledteens. And as the classic 1971 Stanford prison experiment demonstrated, creating situations in which the severe treatment of powerless people is rewarded inevitably yields abuse. "And probing into this world of the traumatized child. Further, Yablonsky married a Synanon woman and admitted he felt any attack on Synanon was an attack on her. Fourteen-year-old Martin Lee Anderson was murdered within 3 hours of his arrival at a Florida boot camp that was run by the local sheriff, Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen, on January 6, 2006. Once again, her counselors said that she was faking when she complained. That is not ego. Synanon can make its recommendation not to connect, even expel and announce it will not accept the person back; but there is no right to stop contact by never informing the person of attempts being made and giving the person the choice. Others were taken below or in barns to be beaten. If you look at your post, you will see you bring up matters which were brought up in the entirety of my text and there is little difference. This issue obviously needs further elaboration and research, but there are suggestions that there are age limits below which this form of treatment is contraindicated. Elan generated very large tax revenues for the state of Maine. Here we go!' You would make Wes Fager proud, I am sure, sadly he is no longer with us. AA, as Synanon did, says one must participate in AA for life and have a religious belief in AA 12 steps. Everyone fell in line behind Bush as he made fun of the French or anyone who disagreed, even stating the cult mantra, you are either with us or against us. But when Bush burned a spy to take revenge on a Sen. who spoke out, the media woke up and with it so did the country. Although Synanon was officially shut down in 1991, it had inspired followers to start similar groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles. "Sometimes I think about this book as this primal scream, this assertion: 'This happened. Synanon is only one chapter. He told me that he had interviewed Synanon people and examined the UCLA records. He noted that the child seemed lost in the rigid hierarchy and confrontation tactics of the program. He wrote: As a clinician I am concerned about the effects of intense, violent verbal interaction upon young teenagers engaged in a sensitive process of identity formation. We either do that or we stop. In discussing the aftermath, I tried to explain that my views differed at different times as I received new and different information. I just imagined Charles Dederich rolling over in his grave at that news. Maia wrote: No fewer than 50 programs can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an anti-drug cult called Synanon. first, you say that many agree with what I wrote and others did not, and as you say, these agreements are expected and that some would be vehemently because of the psychological processes of denial. But we are not Communist China, Communist Russia or Germanys Nazis. When all the litigation finally ended, I had some regret that Synanon had been closed, wondering what it might have evolved into after Dederichs complete removal. "I can't tell you how many times a day I pick up my kid. Did you change partners? Were you happy with the violence? ", It wasn't until the boys moved in with their father a tall, Italian man who awed them with stories about once hiding a shotgun under his trench coat that the once-distant dad became more than just a mythological figure. Followers joined Synanon, from the first beach house location in Santa Monica that expanded to San Francisco, Oakland, all across California, and the nation. Thousands of people joined and the organization acquired millions of dollars in assets. Do you realize that over 80 people were attacked? This is not limited to addicts. Instead it is led to countless deaths, destruction of lives and still continues today. We're going to pillage the town! As messages here seem to disappear and reappear per you request I am repeating it. You know ts great fun, to watch that. Originally a nonviolent group, Diedrich created the Imperial Marines to maintain orderwithin and outside of the community. Founded in 1958, Synanon sold itself as a cure for hardcore heroin addicts who could help each other by breaking new initiates with isolation, humiliation, hard labor, and sleep deprivation. In 1974, Congress opened an investigation into such behavior-modification programs, finding that The Seed had used methods similar to the highly refined brainwashing techniques employed by the North Koreans. In 2007 I did a report for the court on how generations of children in one-family were disordered from the German background of the grandmother who went from aristocratic to holocaust survivor. That's crazy,'" says Jollett, reflecting back on cult-members giving their children away at 6 months old. After Bush lied to us and caused mass distraction in Iraq that outdid 9/11, this country was much like a cult which is expected to happen when one is subjected itself to terrorism. Saying his death was caused by cardiac arrest, said Cohen, is really sugar-coating the pill as he was tortured to death and also denied medical treatment. In 1966 New York City Mayor John Lindsay hired Puerto Rican psychiatrist Efren Esteban Ramirez to run the citys Addiction Services Agency. Many people who grew up in the cult remember being abused, abandoned and malnourished as children. Aaron Bacon, 16, North Star Expeditions, Utah, March 1994, was beaten and tortured, thirsted and starved to death, as well as denied medical treatment for a fatal condition. "I became very interested in the idea of buried history, all the ways that we as children were told things that were patently untrue, and that we believed them," says Jollett, whose book will publish on May 26, just after the same-titled album. In one sense it becomes like the question of which came first the chicken or the egg. Eventually, on the subject of rehabilitation, Ofshe would write, Synanon was the failure thats gave birth to an industry.. Most of what I wrote was a no comment description in detail of Synanons evolution taken from its own records. I don't know. It is the freedom of thought and free speech that gave America the chance to go on and recover from its mistakes. 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