synanon survivors

AA, as Synanon did, says one must participate in AA for life and have a religious belief in AA 12 steps. (Joe Ricci was a former Daytop student who went on to found his own program for troubled youth in Maine called Elansee below.) While I cop to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to do with it. They must be lies because you cant live with any other thoughts. My disappointment, as stated in my book, is that after all this great work, led by the entertainment field it regressed, with HBO and Showtime saying the best job you could get if you were a woman was to strip or manipulate a millionaire to marry you. I'm going to get up at 5:00, I'm going to feed the rabbits, I'm going to make myself breakfast, I'm going to make myself lunch, I'm going to walk to school. On June 27, 1990, six weeks after the death of Michelle Sutton, 16-year-old Kristin Chase died at the Challenger wilderness camp in Utah of hyperthermia and dehydration after a 5-mile forced march in 105-degree heat. WebJan 2010 - Present13 years 2 months United States Im a CEDU Survivor who created & runs the Synanon Survivors Group on Facebook. None of us were hardcore drug addicts. That is just a fact. Barker had been arrested at age 16 for burglary and when he was 18 he was charged with assault and robbery, for which he joined the Army a few days later and then went AWOL. 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. Also, if a person made that choice sincerely, that person may have a better chance of succeeding in an environment with supporting persons and ex-addicts urging of them on while removing competing problems of how to support themselvessuch as a housing, friends and a job. Hillary Clinton probably wouldve made a good president, the Alaskan Gov. Yet at the same time, the noise Synanon made did wake up people to the idea, not yet existing, that cure was possible. A. Confidential. Ordered by the court out of Synanon, he returned to a life of crime and was murdered. But acts I have stated, the comments on the site are limited to questions, the presentations of facts, challenges to events, additions and/or support, but but attacks on people who present their information will not be permitted. The leader, Chuck Dederich, decided we wouldn't have parents, and then we just didn't.". Naya Arbiter As messages here seem to disappear and reappear per you request I am repeating it. And in the end, what I presented were facts, i.e., the actual statistics, what happened in the clones and the general consensus of experts that the Synanon system of brainwashing, punishments and humiliations is counterproductive and psychologically dangerous. Elan was known of using such standards as haircut, pull- up, the game and humiliating signs; but added a boxing ring for resisters to be plummeted by bigger guys until a bloody confession was extracted, regardless of its truth. Jollett believes the violence to which adults were subjected has received widespread attention. Thats the nature of our business. (17), The evidence has shown that brutal, verbal confrontation sessions are no more effective in controlling drug abuse among adult hard-core heroin addicts than other methods of control. Poor and, at one point, subsisting mostly off of rabbits they raised and butchered in their backyard, Jollett was unable to process the trauma he'd experienced, according to the book. This piece was limited to legacy and was put together through stats, admissions and results in clones. Professor David Bellis was one. TTI Survivor - Leviah Rose. Many entrepreneurs, previously excluded from the lucrative drug rehabilitation trade because of lack of a medical degree, have opened their own second, third, and fourth generation synanon-type therapeutic communities. Many who studied Synanon agreed. He found that at Odyssey House only 25% of admissions stay more than 30 days, that the rate is down to 9.7% after six months, 5.6% at 1 year, and 2.8% after 18 months; the programs required length of stay to graduate.. Now, if it is not very God damn profitable, I would go into another business. 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. What is known about the early days, was that the older joiners were more likely to stay than the younger, and its initial opening success per Ofshe reflected that then the current age of entry was 34 or older; they were people who had a strong desire to remove themselves from the demanding regime of an addict/criminal life. Rather, the organizations said they worked, so people believed it. But I, its a marvelous business to watch these assholes come in and fall all over themselves and try bite me in the ass. Those who chose to reject his ideas were removed. 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. If CED had that kind of protection, he would have died a king.. Also Santa Monica acted because Synanon did not have a license to treat anyone. standing in line at a supermarketI get it reading the rags past the time. And that you should try to see people the way God sees them. Most program lingo IS Synanon lingo! It also details how a few former residents ,as we were called then ,survivors as we call our selves, now worked for over 13 years to expose and shut down Elan. 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. In terms of drug addiction, thats where it ends. Thats why I wrote the history of Synanon because there is so much to learn. Fatherhood has made him more cognizant of how much trauma he experienced as a child, as it has for other former Synanon kids who have become parents. When she finally was rescued by a grandmother, the organization was fortunately wiped out by the resulting civil judgment for damages. I remember how hard it was for a woman to get a job and how few there were in my law school class. It was a gift. It just seems monstrous.". Synanon did not even keep it from the public. Prove that all the Synanon documents directing kidnappings, beatings and murder did not exist. That is why the health department took action in 1977. Dr. Roger Meyer and psychotherapists Thomas Bratter and Gary Forrest warned about using synanons on kids. The example story might be that of Joe Musico and Lance Kenton. after 911, the Dederich type remarks that Bush was making were scary and I felt that free-speech and this country was dissipating; people were afraid to say anything that could be interpreted as un-American. Following this broadcast, several executives of the NBC network and its corporate chairman allegedly received hundreds of threats from Synanon members and supporters. [31] NBC continued with a series of reports on the Synanon situation on the NBC Nightly News. Ex-members have no idea how close they all came to being arrested for conspiracy of RICO violations. When they asked me, if an addict enters Synanon, how long will it take? My answer is, If he is lucky, it will take forever.. As I said, for years I basically hung out with former members. Your post-talks about the bonds, the relationships and enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days. So lets say you wanted to give the Third Reich some credit, which could be done, what positives can you say about Synanon? Being a journalist, I find this approach, which was not just unique with him, disappointing and when we realize there are a lot of people like that, he creates a problem for researchers trying to ascertain history. Maia wrote: No fewer than 50 programs can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an anti-drug cult called Synanon. "In the case of my brother, he became the scapegoat. As to the last presidential election, I agree that bigotry raised its ugly head. In my opinion Elan operated as a continueing criminal enterprise for close to forty years. Others were taken below or in barns to be beaten. One cloneVision Questit has been written had 9 deaths; forced marches, black uniforms in triple-digit temperatures, harsh discipline and a daily diet limited to an apple, a carrot and a bowl of beans, all which were common to these orgs. This is due, in part, to many Synanites having left to form their own lucrative drug rehabilitation companiesa degree in medicine is not a requirement., ***. So I asked him how he could then discount it and he responded because if it existed, he would have to consider it occurring in religions (he is a Christian and lover of utopian communities) and other groups. It was known for communal living, practices such as group "truth-telling" sessions they called "The Game," requiring married couples to split and take new partners and female members to shave their heads. I had never been arrested nor done drugs. A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. 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? As I was quoted by my friend Wayne Kernochan and also by Judy Miller in the Lewiston Sun Journal when I was asked how I remembered Elan and I said it was a sadistic ,brutal ,violent soul- eating hellhole. Both boys had to navigate poverty and abuse, but Jollett's experience was vastly different from his brother's. He told me he was completing a book on Synanon. This is not limited to addicts. Others who completed the program were absorbed into the organization as low-paid or voluntary staff limited to walking around money. 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. In addition, group practice becomes an anti-therapeutic factor with the T.C. Ego had nothing to do with that comment. "And probing into this world of the traumatized child. Unfortunately, came the imitators who sold the idea it was rehabilitative and copied it leading to a much greater list of damaged individuals than Synanon could ever achieve. (16) In 1985 psychotherapists Thomas Bratter and Gary Forrest echoed the conclusion of Rachman and Heller and added a caution of their own when they wrote that such a treatment [for self-destructive drug abusers] may not be necessary or appropriate for other treatment populations, i.e. WebI run the Synanon Survivors Facebook group and wed love to have to as a member!! As I said, I would say the same of Janzen. 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. He was constantly accused of being a malingerer and faking it when he complained of being sick and unable to go on. I would say probably every decade my views changed, either up or down, but only in small degrees. The robber barons cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience., *..*.*. Copyright Paul Morantz. 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. Your comments is like talking about Nazi tea parties and trains running on time while someone else is talking about the Holocaust. Member! to have to as a continueing criminal enterprise for close to forty years a book Synanon! President, the relationships and enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days RICO violations RICO violations love. Other thoughts anti-therapeutic factor with the T.C arrested for conspiracy of RICO violations out! Book on Synanon on kids world of the NBC network and its chairman! 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