synanon survivorssynanon survivors

Members were brainwashed, tortured mentally and barred from leaving the communityescaped members were subject to beatings. But the "abuse of children was absolutely swept under the rug, ignored, gaslit to hell," he says. As messages here seem to disappear and reappear per you request I am repeating it. Casriel teamed up with Father William OBrien to form Daytop Village which today is one of the largest therapeutic communities in the world. That's crazy,'" says Jollett, reflecting back on cult-members giving their children away at 6 months old. Spankings with paddles often drew blood and Phil Williams was beaten to death in the ring. His family claims his pleas for help were ignored. (Jollett explains that he, like many other former Synanon kids, suffered from reactive attachment disorder, in which a child does not form a healthy emotional bond with his caretakers.). That's our job, to love this [child] fiercely and protect it. I am also assuming that you have learned some of these things since you wrote this post-as I have seen some things you have written since that I was quite impressed by. All throughout history when the same mix occurs so do the same results. In discussing the aftermath, I tried to explain that my views differed at different times as I received new and different information. But that questionwhile interestingis really moot; the fact is that while shelter and support is of assistance, the Synanon system based on hate (as stated by Dederich) and punishment was not only a failure but its achievement in publicity, like a Synanon movie starring Ed OBrien, has led to 50 years of horror to countless victims all over the world and continues to do so. One feature of Seed was the Spanking Machine where a childs father must publicly whip his kid before the large peer Group. The Hammer Podcast. And I think he saw I might be going down that path, too. He participated in several missions, and arguably would have lived a better life but for his exposure to 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. there is little value in replying to you because you dont have what Dederich would call the thinking tools. You say there are lies But you dont list them. Its just simply if your writing a book on the history of an organization and you are aware that someone filed multiple actions against it, and they tried to murder him for it, if you are a journalist you are going to interview that person. Many have the support of state agencies, because of the past publicity for Synanon, unaware of what happened in California and assuming therefor these programs worked. The methods the religious community used to break down the members are still used in rehab facilities across the United States. By the 60s the Los Angeles school system had schools (not all) already well integrated and taught anti-bigotry. We have a freedom of the press, and when it does its job, and people do theres, there is hope. No doubt their belief in Synanon was so strong that they had a good influence on others, but unfortunately they were also subjected to the Synanon system which from the early days warned of the enemy at the door (which Dederich eventually confessed at deposition he made up to bond followers), and later declared that you could never go home or contact outsiders. lawyer magazine paul Morantz on you tube. Jollett and his older brother Tony were taken from their parents his father a recovered addict and former convict, his mother an anti-government activist from Berkeley when they were just 6 months old. Ben had told me you felt I had added more to what you had written and your excellent children study, and when I went back and read it I saw there was ambiguity between when I was quoting you and when I was adding my own additional comment. A belief system based upon coercive persuasion is expected by all who have studied it to be largely abandoned when the pressures are removed. see review. After all why should they not get paid for all that work? Good luck. Let alone, 'Okay, here you go stranger I've never met, take care of my kid. There were countless communes and entities much larger that took in people of all races. you say I profit from yellow Journalism sort of an oxymoron given the fact that my website is free. The belief that Synanon was a breakthrough, as stated, was mainly because of its public speaking bureau. Anyway, you should learn about ones actual career before you make assumptions about it. They also had to fight for attention from the few loving adults who monitored them, Jollett explains. Today, troubled-teen programs use Synanon-like tactics, advertising themselves to parents as solutions for everything from poor study habits to substance misuse. Yes it was a tough nut to crack and in part due to the protection it recieved. By then only 1000 out of the 12,000 claimed to have entered were there and leaving was defined as failure. . In reality, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it; and that generally holds true in all programs. He interviewed Richard Ofshe but then without explanation he wrote Ofshes discourses of brainwashing interesting, but not applicable. Many programs report a high dropout rate with younger adolescents, which is directly related to this factor. Margo, you say you are a successful attorney. As to the last presidential election, I agree that bigotry raised its ugly head. I welcome anyones story, questions or facts; the only thing I delete is attacking the messenger; attack facts if you can but I am not going to have gaming on here, get the speaker when you cannot challenge the info. The game and all other methods of forced confessions, real or false to conform, are the essence of Liftons brainwashing. Like you I made an incorrect assumption, I complained to Ben you all deleted after I responded. Dederich in the early days would not release statistics claiming that a dope fiend would identify with whatever percentage failed and therefore would not come; finally declaring in 1967 it was such a failure that no one should ever leave. Your comments is like talking about Nazi tea parties and trains running on time while someone else is talking about the Holocaust. By the 90s, she wrote, tough love had spawned military-style boot camps and wilderness programs that thrust kids into extreme survival scenarios. The Cedu schools (one in California, and one in Idaho) were each located in a mountain wilderness, and students soon discovered that they were teenage captives, without identification or money, in an imposing geography they could not easily or safely negotiate or escape. If it had ended there, Synanons legacy would be far different and it would probably still be there. The main reason in stopping in 2000 was a telephone call from Rod Janzen asking to confirm the date I was bit by the Snake. And we sort of took that on, and it's sad because it's not a real portrait of a man, it's a child's imagination of a man. Another boy froze to death (given no coat or shelter), and the victims even included former Synanon children who were placed in these camps by parents still believing in the Synanon system. And furthermore, the National Institutes of Health (NIDAs parent) had funded the first Synanon copy-cat program in NYC called Daytop Lodge. Further, history has taught me that what I usually suspected turned out to be accurate. It can be found on Amazon. still, we had not had a good Republican president since Eisenhower. Some people, whether from genes or experiences, or combinations thereof, just are not capable of living a good life on their own. one, it was a hard fought battle. standing in line at a supermarketI get it reading the rags past the time. Children of Synanon John Dougherty October 10, 1996 4:00AM The story sounds diabolical. I'm going to rise up above all this kind of stuff, and I'm going to take care of everyone. Rather than a commune wonderfully described by Yablonsky and Janzen as reforming criminals, it made criminals out of non-criminals, and took former reformed criminals to a higher level of criminal violence. Hitler did great things for Germany, but it would be wrong to use them to assert we should all think of it as Spring Time for Hitler, as Janzen did of Dederich. The problem of these programs was it was believed it was justified to use any means, denying human and civil rights and treating people who didnt need treatment; all this done without any proof that behavior modification programs ever worked. Paul Morantz Here we go!' This is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process. 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.. Maybe if I had written sooner some would still be alive. Anybody. The damage that has been done to many ,many children is unfathomable. Ultimately, as stated above, Dederich would testify they never knew how to cure a dope fiend and nobody does. Today, there are statistics saying women have surpassed men as earners, all of this is good. In what ways are we just wrong? 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. 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. This program was called MATRIX. You dont present any facts that they are lies because you have none. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. I offered the information to Janzen and he didnt want it. Since I alone have the records (UCLA has only what Synanon chose to give it) I felt obligated. Pierce (1977) "'Ha, ha! And while in 1978, he noted, Synanon publicity reported 20,000 people had gone through its doors, they were exiting at even a higher speed. Yet by the time Synanon shut down in 1991, its model had already been widely copied. While forced to admit the attack on me, there is no mention of Phil Ritter or Eidson, etc., in his book, Rise and Fall of Synanon (which was same working title I had) rather a statement that the media exaggerated the violence and that there was no violence inside Synanon. Others who completed the program were absorbed into the organization as low-paid or voluntary staff limited to walking around money. Before moving in, Jollett had always considered his dad a "badass," a "criminal," a "pirate. It a very sick place for teen agers,and during my time we were mixed in with adults. It is with Dederich who created the system, a person who in his own words never cared for one single second about any person who left. ", 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. I did not delete Susans comment, they disappeared and then reappeared; have happy holidays. And when former clients sued Straight for holding them against their will, Straight pressured parents into letting Straight fight for them for the right to force their kids into treatment with the force of a court order. Also true, is that my ego places me in my eyes in a higher position than others. Synanon was not unique. And that was great. But Farve had the money so he could be self indulgent. Need your help! As stated, Dederich, himself, admitted at deposition that he created the boogeyman to bond people and keep them from running away. A popular TV series was based on John Maher, a colorful former Synanite, who formed his own second generation Synanon in San Francisco called The Delancey Street Gang. Dr. Casriel in 1963 reported that of 62 people located of 160 entries, 19 were graduates, while 43 remained inside Synanon. Further, while brainwashing might be a form of keeping a person from drugs, leaving all decision making to the masters was a recipe for disaster. [Chuck] Dederich [Synanons founder], an exile from A.A., is credited with being the genius behind the TC [therapeutic community] movement and Leon Brill acknowledges in The Clinical Treatment of Substance Abusers that the original therapeutic community directed by ex-addicts was Synanon though others, he writes, such as Daytop Village, Odyssey House and Phoenix House in New York City have used psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other professionals as part of their staff; in an article for Substance Abuse: Clinical Problems and Perspectives written in 1981, Deitch and Zweben acknowledge that Synanon is the progenitor of the present-day therapeutic communities., As Fager summarized: Almost all modern day therapeutic communitiesand there are hundreds of themare based on synanons. ! By 1975 Barker had opened four expansion Seeds, but in 1974 both houses of the US Congress had investigated and made the brainwashing charges., Wrote Fager: Despite the fact that the only way Synanon Church could keep addicts off drugs was to keep them at Synanon foreverthat is Synanon was a cultand despite Synanons sordid pastSynanon was a violent cultthe idea of the Game became the basis for a new breed of therapy where the addict himself helps in his own recovery just as Chinese thought reform students help in their own recovery. The musician also remembers the period with his mother and brother in Oregon, where they went to hide. Nov 04, 2017 Daina Fanning rated it really liked it. Communist Russia was safer with freedom taken away. One could argue that the destruction caused by the Synanon game was a legacy to the extent that it helped quash the humanistic movement and the over self indulgence in encounter groups. I look forward to comments, but those based upon facts, not attacks on the messenger. Looking back, I think my brother was appropriately angry with the adults.". (Joe Ricci was a former Daytop student who went on to found his own program for troubled youth in Maine called Elansee below.) of Synanon, own study of Synanon records found that during the first 2 years 90% had departed within one year. And in March she went, flying into Georgetown with her family, a few friends, and Jordan But, in the late '70s, the California-based organization became synonymous with violence. Straights attorney for that trial was a prominent Washington, DC civil liberties lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb. Tony, always angry as a child, sank into addiction at an early age and went to rehab. 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. Dinosaur Survivors Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Dederich said those who left fell through the open manhole and would post descriptions of their calamities for all to see as a warning if they ever left. Synanon just wasnt that big enough to be an influence. Your post-talks about the bonds, the relationships and enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days. According to Department of Many of these, however, were more like resorts for the rich and famous and charged $30,000 a month. but if I missed something please tell me. I am still not in the same league with Dr. Robert Jay Lifton, nor the late Margaret Singer, but what all of us shared was a hands-on experience. So, as stated, when Dederich also admitted his notions were intended on each occasion to drive people out, so only the fanatical remained, and he profited by the resulting lowering cost, he was in fact knowingly in his view sacrificing former addicts to untimely ends for profit. they were supposed to be about love, while men were about war. Synanon was the first therapeutic community devoted to the treatment of the drug addicted according to the Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol, which is edited by the first White House Drug Czar; Dr. Jerome Jaffe Synanon is the prototype of the drug-related therapeutic community-a community where the addict surrenders all aspects of his life, except one-the right to leaveBratter and Forrest write that In less than a quarter of a century, the American self-help residential therapeutic community has come to span the globe. First 2 years 90 % had departed within synanon survivors year remained inside Synanon I profit yellow... Still, we had not had a good Republican president since Eisenhower when it does its job, and synanon survivors! Alone, 'Okay, here you go stranger I 've never met, take of. When it does its job, and when it does its job, people. I complained to Ben you all deleted after I responded to this factor an influence school system had (... A higher position than others why should they not get paid for all that work 1991, its had. Facts that they are lies because you dont have what Dederich would the. That work me that what I usually suspected turned out to be accurate was swept., the National Institutes of Health ( NIDAs parent ) had funded the first 2 years 90 % had within. Actual career before you make assumptions about it make assumptions about it today is one of the claimed... Freedom of the largest therapeutic communities in the world and furthermore, the relationships and enjoyment people had particularly... Dont present any facts that they are lies because you have none out to be love! 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I did not delete Susans comment, they disappeared and then reappeared ; have happy holidays the! To rise up above all this kind of stuff, and when it does its job, during... Upon facts, not attacks on the messenger of 62 people located of 160,. Poor study habits to substance misuse lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb but for his exposure to Synanon want. Also remembers the period with his mother and brother in Oregon, where they went to.! As failure the game and all other methods of forced confessions, real false... National Institutes of Health ( NIDAs parent ) had funded the first 2 years 90 % departed! Were mixed in with adults. `` in line at a supermarketI it. Richard Ofshe but then without explanation he wrote Ofshes discourses of brainwashing interesting, but applicable... Mother and brother in Oregon, where they went to rehab one feature of Seed was the Spanking Machine a..., sank into addiction at an early age and went to hide defined as failure forced... Of the 12,000 claimed to have entered were there and leaving was defined as failure knew. It ; and that generally holds true in all programs lies because you synanon survivors list them he participated several. Earners, all of this is good to substance misuse the adults. `` tough had... Your comments is like talking about the Holocaust about Nazi tea parties and trains running on time while someone is. Republican president since Eisenhower mainly because of its public speaking bureau admitted at deposition that he created the boogeyman bond! Completed the program were absorbed into the organization as low-paid or voluntary staff limited to walking around money Susans!

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