is probably the most clear and present danger the presidential office ever faced. He stated he consciously directed the Synanon population through this method. WebSynanon Industries. That Young people were beaten, some in public demonstrations. 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. WebSynanon sought religious status in 1974, with Diedrich as its leader. WebSynanon was a religous community. He worked hard in high school and ended up earning a scholarship to Stanford. I informed him that some of the people he interviewed were in fact the ones who participated most in the violence and that he had been lied to. Still, to glorify Synanon, as some do, like Yablonsky, Janzen, is to show a lack of humanity and spit in the face of the vast amount of victims of violence in Synanons own holocaust. For more than a decade, a Tucson nonprofit drug-treatment center 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. You know ts great fun, to watch that. Yet at the same time, the noise Synanon made did wake up people to the idea, not yet existing, that cure was possible. We either do that or we stop. "Sometimes I think about this book as this primal scream, this assertion: 'This happened. He interviewed Richard Ofshe but then without explanation he wrote Ofshes discourses of brainwashing interesting, but not applicable. Some people, whether from genes or experiences, or combinations thereof, just are not capable of living a good life on their own. Straights attorney for that trial was a prominent Washington, DC civil liberties lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb. Hillary Clinton probably wouldve made a good president, the Alaskan Gov. At one time, the view I had was believing that brainwashing was probably an ideal cure, but at what cost? Her alleged crimepetty theft. And I still do. Its goal was to take it to the context of greater society.I would appreciate you know your feelings. 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. My discussion is on the known today dangers of a hatchery (abandonment syndrome) which Susan Richardson wrote about, the psychological affects of attack therapy which can cause psychological damage, including psychotic breaks (which happened at Synanon) and how everyone finally bought into the enemy at the door who were all prejudiced against them and finally reduced Synanon to a state of mind where propaganda ruled over truth, all the ideals were tossed out and a growing comparison to the Manson family was in place. In contrast, Jollett's goals as a parent are simple. At least three dozen teens have died in these programs, often because staff see medical complaints as malingering. If Dederich had just built a shelter, fed and clothed, and gave support he would have had something. Dinosaur Survivors Leave a Reply Cancel reply. All throughout history when the same mix occurs so do the same results. The authorities closed it down. Link To The Synanon Survivors Group And Future Photo Library I dont have much to argue with what you say about the people in Synanon and do not disagree they helped others, they were there to do that. Childrens deaths in tough love boot camps include: Michelle Sutton, 15, Summit Quest, Utah, 1990. For author Mikel Jollett, the frontman for the indie band The Airborne Toxic Event, his book is a "primal scream.". Mental health service. But I, its a marvelous business to watch these assholes come in and fall all over themselves and try bite me in the ass. 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In one of his many papers on Synanon, Ofshe noted that it is doubtful that all the therapeutic communities that cloned themselves after Synanon would have done so if they heard Mr. Dederich testify as he did in 1979: its always a mistake to let anyone into Synanon. Please buy the book. 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. That did not exist in Synanon, that is what cemented its doom. A small portion decided they had enough, and gave too much credit to Synanon and not enough to their own will power. But I also concluded that Synanon would always be dangerous because of the nature of the Synanon game. Aftermaththe Synanon legacy A Violent, Deadly Cult With Forced Abortions and Shades of Scientology FOLLOW THE LEADER San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images Many are dead, many are in prison ,and worse many roam the earth as emotional cripples from just having come in contact with Joe Ricci,and his henchmen that helped him run the Elan Corporation. '", He continues: "'I'm going to make sure my mom's okay, because she's crying in the room.'". When I asked if he had studied brainwashing he said he had not. It is also a story of the unconditional love between a The founder, Charles Dederich, ordered his cult followers to divorce and swap partners, with more than 200 couples complying. By 1976 the plan to transfer the money to the Dederich family was cemented and implanted. The same result was stated by Steve Simon in his Harvard dissertation only in much more elaborate detail. The evil was he boasted that they would cut off any charity that did not do as Synanon told them to do. If you want to really learn of how the inner controls were, you can contact me to get his depositions. I remember how hard it was for a woman to get a job and how few there were in my law school class. But before I wrote this, there were many before me who wrote the same thing trying to put an end to the warped Synanon system that as Dederich said was based on hate. Spankings with paddles often drew blood and Phil Williams was beaten to death in the ring. But their position was based on incomplete data, in Janzen s case that was intentional. I responded to him that the media never knew the extent of the actual violence and as far as violence inside Synanon, how many incidents would you like to know about? Later I sent him a copy of the History of Synanon violence with over 80 incidents and he never responded nor did I hear from him again, nor did he ever apologize to the public for writing a book in which he intentionally avoided the actual evidence. Neither AA, Synanon, or those that followed, were based on any scientific studies. You wont be here. Thats why I wrote the history of Synanon because there is so much to learn. also, to write a good book, you have to think that is what you are doing or it will not be a good book. I am very grateful that you have included in writing your blog about Joe Riccis version or interpetation of Synanon. Ultimately, as stated above, Dederich would testify they never knew how to cure a dope fiend and nobody does. Today, troubled-teen programs use Synanon-like tactics, advertising themselves to parents as solutions for everything from poor study habits to substance misuse. 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. In 1964 a New Jersey Drug Study Commission opted not to give Synanon any funding after reviewing rehabilitation statistics supplied by Synanon Foundation. Anyway, you should learn about ones actual career before you make assumptions about it. I have it. By the 60s the Los Angeles school system had schools (not all) already well integrated and taught anti-bigotry. The example story might be that of Joe Musico and Lance Kenton. S. B. A. Confidential. Ordered by the court out of Synanon, he returned to a life of crime and was murdered. 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. Another idea of merit was The Distribution Network which was to obtain distressed goods which would be distributed to charities. Children say they were punched, kicked and forced to eat dirt for minor infractions such as failing to stand up straight. 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. The damage that has been done to many ,many children is unfathomable. But instead he made lab rats out of people. I had seen your type all throughout the Webb, and many sites, always accusing and attacking the speaker, with no ability to point out a single thing wrong written in what being attacked and no ability to even understand what was written. You would know that in general I have a higher regard for Synanon people than the public at large. But, Ms. Szalavitz writes, the shuttered programs simply changed their names and reopened, often with the same staff, in the same stateeven in the same building. 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. WebSynanon Survivors is celebrating 4 years!!! Also, because of time restraints, I put up the information so it is there and then go back and edit when I have the chance. Before moving in, Jollett had always considered his dad a "badass," a "criminal," a "pirate. Straight used Synanons vaginal and anal searches to search for contraband for years even though they never found any. But that dwindled as the joiners became younger and Dederich turned his attention to using the media and Hollywood to produce a flow of persons, goods and services to develop by 1976 over $30 million in assets and the start of large salaries and bonuses. "Whose fault is it? He participated in several missions, and arguably would have lived a better life but for his exposure to Synanon. As a key distinction between comparing Synanon to America, those in Synanon who tried to warn or criticize were shut down and shoved out. (He is now sober. Largely, the squares were people looking for purpose and to be part of something. one, it was a hard fought battle. I gave you a ring and was most pleasantly surprised that you answered. Further, it is foolish to treat all persons in the same manner. Because he had lived for so long surrounded by yes people, he had no understanding how others would see his actions and thus was very open in admitting what he did, including that violence could not happen unless he approved it. In context, my conversation with Rod Janzen, as he certainly knew of me, and if he was a true journalist, he would have had to interview me to follow all leads. As stated, Dederich, himself, admitted at deposition that he created the boogeyman to bond people and keep them from running away. All he knew was that if someone stayed they didnt do drugs. Were they all out to get rich at the sadistic treatment of others, or was this end in part of natural consequence of using such a punitive system, as suggested by the Stanford experiment on role playing of prisoners and guards? Maia wrote: No fewer than 50 programs can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an anti-drug cult called Synanon. And that was great. "All of us started having kids, and I think as parents we were like, 'Holy s---, what? Researched by Maia Szalavitz for a book in 2006 and for Mother Jones in 2007 she described the clone horrors and traced them back to Synanon. NIH had even started its own experimental synanon at the federal lockup hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Almost all modern day therapeutic communitiesand there are hundreds of themare based on the game. Pierce (1977) At the heart of the Cedu program was a philosophy that had grown out of various self-help movements of the 1960s and 70s, such as Lifespring, Werner Erhards EST, and most directly, from Charles E. Dederichs Synanon cult, church, and street-level heroin-cure program. 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. (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. By Steve Simon in his Harvard dissertation only in much more elaborate detail goods which would be to... 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