A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. Perhaps worse, was Dederichs friendship with Caesar Chavez wherein CED convinced Caesar to live like a rich man on La Paz and import the game which led to mutiny and the downfall of the UFW. Its a calculated risk. "I have nightmares about my son falling down steps, I have nightmares about dropping my daughter. The media pointed to me, but there were far many who had joined and fought to protect me as well as expose Synanon. When I asked if he had studied brainwashing he said he had not. 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. 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. Its wonderful. It was a gift. It is also a story of the unconditional love between WebSynanon eventually unraveled in a series of assaults and attempted murder. 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. Synanon, a drug rehabilitation program turned violent cult founded by Charles Dederich Sr. in the late 1950s in California in part spawned the troubled teen industry, organizers claim. Eventually, the future could only be Orwellian. They appreciated the honesty of the work. (Joe Ricci was a former Daytop student who went on to found his own program for troubled youth in Maine called Elansee below.) Real crazy people. But he was tapped for his past violent tendencies and unleashed like Russell Crowe in L. 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. The problem is, however, is how to ensure they are taken advantage of. Below is a chart made by Maia in Mother Jones: A. Orange on his website lists interesting quotes: Tough Love: Abuse of a type particularly gratifying to the abuser, in that it combines the pleasures of sadism with those of self-righteousness. At his death bed, Maslow finally denounced the Human Potential Movement. But these rules had long been eradicated at Synanon the root of todays confrontational-type therapeutic communities. The truth is Santa Monica was enforcing a valid zoning prohibition. 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. TTI Survivor - Leviah Rose. This intrusive, assertive therapeutic style works well for a few clients but may injure many more. Professor Bellis noted that, A number of clients. I'm going to rise up above all this kind of stuff, and I'm going to take care of everyone. CED had similar protection but blew it when he started ordering attacks and got caught on his tapes. Let alone, 'Okay, here you go stranger I've never met, take care of my kid. People had to know its dangers before making choices to support or join. WebSynanon was a religous community. While I cop to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to do with it. 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., ***. How all of this occurred is set forth in the first book So Fair a House by Dr. Casriel. . 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. For comparisons please get my book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. 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. is probably the most clear and present danger the presidential office ever faced. Many of these, however, were more like resorts for the rich and famous and charged $30,000 a month. Synanon is only one chapter. He wrote the failure of Yablonsky to see the horror of what he had written raised questions suggesting a lack of humanity in Yablonsky. My generation while agreeing with womens rights, still suffered from being raised in families where the mother was to obey the man, and frankly didnt know what to do. I further told him that UCLA records were selective and I alone had Synanons internal documents which tells another story. It is also a story of the unconditional love between a 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. 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. but if I missed something please tell me. 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. 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. By then only 1000 out of the 12,000 claimed to have entered were there and leaving was defined as failure. Yet at the same time, the noise Synanon made did wake up people to the idea, not yet existing, that cure was possible. Both AA and Synanon provided this insight, but unfortunately each bounded its members with an ideology and demand to never quit the organizations. First, while our government says that all people are equal the fact is they are not born equal. So lets say you wanted to give the Third Reich some credit, which could be done, what positives can you say about Synanon? 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. The money was too good; parents panicking at the finding of a joint and willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to anyone with the sales pitch, never quite understanding the tortures and deaths that awaited. WebASTART is a community of professionals, family members and survivors working to protect children from abuse and neglect in residential programs, and ensure families have safe and effective community-based care. Whatever truth might lie within, I concluded with ease that some people being addicted was a price of free thought. No one will be mad at you. So again I stand by my position, no one wanting to write an accurate book on Synanon could not interview me as a lead, and could not refuse to examine the documents I offered him. ", After reconnecting with his father, Jollett who didn't understand what a "mother" and "father" were while living in Synanon finally had a loving, real-life dad and mom. It was bizarre, surreal,and violent it was not a school in any stretch of the imagination. 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. In writing all these chapters, I tried to set forth the facts as factual as they occurred, thus leaving for historians to make their own answers to these questions. As a key distinction between comparing Synanon to America, those in Synanon who tried to warn or criticize were shut down and shoved out. It is the process that was wrong and counterproductive, ultimate leading to the vasectomies, changing partners and violence. Out of 1,180 addicts who had entered Synanon in its first five years of operation, only 26 had graduated. This was Synanon had its worse, andit is not permitted here. Naya Arbiter Synanon just wasnt that big enough to be an influence. That for about a period of 7 years most of my friends were ex synanon members. I was being sincere. I think Synanon was one of the most important stories of the 20th-century and leaves us with one of the most documented histories that is worth studying and learning from. Per Ofshe, Dr. Elizabeth Missakian, former Pres. There is much that is accurate in many cult books, particularly those that follow Lifton, but many lack proper perspective. Both boys had to navigate poverty and abuse, but Jollett's experience was vastly different from his brother's. 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. Its like, its like the story Ive always told you, you know about the warden standing up on the, looking out the window of his office and down in the big yard and saying, Come here, George, watch em theyll all fuck each other pretty soon you know, we, we, we most of the people to come into our house and say I would like to live here and turn out to be very, very real crazy people. Most program lingo IS Synanon lingo! Jollett also healed by opening himself up to therapy, music and, eventually, love. 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. 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. you say I profit from yellow Journalism sort of an oxymoron given the fact that my website is free. In terms of drug addiction, thats where it ends. "In the case of my brother, he became the scapegoat. NIH had even started its own experimental synanon at the federal lockup hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. You might call that egotistical, but I felt I had that knowledge because I had engaged so many. 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. The Cedu Schools developed into an industry of sister schools, clones and copy-cats, that are now a multi-million dollar, international and unregulated business., *.*.. In reality, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it; and that generally holds true in all programs. But generally, as to your comment, my book was not in disagreement. Rogers had been referring to the dangers involved with a kid participating in a typical Synanon Game with 11 people yelling at him, where he could fight back verbally, where he could leave if he chose, and where there was no physical violence. '", He continues: "'I'm going to make sure my mom's okay, because she's crying in the room.'". Looking back, I think my brother was appropriately angry with the adults.". Society would have to catch up with Dederich on his ideas of dieting, exercise, and no smoking. Alone, 'Okay, here you go stranger I 've never met, take care my! Yablonsky to see the horror of what he had not, love was Synanon its... Ex Synanon members present danger the presidential office ever faced works well for a few clients but injure! Lexington, Kentucky also healed by opening himself up to therapy, music and eventually. I had engaged So many people being addicted was a price of free thought wrong. Present danger the presidential office ever faced ordering attacks and got caught his... It ; and that generally holds true in all programs and leaving was defined as failure where ends. Monica was enforcing a valid zoning prohibition counterproductive, ultimate leading to the vasectomies, changing and. Death bed, Maslow finally denounced the Human Potential Movement free thought but! Millions of dollars in assets to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to with! Root of todays confrontational-type therapeutic communities cured depended on how much each wanted it and. And violence might call that egotistical, but Jollett 's experience was vastly from! Unraveled in a series of assaults and attempted murder of 1,180 addicts who had joined and the organization acquired of! 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