Stop telling me this didn't happen, because this happened.'" Further residents feared Synanon would be a beacon that brought addicts and when they dropped out they would burgalize and sell dope to the children, all which happened. I suppose if they werent why Id have to find another business. 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. Most program lingo IS Synanon lingo! 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. 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. And that Susan, is what differentiates us, from other countries where there is no freedom of press. And that you should try to see people the way God sees them. While the abuse in Synanon was bad enough, it pails in comparison to a stream of sociopaths who hijacked the system to become Millionaires through the abuse of children; in some cases even as morally deprived as organizations that kidnap children and sell them for profit. I offered the information to Janzen and he didnt want it. 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. In law, lawyers too much use the technique of attacking opposing counsel when they cannot attack the facts. In reality, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it; and that generally holds true in all programs. 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, per Wes Fager, who also noted Dr. Jerome Jaffe stated 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 leave. Fager further noted Bratter 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. This is not a criticism of that policy; but just the fact that it was insignificant in relation to the civil rights movement which was raging in the 60s and pushed by the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, and many black actors and athletes and my generation that marched and died in name of civil rights. 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. Shomeister. Yet at the same time, the noise Synanon made did wake up people to the idea, not yet existing, that cure was possible. 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. "I can't tell you how many times a day I pick up my kid. It exposes the cruel abnormal policies, practices and propaganda the Synanon children were forced to endure in a so-called modern America. My book, you obviously did not read, you will be happy to know was edited sufficiently to eliminate all bad grammar. But the "abuse of children was absolutely swept under the rug, ignored, gaslit to hell," he says. You think I didnt experience Synanon, but I did. It is the freedom of thought and free speech that gave America the chance to go on and recover from its mistakes. The methods the religious community used to break down the members are still used in rehab facilities across the United States. 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. While a credit to Dederichs foresight, it also unfortunately was a feature of his harmful megalomania. 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. Today, there are statistics saying women have surpassed men as earners, all of this is good. But it is mans nature to flock together and unfortunately war with each other. 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. Whether a small town, island or, commune, they have a better chance for a part of the American dream than if on their own in the big city. While I cop to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to do with it. there were a lot of people in the early days who left because of the way Dederich was taking it, and its too bad the idea grew out of person with such a tortured past. As I wrote the youth did not buy in as did the parents, you sound like one of them. Its a calculated risk. That Young people were beaten, some in public demonstrations. When he begged to see a doctor, the staff sneered at him and called him a faker and asked him if he were homosexual.. You say it is unscientific nonsense, but prove that any of the statistics and studies were not accurate or that the events that took place in the clones did not happen. Now theres a little room for you now. Synanon is only one chapter. TTI Survivor - Leviah Rose. Synanon was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and movement-turned-cult in California that existed from 1958 to 1991. 479 members Join group About this group Anybody who's been touched by The SYNANON Cult as well as anybody who's suffered ANY TTI programs or institutional abuse youre welcome, as well See more Private And you quite accurately describe the reason, it was protected. The same result was stated by Steve Simon in his Harvard dissertation only in much more elaborate detail. It wasnt until the end when I wrote the legacy that a few people started to complain. I look forward to comments, but those based upon facts, not attacks on the messenger. Out of 1,180 addicts who had entered Synanon in its first five years of operation, only 26 had graduated. The group ultimately became a cult called the Church of Synanon in the 1970s. Synanon disbanded in 1991 [6] due to members being convicted of criminal activities (including attempted murder) and retroactive loss of its tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) due to financial misdeeds, destruction of evidence, and terrorism. [7] All Rights Reserved. They must be lies because you cant live with any other thoughts. Maia wrote: No fewer than 50 programs can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an anti-drug cult called Synanon. I just imagined Charles Dederich rolling over in his grave at that news. That did not exist in Synanon, that is what cemented its doom. 14-year-old Anthony Haynes died while attending a five-week boot camp operated by the Americas Buffalo Soldiers Re-enactors Association. The founder, Charles Dederich, ordered his cult followers to divorce and swap partners, with more than 200 couples complying. Most of what I wrote was a no comment description in detail of Synanons evolution taken from its own records. Even when Synanon was given an exemption for cold turkey treatment, Synanon created an illegal clinic and took in persons needing care other than addiction for which it required a license. As I said, for years I basically hung out with former members. 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. Further, I wrote that the study of cults is studying a microcosm of the greater society. 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. After saying staying in Synanon is the addicts only chance for sustained life, in 1976 Dederich said that in 5 years there would be no room for the kind of people you are now. "Then my dad became extremely interested in my life. Paul Morantz 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., ***. Copyright Paul Morantz. Your comments is like talking about Nazi tea parties and trains running on time while someone else is talking about the Holocaust. He interviewed Richard Ofshe but then without explanation he wrote Ofshes discourses of brainwashing interesting, but not applicable. Its first example, naturally, as failure, was Synanon, and like Synanon, its clones became the darlings of the media and politicians in election years. Jollett says his feelings were not validated by his mother, who instead relied on him for comfort. Communist Russia was safer with freedom taken away. Yes it was a tough nut to crack and in part due to the protection it recieved. Here we are not talking about riding horses, discussing the nature of man, or Emerson, but a reign of terror that was destined and predicted by many in the early 60s due to the Synanon methods of attack therapy, forced confessions, rewards and punishments and brainwashing about enemies. And that was great. In my book Synanon was only one chapter. Such people probably would be happier in a small environment with given friends, lovers, jobs and a sense of purpose, where most needs are fulfilled. I immediately sensed he was writing a book in which he was avoiding obtaining information that might challenge his view. Synanons most important legacy was to fulfill sociologist Edgar Freidenberg prediction after reading Yablonskys book that the organization was punitive, brainwashed and would ultimately create a dangerous state of mind. Synanon added the game and other systems of punishment to compel compliance that would be copied by many sociopaths seeking riches, as discussed below, and lead to horrors to the participants in the clones that exceeded what occurred in Synanon. ", "It wasn't like Godfather, it was like Pirates of Penzance," Jollett explains. First touted as a rehabilitation center for addicts when it was founded in 1958, Synanon helped thousands get sober and amassed $30 million or more in assets. . Students quickly found themselves in a new, strange, uncomfortable and often frightening world of intense group relationships and heightened, invasive and violent group therapies. Your post-talks about the bonds, the relationships and enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days. If it had ended there, Synanons legacy would be far different and it would probably still be there. But he failed to see while controlled and anti-social pathology still existedit awaited release and that many were eager to respond to their old days ways if the message to do good turned to do bad. Mental health service. I wrote that cults are just microcosms of greater societies. As such they were just like the many other children born into the cult. In other words he would have to reexamine his beliefs and consider possibly his own victimization. .relinquish all independence and subjugate themselves to these staff and senior residents, accepting humiliation and total control of their lives even to the extent of accepting complete direction of their sex lives. you might also want to watch Cal. We were indoctrinated quickly thru fear, humiliation,and the constant threat of physical violence. A former member of Elan wrote: Elan is best described as a, sadistic, brutal, violent, soul-eating hellhole. At Elan, the Game was transformed into constant screaming and degradation and the physically rough treatment became all day violence. They made people like Bernie Kolb who I loved very much. Many of these, however, were more like resorts for the rich and famous and charged $30,000 a month. 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. If you have a complaint it is with Yablonsky and Janzen who had no understanding of the Synanon system. We have multiple groups dedicated to ending the TTI (Troubled Teen Industry) as well, that work in conjunction with mine, this is how I discovered this story! A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. Experience indicates that when these counselors use an especially intrusive, aggressive approach, frequently debasing and harshly confronting clients, they may do more harm than good. 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. But is there anything worth giving up freedom of thought? Anyway, you should learn about ones actual career before you make assumptions about it. I offered them to him but he declined. In addition, group practice becomes an anti-therapeutic factor with the T.C. 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. Campers say they had bruised ribs from an exercise in which they were ordered to lie on their backs while counselors ran across their chests in boots. : troubledteens. When I was first fighting Synanon, however, things were very black and White. But generally, as to your comment, my book was not in disagreement. Sometimes I think women are more revenge orientated, but it probably still comes down to the individual. WebSurvivors report physical abuse, exploitation (human trafficking), and several types of psychological torment, including harsh discrimination and LGBTQ+ conversion therapy. There were countless communes and entities much larger that took in people of all races. You would also have learned that I have been in the room with many Synanon people countless times. 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. But Farve had the money so he could be self indulgent. Also, I have had cases with female cult leaders, and have confronted in my life many pathological and dangerous persons, both male and female. 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. Its a real field day.. And they didn't do that.". 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. (He considers his dad's partner, Bonnie, his mother. But today, as will be discussed below, it is the general professional view these rehabs were, and are, not necessary, many people went to them for escape, without really major addiction, fueled by the publicity when Nancy Regean unnecessarily went and Green Bay quarterback Bret Farve went to one believing he was addicted to pain pills. 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. but if I missed something please tell me. "At that age, my response was to become the super kid. The real origins of the Cedu schools remained hidden from the students, their parents and much of the staff until years after their graduation or departure. At his death bed, Maslow finally denounced the Human Potential Movement. Here we go!' You dont present any facts that they are lies because you have none. "He was just this big, masculine, Italian, strong guy that loved his boys. *..**. According to newspaper articles of the day he has publicly disclosed, Ive smoked pot, popped pills, but none of the hard stuff. Hereceived a degree in psychology from a mail-order company in Florida. It did make news. Education website. ", Jollett continued to struggle with past traumas as a young teen and adult. But these ideals were short lived. But instead he made lab rats out of people. It's not good.' Further it established shelter and group support could aid those truly wanting to stop. Partner, Bonnie, his mother, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it ; that. 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