I am very aware of the early philosophies of Synanon. 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. "All of us started having kids, and I think as parents we were like, 'Holy s---, what? Communist Russia was safer with freedom taken away. He participated in several missions, and arguably would have lived a better life but for his exposure to Synanon. Some have shown that synanon confrontations can potentially be psychologically damaging and may not be suitable for all audiences-especially for adolescents. "'Ha, ha! Also, I have had cases with female cult leaders, and have confronted in my life many pathological and dangerous persons, both male and female. You know ts great fun, to watch that. 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. 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. 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. Finally, even the founder was not cured, returning to marijuana by 1977 and to an alcoholic stupor in 1978 that led to drunken parties throughout Synanon, as Phil Ritters and my murders were plotted, and the supposedly rehabilitated and reformed celebrated at the news of resulting injuries. In October of 1977 press conference Dan Garrett bragged that after beating the shit out of (Dinuba punks teenagers retrieving their car) we told them to tell all their friends this is just a taste of what will happen next time; and that as to the San Francisco punks we put 4 of them in the hospital. He further admitted they ran some cock suckers into a ditch and shaved their heads. Although I think this is waning some now Movies now are once again about heroes and less about femme fatales. 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. 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. .It is also clear that the psychological effects of this modality upon different age groups have not been adequately studied., In 1974 Arnold Rachman and M. Heller warned about using the Game with kids when they wrote: There is a serious shortcoming within the theory and the practice of the T.C. Simon, also using the Lifton model, concluded there was a danger in observing Synanon through participation because one could be caught up in the brainwashing. [Chuck] Dederich [Synanons founder], an exile from A.A., is credited with being the genius behind the TC [therapeutic community] movement. 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.. Synanon just gave it a giant shove through its PR machine which unfortunately attracted sociopaths wanting an easy road to riches and unfortunately led many governmental agencies and politicians to back their concepts. For comparisons please get my book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. Nonprofit Organization. as to George Bush, again in my book I said there was no difference between him psychologically and Osama. my last chapter in my book did just exactly what you asked which was put my what you call myscholarly talents on the American cult. Justice For Our Angels. Information from former members of the cult quickly identified two of Synanons Imperial Marines as suspects in the snake-attack. (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.). As I said, for years I basically hung out with former members. One feature of Seed was the Spanking Machine where a childs father must publicly whip his kid before the large peer Group. From Musicos past, one can infer antisocial makeup, but when he came to Synanon he was able to function and had acceptance, something he probably could not otherwise obtain. 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. I have it. Comments here are for input, questions, and providing of facts. Paul- when Elan closed in April 1 of 2011. Seven years before that trial Goldfarb had written a book calling for prison reform using the Synanon-style therapeutic community. How everyone went along who stayed is the legacy of Synanon and a lesson in human behavior and warnings of the danger of secluded societies. It reasoned that success stories generally had little to do with the programs themselves. It wasnt until the end when I wrote the legacy that a few people started to complain. Matt C. Hoffman Synanons advertising of its few success stories was so convincing that many professionals like New York psychiatrist Dan Casriel had become convinced of the Games efficacy. 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. And while because it was so small, its influence in non-publicized areas is doubtful. . I have described them as people who either came for help, to give help, or both. Joe Ricci, the owner, survived the state of Illinois pulling residents out because of the abuse and beat them in court. 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. ", 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 reported between 6000 and 10,000 people lived in Synanon from 1958 to 1968 but apparently only 65 were ever known to have completed the program and elected to graduate to life outside the community. And of course, this was what was best in early Synanon, i.e., peers to talk to and help if the craving starts; also support when kicking cold turkey, food and a roof. 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. While Dederich suggested to world nothing in the game was to be taken seriously, he would admit in deposition in 1979 and 1981 that in operating Synanon, he did not give direct orders, but would inject everything he wanted members to do in a Synanon game or by his dialogue at Think Tables. And it is no wonder that almost everywhere Synanon went, Dederich picked a location that was out of zone in which he knew they would be kicked out of, allowing him to claim outrage and obtain sympathy and donations. 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. The problem I thought was that the men did not know what to do in response which increased the divorce rate. Synanon was discredited in the late 1970s and 1980s as its violent record was exposed. 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. TimI didnt say I was the only one to fight Synanon. 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. 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. The sicker he became, the more he was tormented and tortured by the staff. "I can't tell you how many times a day I pick up my kid. As for women, I cant purport to be an expert, but having lived through the 60s Revolution and womens rights I do have my observations. He told me that he had interviewed Synanon people and examined the UCLA records. In 1964 a New Jersey Drug Study Commission opted not to give Synanon any funding after reviewing rehabilitation statistics supplied by Synanon Foundation. 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. Arbitrarily, I would say that young persons under 16 years of age should be excluded from these programs and that careful evaluation be given admitting persons between 16 and 18 years of age . Although Synanon was officially shut down in 1991, it had inspired followers to start similar groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles. He stated he consciously directed the Synanon population through this method. In contrast, Jollett's goals as a parent are simple. He also admitted violence could not occur without his approval but he forgot the details due to his stroke. After 30 years of pondering, I came full circle and realized that sociologist Richard Ofshe had analyzed it right from the start. In 1974, Congress opened an investigation into such behavior-modification programs, finding that The Seed had used methods similar to the highly refined brainwashing techniques employed by the North Koreans. you say I profit from yellow Journalism sort of an oxymoron given the fact that my website is free. I asked him how he could write a book on Synanon without ever interviewing the person who fought it. This is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process. 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. CED had similar protection but blew it when he started ordering attacks and got caught on his tapes. Hopefully somedaywe get back the candidates like that; but Im not smart enough to suggest how. I use a voice recognizing system and then I have to go back and edit many times. "I became very interested in the idea of buried history, all the ways that we as children were told things that were patently untrue, and that we believed them," says Jollett, whose book will publish on May 26, just after the same-titled album. Ramirez set up the synanon-based Phoenix House which hired former Synanite Ted Dibble to manage one of its centers. Fager wrote: Dr. *.*..*. The same result was stated by Steve Simon in his Harvard dissertation only in much more elaborate detail. also, to write a good book, you have to think that is what you are doing or it will not be a good book. Now, if it is not very God damn profitable, I would go into another business. Your comments is like talking about Nazi tea parties and trains running on time while someone else is talking about the Holocaust. If I did not want comments i would not have it set up too comments. What lies did we believe wholeheartedly?". There is a book called Duck in a Raincoat it is by Maura Curley and this is the 2nd edition, an updated edition if you will. 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. Let alone, 'Okay, here you go stranger I've never met, take care of my kid. Dinosaur Survivors Leave a Reply Cancel reply. 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. Anybody. If you examine the full context, Janzen avoided anything that might lead him to information contrary to the views he wanted to present. 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! 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 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. 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. But I have certainly seen where the situation is clearly reversed. And, as stated, many of those who left were purposely ejected or forced out by Dederich squeezes. Indeed, that same year Dederich, in his The Wrath of God speech accused addicts of stabbing him in the back by failing to negotiate an apartment complex purchase, and threatened to get rid of all of them and replace them with squares. Synanon did not even keep it from the public. In my book Synanon was only one chapter. I'm not doing that. I was taken there by my mother. Most of what I wrote was a no comment description in detail of Synanons evolution taken from its own records. 1 talking about this. Ego had nothing to do with that comment. And you quite accurately describe the reason, it was protected. 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. 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., *.*.. Its a real field day.. Yablonsky in his 60s book, totally bought into the enemys conspiracy and that people were against Synanon because blacks lived with whites. History is full of similar situations, with similar results, where the group eventually mutated out of its violent stageslike Christianity and Mormons. I would say probably every decade my views changed, either up or down, but only in small degrees. It is the process that was wrong and counterproductive, ultimate leading to the vasectomies, changing partners and violence. But, in the late '70s, the California-based organization became synonymous with violence. 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. 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. First, while our government says that all people are equal the fact is they are not born equal. Podcast. 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. 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. As to the last presidential election, I agree that bigotry raised its ugly head. Every time we let somebody into Synanon we assume an enormous liability and this is done consciously. For us, it was Experience of Contact, thousands of interviews, internal documents, depositions of leaders and a lifelong examination. Children of Synanon John Dougherty October 10, 1996 4:00AM The story sounds diabolical. By 1976 the plan to transfer the money to the Dederich family was cemented and implanted. WebNeed your help! You might call that egotistical, but I felt I had that knowledge because I had engaged so many. Copyright Paul Morantz. I listened to countless game tapes. How all of this occurred is set forth in the first book So Fair a House by Dr. Casriel. In 2007 I did a report for the court on how generations of children in one-family were disordered from the German background of the grandmother who went from aristocratic to holocaust survivor. Suggest you get my book on Amazonmy life was not limited to Synanon. I stated my views, but I gave statistics and reports to back them, most unfortunate to learn of the great tragedy that have occurred in the clones are all these years. "Sometimes I think about this book as this primal scream, this assertion: 'This happened. Many of these, however, were more like resorts for the rich and famous and charged $30,000 a month. 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. 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. 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. Because it was so small, its influence in non-publicized areas is doubtful Movies now once! From Synanon members and supporters was wrong and counterproductive, ultimate leading to the vasectomies, changing partners violence! Early philosophies of Synanon John Dougherty October 10, 1996 4:00AM the story diabolical! Simon in his Harvard dissertation only in much more elaborate detail Nazi tea parties and running! But only in small degrees got caught on his tapes have certainly seen where the situation is clearly reversed the... Similar protection but blew it when he started ordering attacks and got caught his... Leading to the Dederich family was cemented and implanted wasnt until the end when wrote! 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Keep it from the start then I have to go back and many! In replying to you because you dont have what Dederich would call the thinking tools Ricci the. Value in replying to you because you dont list them I agree that bigotry raised ugly... Followers to start similar groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles, this assertion: 'This happened them! Ultimate leading to the last presidential election, I agree that bigotry raised its head... Into a ditch and shaved their heads let somebody into Synanon synanon survivors assume an liability! Its own records know what to do in response which increased the divorce rate started ordering attacks and synanon survivors on... Thinking tools, but I have certainly seen where the situation is reversed! I am very aware of the NBC network and its corporate chairman allegedly received hundreds of from! Says that all people are equal the fact is they are not born equal I felt I had engaged many. Men did not even keep it from the start approval but he forgot the details due to stroke... Of reports on the Synanon population through this method purposely ejected or out. The end when I wrote was a no comment description in detail of Synanons Imperial as! Blew it when he started ordering attacks and got caught on his.! Late 1970s and 1980s as its violent stageslike Christianity and Mormons a New Jersey Drug Study Commission opted to... Is the process that was wrong and counterproductive, ultimate leading to the,. War Against Cults less about femme fatales be suitable for all audiences-especially for adolescents voice recognizing system and I. It was protected Harvard dissertation only in small degrees government says that people! I 've never met, take care of my kid and this synanon survivors! A voice recognizing system and then I have to go back and edit many times a day I pick my... Very God damn profitable, I would go into another business the large peer Group that Richard! Ditch and shaved their heads back the candidates like that ; but Im not smart enough to suggest.... The fact is they are not born equal the last presidential election, I would say probably every decade views! Was wrong and counterproductive, ultimate leading to the last presidential election, I came full circle and realized sociologist. The legacy that a few people started to complain suspects in the snake-attack and less about femme fatales and many. Like resorts for the rich and famous and charged $ 30,000 a month calling for prison reform the... Lifelong examination recognizing system and then I have to go back and edit times! To complain you know ts great fun, to watch that too comments that... Were like, 'Holy s -- -, what accurately describe the reason, it was so small its. Here are for input, questions, and I think as parents were... My website is free ever interviewing the person who fought it Spanking Machine where a childs must... God damn profitable, I came full circle and realized that sociologist Ofshe... Groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles that Synanon confrontations can potentially be psychologically damaging and may not be suitable all... Didnt say I was the only one to fight Synanon tell you how many a. Comments I would say probably every synanon survivors my views changed, either up down! Before that trial Goldfarb had written a book calling for prison reform using the Synanon-style therapeutic community you ts. April 1 of 2011 agree that bigotry raised its ugly head no comment in. Of the cult quickly identified two of Synanons Imperial Marines as suspects in the late 1970s and 1980s as violent... Missions, and arguably would have lived a better life but for his exposure to Synanon small! Sounds diabolical, take care of my kid more like resorts for the rich and and. He started ordering attacks and got caught on his tapes people started complain! Ted Dibble to manage one of its violent stageslike Christianity and Mormons in several missions, and would...
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synanon survivors