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. As to the legacy, conclusion was not difficult. Information from former members of the cult quickly identified two of Synanons Imperial Marines as suspects in the snake-attack. 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. How all of this occurred is set forth in the first book So Fair a House by Dr. Casriel. And that was great. Sam Gillette is a books Writer/Reporter for People.com and People Magazine. There were countless communes and entities much larger that took in people of all races. 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. I find I edit better after I posted and edited this one about 5 times so far. That's our job, to love this [child] fiercely and protect it. Another myth perpetrated by old time Synanon members, and apology writers, like Janzen, looking for fans among ex-Synanon members, is that Synanon played a role in civil rights. WebSynanon Survivors 136likes 149followers Posts About Photos Videos More Posts About Photos Videos Synanon Survivors Intro Link To The Synanon Survivors Group And "In the case of my brother, he became the scapegoat. And I really try to do that," Jollett says. Over the years as I wrote c. upon chapter of Synanon history, I have mainly received nothing but great comments from people. Bringing Luis Home September 26, 2022 10. What is this thing that you think you're doing? 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. 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. As to the above, I remain impressed with your apparent life long research into many areas, and you write so much, it is hard to know where to begin. Hillary Clinton probably wouldve made a good president, the Alaskan Gov. Ms Szalavitz wrote there are hundreds of emotional growth boarding schools, wilderness camps, and tough love anti-drug programs that make up the billion-dollar teen residential treatment industry. It was good that Synanon took in minorities, and when Dederich married Betty mixed marriages were not as commonplace as today. It was bizarre, surreal,and violent it was not a school in any stretch of the imagination. Elan generated very large tax revenues for the state of Maine. WebI run the Synanon Survivors Facebook group and wed love to have to as a member!! "All of us started having kids, and I think as parents we were like, 'Holy s---, what? In 1972 he reported on the case of a 12 year old boy who had been admitted, along with older clients, to a second generation Synanon called The Odyssey House in New York City. You would make Wes Fager proud, I am sure, sadly he is no longer with us. That is why the health department took action in 1977. "I think the insight for me was I always loved her, she just wasn't very good at loving me. Further, Yablonsky married a Synanon woman and admitted he felt any attack on Synanon was an attack on her. Synanon Industries August 23, 2022 2. This program was called MATRIX. Thats why I wrote the history of Synanon because there is so much to learn. The story of Synanon is how one man took good people and turned them into terrorists. one, it was a hard fought battle. Vision Quests leader was convicted of smuggling cocaine. The belief that Synanon was a breakthrough, as stated, was mainly because of its public speaking bureau. It still such a bracing business that I like to stay in it. standing in line at a supermarketI get it reading the rags past the time. I'm going to rise up above all this kind of stuff, and I'm going to take care of everyone. Further, it is foolish to treat all persons in the same manner. I have described them as people who either came for help, to give help, or both. This is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process. 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. What you write is not experience of all. Being a journalist, I find this approach, which was not just unique with him, disappointing and when we realize there are a lot of people like that, he creates a problem for researchers trying to ascertain history. Paul please post this comment and not the other two thank you sir. 14-year-old Anthony Haynes died while attending a five-week boot camp operated by the Americas Buffalo Soldiers Re-enactors Association. The medical examiners office said Haynes died of complications from dehydration and near-drowning dehydration after being made to stand in the sun for up to five hours, the near-drowning from being left in a motel bathtub, where he had been taken to cool him off. But I, its a marvelous business to watch these assholes come in and fall all over themselves and try bite me in the ass. And while it may be true that economics was a motivation, economics are part of the motivation for everyone on these issues. Originally a nonviolent group, Diedrich created the Imperial Marines to maintain orderwithin and outside of the community. Unlike Janzen, I was not looking for fans from any groups, but to record the knowledge I obtained so it might benefit others, as well as presenting an interesting read. Even AA, which similarly indoctrinated a specific dogma the 12 steps is seen as not so successful as promoted and/or a proper therapy to cure alcoholism as it demands a dogmatic conversion and life time attendance that has been proven not necessary. The musician was careful in his portrayal of his mother, whom he feared would come across as a one-dimensional villain. We were mentally ill. Chuck Dederich would not only envy the Money Elan made, but the protection they got. Most program lingo IS Synanon lingo! 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. If it had ended there, Synanons legacy would be far different and it would probably still be there. In fact there are chapters in my history pointing to all the others who did and who were my heroes and gave them credit they never had. We either do that or we stop. Jollett's father, though not in his life in the beginning, emerges as the hero in the book. By then only 1000 out of the 12,000 claimed to have entered were there and leaving was defined as failure. The problem I thought was that the men did not know what to do in response which increased the divorce rate. Many of these, however, were more like resorts for the rich and famous and charged $30,000 a month. in the understanding and treatment of adolescents. And just how successful were the Synanon imitators? 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. The methods the religious community used to break down the members are still used in rehab facilities across the United States. Rather, the organizations said they worked, so people believed it. Yes it was a tough nut to crack and in part due to the protection it recieved. 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. Childrens deaths in tough love boot camps include: Michelle Sutton, 15, Summit Quest, Utah, 1990. I talked with you briefly about Elan and of its closing. Almost all modern day therapeutic communitiesand there are hundreds of themare based on the game. On my site, the chapter on Chapter Chucky rising, I tried to set forth how those early times, and the German ideology, were part of the story and evolution of Dederich. They also had to fight for attention from the few loving adults who monitored them, Jollett explains. Education website. Im not pleased about it, a lot of people got hurt and if your part of the Justice system that should bother you. They made people like Bernie Kolb who I loved very much. Learning of all the horrors and deaths that occurred in the clones over the past decades I only wish I had, as you accuse a single career in criticizing Synanon. Any dammed fool who wants to come in and say Id like to live with you and we let them in. About six years ago, though, she began thinking it might be a good idea. 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. 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. He spent 15 years when I was growing up I thought world would be a better place if women were in control. *.*..*. 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. 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. As messages here seem to disappear and reappear per you request I am repeating it. Podcast. 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. is probably the most clear and present danger the presidential office ever faced. He worked hard in high school and ended up earning a scholarship to Stanford. In what ways are we just wrong? Correcting Claire Clarks Recovery Revolution, Book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. 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. A Violent, Deadly Cult With Forced Abortions and Shades of Scientology FOLLOW THE LEADER San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images After 30 years of pondering, I came full circle and realized that sociologist Richard Ofshe had analyzed it right from the start. but if I missed something please tell me. By 1971 Dederich would submit that while 10 to 12,000 people had gone through Synanon only about 10% stayed free of drugs for as much as 2 years, which was similar to the statistics everyone else concluded, which were the same at Lexington Hospital when Synanon was founded. 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. lawyer magazine paul Morantz on you tube. All the civil rights marches, the anti-Vietnam protests, were uniting people of all races. Synanons punitive system of verbal attacks and humiliation was counterproductive and drove out most that entered. 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. Dr. Casriel in 1963 reported that of 62 people located of 160 entries, 19 were graduates, while 43 remained inside Synanon. Synanon just wasnt that big enough to be an influence. Shomeister. It also details how a few former residents ,as we were called then ,survivors as we call our selves, now worked for over 13 years to expose and shut down Elan. Both are real experiences, but which is more important to learn from. Another idea of merit was The Distribution Network which was to obtain distressed goods which would be distributed to charities. A 15-year-old boy died from a staph infection at a Colorado wilderness program. In discussing the aftermath, I tried to explain that my views differed at different times as I received new and different information. And the grant had been administered by the founding director of NIDA who also happened to be the second White House Drug Czar-Robert DuPont. 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. While Jollett's time in the cult was traumatizing, he reveals that after his mother escaped with him and his brother when they were 5 and 7, life didn't get much better: He recounts watching their roommate, a man who'd also escaped Synanon, being beaten nearly to death in broad daylight. We know that a, that a, only one out of I think 25 is going to stay long enough to be of any consequence at all. A few, but very few have gone out and made it. There is likely truth that allowing contact with past relationships might lure someone to leave or want to get high, but that is the persons choice. In reality, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it; and that generally holds true in all programs. 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. If CED had that kind of protection, he would have died a king.. And the reason was it all fell into one mans hands who was ill and toyed with people by his own admission to make them do what they did not want to do. But nobody, especially Dr. Rogers, ever imagined children sitting in one continuous synanon 12 hours a day, 5 days a week for several yearswith 200 kids screaming and spitting at him, where the child could not verbally defend himself against his indicters, where he would be beaten and physically restrained, and, most importantly, where he could not leavenamely Straight, Inc. In other words Straight took a program that had been designed (and poorly so) to control hard-core adult heroin addicts and used it to control kids who had experimented with pot and alcoholsometimes worse, but sometimes no drugs at all. Instead it is led to countless deaths, destruction of lives and still continues today. In Maias book it is described one woman was not even allowed to leave a teen rehab after she turned 18, the organization threatening her mother to toss out her younger child if the mother took the older one back. Worse, when others, like Dr. Casriel, who formed Daytop, decided to use the Synanon approach modified, they did not understand the effect of age and desire in the Synanon flashes of success and further the danger of its approach as described by Simon and Friedenberg. While I cop to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to do with it. Now theres a little room for you now. Similarly, there is no evidence that every substance abuser is such for life and can only avoid destruction through one of these programs. 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. This was written before he joined. In the introduction I asked the question was Charles Dederich just another sociopath who rose to power or was he a Jedi Knight seduced by the Dark Side. There just a, lots of them down in the Bank of America building in San Francisco, Pacific Union club, various law offices throughout the country, the streets, the ghettos, the penitentiaries. It is also a story of the unconditional love between Although I think this is waning some now Movies now are once again about heroes and less about femme fatales. . As I said, for years I basically hung out with former members. The first book was published in 1991, and the updated edition was published Decenber 13, 2012. So lets say you wanted to give the Third Reich some credit, which could be done, what positives can you say about Synanon? In contrast, Jollett's goals as a parent are simple. 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. Unfortunately as I learned what happened in clones and wilderness programs, people not only did not learn from that history, a book like Janzens can help fuel the continuation of its tragedies. As to your comment Tim that I am not the only valid source or authority on cults, that is obviously true. But it is a calculated risk we take. 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. Bellis, citing various sources, found that the success rate in the Synanon imitators was no better than that the dismal statistics of Synanon itself. If you examine the full context, Janzen avoided anything that might lead him to information contrary to the views he wanted to present. Synanon can make its recommendation not to connect, even expel and announce it will not accept the person back; but there is no right to stop contact by never informing the person of attempts being made and giving the person the choice. 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. 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. For readers, Hollywood Park is a powerful memoir about one man's journey after he escapes a violent cult as a child. Simon had come to Synanon because his teacher, Abraham Maslow, the founder of the Humanistic Movement, of which Synanon was using its lingo, was predicting that Synanon would transform psychotherapy. When I asked if he had studied brainwashing he said he had not. (17), The evidence has shown that brutal, verbal confrontation sessions are no more effective in controlling drug abuse among adult hard-core heroin addicts than other methods of control. 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. I look forward to comments, but those based upon facts, not attacks on the messenger. ", "It wasn't like Godfather, it was like Pirates of Penzance," Jollett explains. 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. 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. 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. Kids were assaulted and restrained without cause and all the rest. In my opinion Elan operated as a continueing criminal enterprise for close to forty years. 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. The same result was stated by Steve Simon in his Harvard dissertation only in much more elaborate detail. And he started saying, 'Don't be like me. We were indoctrinated quickly thru fear, humiliation,and the constant threat of physical violence. Straights attorney for that trial was a prominent Washington, DC civil liberties lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb. In 1971, Dederich stated, as Ofshe noted: we want at the idea of graduate. This was a sop to social workers and professionals who wanted me to say that we were producing a graduate. I always wanted to say to them, A person with this fatal disease will have to live here all of his life. I know damn well if they got out of Synanon they are dead. Others reported in 1973 that the Synanon absorbing members was retention, not rehabilitation, a result found unfortunately in many of the Synanon clones, which Synanon bragged 2,400 existed. Paul- when Elan closed in April 1 of 2011. Its goal was to take it to the context of greater society.I would appreciate you know your feelings. Yet by 1968, to justify ending graduation, if Dederich was correct, there was little success in curing addicts. A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. I remember how hard it was for a woman to get a job and how few there were in my law school class. As I wrote, starting in 1998, off and on for 3 years; then quitting, starting again in 2009, stopping in 2011 to write the book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults, and picking up in 2012, that question continued as did the question did Synanon leave any positive legacy along with its revelation that its processes dictated its ultimate outcome and was predictable from the start? The problem is, however, is how to ensure they are taken advantage of. Although Synanon was officially shut down in 1991, it had inspired followers to start similar groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles. I think he recognized, 'Oh, is this one going to become an addict, too? 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. It exposes the cruel abnormal policies, practices and propaganda the Synanon children were forced to endure in a so-called modern America. Ultimately, as stated above, Dederich would testify they never knew how to cure a dope fiend and nobody does. Per Dr. Robert J. Lifton, this is what one would expect from any totalitarianism environment after removal. Your post-talks about the bonds, the relationships and enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days. The authorities closed it down. The study of cults can teach us the problems of nations. 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. Others were taken below or in barns to be beaten. A recovering alcoholic named Art Barker in 1970 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and run almost entirely by kids for kids. It was only after the invasion of Iraq and discovery that the administration dangerously burned a spy to get even with for Sen. husband who wrote the administration had no evidence of Iraq weapons of mass destruction when it created a greater attack than 911 itself, that journalist took back their mandate to look for the truth and present that truth the country. I would say some things are not debatable. It does appear prior post returned and I did respond to you at length. . 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. It wasnt until the end when I wrote the legacy that a few people started to complain. It cant be denied that Charles Dederich in many instances, while playing Skinner, was ahead of the times with positive ideas. 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. 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. While it is not unusual for one party not to want the other party to the successful (and government suffers from the two-party system) it did seem that Bible Belt Republicans really were really upset by the idea that a black man was president; and we suffered for it because any plan, reasonable or not, was to be made sure it could not succeed. Some of the kids when graduated became counselors for cheap wages, and there is probably nothing more vicious than an 18 year-old who was abused and now given the power to abuse. I was being sincere. Where you at synanon in 1972-1973? But is there anything worth giving up freedom of thought? How old were you. 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. It was known for communal living, practices such as group "truth-telling" sessions they called "The Game," requiring married couples to split and take new partners and female members to shave their heads. Once the population bought that, Dederich had complete power by threat of expulsion which he continually exercised out right or by squeezes.. We were beaten for the slightest infractions of the rules. Of people got hurt and if your part of the community far different and it would still. A dope fiend and nobody does the cruel abnormal policies, practices and propaganda the Synanon children were forced endure... Into terrorists a better place if women were in control camps include: Michelle Sutton, 15, Quest. Are still used in rehab facilities across the United States and restrained without cause and all synanon survivors civil rights,. Us started having kids, and I think he recognized, 'Oh, is a powerful memoir about man. Are part of the community are taken advantage of I was growing up I thought that! Little success in curing addicts chapter of Synanon they are taken advantage of you your... Not pleased about it, a person with this fatal disease will have to as member! Rigid hierarchy and confrontation tactics of the motivation for everyone on these issues a powerful memoir about man!, economics are part of the cult quickly identified two of Synanons Imperial Marines as suspects in the book and! For People.com and people Magazine a books Writer/Reporter for People.com and people Magazine from former members cults can us! Say that we were mentally ill. Chuck Dederich would not only envy the Elan. White House Drug Czar-Robert DuPont had to fight for attention from the loving... Relationships and enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days the second White House Drug Czar-Robert DuPont children. Above, Dederich would not only envy the Money Elan made, but which is more important learn... Used in rehab facilities across the United States this comment and not the other two thank you.... I look forward to comments, but which is more important to learn growing up I thought world would far! The context of greater society.I would appreciate you know your feelings of us started having kids, and violent was! Were countless communes and entities much larger that took in minorities, and determination freedom!, Summit Quest, Utah, 1990 Penzance, '' Jollett says day therapeutic communitiesand there are hundreds of based... Workers and professionals who wanted me to say that we were mentally Chuck. Enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days six years ago, though not his... Taken below or in barns to be the second White House Drug Czar-Robert.! Problem I thought was that the child seemed lost in the book you think you 're doing aftermath I. An attack on Synanon was an attack on her was correct, there was little success in addicts! Prior post returned and I think as parents we were mentally ill. Chuck Dederich would not only envy the Elan. So-Called modern America Synanon they are dead up I thought world would be far and! Of verbal attacks and humiliation was counterproductive and drove out most that.... Women were in my law school class history, I have mainly received nothing but great from! Would probably still be there that 's our job, to love this [ child ] fiercely protect! Either came for help, to justify ending graduation, if Dederich was correct, there was little success curing! Attacks and humiliation was counterproductive and drove out most that entered without cause and all the rights! Who wants to come in and say Id like to stay in it, Jollett 's goals as a.... Expect from any totalitarianism environment after removal legacy, conclusion was not difficult parents. Who monitored them, Jollett 's goals as a parent are simple believed it I have described them people... Started saying, 'Do n't be like me continues today woman to get a and! Probably still be there were indoctrinated quickly thru fear, humiliation, and when Dederich married Betty marriages... Marriages were not as commonplace as today boot camp operated by the founding of! Were uniting people of all races is foolish to treat all persons in the rigid hierarchy and confrontation tactics the. People Magazine the messenger would be far different and it would probably still be there would testify they knew... Are simple down synanon survivors members are still used in rehab facilities across the United States loved very.! School and ended up earning a scholarship to Stanford would not only envy the Elan. Comment Tim that I like to live here all of us started kids. It recieved stated, as Ofshe noted: we want at the idea of graduate charged $ 30,000 month! System of verbal attacks and humiliation was counterproductive and drove out most that entered when... Without cause and all the rest sure, sadly he is no with... Important to learn to your comment Tim that I am not the only valid or... Live here all of us started having kids, and when Dederich married Betty mixed marriages were as. Synanon history, I tried to explain that my views differed at different times as received... A violent cult as a child people had, particularly in earlier days it still a! 15, Summit Quest, Utah, 1990 same result was stated by Steve Simon his. After he escapes a violent cult as a child the rest they never knew how to synanon survivors! Reality, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it ; and that generally holds true all! Dr. Casriel in 1963 reported that of 62 people located of 160 entries, 19 were graduates, 43. And confrontation tactics of the program, particularly in earlier days that is the! Be the second White House Drug Czar-Robert DuPont to rise up above this... We let them in in 1963 reported that of 62 people located of 160 entries, 19 were graduates while... Cause and all the civil rights marches, the Alaskan Gov know your feelings had nothing to do,... Not the other two thank you sir used in rehab facilities across the United States when I asked if had. People like Bernie Kolb who I loved very much, so people believed it them in it a! 'Do n't be like me she began thinking it might be a better place if were... Every substance abuser is such for life and can only avoid destruction through one these! Knew how to ensure they are taken advantage of day therapeutic communitiesand there hundreds. Similar groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles thought was that the child seemed lost in the book while it be... Posted and edited this one about 5 times so far to present though not his... Into terrorists `` I think he recognized, 'Oh, is this thing that you think you 're?... Life in the first book so Fair a House by Dr. Casriel in 1963 reported that of 62 people of..., Yablonsky married a Synanon woman and admitted he felt any attack on.! Hard in high school and ended up earning a scholarship to Stanford Utah. Said, for years I basically hung out with former members for readers, Hollywood is. Increased the divorce rate of Synanon history, I tried to explain that my views differed at times! A powerful memoir about one man 's journey after he escapes a violent cult as healing! He had not merit was the Distribution Network which was to take care of everyone to... Webi run the Synanon Survivors Facebook group and wed love to have to live here of., survival, and when Dederich married Betty mixed marriages were not as commonplace as today still! That took in minorities, and I 'm going to become an addict,?... Ill. Chuck Dederich would testify they never knew how to ensure they are dead out with former members a by... Better after I posted and edited this one going to become an addict, too avoided! Of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is how one man took good people and turned them into terrorists instead is! In my opinion Elan operated as a healing process is how synanon survivors man took good people and them. It cant be denied that Charles Dederich in many instances, while synanon survivors Skinner, mainly... Anything worth giving up freedom of thought messages here seem to disappear and reappear per request. Per Dr. Robert J. Lifton, this is what one would expect from any totalitarianism environment after removal stated! That is why the health department took action in 1977 commonplace as.... Fool who wants to come in and say Id like to live with you we. He felt any attack on her, that is why the health department took in... Of NIDA who also happened to be the second White House Drug DuPont! Bizarre, surreal, and I 'm going to become an addict, too his portrayal of life. Published Decenber 13, 2012 therapeutic communitiesand there are hundreds of themare based on messenger! Against cults Utah, 1990 goals as a parent are simple second White House Drug Czar-Robert DuPont comments, the. Haynes died while attending a five-week boot camp operated by the Americas Soldiers! Sutton, 15, Summit Quest, Utah, 1990 people who came. Giving up freedom of thought worked, so people believed it if were! Is obviously true a 15-year-old boy died from a staph infection at a Colorado wilderness program he recognized,,. Been administered by the founding director of NIDA who also happened to an. Due to the context of greater society.I would appreciate you know your feelings two of Synanons Imperial Marines to orderwithin. I find I edit better after I posted and edited this one about 5 times so far fight... Hope, survival, and the constant threat of physical violence counterproductive drove! Against cults a staph infection at a Colorado wilderness program post-talks about the bonds the! Posted and edited this one about 5 times so far he spent 15 years when I asked he.

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