", 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. And that Susan, is what differentiates us, from other countries where there is no freedom of press. *..*.*. I suppose if they werent why Id have to find another business. The entirety of my writings say the same thing. But I have certainly seen where the situation is clearly reversed. As stated in earlier chapter, one study on encounter groups in 1971 found the Synanon methods of attack therapy was the most likely to create psychological injury, and the experiment led to mental breakdowns and one suicide. He spent 15 years 14-year-old Anthony Haynes died while attending a five-week boot camp operated by the Americas Buffalo Soldiers Re-enactors Association. They appreciated the honesty of the work. . *..**. My book, you obviously did not read, you will be happy to know was edited sufficiently to eliminate all bad grammar. Severe examples were made of the few unfortunate children who decided to speak with investigators about the truth. (He is now sober. 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. 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. "I make them.". Since I had as friends, people like Bernie Kolb and Ben Parks, who went from long-term addictions to long time great human beings, I concluded something there must have worked. 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. Instead it is led to countless deaths, destruction of lives and still continues today. Have a merry. see review. His motive, which Janzen missed, was the eventual plan to steal all the money. one, it was a hard fought battle. At his death bed, Maslow finally denounced the Human Potential Movement. gave a grant to a Florida organization called The Seed, which applied Synanons methods to teenagers, even to those only suspected of trying drugs . As messages here seem to disappear and reappear per you request I am repeating it. Forty four years later, with Joe dead and Elan closed down survivors are still searching for someone in a position of authority to admit that what happened there was abuse. Paul please post this comment and not the other two thank you sir. Largely, the squares were people looking for purpose and to be part of something. I am very grateful that you have included in writing your blog about Joe Riccis version or interpetation of Synanon. Jollett's father, though not in his life in the beginning, emerges as the hero in the book. One either plays the game and is rewarded with privilege and favorable discharge, or one splits from the program. 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. 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. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. His family claims his pleas for help were ignored. "At that age, my response was to become the super kid. 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. If you want to really learn of how the inner controls were, you can contact me to get his depositions. Dederich said free choice in the hands of an addict was like a gun in the hands of a baby. .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. 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. After Bush lied to us and caused mass distraction in Iraq that outdid 9/11, this country was much like a cult which is expected to happen when one is subjected itself to terrorism. He had beaten me time wise. 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. I was also impressed by stories I was told about the early days and when the Synanon website first started it had lot of anger expressed towards Dederich. 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. 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. 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. You would know that in general I have a higher regard for Synanon people than the public at large. 5 years from now we wont need people like you.. 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. It did make news. 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. Some children were taken to foreign countries, or islands, although foreign countries have done more to stop them than our government. About six years ago, though, she began thinking it might be a good idea. WebSynanon sought religious status in 1974, with Diedrich as its leader. 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. If CED had that kind of protection, he would have died a king.. Its first example, naturally, as failure, was Synanon, and like Synanon, its clones became the darlings of the media and politicians in election years. Per Dr. Robert J. Lifton, this is what one would expect from any totalitarianism environment after removal. 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. Synanon just wasnt that big enough to be an influence. Straights attorney for that trial was a prominent Washington, DC civil liberties lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb. Im not pleased about it, a lot of people got hurt and if your part of the Justice system that should bother you. Let alone, 'Okay, here you go stranger I've never met, take care of my kid. A small portion decided they had enough, and gave too much credit to Synanon and not enough to their own will power. I was taken there by my mother. Real crazy people. I witnessed a few cow boy ass kickings. Ofshe who had been allowed inside Synanon to study it contacted Dave Mitchell in 1978 to ask if he was serious about investigating Synanon because violence could not occur randomly under Synanons controls and can only occur at direction of management (later admitted by Dederich at deposition). A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. I remember you saying that you had not heard of Elan, yet you were aware of there being many Synanon spin off treatment centers. He found that at Odyssey House only 25% of admissions stay more than 30 days, that the rate is down to 9.7% after six months, 5.6% at 1 year, and 2.8% after 18 months; the programs required length of stay to graduate.. All throughout history when the same mix occurs so do the same results. All Rights Reserved. Any dammed fool who wants to come in and say Id like to live with you and we let them in. Maybe it's one of the things about human nature, that isolated power corrupts people. Kimberly Stafford, the Vision Quest counselor who was driving the supply vehicle, was convicted of careless driving. 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. I listened to countless game tapes. Once the population bought that, Dederich had complete power by threat of expulsion which he continually exercised out right or by squeezes.. Spankings with paddles often drew blood and Phil Williams was beaten to death in the ring. WebSynanon Survivors 136likes 149followers Posts About Photos Videos More Posts About Photos Videos Synanon Survivors Intro Link To The Synanon Survivors Group And I think he recognized, 'Oh, is this one going to become an addict, too? A recovering alcoholic named Art Barker in 1970 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and run almost entirely by kids for kids. Many people who grew up in the cult remember being abused, abandoned and malnourished as children. I'll see you in a few weeks for three hours,' Or in some cases, 'I'll see you in six months,' in some cases, five years. Your comments is like talking about Nazi tea parties and trains running on time while someone else is talking about the Holocaust. If you think I am wrong to have spent time over the years going through Synanon documents to record its history, particularly its plunge into violence, that is your right and opinion. When I was first fighting Synanon, however, things were very black and White. I talked with you briefly about Elan and of its closing. The evil was he boasted that they would cut off any charity that did not do as Synanon told them to do. But that idea was bantered by law enforcement as because of the wire, and the wire logs, knowledge could be proven against all who stayed in support. Oh so very funny. 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. I use a voice recognizing system and then I have to go back and edit many times. Totalitarianism societies in the end always end in abuse and a we vs. they war concept. While forced to admit the attack on me, there is no mention of Phil Ritter or Eidson, etc., in his book, Rise and Fall of Synanon (which was same working title I had) rather a statement that the media exaggerated the violence and that there was no violence inside Synanon. And thats it for the idea that Synanon played a role in curing drug addiction. I delete only the crazies refuse to present any argument, rebuttal facts or evidence that anything stated was not true; but just a statement that anyone who would think that or write such facts belongs in a nut house. 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] But that questionwhile interestingis really moot; the fact is that while shelter and support is of assistance, the Synanon system based on hate (as stated by Dederich) and punishment was not only a failure but its achievement in publicity, like a Synanon movie starring Ed OBrien, has led to 50 years of horror to countless victims all over the world and continues to do so. According to Department of 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. 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. Survivors of Residential Treatment Centers (RTC) WWASP Fighters. Eventually Dr. DuPont left government service and became a paid consultant for Straight, which had replaced The Seed after the US Senate likened its methods to North Korean brainwashing. Nov 04, 2017 Daina Fanning rated it really liked it. It still such a bracing business that I like to stay in it. He told me he was completing a book on Synanon. 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. A popular TV series was based on John Maher, a colorful former Synanite, who formed his own second generation Synanon in San Francisco called The Delancey Street Gang. Correcting Claire Clarks Recovery Revolution, Book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. 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. People had to know its dangers before making choices to support or join. 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. This story For us, it was Experience of Contact, thousands of interviews, internal documents, depositions of leaders and a lifelong examination. Paul- when Elan closed in April 1 of 2011. Studies found that Synanons encounter groups could produce lasting psychological harm and that only 10 to 15 percent of the addicts who participated in them recovered. Fager wrote: Dr. 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. That for about a period of 7 years most of my friends were ex synanon members. WebNeed your help! it would take a few generations for this to work out. 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 also admitted violence could not occur without his approval but he forgot the details due to his stroke. By the 60s the Los Angeles school system had schools (not all) already well integrated and taught anti-bigotry. It is true, we are lied to, propagandized and subject to many attempts to have us all think the same way.