A few, but very few have gone out and made it. His family claims his pleas for help were ignored. I also believed that Synanons many clones, adding doctors, and other proper variations, had established successful drug rehabilitation. In reality, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it; and that generally holds true in all programs. .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. I offered the information to Janzen and he didnt want it. 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. Im so grateful, thankful & PROUD of everyone who made this happen!!! The sicker he became, the more he was tormented and tortured by the staff. *.*..*. Watched the documentary Ethel on HBO and compare the public speaking of the Kennedys to the embarrassing debates that took place in the recent election. It quotes statements I did not make but Dederich did. Both AA and Synanon provided this insight, but unfortunately each bounded its members with an ideology and demand to never quit the organizations. see review. 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. But these ideals were short lived. 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. And furthermore, the National Institutes of Health (NIDAs parent) had funded the first Synanon copy-cat program in NYC called Daytop Lodge. 1 talking about this. This program was called MATRIX. Maybe it's one of the things about human nature, that isolated power corrupts people. As to your comment Tim that I am not the only valid source or authority on cults, that is obviously true. You wont be here. It was good that Synanon took in minorities, and when Dederich married Betty mixed marriages were not as commonplace as today. Comments here are for input, questions, and providing of facts. How old were you. Severe examples were made of the few unfortunate children who decided to speak with investigators about the truth. Some children have been placed for nothing more than marijuana smoking, and some because the programs told the parents unless they gave them the younger kid they would expel the older sibling. No one knows the actual final fate of the 19. 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. 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. There were countless communes and entities much larger that took in people of all races. When they asked me, if an addict enters Synanon, how long will it take? My answer is, If he is lucky, it will take forever.. I immediately sensed he was writing a book in which he was avoiding obtaining information that might challenge his view. 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. Died of dehydration. 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. In conclusion, while the notions in Synanon arose out of Dederichs troubled childhood, I dont think all blame is on Synanonsuch systems existed all throughout history. Despite this, despite the warnings of so many other notables, despite Art Barkers total lack of credentials and less than admirable past, The Seed received a $1.8 million U.S. government grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) soon after it opened. 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. Justice For Our Angels. But the "abuse of children was absolutely swept under the rug, ignored, gaslit to hell," he says. Further, Yablonsky married a Synanon woman and admitted he felt any attack on Synanon was an attack on her. For comparisons please get my book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. We let, we let crazy people into the door and we dont discriminate. First, Susan, good to hear from you again. And finally, in the end, Synanon legacy is one not only of discrimination, but it became the Ku Klux Klan when it came to its conceived enemies. "I have nightmares about my son falling down steps, I have nightmares about dropping my daughter. It still such a bracing business that I like to stay in it. (Joe Ricci was a former Daytop student who went on to found his own program for troubled youth in Maine called Elansee below.) Tony, always angry as a child, sank into addiction at an early age and went to rehab. Paul Morantz 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. It was also capable of controling the floor show when ever there was an investigation, during these times Elan became a large weird hotel lobby, albeit briefly, while investigators simply saw our blank faces. 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. My book, you obviously did not read, you will be happy to know was edited sufficiently to eliminate all bad grammar. The robber barons cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience., *..*.*. It is the freedom of thought and free speech that gave America the chance to go on and recover from its mistakes. Maybe it's the leader's fault. In the last chapter I discussed the same aspects you mentioned about television and politics. in the understanding and treatment of adolescents. Do you realize that over 80 people were attacked? While I cop to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to do with it. TTI Survivor - Leviah Rose. Children say they were punched, kicked and forced to eat dirt for minor infractions such as failing to stand up straight. Barker had been arrested at age 16 for burglary and when he was 18 he was charged with assault and robbery, for which he joined the Army a few days later and then went AWOL. And they didn't do that.". Others who completed the program were absorbed into the organization as low-paid or voluntary staff limited to walking around money. "And probing into this world of the traumatized child. 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. For many academics, it is reviewing writing of others. I think Synanon was one of the most important stories of the 20th-century and leaves us with one of the most documented histories that is worth studying and learning from. I remember you saying that you had not heard of Elan, yet you were aware of there being many Synanon spin off treatment centers. just state that and agree to the group rules!! I'm going to rise up above all this kind of stuff, and I'm going to take care of everyone. Totalitarianism societies in the end always end in abuse and a we vs. they war concept. I gave you a ring and was most pleasantly surprised that you answered. I further told him that UCLA records were selective and I alone had Synanons internal documents which tells another story. ", 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. 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. The story of Synanon is how one man took good people and turned them into terrorists. 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. I just imagined Charles Dederich rolling over in his grave at that news. Fager wrote: Dr. CED had similar protection but blew it when he started ordering attacks and got caught on his tapes. According to Department of "Our parents weren't bad people, they didn't choose to turn their children into orphans. It gives an unvarnished accounting of the psychopath Joe Ricci who founded the Elan Corporation. They appreciated the honesty of the work. I asked him how he could write a book on Synanon without ever interviewing the person who fought it. When he begged to see a doctor, the staff sneered at him and called him a faker and asked him if he were homosexual.. And that Susan, is what differentiates us, from other countries where there is no freedom of press. 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 WebSynanon Survivors 136likes 149followers Posts About Photos Videos More Posts About Photos Videos Synanon Survivors Intro Link To The Synanon Survivors Group And This is not limited to addicts. Many have the support of state agencies, because of the past publicity for Synanon, unaware of what happened in California and assuming therefor these programs worked. WebSynanon eventually unraveled in a series of assaults and attempted murder. 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. His motive, which Janzen missed, was the eventual plan to steal all the money. Maybe if I had written sooner some would still be alive. Ultimately, as stated above, Dederich would testify they never knew how to cure a dope fiend and nobody does. WebNeed your help! All Rights Reserved. WebSynanon Industries. It was bizarre, surreal,and violent it was not a school in any stretch of the imagination. Also true, is that my ego places me in my eyes in a higher position than others. And it was repeated in books by Yablonsky and Endore and unfortunately repeated a decade ago by Janzen. Dawnne Takeuchi, 18, was killed when she was thrown from a semi-truck near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, in June 1994. A scheme that was illegal, it led to arrests in Arizona. ", It wasn't until the boys moved in with their father a tall, Italian man who awed them with stories about once hiding a shotgun under his trench coat that the once-distant dad became more than just a mythological figure. I was not for that idea, because I saw most members as victims. By then only 1000 out of the 12,000 claimed to have entered were there and leaving was defined as failure. . And just how successful were the Synanon imitators? Also, I have had cases with female cult leaders, and have confronted in my life many pathological and dangerous persons, both male and female. 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. is a different It also provides no real therapy and is the same program for everyone. But I believe there are important messages in its history I was drivin not to let Janzen alter it. Today there is argument, but generally it only comes from true believers like Janzen or long time residents who once condemned Synanon, , but now in their old age, as is generally the final stage for victims of brainwashing, per Dr. Lifton, rewrite their memories so each night they are at peace with what they took part in, including, if not outright participating, knowing of the Imperial Marines and all the beatings. Some have shown that synanon confrontations can potentially be psychologically damaging and may not be suitable for all audiences-especially for adolescents. Its goal was to take it to the context of greater society.I would appreciate you know your feelings. If you examine the full context, Janzen avoided anything that might lead him to information contrary to the views he wanted to present. Jollett also healed by opening himself up to therapy, music and, eventually, love. Whatever value Synanon might have had, I believed then, it had been long-lost. And I think he saw I might be going down that path, too. For Jollett, experiencing his dad's love was a life-changing experience. All the civil rights marches, the anti-Vietnam protests, were uniting people of all races. And while it may be true that economics was a motivation, economics are part of the motivation for everyone on these issues. But you make many assumptions about me. 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. It's not good.' 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. The damage that has been done to many ,many children is unfathomable. 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. 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. 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. You can also see a shorter version of my career on Wikipedia if you do not wish to buy the book. 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. I have countless books of interviews and depositions. What is this thing that you think you're doing? Maia wrote: No fewer than 50 programs can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an anti-drug cult called Synanon. 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. Eventually, on the subject of rehabilitation, Ofshe would write, Synanon was the failure thats gave birth to an industry.. gave a grant to a Florida organization called The Seed, which applied Synanons methods to teenagers, even to those only suspected of trying drugs . Others were taken below or in barns to be beaten. I would say probably every decade my views changed, either up or down, but only in small degrees. 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