Kenton, through no fault of his own, was placed in the Synanon school by square musician parents and at age 18 became the youngest member of the Imperial Marines. 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. But I also concluded that Synanon would always be dangerous because of the nature of the Synanon game. Sidney Poitier did more for race relations in one movie than most of the world combined. While I cop to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to do with it. A few, but very few have gone out and made it. A small portion decided they had enough, and gave too much credit to Synanon and not enough to their own will power. 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. (Joe Ricci was a former Daytop student who went on to found his own program for troubled youth in Maine called Elansee below.) Society would have to catch up with Dederich on his ideas of dieting, exercise, and no smoking. 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. At his death bed, Maslow finally denounced the Human Potential Movement. is probably the most clear and present danger the presidential office ever faced. They made people like Bernie Kolb who I loved very much. In the book The Tunnel Back Yablonsky, Dederich and another Dr. discuss that the Synanon system is similar to Dr. Liftons discussion of Chinese brainwashing. But I, its a marvelous business to watch these assholes come in and fall all over themselves and try bite me in the ass. I decided to record the history around 1999 when I slowed down my practice and felt because I possessed all these documents I was the only one who could tell the story and it was an important story to tell to understand what goes wrong in nations. And I really try to do that," Jollett says. He was so wrong and he refused to write many who studied Synanon came to an opposite conclusion. WebSynanon Industries. 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. You are not alone, the world is full of people with such limitations and that is one of the main reasons war occurs. Matt C. Hoffman The media pointed to me, but there were far many who had joined and fought to protect me as well as expose Synanon. Per Ofshe, Dr. Elizabeth Missakian, former Pres. 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. Both boys had to navigate poverty and abuse, but Jollett's experience was vastly different from his brother's. Order from Amazon, XHTML: You can use these tags:
. Hollywood Park recounts Jollett's life at various stages: an orphaned 5-year-old, a troubled preteen, and an adult trying to find himself in his music. 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. Education website. 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. Synanons punitive system of verbal attacks and humiliation was counterproductive and drove out most that entered. Its goal was to take it to the context of greater society.I would appreciate you know your feelings. And yes, there is some bad grammar. "Sometimes I think about this book as this primal scream, this assertion: 'This happened. 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 he started saying, 'Don't be like me. 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. Podcast. I was not for that idea, because I saw most members as victims. Every time we let somebody into Synanon we assume an enormous liability and this is done consciously. I am a Synanon survivor. And with that all being announced on the wire, murder attempts begin. Suggest you get my book on Amazonmy life was not limited to Synanon. His motive, which Janzen missed, was the eventual plan to steal all the money. One could argue that the destruction caused by the Synanon game was a legacy to the extent that it helped quash the humanistic movement and the over self indulgence in encounter groups. He also admitted violence could not occur without his approval but he forgot the details due to his stroke. '", After Tony went to rehab, their dad quit his job to be home with them and cooked dinner every night. That Young people were beaten, some in public demonstrations. Oh so very funny. Now, if it is not very God damn profitable, I would go into another business. They must be lies because you cant live with any other thoughts. But there wont be any room for the kind of people you are now. But I believe there are important messages in its history I was drivin not to let Janzen alter it. Bellis, citing various sources, found that the success rate in the Synanon imitators was no better than that the dismal statistics of Synanon itself. I immediately sensed he was writing a book in which he was avoiding obtaining information that might challenge his view. Although Synanon was officially shut down in 1991, it had inspired followers to start similar groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles. Yet it was from this that the miracle was proclaimed. I wrote that cults are just microcosms of greater societies. 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. I gave you a ring and was most pleasantly surprised that you answered. Synanon was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and movement-turned-cult in California that existed from 1958 to 1991. Dr. Roger Meyer, a professor of psychiatry at Boston University, and formerly the Acting Chief of the Center for Studies of Narcotics and Drug Abuse at NIMH, was one of the first to question the wisdom of subjecting kids to the brutality of the Synanon Game. you say the logic is faulty, but give no example and state why? Commonly employed and widely admired in 12-step groups and treatment., The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it., Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. In 1971, the federal government, through he second White House Drug Czar, Robertq L. Dupont, Jr. MD. When she finally was rescued by a grandmother, the organization was fortunately wiped out by the resulting civil judgment for damages. 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. WebSynanon Survivors 136likes 149followers Posts About Photos Videos More Posts About Photos Videos Synanon Survivors Intro Link To The Synanon Survivors Group And It gives an unvarnished accounting of the psychopath Joe Ricci who founded the Elan Corporation. 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. it would be interesting to see you rewrite a summary of what I wrote so it could be judged whether or not you understood it. It did make news. 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. ", 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. This is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process. 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. You know ts great fun, to watch that. That's crazy,'" says Jollett, reflecting back on cult-members giving their children away at 6 months old. 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. As I said in the beginning, my views changed at different times, and it was only upon reading of what happened at the clones was my view finally shaped. Casriel teamed up with Father William OBrien to form Daytop Village which today is one of the largest therapeutic communities in the world. Rose Lena Cole was court ordered to Syanon by a juvenile court judge in 1972 for running away from home. 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. "In the case of my brother, he became the scapegoat. It's not good.' 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. ), "[Tony] went to rehab at a young age, and I think it scared me," Jollett says. He was a great man and kind human being. The authorities closed it down. Also, I have had cases with female cult leaders, and have confronted in my life many pathological and dangerous persons, both male and female. In my opinion Elan operated as a continueing criminal enterprise for close to forty years. Paul please post this comment and not the other two thank you sir. is someone writes a personal attack on me, or anyone else who comments, is deleted. I was forced to watch twenty men and women beat a 14 year old girl in what we called a, Cowboy Ass kicking, for ten to twenty minutes. When Michelle ran out of water, a counselor told the other hikers not to share, and joked that Michelles parched mouth was so white it looks like youve been eating marshmallows. After complaining she couldnt see, Michelle collapsed and died of dehydration. when I was growing up I thought world would be a better place if women were in control. What was it one in 25 days for 2 years? Elan maybe closed though we as survivors are not finished ,we are still seeking justice, and we demand justice for those that did not survive. Maybe it's one of the things about human nature, that isolated power corrupts people. Maia wrote: No fewer than 50 programs can trace their treatment philosophy, directly or indirectly, to an anti-drug cult called Synanon. 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. That is, she was forced to run in the summer sun until she collapsed, and then she was left laying in the hot sun until she died. 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. But I DO know the culture of Synanon. What you write is not experience of all. And when former clients sued Straight for holding them against their will, Straight pressured parents into letting Straight fight for them for the right to force their kids into treatment with the force of a court order. *.*..*. He wrote that many ex-members said that one day there would be a scandal and Dederich would run off with all the money. It was like, 'Nothing ever gets to me. Before moving in, Jollett had always considered his dad a "badass," a "criminal," a "pirate. The founder, Charles Dederich, ordered his cult followers to divorce and swap partners, with more than 200 couples complying. Straight used Synanons vaginal and anal searches to search for contraband for years even though they never found any. Eventually, on the subject of rehabilitation, Ofshe would write, Synanon was the failure thats gave birth to an industry.. As a key distinction between comparing Synanon to America, those in Synanon who tried to warn or criticize were shut down and shoved out. If it had ended there, Synanons legacy would be far different and it would probably still be there. After all why should they not get paid for all that work? My book, you obviously did not read, you will be happy to know was edited sufficiently to eliminate all bad grammar. In 1964 a New Jersey Drug Study Commission opted not to give Synanon any funding after reviewing rehabilitation statistics supplied by Synanon Foundation. 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. We let, we let crazy people into the door and we dont discriminate. 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. This was written before he joined. That is not ego. *, As with The Seed, at Straight abuse was omnipresentincluding beatings and kidnapping of adult participants. 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. If you have read all my entries you would know I have written about the early philosophies of the early Synanon and how many who incorporated those philosophies because of that when they left came forward to testify because of those philosophies. Now that Jollett is a father he has a 3-year-old son and 3-month-old daughter with wife Lizette he says that his life has undergone another transformation. Sells noted in 1976 that, The more strict the program the lower the percentage of clients retained in the [TC] program..Current magazine had noted that clients in TCs give up all rightsexcept the right to leave. (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.). CED had similar protection but blew it when he started ordering attacks and got caught on his tapes. God bless you. As to CED I have no clear answer, but certainly his childhood traumas and abandonments were likely to produce pathology. 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. 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. 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. 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. After 30 years of pondering, I came full circle and realized that sociologist Richard Ofshe had analyzed it right from the start. "He was just this big, masculine, Italian, strong guy that loved his boys. It exposes the cruel abnormal policies, practices and propaganda the Synanon children were forced to endure in a so-called modern America. I responded to him that the media never knew the extent of the actual violence and as far as violence inside Synanon, how many incidents would you like to know about? Later I sent him a copy of the History of Synanon violence with over 80 incidents and he never responded nor did I hear from him again, nor did he ever apologize to the public for writing a book in which he intentionally avoided the actual evidence. Was rescued by a juvenile court judge in 1972 for running away from home certainly his childhood traumas abandonments. Clear answer, but give no example and state why know was edited sufficiently to eliminate all grammar... Is probably the most clear and present danger the presidential office ever faced gave too much credit Synanon. To ced I have no clear answer, but Jollett 's experience was vastly different from his brother.... 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