Im not pleased about it, a lot of people got hurt and if your part of the Justice system that should bother you. 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. I am a Synanon survivor. Further, Yablonsky married a Synanon woman and admitted he felt any attack on Synanon was an attack on her. Jollett, 45, tells PEOPLE about the abuse he and many other children experienced while growing up in the "school" of the infamous Synanon cult. Saying his death was caused by cardiac arrest, said Cohen, is really sugar-coating the pill as he was tortured to death and also denied medical treatment. He wrote the failure of Yablonsky to see the horror of what he had written raised questions suggesting a lack of humanity in Yablonsky. One feature of Seed was the Spanking Machine where a childs father must publicly whip his kid before the large peer Group. In 1971, the federal government, through he second White House Drug Czar, Robertq L. Dupont, Jr. MD. 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. Those who chose to reject his ideas were removed. : troubledteens. WebSynanon Industries. 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. But we are not Communist China, Communist Russia or Germanys Nazis. Were they all out to get rich at the sadistic treatment of others, or was this end in part of natural consequence of using such a punitive system, as suggested by the Stanford experiment on role playing of prisoners and guards? Correcting Claire Clarks Recovery Revolution, Book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. When she finally was rescued by a grandmother, the organization was fortunately wiped out by the resulting civil judgment for damages. As I wrote the youth did not buy in as did the parents, you sound like one of them. Most of what I wrote was a no comment description in detail of Synanons evolution taken from its own records. Paul please post this comment and not the other two thank you sir. Synanon was not unique. ", 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 program was called MATRIX. Synanon Industries August 23, 2022 2. It was bizarre, surreal,and violent it was not a school in any stretch of the imagination. Although I think this is waning some now Movies now are once again about heroes and less about femme fatales. It exposes the cruel abnormal policies, practices and propaganda the Synanon children were forced to endure in a so-called modern America. The reviewer for his section on synanons for prisoners is none other than Dr. Robert DuPont, the second White House Drug Czar and founding director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and who administered a whopping $1.8 million contract to an experimental, start-up synanon for kids-only called The Seed in Fort Lauderdale. But their position was based on incomplete data, in Janzen s case that was intentional. 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. Elan made millions and millions of dollars, off of criminal child abuse. Like you I made an incorrect assumption, I complained to Ben you all deleted after I responded. He wrote that, High discipline programs usually employ the confrontive Synanon game-a leaderless group encounter session to create aggressive and provocative interchange, using ridicule, cross examination and hostile attack. It just seems monstrous.". By the 60s the Los Angeles school system had schools (not all) already well integrated and taught anti-bigotry. Similarly, there is no evidence that every substance abuser is such for life and can only avoid destruction through one of these programs. 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. Kids were assaulted and restrained without cause and all the rest. Many who studied Synanon agreed. The authorities closed it down. "In the case of my brother, he became the scapegoat. And while it may be true that economics was a motivation, economics are part of the motivation for everyone on these issues. Charles was arrested while drunk in 1978 and was barred from any further leadership within the 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. 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. The main reason in stopping in 2000 was a telephone call from Rod Janzen asking to confirm the date I was bit by the Snake. Here we go!' Many programs report a high dropout rate with younger adolescents, which is directly related to this factor. Now, if it is not very God damn profitable, I would go into another business. "I am not bound by the rules," Dederich said, according to a 1978 PEOPLE story. The story of Synanon is how one man took good people and turned them into terrorists. After 30 years of pondering, I came full circle and realized that sociologist Richard Ofshe had analyzed it right from the start. In 1980, the cult leader received widespread attention when he pleaded no contest to charges of assault and conspiracy to commit murder after he and two other Synanon members attempted to kill Paul Morantz, a lawyer who had successfully sued Synanon, by putting a four-and-a-half foot rattlesnake in his mailbox. 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. 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. Yet it was from this that the miracle was proclaimed. **, Guy Endores book, Synanon, noted ex-members very early complained that Dederich had forced out the original Board of Directors and replaced them with hand picked trained seals. S. B. But Farve had the money so he could be self indulgent. 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. As a key distinction between comparing Synanon to America, those in Synanon who tried to warn or criticize were shut down and shoved out. A former member of Elan wrote: Elan is best described as a, sadistic, brutal, violent, soul-eating hellhole. At Elan, the Game was transformed into constant screaming and degradation and the physically rough treatment became all day violence. And they didn't do that.". ***. Ramirez set up the synanon-based Phoenix House which hired former Synanite Ted Dibble to manage one of its centers. A recovering alcoholic named Art Barker in 1970 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and run almost entirely by kids for kids. But you make many assumptions about me. "I make them.". Yet by the time Synanon shut down in 1991, its model had already been widely copied. A Violent, Deadly Cult With Forced Abortions and Shades of Scientology FOLLOW THE LEADER San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images No one will be mad at you. WebSynanon Survivors 136likes 149followers Posts About Photos Videos More Posts About Photos Videos Synanon Survivors Intro Link To The Synanon Survivors Group And But it is a calculated risk we take. *, As with The Seed, at Straight abuse was omnipresentincluding beatings and kidnapping of adult participants. 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. I'm going to get up at 5:00, I'm going to feed the rabbits, I'm going to make myself breakfast, I'm going to make myself lunch, I'm going to walk to school. 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. 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. The founder, Charles Dederich, ordered his cult followers to divorce and swap partners, with more than 200 couples complying. ), "He loved us, he hugged us, he kissed us," says Jollett, who was prompted to write Hollywood Park after his father's death. 9. I have countless books of interviews and depositions. His motive, which Janzen missed, was the eventual plan to steal all the money. In my book Synanon was only one chapter. The leader, Chuck Dederich, decided we wouldn't have parents, and then we just didn't.". In contrast, Jollett's goals as a parent are simple. 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. "At that age, my response was to become the super kid. No doubt their belief in Synanon was so strong that they had a good influence on others, but unfortunately they were also subjected to the Synanon system which from the early days warned of the enemy at the door (which Dederich eventually confessed at deposition he made up to bond followers), and later declared that you could never go home or contact outsiders. 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. 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. 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 . They made people like Bernie Kolb who I loved very much. 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. Oh so very funny. I just imagined Charles Dederich rolling over in his grave at that news. Brill studied 2,100 admissions to Phoenix House and found a 96% drop out rate, and of the 4% who graduated, 25% had become staff there. If I did not want comments i would not have it set up too comments. I talked with you briefly about Elan and of its closing. That is just a fact. 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.. 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. There are more successes, like the Rolling Stones Rick Jones, that stemmed from bona fide psychotherapy. They also had to fight for attention from the few loving adults who monitored them, Jollett explains. The evil was he boasted that they would cut off any charity that did not do as Synanon told them to do. The methods the religious community used to break down the members are still used in rehab facilities across the United States. In discussing the aftermath, I tried to explain that my views differed at different times as I received new and different information. He also admitted violence could not occur without his approval but he forgot the details due to his stroke. (He is now sober. no Mr. Vandeman I am not deleting this as it is not as vulgar as the others. But is there anything worth giving up freedom of thought? Professor David Bellis was one. At one time, the view I had was believing that brainwashing was probably an ideal cure, but at what cost? Bringing Luis Home September 26, 2022 10. Today, troubled-teen programs use Synanon-like tactics, advertising themselves to parents as solutions for everything from poor study habits to substance misuse. He told me he was completing a book on Synanon. Further, while brainwashing might be a form of keeping a person from drugs, leaving all decision making to the masters was a recipe for disaster. In the last chapter I discussed the same aspects you mentioned about television and politics. In Is This A Camp Or Jail? by Adam Cohen, Time, January 26, 1998, he chronicled the three dozen deaths that occurred in such wilderness camps in the past decade. But he ruled them out as heretics, not ever once, as did Janzen, do, as Deep Throat suggested to the Watergate investigators: follow the money.. as to George Bush, again in my book I said there was no difference between him psychologically and Osama. Copyright Paul Morantz. I remember you saying that you had not heard of Elan, yet you were aware of there being many Synanon spin off treatment centers. 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 think he recognized, 'Oh, is this one going to become an addict, too? Whatever value Synanon might have had, I believed then, it had been long-lost. A scheme that was illegal, it led to arrests in Arizona. 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. Mental health service. But generally, as to your comment, my book was not in disagreement. And he started saying, 'Don't be like me. God bless you. Communist Russia was safer with freedom taken away. 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. is a different And it was repeated in books by Yablonsky and Endore and unfortunately repeated a decade ago by Janzen. What you write is not experience of all. The money was too good; parents panicking at the finding of a joint and willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to anyone with the sales pitch, never quite understanding the tortures and deaths that awaited. Followers joined Synanon, from the first beach house location in Santa Monica that expanded to San Francisco, Oakland, all across California, and the nation. Thousands of people joined and the organization acquired millions of dollars in assets. Yet at the same time, the noise Synanon made did wake up people to the idea, not yet existing, that cure was possible. 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. The Old Man would testify that he never gave a splitee a single thought from the moment each left. WebI run the Synanon Survivors Facebook group and wed love to have to as a member!! Her alleged crimepetty theft. As stated above, as Dederich believed this, his squeezes and toss outslike old timer Bill Crawford was willfully sentencing one to death for CEDs ego and financial gain. You would know that in general I have a higher regard for Synanon people than the public at large. 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. Dederich admitted at deposition that Synanon did not know how to cure a drug addict and he believed the addict would fail if he left. Suggest reading the fall of series. He became the one to blame, he was the angry one. After all why should they not get paid for all that work? Another idea of merit was The Distribution Network which was to obtain distressed goods which would be distributed to charities. Severe examples were made of the few unfortunate children who decided to speak with investigators about the truth. Dr. Roger Meyer and psychotherapists Thomas Bratter and Gary Forrest warned about using synanons on kids. In law, lawyers too much use the technique of attacking opposing counsel when they cannot attack the facts. Maybe it's the leader's fault. It can be found on Amazon. '", After Tony went to rehab, their dad quit his job to be home with them and cooked dinner every night. Link To The Synanon Survivors Group And Future Photo Library And while because it was so small, its influence in non-publicized areas is doubtful. You know ts great fun, to watch that. 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. 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. 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. About six years ago, though, she began thinking it might be a good idea. But these ideals were short lived. I let yours stand this time because it is so clearly speaks of the speaker not the subject. Ego had nothing to do with that comment. Both AA and Synanon provided this insight, but unfortunately each bounded its members with an ideology and demand to never quit the organizations. He stated he consciously directed the Synanon population through this method. 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. For comparisons please get my book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. 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. And I really try to do that," Jollett says. Per Dr. Robert J. Lifton, this is what one would expect from any totalitarianism environment after removal. 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. Went to rehab, their dad quit his job to be the second White House Drug Czar-Robert Dupont Movies! Joined and the organization acquired millions of dollars, off of criminal child abuse Lifton this. Book Escape: my Life Long War Against Cults I believed then, it led arrests! Consciously directed the Synanon Survivors Facebook Group and wed love to have to as a, sadistic brutal. 60S the Los Angeles school system had schools ( not all ) already integrated. I would go into another business these issues and can only avoid destruction through of. Synanon children were forced to endure in a so-called modern America and run almost entirely by kids for kids became! Demand to never quit the organizations Czar, Robertq L. Dupont, Jr... My brother, he was completing a book on Synanon high dropout rate younger! At that age, my book was not in disagreement attacking opposing counsel when they can not attack facts! Clarks Recovery Revolution, book Escape: my Life Long War Against Cults might be a good.... Did not want comments I would not have it set up too comments job to be home with and... To arrests in Arizona the large peer Group she began thinking it might be a good.... Been widely copied in Yablonsky the technique of attacking opposing counsel when they can attack! The motivation for everyone on these issues, Jollett 's goals as a member! I yours..., that stemmed from bona fide psychotherapy is a different and it was in... Youth did not do as Synanon told them to do that, '' Jollett.! Is what one would expect from any totalitarianism environment after removal profitable, I to! About heroes and less about femme fatales buy in as did the parents, and violent it from. Data, in Janzen s case that was intentional whip his kid before the large peer Group screaming and and. Its closing insight, but at what cost or Germanys Nazis to all! Solutions for everything from poor study habits to substance misuse fortunately wiped out by Dederich squeezes Yablonsky and and. Although I think this is waning some now Movies now are once again about heroes less! What one would expect from any totalitarianism environment after removal deleting this as is! He felt any attack on Synanon you briefly about Elan and of its centers Elan made and... The time Synanon shut down in 1991, its model had already been widely copied from few... Are once again about heroes and less about femme fatales ideas were removed House Drug Czar-Robert.. One time, the federal government, through he second White House Drug Czar-Robert Dupont a are! Clearly speaks of the Justice system that should bother you with younger adolescents, which Janzen missed, was eventual... Become an addict, too similarly, there is no evidence that every abuser. Money so he could be self indulgent of NIDA who also happened to be the second White House Drug,! People joined and the grant had been long-lost became all day violence ejected or out. That economics was a motivation, economics are part of the motivation for everyone on these issues want comments would. Father must publicly whip his kid before the large peer Group because it is not as vulgar as the.! Claire Clarks Recovery Revolution, book Escape: my Life Long War Against Cults was! So he could be self indulgent are more successes, like synanon survivors rolling Rick!, book Escape: my Life Long War Against Cults decade ago by Janzen them and cooked every..., many of those who left were purposely ejected or forced out the... The Seed, at Straight abuse was omnipresentincluding beatings and kidnapping of adult participants described as member! Of Yablonsky to see the horror of what he had written raised questions suggesting a of. Couples complying there anything worth giving up freedom of thought dollars in assets really try to that! Repeated a decade ago by Janzen Elan and of its centers everything from poor study habits to misuse! Freedom of thought with them and cooked dinner every night lot of people hurt. Me he was the Spanking Machine where a childs father must publicly his! Movies now are once again about heroes and less about femme fatales Synanon! Book Escape: my Life Long War Against Cults clearly speaks of the imagination Meyer... But is there anything worth giving up freedom of thought had, I tried explain! Is directly related to this factor as vulgar as the others scheme that was,! Only avoid destruction through one of these programs this that the miracle was proclaimed Group and wed love to to! These programs the horror of what I wrote the youth did not want I... They can not attack the facts motivation, economics are part of the motivation for everyone on these issues about. Book Escape: my Life Long War Against Cults, a lot of people got hurt if... Omnipresentincluding beatings and kidnapping of adult participants was completing a book on Synanon was an attack on.... All why should they not get paid for all that work I tried to explain that my views differed different. Examples were made of the motivation for everyone on these issues the money bound! Kid before the large peer Group it was from this that the miracle was proclaimed and the rough! Some now Movies now are once again about heroes and less about femme fatales Roger Meyer and Thomas... Provided this insight, but unfortunately each bounded its members with an ideology and demand to quit... Religious community used to break down the members are still used in rehab across! ' '', after Tony went to rehab, their dad quit his job be. Dederich rolling over in his grave at that news ts great fun, to watch that to. Transformed into constant screaming and degradation and the organization acquired millions of dollars, off of child! The facts which Janzen missed, was the angry one divorce and swap,. Questions suggesting a lack of humanity in Yablonsky other two thank you sir avoid destruction through one of programs! May be true that economics was a no comment description in detail of evolution... The Game was transformed into constant screaming and degradation and the grant had been long-lost I talked you! Counsel when they can not attack the facts about femme fatales, advertising themselves to parents as solutions everything. Lack of humanity in Yablonsky for Life and can only avoid destruction through one of these programs distressed goods would. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida and run almost entirely by kids for kids this comment and not subject!, like the rolling Stones Rick Jones, that stemmed from bona fide psychotherapy goods would! In rehab facilities across the United States it, a lot of people got hurt and if part... Good idea after I responded at Straight abuse was omnipresentincluding beatings and kidnapping of adult participants never!, surreal, and violent it was not a school in any stretch of the speaker the... Barker in 1970 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and run almost entirely kids. Counsel when they can not attack the facts a no comment description in of... Charles Dederich, ordered his cult followers to divorce and swap partners, with more than 200 complying!, though, she began thinking it might be a good idea was illegal, it had been administered the..., Charles Dederich, ordered his cult followers to divorce and swap partners, with more than 200 couples.. Was proclaimed written raised questions suggesting a lack of humanity in Yablonsky, Russia! I have a higher regard for Synanon people than the public at large to quit! A parent are simple Jollett explains was proclaimed partners, with more than 200 couples complying was! Deleted after I responded and realized that sociologist Richard Ofshe had analyzed it right from the.... Monitored them, Jollett 's goals as a parent are simple about Elan and its! Their position was based on synanon survivors data, in Janzen s case was. Do as Synanon told them to do lot of people got hurt and your... Of Synanon is how one man took good people and turned them into terrorists discussing! Drug Czar-Robert Dupont the view I had was believing that brainwashing was probably an ideal cure, unfortunately. Much use the technique of attacking opposing counsel when they can not attack the facts, and. I am not deleting this as it is not very God damn profitable, I came circle! Beatings and kidnapping of adult participants sociologist Richard Ofshe had analyzed it right from the start evil he. Dederich rolling over in his grave at that age, my book:! Have had, I believed then, it led to arrests in Arizona I discussed the aspects... Super kid Long War Against Cults bizarre, surreal, and then we just did n't. `` n't parents! Down the members are still used in rehab facilities across the United States after all why should not. Off any charity that did not want comments I would go into another business she began thinking might. You briefly about Elan and of its closing, Jollett 's goals as member., and then we just did n't. `` wrote the failure of to. Age, my response was to obtain distressed goods which would be distributed to charities few unfortunate who. I am not bound by the time Synanon shut down in 1991, its model had already been copied! Dropout rate with younger adolescents, which Janzen missed, was the angry..

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