Hi Megan,
On 2005-07-21 17:07:00, Anonymous wrote:
Someone mentioned the transition to staff happened in the beginning and something about T&R, what is T&R?
T&R = Talk and Responsibilities. If the staff and group approve it, after some number of weeks, a new client is allowed 5 minutes closely monitored talk w/ their parents after open meeting. Next step is T&R, where they're given back the responsibility of walking within the building and to and from the car (when instructed to) w/o having an oldcomer hanging onto the back of their pants (beltlooping).
Did the people who became staff after being a "patient" get paid?
Barely.
Could people become staff even under the age of 18?
Yes, but I think you had to be 18 to be a sr staffer.
What were you told when people "ran away" from the program?
Nothing! Not a word. It was verbotten to ever speak of anyone who was not present in the room at the time. You couldn't even say "Someone is missing."
Did they in their f*cked up logic explain why they did the different things that were a part of the program? (ie did they say why you couldnt' go to the bathroom alone?--I mean I understand it's a control/power/breaking down tactic, but did they provide any justification for this?)
Yes, every day in Rules Rap. We were made to stand up and repeat the rule and a stylized recitation of the Program defined reason for it. The reasoning behind beltlooping and a bunch of other rules was that whatever we did to get ourselves put in the program included lack of responsibility and self respect and so we had to earn back enough trust to take a shit in private and to get ourselves to the john w/o being closely guarded by an oldcomer.
Did people stay past age 18 or 21? I read that the SAFE program does.
Yeah, some people did. Some were court ordered, others had wealthy parents and were willing to put up with a LOT to get a shot at all that cash. Others still were just that brainwashed.
Were there any staff memebers that weren't so hooked into the messedupness, that actually tried to help?
Sort of. You had to be drinking pretty deeply of the kool-aid in order to think there was any value to that form of treatment. But some of the staff were sincere in their intentions, I'm sure.
Do you think residental treatments (could be drug, mental illness, or "behavior disordered" *rolls eyes) provides benefits that outweight the potiental risks?
It would have to depend on what kind of treatment we're talking about. If we're still talking about confrontational TC, the answer is no.
Did any of you come from already "dysfunctional" homes or would you say that straight caused it?
I think it takes a pretty messed up person to turn their kids over to lunatics like Straight! Not that they let the parents know all that much ahead of time. But it was more than obvious to most people (i.e. all the ppl who got the pitch and passed them by as obvious nut cases, including my best friend's dad the Sheriff)
Has any straight or straight like program survivors written a book of their account?
Well, Arold Trebach dedicated a chapter of The Great Drug War to the story of a Straight, Inc. victim. And there are supposedly a couple of books in the works. What was the title of that book published in the UK about the author's sister in the program? I could find it. There are posts about it on straight_inc_alumni over on yahoo. Anybody know offhand?
I understand that each person experienced things in a different manner and everything people say is their own story. I'm not trying to make some vast generalizations, but to understand what you experienced. I again don't mean to cause people to relive memories they don't want to go anywhere near, but if you're willing to discuss I'm greatful for that. Thanks.
Megan"
Hey, participation here is entirely voluntary. Thanks so much for your interest! I get the sense that this is more than idle curiosity. What have you got planned?
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-- Robert Heinlein
