The Washington Post - Riddile

[PerfectStraightling]

Let's critique this, shall we??

On 2005-11-17 04:30:00, Anonymous wrote:

"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111600944.html?sub=new  

 

By Jay Mathews



Thursday, November 17, 2005; Page VA10



After I wrote an article about J.E.B. Stuart High School principal Mel Riddile being named national high school principal of the year ["A Principal's Wide Reach; Head of Fairfax School Wins National Award," Metro, Oct. 23], I received many messages praising his success at raising achievement at a school full of low-income students.



I also received messages from people campaigning against the tough-love approach to adolescent drug abuse rehabilitation practiced by Straight Inc., a company that Riddile worked for in the 1980s. Straight Inc., founded in 1976 in Florida by Mel Sembler, a former U.S. ambassador to Italy, and his wife, Betty, went out of existence in 1993. The Semblers have since started the Drug Free America Foundation ( http://www.dfaf.org ), a drug prevention and policy group.

Ok, first of all, people did NOT campaign against his "tough-love" approach. They campaigned against his thought-reform, physcially abusive aproach. Second of all, Riddile didn't just work FOR them, he ran the place. And my last point, it's good he named the Semblers, but what do they have to do with the case against Riddile?? Nothing but a lame attempt at shifting the focus to them.

Here is an excerpt of one of the e-mails about Riddile and Straight:





Dear Extra Credit:



I would like to take this opportunity to advise you of the fact that Dr. Riddile was executive/regional director at Straight Inc. for several years back in the 1980s, an organization some parents have accused of systematically physically and psychologically abusing their children. Unfortunately, time does not heal all wounds.



In your article published about Dr. Riddile and his outstanding accomplishments in his role as principal of J.E.B. Stuart, his involvement with Straight is missing. Treatment similar to that used by Straight is still administered in programs called by different names. It is quite possibly the most dangerous drug treatment program ever to exist in this country. Dr. Riddile trained Straight directors in the same building in Ohio in which one of these programs currently operates.



I find it necessary to advise your paper of these facts as part of a movement to expose this ongoing tragedy. I made several requests this year to invite Dr. Riddile to speak out against this treatment program. He claimed that he knew nothing about the specific program in Ohio. But he trained people who engaged in similar treatment modalities. I advised him of this situation in 2003. The requests have been either ignored or denied.



I believe Dr. Riddile knows about the problems associated with the Straight treatment. Please urge him to speak out against this abuse now.



William Earnshaw Sr.



Midland, Va.



Page 2 of 2   < BackBack    

 

Thank you, William.

Readers Raise Concerns About Past Work of Top Principal





 

In my article, I did not mention Riddile's drug abuse work, both for Fairfax County and then for Straight, because I didn't think it was relevant to the topic -- how he turned Stuart High into a top educational institution. But I appreciate your concern about Straight, which you told me grew out of what you said you experienced as mistreatment under the program when you were a client.

I'm sorry, but this is obviously some sort of attempt at pointing out that William was a "druggie." And again, it's not "drug abuse work," it's being the Executive Director. BIG difference.

The Post has published many stories about Straight. They make it clear that there has been much debate over the usefulness of drug treatment programs that place young clients under strict discipline, as Straight did. The articles note that one young client won an initial verdict of $220,000 in damages in 1983 after complaining of being detained for more than four months in a Straight facility in Springfield.

Not too bad, although he fails to elaborate on WHY the kid won all that money. Kind of important. And again, he claims the only contraversy surrounding Straight is that it is "strict." See prior criticism on tough love comment.

But according to the information I received from both you and Riddile, he was never sued or charged with any crime. Nor did you or any of the other sources you cited ever witness him do anything wrong. Riddle said he has many letters from Straight clients thanking him for what he did for them and said he is proud of his work there. I recommend that readers interested in this issue perform a Google search on Straight Inc. and do their own reading.

Where should I begin? Again, he is forgetting the fact that he RAN the place, placing him in responsibility for what went on there. And just because he didn't personally do anything wrong (?? I don't know), doesn't negate the fact that he RAN the place. In fact, this alludes to one of the biggest problems with straight, the peer confrontation model that was used. The peers, the kids, did all of the dirty work. This is not as redeeming as he suggests.

Having watched Riddile's work at Stuart for the last eight years, I am convinced that he deserved the award he received and does not deserve these criticisms for work he did in the 1980s that many of his young clients and their families have praised him for. Riddile is one of the 10 best high school principals I have ever seen, and I think Fairfax County is lucky to have him.

Sigh...who cares if it was in the 80s.... So apparently child abuse is OK if it was long enough ago, you should still be able to one day be a PRINCIPLE? HMMM, OK. Then he takes Riddile's word for the fact that he has gotten a lot of praise for his work there (which, by the way, if he was only working there, not really in charge, then why does he get so much credit for these supposed success stories??).

Please send your questions, along with your name, e-mail or postal address and telephone number to Extra Credit, The Washington Post, 526 King St., Suite 515, Alexandria, Va. 22314. Or e-mail extracredit@washpost.com.







 



 



"

Jackass.

[Anonymous]

I have a question:

What could Mel Riddile do to repent in your eyes?  He obviously has moved on and is receiving praise for his work, so what does he need to do to clear himself from your shitlist or is that impossible to do?  Can anyone really ever be forgiven by people here?

[Carmel]

Of course he has moved on, HE WASNT THE ONE BEING ABUSED.  Easy thing to do I would suppose, move on.

Repent being a good word here.  He does not acknowledge the abuse, he does not speak out against it, he does not retract his zeal for the fabulous "work" he did in and on behalf of Straight.

Secondly, he should not be allowed to further influence the lives of children and their parents.  He should be restricted in his ability to deal with children.  Although this man has not been convicted of a crime....its not unlike putting a known sex offender in charge of a day care.  You wouldnt want your kids in that situation.  Lets not forget that the "good work" he has done is all a matter of perspective.  

Take a look at this http://scott.eeltank.com/content/view/1321/180/

It looks like he may be employing the same tactics after all, dont you think?

[Anonymous]

On 2005-11-18 06:39:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I have a question:



What could Mel Riddile do to repent in your eyes?  He obviously has moved on and is receiving praise for his work, so what does he need to do to clear himself from your shitlist or is that impossible to do?  Can anyone really ever be forgiven by people here?



"

 :evil: Let me ask you this, were you in that Straight building that Mel Riddile was running? Did YOU see the torture going on to the kids in there? Is it okay by you to see kids denied food, water, medication, privacy, and subjected to mental, emotional, physical, and sexual humiliation? Was it okay for constant IN YOUR FACE drilling to go on 24/7? Was it okay for those kids to be crowed into "intake rooms" for hours on end sitting 'Indian style' in the morning waiting to be led by the pants (like dogs) into the main room?? Did you ever WITNESS others being 'sat on' so they were screaming and couldn't breath and hear those terrible cries? Was it okay for parents to be told one thing in one room and the kids another thing in another room, tearing them apart and creating lifelong distrust within those families???

Riddile KNEW all those things were occurring to those kids on HIS watch and did NOTHING to stop it.

Who gives a shit WHAT your motives are in asking such a 'chip on your shoulder' type  question. Musta got your ass kicked a few times in school huh?

We'll be staying on top of getting this story out. Mel has gotten a lot of "recognition" and has stepped across many people's backs to get to where he is now. Mel doesn't seem to want to even say he is sorry for what went on in Straight, I imagine he never even wanted it brought up. He still can come forward, be a man, and say he's sorry whenever he wants to.

[Antigen]

On 2005-11-18 06:39:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I have a question:



What could Mel Riddile do to repent in your eyes?  He obviously has moved on and is receiving praise for his work, so what does he need to do to clear himself from your shitlist or is that impossible to do?  Can anyone really ever be forgiven by people here?



"

How about an apology? That would be a good start. But noooooo! The Riddiler's not the least bit sorry. Unless this reporter misquoted him, the term he chose was "proud". Mel Riddile is PROUD of what he did.

Now then, that would be no concern of mine all these years later, except for one really disturbing little detail. He is in a position of authority over a whole lot of kids. I want some assurance that he's not sneaking some of them out the back door to the latest incarnation of the Program by way of his disciplinary and intervention policies.

Can he do that? Would it really be too damned much to ask him to just fucking admit, publicly, that he was wrong, retract his many past statements, apologize to those he hurt and give some assurance that he's changed his ways?

There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is
proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in
everlasting ignorance- that principle is contempt prior to investigation.
--Herbert Spencer

[Anonymous]

Thank you JMA and Carmel. Excellent breakdown of the articles weaknesses, JMA. One more thing.

The articles note that one young client won an initial verdict of $220,000 in damages in 1983 after complaining of being detained for more than four months in a Straight facility in Springfield.

Fred Collins was not "one young client". I told Jay Mathews that, and it is clearly stated in the original Post article. Fred Collins was a LEGAL ADULT who was kidnapped and held against his will, at Straight, Inc. when Mel Riddile was the Program Director. Mathews KNOWS the real story, he is a piss poor reporter. His whole article is a lie. Excuse me while I call the ombudsman at the Washington Post.

You can call the Post too if you want. 202-334-6000. That's the main number. Mike Semel is the editor of the "Virginia" section in which Jay Mathews is allowed to write lies about child abuse. I already called the New York Times, they said to call the Post ombudsman. Maybe Radley Balko or Mark Levine or John Gorenfeld would like to know about this. JMA, I say send your write-up to those three guys. The Washington Post lies and covers up child abuse.

Oops! We aren't all beaten down anymore. heh heh. Trouble makin' druggies.

[Antigen]

On 2005-11-18 07:21:00, Carmel wrote:

http://scott.eeltank.com/content/view/1321/180/

Ok now! There are, evidently, two of them.

http://www.fcnp.com/445/protest.htm

I wonder if Scott and Arash know each other? I wonder if they'd get confronted and somehow punished for cliquiing if they were seen talking together?

If two different kids have made the mainstream w/ essentially the same complaints, how many others are there who are too scared to complain or just think it's easier to humor the lunatics and not make waves?

I honestly think there's a story here.

HOWEVER! There is nothing to be gained by scolding Jay Mathews or attibuting bad intent to him. He likely didn't read a lot of that email. He's disinclined to find "dirt" on his assigned hero. It's not what he does for a living, he's a cheerleader who writes warm and glowing human interest fluff pieces. Hey, it takes all kinds, not saying that's a bad thing to do. But I wish he'd pass this along to the hard nosed, coffee swilling, chain smoking investigative reporters in his organization.

But, if he doesn't, that's ok. Just go to the washpost website, look up contact infor for their city desk, their education reporters and other relavent departments an contact themselves (politely, please!) with the info you have.

It NEVER pays to piss off someone who buys ink by the barrel. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

The weavers of linen and hempen cloth, ... may exercise their trades without paying any fine.
-- Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations (chapter X, part II) notes:

[Anonymous]

No, Ginger, sorry, but you are wrong on this one. The Fred Collins detail says it all. Let me quote Jay Mathews again:

The articles note that one young client won an initial verdict of $220,000 in damages in 1983 after complaining of being detained for more than four months in a Straight facility in Springfield.

Here Jay Mathews gives an inaccurate representation of the Post's very own new coverage from the 1980's. Again, Fred was not "one young client", he was a LEGAL ADULT. He was kidnapped and detained against his will, and he won a court case. Jay Mathews is grossly inaccurate at best in his reporting. If the Post allows reporters to misrepresent what the Post has already published, tell you what, the first thing I think of is 1984 and changing the truth.

Don't whitewash the truth yourself by apologizing for Jay Mathews not reading the email I sent to him. I am quite certain this story had plenty of attention and time before it went to press. This was no oversight or carelessness on the part of a fluffy little reporter puppy stumbling around over his own big paws. Oh wait, now you got me feeling bad for getting the puppy in trouble for all the piss dribbling around in his article. Maybe you're right, it's not his fault he can't lift his leg like a grown dog yet.

We are talking about CHILD ABUSE here. The Washington Post should put a wolf on the story.

And I think everyone here is a grown-up, and does not need to be told by any other grown-up how to act in the world.

Besides, I lived in the D.C. area, trust me, the way I talk to these people is unbelievably friendly compared to what they get on the phone all day. And, mommy, I was very polite to Jay Mathews before he printed that schlock, and I have not said a damn thing to him since then. But good for whoever has said a damn thing. He should get heat from both sides, not just bask in the evil hot breath of a presidentially recognized child abuser.

[Antigen]

I would imagine that he asked the Riddiler about it and that's the answer he got. No doubt, he's being intentionally obtuse here. He wants to believe and he does.

But what purpose is to be served by standing him up and having a come down rap here?

Just write to the editors and, coolly, levelly fill them in on the facts of the matter. That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying it's good or right that people who should care simply don't. I'm just saying get used to it and learn how to deal with them in a way that gets what we want, which is the story in front of a real journalist who smells a Pulitzer.

I cannot believe in the immortality of the soul.... No, all this talk of an existence for us, as individuals, beyond the grave is wrong. It is born of our tenacity of life -- our desire to go on living -- our dread of coming to an end.
--Thomas Edison, American inventor

_________________
Drug war POW
Straight, Sarasota
`80 - `82

[Anonymous]

On 2005-11-18 14:51:00, Antigen wrote:

"I would imagine that he asked the Riddiler about it and that's the answer he got. No doubt, he's being intentionally obtuse here. He wants to believe and he does.



But what purpose is to be served by standing him up and having a come down rap here?



Just write to the editors and, coolly, levelly fill them in on the facts of the matter. That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying it's good or right that people who should care simply don't. I'm just saying get used to it and learn how to deal with them in a way that gets what we want, which is the story in front of a real journalist who spells a Pulitzer.

I cannot believe in the immortality of the soul.... No, all this talk of an existence for us, as individuals, beyond the grave is wrong. It is born of our tenacity of life -- our desire to go on living -- our dread of coming to an end.
--Thomas Edison, American inventor

"

You're right.

The Washington Post is part of the real world. In the real world people who want something done ask nicely or are told to kindly bug off.

We're not in Straight anymore.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-11-18 15:38:00, Anonymous wrote:
You're right.

The Washington Post is part of the real world. In the real world people who want something done ask nicely or are told to kindly bug off.

We're not in Straight anymore.

Class dismissed.

[Anonymous]

Y'all are morons. Jay Mathews whitewashed the story. He congratulated a child abuser not once, but twice. He lied in an article, or to a someone who called him to be a source, this has not yet been determined. He does not deserve to be called a reporter or journalist or anything. Therefore, no need for respect anymore. The Washington Post can grow up and get out of Straight itself. Shame on them.

Quit abusing Straight survivors by saying they are like they are still in Straight. Fornits is not Straight, fighting the good fight is not Straight. It ain't a fucking come down rap to call a child abuse apologist a child abuse apologist. Everyone isn't going to take your style, everyone isn't going to see this the same way. Y'all wanna join a fornits cult of agreeing and smiling and so on, suit yourselves. You got people willing to actually make phone calls and write letters and dig up information, leave them alone.

You think nobody can handle the truth? Come on, look at who has been really popular, it is the people willing to say things on their own terms: Hunter S. Thompson, Michael Moore, Larry Flynt and so on. What about our own gal down in Florida. What's her name. Lee De Cesare. Bugger off you don't like the way I say things. Mathews is a little puppy who dribbles piss poor articles on the Post.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-11-18 17:08:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Y'all are morons. Jay Mathews whitewashed the story. He congratulated a child abuser not once, but twice. He lied in an article, or to a someone who called him to be a source, this has not yet been determined. He does not deserve to be called a reporter or journalist or anything. Therefore, no need for respect anymore. The Washington Post can grow up and get out of Straight itself. Shame on them.



Quit abusing Straight survivors by saying they are like they are still in Straight. Fornits is not Straight, fighting the good fight is not Straight. It ain't a fucking come down rap to call a child abuse apologist a child abuse apologist. Everyone isn't going to take your style, everyone isn't going to see this the same way. Y'all wanna join a fornits cult of agreeing and smiling and so on, suit yourselves. You got people willing to actually make phone calls and write letters and dig up information, leave them alone.



You think nobody can handle the truth? Come on, look at who has been really popular, it is the people willing to say things on their own terms: Hunter S. Thompson, Michael Moore, Larry Flynt and so on. What about our own gal down in Florida. What's her name. Lee De Cesare. Bugger off you don't like the way I say things. Mathews is a little puppy who dribbles piss poor articles on the Post. "

Thank you!

And now watch the pedophiles and prostraightlings who come here tell you that you need a medcart or that 'it's all a big conspiracy'. It's all they have is their lies and stupid fallacies and they can't face the unexxagerated truth. You will never get truth out of these people here simply because they want your money to give you edited documents, and even then this story of Straight is sooo long gone that documents that you DO get may be simply altered and untraceable by years. Straight is over with and the fucking child pussy and ass fuckers like Richard and Melvin Sembler want it to stay just that way. As long as they are alive Straight will never have its day in court. My solution is for you to kill people like Richard for his pedophilia that continues to this very second. Why, the moment he reads this he is already thinking of ways to shuck and jive and manipulate and keep on fucking his fuck buddy Wes.

[Anonymous]

Bust this reporters balls and send his editor some letters...





> I emailed this to this extra credit guy today. I am really angry!
> When are these animals going to face the music?
>
> Rich
>
>
>
> Dear Sir,
> I read your reply to Mr Earnshaw and was flabbergasted by your
> response. Dr Riddle orchestrated my kidnapping from St. Petersburg
> Florida to Springfield Virginia in 1982. I was transported across
> state lines against my will. I was 18 years old and held prisoner
at
> Straight Inc. I know the man who sued Straight and was there with
> him during our imprisonment. Last time I checked that is called
> kidnapping and has no statute of limitations. According to my
> attorney what happened at Straight Inc. was nothing short of
> widespread systematic government endorsed brain washing and child
> abuse. I ask you to tell the whole truth not






 news paper filler.
> Investigate don't propagate spin doctored dis-information. This
> story has many layers like an onion. Except the closer you get to
> the core the more rotten it gets.
>
> Dr.Riddle may have done a great job at the High School however
that
> can't ever erase the damage that he and his co workers caused to
me
> personally and can't bring back the kids who killed them selves as
a
> result of being in Straight Inc. I currently suffer from PTSD
(Post
> Traumatic Stress Disorder) a diagnosis like that does not just
> happen all by its self. According to my therapist it is a direct
> result of Straight Inc. Over twenty years later I still have
> constant anxiety, night terrors and depression. All of these are a
> direct result of my imprisonment at Straight Inc under the "care"
of
> Dr.Riddle. I quote your response to Mr Earnshaw "But according to
> the information I received from both you and Riddle, he was never
> sued or charged with any crime. Nor did you or any of the other
> sources you cited ever witness him do anything wrong." I have... I
> am living proof of his crimes. Some day in the near future he will
> be held accountable for his indifference and lack of morality.
>
> Good Day
>
> Rich

[Cayo Hueso]

On 2005-11-18 17:08:00, Anonymous wrote:

 Jay Mathews whitewashed the story. He congratulated a child abuser not once, but twice.

That may be true but that doesn't seem to be your true beef here.  Once again, it's the Straight spies on here.

It ain't a fucking come down rap to call a child abuse apologist a child abuse apologist.

It is when you refuse time and time again to provide any kind of proof of this.

You got people willing to actually make phone calls and write letters and dig up information, leave them alone.

Yeah, and most of them are the people that you contiually slam.

Don't hate the media. Become the media

--Jello Biafra