A Question About Goals

[Anonymous]

Assuming we want to discredit, pinch, and ultimately bankrupt the Straight legacy in all of its present manifestations, why then is bringing Sembler and Newton to justice the best way to achieve this end? In other words, is their mutual downfall more useful than waging a campaign demanding accountability for the directors of contemporary institutions? If the answers are common knowledge, forgive me. I?m new to this forum. Less than a month ago, I had no idea who either man was, even though nearly a year of my adolescence was spent in one of their institutions.

[Anonymous]

You're assuming that there is an organized group that is after them.  There's not.  Its each person doing what they feel they need to do for their own reasons whatever those may be.

Miller owes millions of dollars to a few former inmates who were awarded judgements or settlements, literally millions.  He filed for bankruptcy to avoid payment and now it seems that there is a fraud issue with the bankruptcy (hidden or fraudulently trasferred properties from what I've read).  

If it were ever proven in a court that Mel had knowledge of the day to days at Seed/Straight that would be a huge step towards making people aware of how prevalent this has become in society.  Think about it, a 2 time ambassador with questionable appointments to those positions who has major influence over drug policy and who continues to boast about all the good work he's done on behalf of kids.  He's already gone from slapping all his great work at Straight all over his resume and every bio that's done on him to backpeddaling and saying 'well, I wasn't really involved in the day to day stuff so I had no idea what was going on'.  If the media were to run with that it would open up many more avenues for those that want to speak out and be heard.  Since most of the decendant programs work virtually identically to their anscestors people will be better informed of how many of them there are and how dangerous they are.

I think there's room for each of us to do what we feel is necessary in whatever way we choose.

[PhasedOut]

How connected are they with the many facilities in operation now?

[Anonymous]

It's a question of which ones you're talking about.  Start here   http://thestraights.com/the-straights/t ... hts-fc.htm

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2620

http://www.thestraights.com/articles/ki ... innati.htm

and look how eerie this is   http://wcpo.com/wcpo/localshows/iteam/92a2f60.html


If you start back at what appears to be the originator of all the Theraputic Community bullshit then you go directly back to Synanon and Chuck Dederich (sp?)   http://thestraights.com/theprogram/synanon-story2.htm  and CEDU (Charles E. Dederich University  http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... t=0#157781  ) and so on and so on.   Start digging around, you'll be amazed.

[Anonymous]

But what is the likelihood of bringing down such well-financed and connected individuals? And, back to my original question, wouldn't it be more advantageous to expose the abuses in current institutions? I know work is being done, but it pales in comparison to the smear campaigns and lawsuits directed against these nearly untouchable men. And they're as likely to suffer for their crimes as Donald Rumsfeld for the abuses at Abu Graab.

[Anonymous]

I guess it all boils down to a matter of opinion.  I think there's been progress made and I think there's more to come.  For the first time ever Mel and Betty are forced to deal with their past period and in a court of law to boot.  I think that's progress.  Miller is having to answer to charges of bankruptcy fraud and has been stopped time and again from working with kids.  I think that's progress.  They're not as untouchable as you think.  No, I don't think that anything we've done, or will do will result in criminal charges or anything like that but they're not made of teflon either.  Again, its each person doing what they feel they need to.  I don't agree with what everyone does or how they choose to try and make a difference (or if they don't for that matter, no one is under any obligation to do anything as far as I'm concerned), but I don't think its my place to knock what they're doing.  I'm not speaking for any "we", just myself.

[Anonymous]

It's hard for me to relate to the Miller/Sembler attacks because I was never abused by them directly. Orders to torture issue from the top down, I realize. I should want to see them fall. I should, for the abuse I suffered ?inadvertently? at their behest, desire nothing short of their annihilation. But I can think of so many other individuals on the C.O.C. who conspired to tuck me away: school administrators, the PTA, the program director. The people filling their shoes now are guilty of complicity, as these people were then. So many community "pillars" are responsible for this nightmare. Could they be able to continue hiding because of the intense focus on the biggest fish?

[Anonymous]

On 2005-12-29 14:34:00, Anonymous wrote:

"It's hard for me to relate to the Miller/Sembler attacks because I was never abused by them directly.

Then don't try.

I should want to see them fall.

Says who?  Again, this is an individual thing.  

 

But I can think of so many other individuals on the C.O.C. who conspired to tuck me away: school administrators, the PTA, the program director. The people filling their shoes now are guilty of complicity, as these people were then. So many community "pillars" are responsible for this nightmare. Could they be able to continue hiding because of the intense focus on the biggest fish?"

Well then you do what you think is appropriate and others can enjoy the freedom to do the same.  This isn't a group effort here.  No one is responsible for anyone else's actions or well being.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps I'm disappointed that it's not a group effort. Again, this is all new to me. But what if only a fraction of us retreated from this forum and put our collective strength, knowledge, and skills together? Think about this scattered energy directed, focused, and redirected towards a set of actual goals. Did I just write that? It?s hard to even posit such a notion without sounding presumptuous. It?s every individual against Goliath? Well, my faith in numbers is greater than my faith in the isolated activist slicing away in the dark.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-12-29 16:53:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Perhaps I'm disappointed that it's not a group effort. Again, this is all new to me. But what if only a fraction of us retreated from this forum and put our collective strength, knowledge, and skills together?

Its being done.  Look around at some of the other sites.  
http://www.ficausa.com/
http://www.isaccorp.org/
http://thestraights.com/index.htm
http://www.alternet.org/story/27725/
http://radioinsidescoop.com/mt-posts-ar ... 00506.html

Think about this scattered energy directed, focused, and redirected towards a set of actual goals. Did I just write that? It?s hard to even posit such a notion without sounding presumptuous. It?s every individual against Goliath? Well, my faith in numbers is greater than my faith in the isolated activist slicing away in the dark.     "

Then by all means, organize your own group and go for it.  Getting everyone to agree on what the right approach should be is going to be difficult.  We are all different with differing life experiences.   We don't all respond or react the same.  People that want to do the things that ISAC does do that, people that want to go at it in the manner that Straights.com does do that.  I don't really think I'm disagreeing with much of the sentiment of what you're saying.  I don't necessarily agree with everything that Sammie or Rich or Wes or anyone else does or says, but each has brought something valuable to the table.  You think Sammie is over the top, fine.  You may be right, but she sure does draw attention.  Not always good but people pay attention and then start to look a little further.  Then they might find Wes' site and take some info from there.  Then FICA then Fornits etc.  

We've all got our place in this.  If yours happens to be on the same page as some others, great.  Organize and go for it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the links. I know there are many people working on this. But I'm new to the scene and am burning for a formula. I'm also frustrated by reality and therefore searching for a task. I promised myself years ago, while wasting away in the program, that I would one day work towards freeing just one kid like myself. But now I'm seeing the kinds of obstacles that were there all along, and am searching for the security of a checklist and a sweeping, organized movement.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of us have felt that way.  Unfortunately it just doesn't appear to be realistic.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-12-29 18:00:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I think a lot of us have felt that way.  Unfortunately it just doesn't appear to be realistic.  "

I know, I agree ::boohoo::  ::mecry::

[Antigen]

On 2005-12-29 14:34:00, Anonymous wrote:

 I can think of so many other individuals on the C.O.C. who conspired to tuck me away: school administrators, the PTA, the program director. The people filling their shoes now are guilty of complicity, as these people were then. So many community "pillars" are responsible for this nightmare. Could they be able to continue hiding because of the intense focus on the biggest fish?

I'm with ya on the grand conspiracy. But I don't think bringing attention to the poster boys of the industry is really going to help anyone hide. Really, they bring lots of attention to themselves by acting in the public and private sectors. They just don't like to talk about the other side of it.

Especially Sembler. Sembler is close to the White House. I didn't put him there. Frankly, I was dumbfounded to find out that these sadistic lunatics are actually in positions of responsibility of any kind. I thought they all wound up sad little leaders of little fringy cults or went back on recall to the secret underground base out in Nevada where they clone them.

And then I think well wtf, Sembler made his millions building strip malls anchored on big box stores and Jack Eckard's McPharmacies right over top of Mainstreets all over the nation. The Program seems a logical next step. You know, to deal with the ungrateful little bastards who don't apreciate all he's done for us already.

And this system of ours evidently favors bastards like him. Therefore, he wins the prize of Celebrity. I think that when people think of him, especially when he brags about Straight, they ought to know what he's talking about. I don't care if he gets sued or has a pleasant and peaceful life fully cloistered in his delusions of nobel grandure. I only want to get people thinking, talking and better understanding what kind of people these are.

On 2005-12-29 16:53:00, Anonymous wrote:

 It?s every individual against Goliath? Well, my faith in numbers is greater than my faith in the isolated activist slicing away in the dark.     "

No, like anon said. This forum is not an activist organization. It's just a venue for discussion. Think of it as your favorite biker bar. Great place to come and be sometimes. And ppl do sometimes put their heads together and embark on a project after meeting up here. Often, if you're looking for needed info about any part of the industry, this is a great place to ask directions. Just don't mind the trolls.

If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil
deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060007761/circlofmiamithem' target='_new'>Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

[Antigen]

On 2005-12-29 12:47:00, PhasedOut wrote:

"How connected are they with the many facilities in operation now? "

Now there's a good question. I don't know the whole answer, as they sure don't want it known. But here's a snapshot of a couple of the sadistic bastards in collusion w/ Ohio Governor Taft's office a couple of years ago. Ask Shelby for documentation tying ODADAS and TAFT directly to KHK.
http://fornits.com/anonanon/docs/Forbes/
(both them reports are good, but don't miss the 40+ page pdf report by Forbes (linked from the index under 'ohio') for the nitty gritty, featuring DFAF exec, Calvina Fay, right in the middle of all the action).

They've distanced themselves somewhat (or obfuscated the ties) to the warehouses. It's more like those 'we're going to take over the world' raps in action.

Is uniformity [of opinion] attainable? Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites.
http://lfb.com/?stocknumber=FF7485&code=10247' target='_new'>Thomas Jefferson