Six conditions are simultaneously present in a thought reform program: (margaret singer)
* obtaining substantial control over an individual's time and thought content, typically by gaining control over major elements of the person's social and physical environment,
* systematically creating a sense of powerlessness in the person,
* manipulating a system of rewards, punishment. and experiences in such a way as to promote new learning of an ideology or belief system advocated by management,
* manipulating a system of rewards, punishments, and experiences in such a way as to inhibit observable behavior that reflects the values and routines of life organization the individual displayed prior to contact with the group,
* maintaining a closed system of logic and an authoritarian structure in the organization and
* maintaining a non-informed state existing in the subject.
ASR does all of these things!
A young boy who has been home schooled enters the local public school system. Around 10:00 he gets up to go to the boys room. On the way a hall monitor (this is a person who snitches on his peers and got the position because he has been brainwashed to believe all the rules are important) asks him for a hall pass and he doesn?t understand and is quickly escorted to the principal?s office where he is told he must ask permission to leave his class room and that he will have to report to detention (held against his will) after school, where he will be denied access to his family (isolation), miss his bus ride home and was told he cant bring any of his friends with him, nor can he listen to music. On the way back to class he stops at his locker and grabs his lunch which he starts to eat in class. The teacher promptly asks him what he is doing. He explains that in his family they eat at 11:00am and he asked to stand and the teachers asks the class to explain to him what time we eat here at ?Public High?. We eat as a group at 11:30 and everyone laughs (Public humiliation). He finds that he cant speak in class, cant talk to his friends, listen to music, cant get out of his desk or leave the building. The next day he is denied access to school (denied and education) because he is wearing a brown hooded sweat shirt that his grandmother gave him and is told to ask his parents to come in to meet with the principal before he may return.
The next day , in History class, the teacher calls his name and is asked what he is reading. The boy responds that he is reading a book on history and holds it up. The teacher laughs and says you cant get away with that crap here, the asks ?But why??, the teacher responds, ?That?s not the book that has been assigned for you to read?. I want you to go home and write a 1,000 word essay on why you shouldn?t choose your own books in class, which will cause him to loose more family time and incur further isolation?
?
This was just his first 2 days?..who do you think will end up conforming to rules and regulations imposed on him against his will? His reward will be less public humiliation, working his way up to hall monitor, learning to not ask questions and just follow the rules as they are told to you, snitching on your friends will be rewarding in the teachers eyes?.this is a Public School!!!!
Well, that's a pretty long winded answer designed, I suspect, to throw the attention off of the real questions that were put to you. The more you "extoll the virtues" of ASR, the more you put up red flags for us. The kinds of isolation, system of punishment/reward, the ostrization (sp?) of family members that don't meet up to ASR's standards and are then banned from all forms of communication with the student, the ostrization of other friends they may have made inside ASR.(bans)...............is ALL DANGEROUS.......to anyone, let alone kids who are in their most formative, developmental and susceptible years. It is crucial that they have not only family support, (I know
you have been bushwhacked into believing that there is "family involvement", but you're wrong.) ASR and even most likely the grads are still afraid or aprehensive at the least to talk about it in its entirety. You also seem to justify what we, and other professionals say about this isolative, confrontative "therapy" as something that's needed. You're wrong again.
You seem to have
somewhat of a grasp of what goes on there (granted, maybe not ALL of the abusive crap) and you seem to be completely fine with it.
I hope someday when your daughter realizes what was done to her she'll have more forgiveness for you than you've had for her.
Remember the story I told you about my dad. For the first few years after I got out he was thrilled with me. I told him how much I hated being there, but knew it was the best decision for me. Once I woke up out of the fog I ended all communication with him. It's now taken me over 6 years to even
try to build some kind of relationship with him....and so far it's superficial at best. He was fine with met telling thim that I didn't blame him, he was duped just like the rest, but once he had been indoctrinated, I was lost to him. After I began refecting the Straight teachings, he kicked me out of his home becaue I got pregnant (by another grad). So there I was, pregnant, dad pulling the "tough love' crap and saying that I couldn't live with him. He then
immediately got on the phone with my mom and told her not to take me in. (Mom was/is so weak emotionally that she just did whatever he told her, truly believing she was doing the right thing.) I hold no animosity towards my mom. She tried to speak up but was confronted to the point of dissolving into tears in a parent rap. She doesn't come well with that sort of shit, so she just crumbled and gave in) I'm hoping for more with my dad, but don't expect it. As I said, he's a lot like you.
