I see both sides, and you for some reason cannot? You're starting to come across to me as a cruel insensitive jerk. There is no way in hell that you are an actual parent. You are employed by these programs to defend them in forums such as these.
Then how do you explain my brother? Check him out; Thom and Arrogant Bastard, maybe one or two more that I don't recall. Then there's his dear, dear old friend "Ft. Lauderdale", who was on staff at the Seed in Ft. Lauderdale some years ago and who's name we dare not mention.
Not saying Who isn't making money on the industry, I'm pretty sure he is. But I think he thinks he's making an honest living, provided you use the program definition of the word. It's the zealotry that drives the compulsion as well as career and financial choices, not the other way around. I'm convinced of it, even in cases like Newton. Take, for example, Castle's ebay auction (I think it's over on Open Free for All) You think the AA head who made that comment was paid to do it? Hell, I love arguing w/ Stepcraft zombies when I need to take out a little aggression. I've had several so worked up I honestly feared that they'd turn up at my door and beat me senseless with a hard bound, large print edition of the Big Book.
Look, I'm not saying this to excuse Who or anyone else. It's not mine to judge another human being. Not too sure there's a sentient entity kind of "lord" who's it is to judge people, but I'm pretty certain I'm not. So any moral judgment on my part would be mute anyway.
My point is this; Who and folks like them are examples of how damned
effective the Therapeutic Community method can be sometimes. Not the least bit therapeutic nor conducive to community building, but I know people who have been drinking the kool aid and not come up for air for over 30 years.
Think about that, now parents, next time the abstract thought crosses your mind that maybe your kid could use a little brainwashing.... and anyone else, too, who may be tempted to take up Stepcraft yourself. Sometimes the effects are pretty much irreversible.
