General Interest > Tacitus' Realm

Wow, obama is going to win

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Anonymous:

--- Quote from: "psy" ---Save a child's life? Are you implying such a hypothetical kid was an immediate danger to himself or others. If that was the case, most schools would exclude enrollment on that basis (most schools generally have sections in their contracts to this effect... if you can find one that that doesn't, i'd be interested in hearing of it). So this means that most kids in program are, by the program's own standards, not an immediate danger to themselves or others. In this case, the APA would agree with me that such a placement would be inappropriate.
--- End quote ---
Yes!!  Only seconds to live lol.  You are so dramatic,Michael.  We should kidnap them and drag them to the nearest Gulag and torture them so they wont die!  LOL

--- Quote --- Furthermore. I truly believe that none of these places actually help kids. Even the "good" ones. There is no evidence to show that residential treatment works, and although we can share anecdotal evidence all day going one way or the other, it's not conclusive at all.
--- End quote ---
So either side is correct or wrong depending how you want to perceive it since it is not conclusive.

--- Quote ---That being said, the fact that there are few, if any, pro-program graduates on this site (which allows all people) says a lot to me... which is not even to mention the surveys of Allison Pinto.
--- End quote ---
I dont believe many pro program people are going to tell their stories here after reading what is posted here.  But look at the sheer volume of kids going through these programs and then at the few who post negative comment here.  Even if we took the few I bet a very small minority, if any of them, talked about Gulags, kidnapping and torture before they came to fornits.  Its a learned language that is taught here.  Look at some of the regulars early posts and then the way they speak now.


--- Quote --- Well. I've never met a parent whose first stop has been Fornits or any other forum allowing criticism of the industry. It's a matter of search keywords. Google "troubled teen" and see how many critical site you find. A parent doesn't end up on Fornits unless they have already contacted an ed-con, is considering a particular school, and has googled that particular school.
--- End quote ---
You avoid my question.  

--- Quote --- That question is leading. See my point above on the effectiveness of residential treatment.
--- End quote ---
Avoided another.


--- Quote --- Yes, i'm aware of that. All that proves shows to me is that parents cant just look at watchlists or one organization to consider a program "safe".
--- End quote ---
Yes, the word “bad” or “Good” is very subjective each person or website has their own interpretation and they may be wrong.   I remember a certain person jumping down my throat for not referring parents to isaccorp.  A parent reviewing isaccorp would find it safe to send their child to FFS where fornits describes it as the worse place on the face of this planet.  

--- Quote ---With all the bad programs out there, while there might be a hypothetical "safe" program, it's impossible to tell the difference. It's like trying to find the one fresh apple in a cartload of rotten ones. The cultic influence of Synanon, Est, and LifeSpring (among others) is that taint which has rotten the whole bunch. Sadly it spreads. Cultic groups are like a cancer for which there is no chemo.
--- End quote ---
That is why parents seek out Educational Consultants (as they should) to guide them thru this mess.
 
--- Quote ---This industry can't be "cured. It's way past that point. The way I see it, the only solution is to put the patient down and end the entire industry. The economy will take care of most of the programs. Negative PR from this site and other will take care of the rest.
--- End quote ---
The better schools and programs will survive.  My boss says a  few good mom and pop places will be lost.  But in a bad economy it cant be helped.  Maybe they can get some of the bail out money.
Michael we are on opposite sides of the fence on this issue.  The only difference is I am open to the people I talk to and provide information from both sides.  You tend to think you have all the answers so you withold info which goes against your thinking.  I have met educational consultants who believe, like yourself, that parents should only be given filtered information which will persuade them to have their child placed.
I think they are wrong and you are wrong too.  Parents should be allowed to determine for themselves and we should be open with them.  You should give this some thought and think about providing parents with more than one point of view.

Anonymous:
Melanie Bilcik
 Reading others Testimonys about their experience at the Family Foundation brings back a lot of bad memories that I have tried to forget. I guess I thought I was just really bad or extra sensitive and didn't think anyone was affected as I was. It brings me so much peace to know that others had endured what I had (if that makes sense).
 
 I was at the FFS for 6 agonizing months. I honestly don't know how the people that were there for years lasted.
I always wondered how people let themselves get brainwashed in cults. It never made sense to me. I understand
now that the human mind is not always as strong as we want to believe.


 My parents finally found the FFS and thought it was the perfect place for me. To this day they do not want to believe how horrible the place was and how severe it damaged me. The FFS is very good at brainwashing everyone they come in contact with.

They convinced my parents that it was not a mental illness that caused me to act the way I did, it was the music and clothes I was
interested in. My parents threw out all my clothes, tapes, CD's, posters, basically everything I owned. They bought me new clothes that didn't fit right and I was not permitted to have any of my personal possesions like my journal.

My first day at the FFS was not bad. People were very nice to me and they didn't force me to eat anything I didn't want. I figured it was just like the other places I had been in, I would just be there longer. I was so wrong.

On my second day they still hadn't gotten me my psychiatric meds and I was getting very ill. I kept asking for my meds and they said that my meds were not a priority and I would get them when it was convenient for them.

I grew increasingly ill and was starting to have psychotic delusions but no one seemed to care. They would not let me call my parents to let them know what was happening. Had my parents known they were withdrawing my meds, my parents would have thrown a fit. Eventually they got me meds, but would not give them to me as prescribed. I was anything but mentally stable.

Two of the side effects of my meds was they made me gain weight and very tired. I was put on a trotting sanction(you have to jog everywhere and jog in place when you are standing)and brought up in front of the family and humilated by everyone. I had 20 kids and 5 staff call me lazy and fat and told I would never find a man to love me because I was so disgusting.


I started having nightmares because I was brought up in front of everyone to be more and more and humilated.

They would keep telling me I wasn't being honest about certain things, when I was. I was trying so hard and doing every thing they said so  the verbal abuse would stop but it only got worse.

You are not allowed to touch or look at the opposite sex but at dinner the seating was boy girl boy girl, and they put the seats so close together its almost impossible not to brush up against the person sitting next to you once and a while. The boys would tell staff I was touching them and that I creeped them out. I learned to not make eye contact with anyone and I was  terrified to look at anyone for fear they would say I was staring. I walked with my head down all the time.  


 Due to my nightmares and medication I was falling asleep in church(chapel was twice a day, once in the morning and once at night) and also in class. A group of girls and staff did an intervention with me and accused me of staying up all night masterbating because one girl heard me tossing and turning.  I was yelled at and told that they will always know when I masterbated because lust causes fatigue and if I was tired it meant I was masterbating all night. I denied it because it wasn't true but no one would talk to me and I was always yelled at for everything. I had to run around the building 2 times every morning and put on a work sanction to "wake me up". I eventually admitted to having a 'severe masterbatian' problem just so people would talk
to me.  

I was also assigned a junior sponser who was a tyrant. She followed me everywhere, constantly yelled at me and brought me up in front of the family and made up things just to humiliate me.

 Noting I did was ever good enough and I felt like I would never leave. My phone calls and mail were monitored so I couldn't tell my parents what was happening. I was forced to eat what made me sick as was everyone else.

I remember this one girl was a vegitarian when she came in and refused to eat meat. They made her sit in a corner until she ate her meal. She didn't eat anything for two days and when she finally gave in they made her eat the meat she refused two days ago. You had to eat everything on your plate, even if you were full. If you didn't you were put in the infamous corner. I was in the corner so many times I cant remember. You had to sit the corner, look down and couldnt talk to anyone. They also made me miss school to sit in the corner all day.

I missed more school in the FFS than when I was on home schooling. My education level did not improve
and I was failing classes. In FFS you had to get a B to pass.

I was getting more and more frustrated and whenever I showed the slightest sign of anger or depression I was rolled in a blanket and duct tape and thrown in the janitor closet alone for hours, one time a whole day. I couldn't use the rest room and was forced to urinate myself. When they saw what I had done they called me a disgusting pig and threw me in a scalding hot shower with my clothes on and threw insults at me.


The abuse was getting so bad that I was suicidal and started wetting my bed. I wasn't getting better at the FFS I was getting worse. I was forced to tell my parents how happy I was there.


 I ran away once and made it back to NYC. I took a bag of clothes with me and hitch hiked my way into town. I found a guy to
buy me a ticket to NJ (where I'm from. I had to switch buses in NYC and I lost all my street smarts. I was used to being in a cult
family like setting that I smiled at everyone and almost expected everyone to be safe. I was almost kidnapped by a guy who tried
to grab me but I got away.


 When I made it back home my mom drove me right back upstate. They didn't believe anything I told them and thought I was making it up. I tried to run away again about a month later. I was caught. Because I was 18 they were going to let
me go but I was not allowed to take anything with me but the clothes on my back. They said that everything I had belonged to my
parents and my parents wanted me at the FFS so I could not take anything because that would be stealing. I packed a bag anyway and Bob Runge grabbed, hit and wrestled me to the ground with two girls from my family. I was so mad that I broke his glasses which
I eventually had to pay for. I once again made it back home and was sent back.


My mental health was getting worse and I was developing severe stress disorder. One day I flipped out at the family and went to run out the back door.  A bunch of girls followed me and tackled me to the ground.  I blacked out and started choking my junior sponser
. A staff had to smother me and make me pass out to make me stop. I didn't realize what I was doing, I was just doing it. They sent a psychiatrist to evaluate me and I lied and said I thought about killing her all the time and was doing it on purpose so they would send me out. I got my way and was sent to a psych ward.

Upon leaving I developed severe anxiety disorder and didn't know how to socialize with others. I develpoed insominia and to this day I suffer with nightmares and am terrified in social situations.

My accounts may seem scattered but thats how my memories are. There is a lot I have
not mentioned because I do not want to make this a novel. I want to thank you for giving me the chance to tell my story to people who believe me. Up until now no one has believed me.

 I was almost sent to Elan in Maine after but thankfully they would not let anyone on meds be
admitted and my parents would not allow that.

 I am still in therapy and have moved to AZ, I graduated from college and now work with homeless youth.

psy:

--- Quote from: "KathyS" ---So either side is correct or wrong depending how you want to perceive it since it is not conclusive.
--- End quote ---

I've just invented a product. It's a secret recepie that only I know. It cures all illnesses.  Now I will market it as 97% sucessfull.  It's highly addictive and just might kill you, but those who it works for... they swear by it!

Point being that you're reversing the burden of proof.  In order to advertise something as working, it actually has to work.  Most of the staff at these places are unqualified and most of the "therapy" amounts to cult-derived quackery.  Like snake oil, it's some powerful shit... but it doesn't necessarily mean it's helpful.  It just means it's popular, which can be for all sorts of reasons, such as an illusion of efficacy.

Do parents ask you about effectiveness?  What do you say?

@Guest: Please stop posting those FFS testimonials over and over again.  We get the point, but it interferes with dialogue and Kathy is unlikely to care since she refers there and has already implied she sees such testimonial as untruthful and/or biased.

Why not ask her a question instead, such as "how do you dismiss all these allegations of abuse when they all describe similar occurrences?"

Anonymous:
KathyS, "edcon", thinks that Tony & Betty Argiros,  who did that to Melanie should not be in prison.

Rather, Kathys thinks they should continue to have young adults sent to them so they can hold them in 24/7 lock-down, without contact with the outside world, withuot oversight, with totalistic control of their prisoners.

Thank you for representing EdCons so accurately KAthyS.

Anonymous:

--- Quote from: "corned beef and sauerkraut" ---
--- Quote from: "Guest" ---KathyS is theWHO. To those too stupid to figure it out, well... you deserve to be trolled.
--- End quote ---

Oh I agree with you on this one, especially the last post. But I still think he got his sister involved to provide a believable other voice, especially in the beginning. It's not exactly without precedent here on fornits, to have multiple people posting under one "user name".
--- End quote ---
that would explain why thewho sounded so different every couple of weeks or so. In fact, he would go back and forth between sounding like Hal from 2001 A Space Odyssey, to rather like this twit.

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