This is a good barometer of how serious the radical gang of one (2 or 3) is that has recently swamped this forum.
It is, however, the only vehicle available to "save kids" and "stop these people" from whatever.
I do think it is misplaced, it belongs on the Straight forum, as Mel Sembler et al have more to fear from public opinion than any of the principals at the Seed.
I promised myself I would stay out of here but this post is the only intelligent thing I see on here lately worth of a response. I don't think even Sembler, et al. has much to fear from public opinion anymore as anyone who cares already knows about him and he lives his life in the upper echelon of society where public opinion is a mere inconvenience. The real battleground is in the current programs.
I would say this. I understand the anger that people feel when they have buried this stuff and then it percolates to the surface. Not only do I understand it I have experienced it first hand. I just processed it differently and luckily was able to get over it without harming myself. This anger was indeed the inspiration for the seed discussion forum.
I am fortunate enough to have gone thru this quite a few years ago when only a handfull of us were on the internet talking it thru. Those conversations can be found somewhere on fornits archived from a prior bulletin board that Ginger and Wes (may he rest in peace) set up. I was maybe the 7th or so person to the party. We all from all parts of the country decided to channel our outrage onto a current program in Orlando, showed up with homemade signs (my older daughter and I spent all night making signs). I found my best use was talking to the parents in a rational manner and noticed that when people raged, they just shrugged it off. Things just started snowballing from there. We used to spend hours every day going from forum to forum on the internet talking about this stuff, chasing news articles and telling people what was going on. Even still, I never wanted to moderate this forum but with steady prodding from Ginger and with an idea I had, that I could create a different type of forum from the rest of Fornits that actually brought in real answers from the insiders, nutured all who came in to talk and allowed a real conversation instead of a shouting match, encouraged debate instead of attacks and gave people a chance to heal instead of just vent. The conversations that ensued were only part of it. I had people VERY close to Art Barker calling me and sending me things, tellling me stories that led me down paths I had no idea existed , and generally fascinating me to no end. Ginger, for all her flaws (and mine, and all of ours) has steadfastly, thru personal tragedy, thru thick and thin, committed to keeping this place up. She is the real reason so much attention is now focused on these programs. So there you have it, the reason this forum exists, and the reason the current programs are catching so much heat, A small group of people talking on the internet, and a middle aged lady who is committed to shine a light on the teen help industry and those inspired by the conversations and revelations that have come out of these forums.
Back to the anger. The trick is to channel the negative energy into something constructive. Is attacking people you don't know and that are pretty much untouchable constructive? I don't think so. Is attacking people who may have also been misguided and are trying to live out their lives in peace and do good in the world constructive? Not in my book. Is a recoverable lawsuit against the Seed or any of its participants likely? No. Way too much time has gone by and the courts aren't friendly to these lawsuits anyway. I sat in federal court at the request of a kid and his mom for moral support and watched a clear case of current abuse get dismissed. The kid afterall was a 'druggie who needed help' and claims of cult, abuse, etc were dismissed out of hand. How will that change? Certainly not by trolling a forum. Is violent imagery lending credibility to your position, whether it is satirical or not? Of course not. In addition to making you look crazy, it makes the entire totalitarity of all critics look sketchy. That is why I believe someone thinks the trolling may be an attempt to discredit the forum. I don't. I think it is genuine rage that needs addressing. I don't think it is healthy at all and wish peace on those that are doing it. I also wish they would stop and not for my benefit. With knowledge comes responsibility, and the responsible thing to do is educate others on this topic , not repulse them.
The real battleground for people who want to do something constructive is in the current programs and the recently closed programs, and unless you are a very special person, this really isn't our battle. We do howver play a very critical role in understanding just what exactly is going on, and To that end our collective experiences are very important. We were the first victims of this system, the first synanon type program (en mass) designed for children. As such, we have an important story to tell and a responsibility to tell it in a way that doesn't sound like sour grapes. By doing the right things, we can and have discredited these programs to the point of them shutting down , instead of just discrediting ourselves. By doing the wrong things we can make things worse for the people who are in a position of recovery against a current or recent program.
If we are to tell an important story and pass the torch to people who really have a battle to fight, we need credibility. That is lacking currently. I could care less who these people are who are trolling the forum, whether they sing good or look goofy on youtube or really are lawyers , writing, or whatever. That is not my concern. My concern is and was the message and inspiration this forum provided for people who were involved with the seed and provides for many of the people carrying the torch forward. As it stands no one could take this forum seriously anymore. I don't care who likes or dislikes "Gregfl" or who wishes me or my family harm. These are nameless people on the internet and I fear none. I do care for what happened to our forum but am powerless to fix it. For that I am sorry.
