The Proliferation of These Thought Reform Joints

[capn' obvious]

For years, I've thought mine, and thousands of others @ Straight Inc., was a unique experience in brainwashing/thought reform. After reading  the endless lists of such places on these boards w/ different names and faces, (I can't even keep up w/ them) I start to go numb. It doesn't matter which 'program' or 'specialty school'  has a post about it, they all have so much in common.....'hey, let's try this on 'em----see what happens'....WTF is wrong with us?....I'm ashamed of (personally) even any 'half-assed' involvement in one of these places (early 80's)
Being a Wikipedia addict, I can't even find these other places on the site. That is telling to me. You read about (or experience) one, you already know about the other.

[Anonymous]

A propaganda pumping media machine that shovels garbage into your head 24/7.
so turn off your tv and radio. unless you think the govt is sending signals directly into your brain?

The dumbing down of American Children through revisionist history and control of Education.
so educate yourself. you can homeschool your kid, or re-educate yourself as an adult. there is no control of education.

Mandatory Vaccinations-Autism
proven false by science. do you believe in science? because if you believe this conspiracy, you have to chalk it up to "Faith".

Psychiatric drugging of Children
the govt doesnt drug kids, parents do. do you think medicating children should be made illegal? many kids are helped by medication.

Drugging of Foster Children in staggering amounts.
thats because they need help the most.

The food we eat.
becaue it's regulated? or do you think it's poisoned? or what?


Yes throw in all of the programs and psych hospitals.
would you rather that mentally ill people wander the streets, as in the past?


Jails and the Prison Industry
if someone raped and killed your child, what would you suggest to do with them? slap on the wrist and let them go?


Laws and Legislation
so you are an anarchist? no laws at all? what about programs, don't you want laws against that? and what about medication, didn't you want to outlaw medicating kids?

The Manipulation of the Economy
would you rather have wealthy barons controlling the markets? or have a set of rules everyone can live by.

I could go on for hours, but you get the big picture.
no, i don't get what you are saying. you just list a bunch of random ideas, and don't connect them together.

This is all done to make us compliant idiots, a whole nation of slaves.
i dont know any compliant idiots, or slaves. do you know what slavery was like? if you did, you might realize how ridiculous this comparison is. did you get whipped this morning for not picking cotton? did they sell your baby to the neighboring farm?

Critical Thinking is a crime.
when's the last time you were arrested for this?

You must assimilate to the Big Program run by the Big Money.
not true. go live in a trailer in the middle of the forest, nobody will care. what is the Big Program? lol

Good news is there are a handful of them and we are the brainwashed masses.
you might be brainwashed, but i dont know anybody who is. and who exactly are you talking about a handful of?

Power in Numbers-Free your mind from the illusion of the reality you have been programmed to see.
ah, I see. how many people are in your group? how much power in numbers do you have?


This IS thought control on a grand scale.
no, it's not.

Did I mention religion and cults?
ah yes, the institution that modern civilization was built upon. why not discard that too, right? lol

These ideas make little to no sense, and it sounds like it was written by a paranoid schizophrenic.

[Ursus]

If you look at the whole way our country is packaged and sold to us you will see a common thread.
A propaganda pumping media machine that shovels garbage into your head 24/7.
The dumbing down of American Children through revisionist history and control of Education.
Mandatory Vaccinations-Autism
Psychiatric drugging of Children
Drugging of Foster Children in staggering amounts.
The food we eat.
Yes throw in all of the programs and psych hospitals.
Jails and the Prison Industry
Laws and Legislation
The Manipulation of the Economy
I could go on for hours, but you get the big picture.
This is all done to make us compliant idiots, a whole nation of slaves.
Critical Thinking is a crime.
You must assimilate to the Big Program run by the Big Money.
Good news is there are a handful of them and we are the brainwashed masses.
Power in Numbers-Free your mind from the illusion of the reality you have been programmed to see.
This IS thought control on a grand scale.
Did I mention religion and cults?

Worth a bumperoo...

[Anonymous]

Okay, okay. Somebody is about to bring us up again, and because one of us has already been here at some point, we're going to just come out and tell you to fuck off with this.

Frankly, we're happy just keeping the kids exposed to the same public-school gestalt that's been around for decades.

It's YOU sheeple who insist on throwing your own children into these mindrape facilities. WE abandoned 99% of those techniques long ago; not effective enough, and too many downsides. From our perspective there is no benefit whatsoever to having these places around, other than we don't feel like getting involved and it makes an excellent counterpoint. This is exactly what you dumb fuckers do without us around: torture your own children, all thanks to your stupid malevolent religion and vicious psychopathology. So no. You can't blame us for this.

[RMA Survivor]

For years, I've thought mine, and thousands of others @ Straight Inc., was a unique experience in brainwashing/thought reform. After reading  the endless lists of such places on these boards w/ different names and faces, (I can't even keep up w/ them) I start to go numb. It doesn't matter which 'program' or 'specialty school'  has a post about it, they all have so much in common.....'hey, let's try this on 'em----see what happens'....WTF is wrong with us?....I'm ashamed of (personally) even any 'half-assed' involvement in one of these places (early 80's)
Being a Wikipedia addict, I can't even find these other places on the site. That is telling to me. You read about (or experience) one, you already know about the other.

Getting back to the topic...

It is true that these places are spreading like wild fire, all over the planet, not just here in the United States.  There are indeed quite a long list of them, many based off of the original programs like Synanon, EST, LifeSpring, CEDU.  

And it truly does seem like they do have half-baked ideas of the "Let's try this on them and see what happens" mentality.  That is because so few of these programs are run by those with education and credentials to be treating or counseling anyone.  I notice you mentioned the early 80's, which is when I attended Rocky Mountain Academy, and so little has changed since then except that some of these programs are wising up to the fact that they need people with real degrees and certification and experience.  But they've only wised up enough to know they need these people to make themselves look more legitimate, whereas in reality it seems most often these trained people are not directly involved in the day to day interactions with the kids in the programs.  They are merely there to provide a sense of legitimacy.

You can find some information on Wikipedia, generally related to the original programs.  You can find some basic information on Mel Wasserman, who founded the CEDU schools.  You can get some information on Synanon and so on.  The information is certainly out there to be found and more is coming out every month now that more and more survivors and others interested in this strange industry get involved and seek answers.  

I think it is great you see the quackery for what it is.  I would love to know when you realized what it was you were subjected to?  Did you realize it while you were still in the program, or later, after you were out when you might have realized you didn't quite fit in to society as you once did.  Full, as you were now, of all those half-baked ideas they put in your head, making you believe  you had real tools to work with to make your life successful?  

I think of the industry as being similar to an ad in a paper offering an easy start up business.  No experience necessary.  Live in the beautiful outdoors.  Get free labor to make your property look better.  You don't even need a High School Diploma.  Read our simple to follow instruction guide on how to manipulate the minds of the young using time tested methods of thought persuasion and peer pressure motivation.  For just a few small kick backs, you can get access to a list of paid "independent" consultants who will direct youth to your new business by convincing their parents that they are soon to die if they are not in your program.  For four decades we have been dedicated to helping entrepreneurs like yourself enjoy the bliss of owning your own business.  If you aren't quite sure you are ready for this yet, we have many other exciting opportunities to offer including Child Escorts or Counselors.  No experience necessary and no education requirements needed.  In fact there are no qualification whatsoever.  Anyone is welcome.  And best yet, no criminal background checks.  Been to prison?  No problem.  For more information on how you too can become a part of this totally unregulated Teen Treatment Industry, contact....

[capn' obvious]

Yes, indeed ,it was a mighty fine sales job done on my parents and, eventually, me. By aged 15 I'd fallen into the trap, or, 'bottleneck' of Str8 Inc. I was a prime candidate I guess.I'd started acting up @ home and school (still managing decent grades though) a little while b-4 smoking 1st joint or drinking beer. It's a complicated and boring legal situation that I won't bother u with @ this time, though I've only recently started persuing the legal end of it.
I'd done all the same stuff that many teens do, but somehow I never cared if I got caught (embracing the rebellion, unlike my brothers and many other youngsters that I knew)
Just enough for someone to suggest this 'highly effective', 'slightly abrasive' place called Str8 Inc. (don't even want to give satsfctn. of full name)
Suffice to say, I 'graduated' in '84, but have never been the same since. I was speaking to another Str8ling the other day and we talked about how Str8 acted, at all times, as if they wanted to somehow 'motivate us for life, permanently'....somehow, the place has managed to do the exact opposite, permanently....or so it seems, but there's that kid in me that is gonna 'make it' despite the piss-poor quality of a life's 'education' @ Str8.....BY GUM!      :soapbox:

[RMA Survivor]

Did you finish Straight with a diploma, or did you have to go back to a real school to get one?  I felt sorry for the youngest kids who were not able to get at least the cheesy diplomas, returned to public schools and were so far behind they didn't finish High School till age 20.  And how do you fit in after years in a cult?

[capn' obvious]

I finished high school (real diploma, unrelative to Str8) by aged 19, and went on to finish 2.5 yrs of college @ different local universities (still working on that actually) Yes, I was a 17 yr old H.S. Sophomore with his nose to the wheel, grinding those gears hard to get away from Str8. What about you?....you'd mentioned the program @RMA

[capn' obvious]

To answer your question....I don't....fit in that is...have given up trying....not sure how important 'fitting in' is....and yourself?