Its a shame that after 20 some years you still allow Elan a moment of thought Felice.
Claire (and her husband Jim) were in the program during a very wild and fucked up time. Claire was in Elan 7, a really fucked up house to say the least.
Knowing Claire, and a bit about where she came from and what she went through in Elan to get herself together, it seems difficult to believe that any person who went through the program would have any motivations to become a staff member other than that of a personal need to legitamately help some fucked up kids.
I cant say this site is completely useless, though on the surface it would seem to be largely a waste of fucking cyberspace. But the kid industry needs to be kept in check. Maybe Fornits helps keep a magnifying glass held over places like Elan and that is a good thing. But 99% of this site is bullshit.
On the other hand, fornits, or the thoughts and ideas of the people of fornits is pretty extreme. While the site promotes a closer look at these places, its aim is to shut them all down? Can you say "dilusional"? I cant help but think that fornits has no direct effect on the PRESENT injustices dolled out to kids in these programs if in fact they continue to exsist.
A hard look at reality says these places are not going anywhere. 1 or 2 close thier doors, and another 1 or 2 open. Too bad resentment motivates the people of Fornits, when it could be far more effective if the people here had a common mission to raise awareness of what goes on NOW (rather than what went on in the fanastic past)
Challenge your local and national goverments to oversee these programs with a more powerful magnifying glass. Write your legislators to encourage more rigorous inspections and monitoring of these places. Take an active roll in what EXSISTS NOW, rather than the dilusional push to close them all down based on your own largely exagerated experience in one of them years ago.
While many people accuse Claire and other staff members of continuing the abuse that you/we/she experienced or witnessed back in the day, the reality is that many more lives are enhanced by these programs than are disrupted. The ratio is likely far more in favor of possitive experiences now than it was in the past.
I have to believe that Claire, and others like her (former residents of Elan) make a contribution to the good of Elan as oposed to being some so-called "brainwashed enforcer of evil" upon children.
Felice, I believe you have a valid beef with Elan, the people who sent you there, the people who subjected you to some pretty inhumane treatments for what may be or may have been a psychologic condition in need of medical treatment. But trust me, theres people that would be happy to know youve "let it all go" and took what few things you might have learned in Elan (or since then) with you in pursuit of closure and personal happiness... rather than the decades of lingering complaints and blame.
Is Elan really a valid excuse for all the bullshit youve been through since you left? Youre not the only one who got fucked Felice. Its been a while since Ive seen you or read your current feelings but based on my dealings with you in the past, Id say you continue to have some need to DISPLAY your Elan scars to everyone. Seems thats pretty common in here.
Youve got X amount of years left on this planet. Id guess your 40 years old now. How on earth can you spend even one more day, one more hour, one more SECOND of your life giving any thought at all to Elan? If you cared at all about Elan and the kids there now, you would know how much the program has changed, how well it does to prepare kids for the responsibility of life on thier own.
Your Elan doesnt exsist any more. Its gone, Burried with Joe Ricci maybe?
But Ill also add this Felice. I think for anyone to go through what you went through in Elan in adition to what youve been through since leaving and LIVED to 40 years old to tell about should be proud.
Is it unreasonable to say youve defied some pretty terrible odds? Have you ever used that momentum to get to where you want to be?
Dont let Elan and its memory cast a dark shadow over one more minute of your life Felice. Get away from this place. Get away from Elan and its memory. Find some way to look back on it and be inspired by the fact that you survived it.
I hope your ok, and hope everyone here is or gets OK. I really dont think fornits lends itself to those ends though. Thats likely why you dont see me here anymore.
Im sure you know who I am by now Felice. Do me a favor and dont mention it here. The trolls with thier infinite wisdoms of the character and worthiness of people they may be able to identify with a name admitadly gets under my skin if just a little. Only because I cant stomp on thier faces which is the only way to get a little reality through to them.
NONE of you know me, or where I come from or where I am going. And Ill say this, Im happy and content with my life. So say what you gotta say if you really gotta say it, because it has no effect on me and my life, which I have no complaints about.
No, Im not Ken, or Art, or Bill or Bob or Pete or Richard or Uncle Fester.
Ill get a bigger kick out of the trolls who guess than they will posting that guess, and the swill that will follow.
Good luck Felice.
