From an attorney if it helps...

[Anonymous]

I am an attorney, and the reason no firms will take your case is because you are fighting a losing battle. It is absolutely hopeless. Yes, hopeless. And, Mel Sembler has much too much influence and power to ever be bothered my your alledged allegations.

The best thing you all can do for yourselves is give up and get over your troubles. I was in a similar program, Pathway Family Center, and if I would have held petty resentments against the program, I never would have made it through an undergraduate degree and law school.

Yes, bad things happened in Pathway, and even though Pathway is more recent than Straight, there is virtually no chance of any attorney winning in court. In regards to Straight, you have even less of a chance because of the years that have gone by. Also, Mel's son and grandson were both in similar programs, and Mel, using this fact to back up his testimony, will claim he did not know of the abuses that occured in Straigh or any other programs he may have been affiliated with, and he will claim that he would never have subjected his familiy to these abuses; the Judge WILL believe him...trust me.

In regards to prosecuting former staff members of your programs, you have to remember that they will claim you were all abusive, drug using, lying, irresponsible adolescents. They will claim that any "abuse" was used to necessarily restrain violent clients. The only possible way to get your programs, staff or administrators of programs into court would be if somebody died or had serious physical injury while in a program; and this injury/death must be within the last, oh, say 3 years to be safe. Surely no more than 5. I'm not sure what the statute of limitations is on abuses in your respective states, but the ones I'm familiar with are no more than 5-7 years. Claiming any kind of mental abuse is extremely hard to prove and will be a waste of money.

What happened to us is terrible, but you all need to move on. Don't let these programs ruin your lives anymore than they already have. Can't you see that you are doing yourselves no justice by sticking in this forum and bitching day in and day out? You are fighting a losing battle and wasting your lives. Move on and forget. Do something better with your lives.

[Froderik]

I wonder how long before someone calls this guy a "Semblerite?"

[Anonymous]

Glad you arent my lawyer...

 Due to the sheer magnitude of the evil doings of the likes of Miller Newton, Mel and Betty Sembler, and the open spawns today, there most certainly will be a case. While it may not be as obvious to lawyers such as yourself but it is obvious to many victims. Victims will always be victims, the question is if they will be honored with the justice due to them. Incidents such as wrongful death, caused by the modality used at straight inc and other coercive treatment facilities currently treating adolescents, (for hire by parents) has a longer statute of limitations. Also, seriously and nonetheless criminal and abusive policies causing permanent or even temporary physical/psychological wounds, damage, trauma or the like, may encourage potential lawsuits. Survivors of this type of treatment must have hope. Until the last program that uses these methods is closed, the statute of limitations will never expire for everyone.
At the very least, the treatment modality itself is a viable target, thus the programs that use it will close when the modality is banned.


 :cool:

key word: hope

[Animals]

In her first post, Anonymous writes:

"I am an attorney, and the reason no firms will take your case is because you are fighting a losing battle. It is absolutely hopeless. Yes, hopeless. And, Mel Sembler has much too much influence and power to ever be bothered my your alledged allegations."  -end

You're an attorney?  Lmbmfao.

Well, shit man, I'm motherfucking Jesus Christ if you're spelling is thaaaaat bad: "...influence and power to ever be bothered 'by' your 'alleged'...". A bar passing attorney would at the very least know how to spell alleged, you ninny.

Welcome aboard; troll! ::heart::  ::heart::
 ::heart::  ::heart::  ::heart:: [ This Message was edited by: Animals on 2004-12-28 01:51 ]

[Anonymous]

I know.  "Alledged allegations"???  WTF?? :lol:  :lol:

[Antigen]

No hope?

http://www.fornits.com/anonanon/article ... 320-10.htm

Look, I don't care if the Semblers ever shed a tear or suffer any hardship for what they've done. All I want is to help prevent them and others like them from doing more of the same. Lawsuites are good for that ( http://www.fornits.com/anonanon/article ... 320-10.htm ). Investigative journalism is helpful ( http://www.newtimesbpb.com/issues/2004- ... ature.html and http://straightkids.com/ ). Fiction based on reality might be helpful ( http://www.amandacraig.com/pages/journa ... _clean.htm ) The industry has used daytime talk for recruiting for years now and, finally, Montel comes around w/ the up-shot; shooting the first of two (at least) episodes on Straight and other similar programs.

And through discussions like this one, we've crossed paths w/ other folk who have had remarkably similar experiences. Here we have a chance to compare notes, get some insight into what happened to us and figure out how to help make the situation a little better for our kids and grandkids.

You're probably not there yet. That's fine. You're young. Civics, to you, is a career course not a personal matter of responsability. When you see your kids trot off to school and contemplate just what system we have in place to educate and protect them as they grow up and away from your sheltering arms, then it'll start to dawn on you just how personal civics really is.


"Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful."--Friedrich Nietzsche

War is God?s way of teaching Americans geography.

--Ambrose Bierce (died 1914)

_________________
Ginger Warbis ~ Antigen
Seed sibling `71 - `80
Straight South (Sarasota, FL)
   10/80 - 10/82
Anonymity Anonymous
Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.

[Anonymous]

All you have to say about my statement is criticize a word I accidently misspelled? Wow, you truely are a bunch of nonsensical morons. I tr to help, but of course , you stick to your guns thinking you can make a diference. When you do, I'd love to hear about it, but wait, there are about 10,00 pages of your bitching rubbish, and what do you know, you have accomplished nothing...yet? Yeah right. Antigen, you're right, I am young, but I have moved past my issues with treatment, and I know live a pretty damn good life. Maybe you should think about doing the same. You are all making fools out of yourselves. I saw the petty "protests" you have set up (at holocaust museums for God's sake?, and it seems that you have all accomplished nothing in your lives, nevertheless the courts.

Insult me if you like, but just for the record, I graduated from St. John's Law School, and I make 86,00 dollars a year, which is damn good for only practicing for three years. I also graduated in the top 5% of my class, am married to a beautiful woman, and I have never lost a case. What do you do for a living animals? Let me guess, you research "abusive" treatment centers and seek to dedicate your life to closing them down. Yawn.

[Anonymous]

Oh, just to save you the trouble I spelled the word "difference" the wrong way. I guess I am a really shitty attorney. Bye.

[Anonymous]

no, it wasn't the mis-spellings for me.  It was the use of the words "alledged allegations".  No atty. I have EVER worked for, even the ones right out of school would say anything like that.

[Animals]

What year did you graduate, Mr. 86,00 ?  lol.

No, I don't close down institutions, I go and find people who've been in one or two of them who've forgotten how to spell and keep talking shit about degrees that they don't have. Once I find them I rag on them cos it makes me feel better about my yawning life.  :smile:

I think you're not an attorney, maybe you wish you were one.  I imagine most attorneys probably don't bother coming here once they see some of the vile smarm and happenstance on the boards, maybe not.  So like, what year did you graduate at 5% of the top of your class at St. John's?  I know a few attorneys from there - maybe we could figure out if you're being facetious.

Any person who makes 86,00 (you misprinted this number, along with the number 10,00) should probably take some of those composition and English classes I keep talking about that are available for rehash at your local community college. Generally speaking, the credits cost less than they would at St. John's or major colleges and would do any attorney some good especially if their defendant were burdened by the responsibility of showing properly spelled proof on paper. For real, children and criminals have been sent back into bad situations simply because the attorney forgot to compose a sentence correctly. Check that mess, luv.

[Anonymous]

On 2004-12-28 13:11:00, Anonymous wrote:

I graduated from St. John's Law School, and I make 86,00 dollars a year, which is damn good for only practicing for three years. I also graduated in the top 5% of my class, am married to a beautiful woman, and I have never lost a case.

What area(s) of law do you practice or specialize in?

[Anonymous]

Is that 10.00 pages and 86.00 a year? WOW, you really ARE Perry Mason!! :lol:  :lol:

[Antigen]

Antigen, you're right, I am young, but I have moved past my issues with treatment, and I know live a pretty damn good life. Maybe you should think about doing the same. You are all making fools out of yourselves.

What makes you think that the little you may know about me through what I post here tells you one hundreth of what my life is about?

I'm actually pretty busy, but this is an area of interest of mine at least equal to heirloom gardening (which can reach obsessive levels, if you know some dedicated gardeners)

And I didn't mean to insult you. Don't know why you'd take anything I said as an insult, unless you lump me together w/ other posters. I don't know most of these people any better than you do. And I respect that you have finished law school and started a family and career. Some days I wish I had been more ambitious. Other days, I'm glad I haven't been. No judgement on that.

That you're young and have a lot to learn is a given. You're young. Everyone who's young has a lot to learn. It's a given.

That you think that your experience and knowledge so far is adequate to instruct people twice your age who have your experience and then some in some areas (of contention) is raw hubris. I'm only schoolin' ya', son. No offense intended.

You say there is but one way to worship the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it?
--Chief Red Jacket, Seneca Indian Chieftain

[Scarstruck]

I seriously doubt this guy is a lawyer..and what does you having "A beautiful wife" have to do with your credibility?
  If you were telling the truth youd post your real name...or at least a user name to stand behind your comments..
  But you arent and you dont therefore my point is moot...

[Carmel]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Freedom has a thousand charms to show, That slaves, howe'er contented, never know.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1840300051/circlofmiamithem' target='_new'> William Cowper, a British Christian poet & hymn writer (18th century)