Fornits

Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

Welcome to our forum, Mark. Where did you go to the seed and what year?
I myself didn't speak to my father from 16 to 20 and only recently got to where we are somewhat on the same page, but he still justifies it.  My mother cries when we talk about it.
You still haven't spoke to your mom?  Unreal. Do you blame the program, or is it a combination of things. I hope that you can work it out with her on some level, and once again, welcome. Tell us a little about yourself..

I am sitting here after reading your post, and I don't know exactly what to say. You have provided me documentation that the synanon model was prevalent and rampant thru an entirely different mode that abused children prior to the seed. Up to now I believed that Art Barker was the first that took the synanon model to treat youthfull "drug offenders". I guess that the Boarding school model was much more of a broad brush stroke that took all types of kids.
You have also shown me that you experienced very similar things and suffered the abuse that originated from the hands of your parents.
The things you experienced,more or less, have all been experienced by all of us. I welcome you to this forum and feel a kinship with you. I hope that this message board relays to you that you are not alone and that others understand what you went thru.  I personally felt that my left over anger from childhood was mine alone until I found Ginger, Wes, Ken, Scott, Thea,Kim and Kathy about two years ago. Since then, I would say that hundreds and hundreds of people have logged on and shared their stories, and with the exception of the rare few, everyone feels the same, feels like a portion of their childhood was stolen from them, feels a loss, feels alone and that they have a terrible secret. Well, the secret is out, and I for one feel better. I hope you do too.

yecch.  It sounds very similar to Elan, the infamous synanon based boarding school for the rich and famous and not so famous up north, where Skaskel was sent after he murdered his neighbor(allegedly).

This whole synanon based treatment thing has really gotten a lot of credibility that it didn't earn and never  deserved.

My question, other than what is your first name, is other than the abuse of going thru theraputic community treatment as a youngster, which in itsealf is usually defined as abuse by the now adult survivor of it, is was there specific abuses?
Did you find certain aspects of it, such as the extreme hours unusual? This is a common Theme thruout synanon based "treatment", keep them tired, hungry, keep their mind busy and keep them scared of constant confrontation and verbal assualt and punish  for every minor infraction.
As an example, in the seed, if you wouldn't fall in line, eventually they would bring your father in to beat you physically back in the staff room. This is well documented,and I witnessed several people whom it happened to. It also had a terrifying effect on everyone else.
What about at your boarding school? Finally, have you read Alicia Parks book American Gulag? If not, pick it up.
Welcome to our forum and thank you for contributing.

interesting post, fartoogone.
I don't think anybody said that his experience was any different than he experienced it, only that he was not worthless and did not deserve to be thrown into the snakepit called seedstraightkids, inc.
I stand by that, and have no real opinion on what you said, only to point out that your statement is incorrect, and you seem to be the only possessor of venom thru this whole thread.  
Victim? no, not today, but yes, in the past. Advocate? yes.  That is how I see it.  My experience happened 29 years ago and is now but bad memories. I am here to help people deal with their childhood demons and to help prevent today's children from going thru it, along with opening the eyes of the public to the horrors of the drug war against american citizens.

Why are you here?

Well, I am from Lakewood, as you know, and so is Scott (scott Free)  
Lakewood in 1973-74 has got to be the strangest place to ever go to high school. Our annual has a picture of a "Seed Loves you" license plate,  which we were all required to put in our car windows. There was no written rule, of course, but if you didn't..... Almost every page of the annual that year has seed kids, there were so many...  We all wore our Seed shirts to school,had identical haircuts courtesy of the Seed Hacker-Barber, and all spoke the same shit and told each other out loud in public "I love you". The other kids called us robots, brainwashed, laughed and ridiculed us.  It sure didn't help my teenage self esteem any, having entered high school on the first day in a Seed T shirt..
Scott also recently sent me a copy of our Lakewood High Newspaper that had an article and interviews with people about the Seed. I remember that edition and had saved it for years. Thanks, Scott
Scott also told me that our Good Friend, Bennet Beverley, Hung himself after graduating the Seed. I don't know when or where, but I would love to find out the details. Anyone whom knows please post the story. Bennett was a gentle soul and it is tragic.
I was thinking about the 90% sucess rate claimed by Art Barker and then by straight. Of course, there is no long term study done or any documentation, and those of us that lived it know better, almost everyone I knew whom went thru that madhouse used drugs or alcohol or at least had a "Druggie attitude" later.  I wonder if they are counting Bennett and Dave Leverone and Chris Kelley as Successfull graduates still?  Dave died of a drug overdose and Chris had a one vehicle accident several years after graduating. Anyone know of other "Successfull graduates" that came to an untimely death or ended up in Jail?
What a farce....

absolutely fantastic, Wes. All of our hard work these several years is starting to pay off, and I would like to personally thank you and Ginger for the accumulation of all the hard data that enables reporters like him to prepare such an article.
I believe that this will really start the ball rolling on the truth being told and exposing the Semblers, Barkers, ad nauesem.

Shane,
You give a very confusing message.  These sites exist not because some meglamaniac existed, and not because overt child abuse occured in some situations.  These were negatives, for sure, but the real, down dirty, low down truth, is that the entire modality was abusive.  If Newton never abused anyone personally, if no one was ever thrown to a concrete floor, the inhumanity of going thru Thought reform as a teenager would be enough to support all of these message boards, and more.
You see, Shane, you say you deserved to be in Straight. Since you won't speak up for yourself, I will.  You did not. You may have needed help with a substance abuse problem, and Straight may have provided you a vehicle to temporarily stop abusing substances, but you never deserved the inhumanity of the seedstraightkids, Inc. modality. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here either.

Dude, go to the conference, what do you have to lose? Right now you are living in the birthplace of the Seed, which spanned the Straight. I look forward to meeting you.
Greg
seed 73-74