Fornits

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An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

Thank you for your post. Your feelings are shared by a great many people like myself, whom was forced into the Seed in 1973. It changed my live forever and devasted my family.

So sorry, Rich. Dave Leverone. I am still in touch with his older brother. Thank you for the email and the horrible news about Seed graduate, and my old friend Bennet Beverley.

Hello, and welcome. I went to lakewood as well, and I bet you anything we know each other. If you do not want to say your name on this forum, email me at [email protected] and lets talk!  BTW, it is public knowledge that the kid you speak of  went to the seed. In fact, he was there when I was there.

I look forward to talking to you soon!!



[ This Message was edited by: Somejoker on 2002-05-19 20:25 ]

Thought reform is not a new idea, and has been praticed on prisoners of war and by various cults thru out the world including the church of unification, the hari krishna
movement, Al queda, the church of scientology, and, of course, the seed.  Check this out below and post your comments;

Eight Conditions of Thought Reform
*as presented in "Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism" by Robert Jay Lifton, W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1963.

Milieu Control -
Purposeful limitation of all forms of communication with outside world. Environment control and the control of human communication. Not just communication between people but communication within people's minds to themselves.  

Mystical Manipulation
Potential convert is convinced of the higher purpose within the special group. Everyone is manipulating everyone, under the belief that it advances the "ultimate purpose." Experiences are engineered to appear to be spontaneous, when, in fact, they are contrived to have a deliberate effect. People mistakenly attribute their experiences to spiritual causes when, in fact, they are concocted by human beings.  
Confession  Only by pushing toward perfection, as the group views goodness, will the recruit be able to contribute. The environment demands that personal boundaries are destroyed and that every thought, feeling, or action that does not conform with the group's rules be confessed; little or no privacy.  

Self-sanctification-
through Purity  Public confessional periods used to get members to verbalize and discuss their innermost fears & anxieties as well as past imperfections. The creation of a guilt and shame milieu by holding up standards of perfection that no human being can accomplish. People are punished and learn to punish themselves for not living up to the group's ideals.  

Aura of Sacred Science-  Idea that the cult's laws, rules and regulations are absolute and, therefore, to be followed automatically. The group's belief is that their dogma is absolutely scientific and morally true. No alternative viewpoint is allowed. No questions of the dogma are permitted.  

Loaded Language-  The invention of a new vocabulary, confusing well-known words with their own meanings, trite clichÈs. Controlling words help to control people's thoughts. A totalist group uses totalist language to make reality compressed into black or white using thought-terminating cliches.Non-members cannot simply comprehend what cult members are talking about. The words constrict rather than expand human understanding.  

Doctrine over Person-
Past experience and values invalid to new cult morality--value of individual insignificant compared to value of group. No matter what a person experiences, it is the belief of the dogma which is important. Group belief supersedes conscience and integrity.  

Dispensed Existence-
Elitist world view--sharp line drawn by cult between those who have been saved, chosen, etc. (cult members) and those who are lost, in the dark, etc., (the rest of the world). The group decides who has a right to exist and does not. Former members are seen as "weak, " "lost," and "the enemy". There is no other legitimate alternative to the group.

Wow, you were a brave kid, I lived in constant fear of being called on. I too was forteen, but fortunately, I was able to hide out pretty good in group and rarely got called on, and did my best to avoid personal confrontation.  I did some things there that I am not proud of, like helping restrain kids trying to escape. i was so young and totally submitted to the cult, which caused me great shame.  I was in St Pete starting in June of 73. Art, Libby, Suzie Connors, and several others from Ft Lauderdale were there.  I have an Art Barker story that I will post soon that I think you really will appreciate.

Good question. Most of the techniques used by Art Barker in the Seed seemed to be a direct lift from the synanon,a California treatment for adult heroin addicts  that went haywire and turned into a bizzare cult, but to date a direct connection of Art and the synanon has not been made. The synanon used hauntingly familar techniques, and these techniques spread to other areas of the country like Daytop in New York, but Art Barker is credited with creating the first synanon type drug treatment facility for non addicted adolescents. Art's concept was easily copied and spread thruout the united states like the ebola virus. Today, it is unknown how many drug treatment facilities use Art's techniques, but many, many exist, perhaps one in your own backyard.

The synananon thought reform techniques used at the seed, and then at all subsequent copycat programs since such as the Straight, Kids, SAFE, etc, have a direct link somehow to Chinese and Koren thought reform. More than one person has smirked and rebuked this, but just a cursory examination of those techniques and you will see the corelation.

As an example, My good friend Wes dug this up.
 
 
"What is meant by backbiting, or criticizing behind one?s back? . . . Some comrades have something to say about other comrades, but they never speak out openly. They always TALK BEHIND ONES BACK . . . then this can be called criticizing behind one?s back, which is PROHIBITED by the Party."
From a captured Communist Chinese document  found in the book "Brainwashing in Red China, the Calculated Destruction of Men?s Minds"
 emp added

If anyone can recall the treatment center Art said he attended, please post. I have a vague memory of Art saying he was in a treatment center up north, and he used to say the name, but it escapes me.

Papa man, is that you? and if so, how is the poetry coming?  Good to hear you post.