Cascade Survivor's = john and alex in denial

[wiseup]

[Anonymous]

On 2005-09-27 18:43:00, wiseup wrote:

" Cascade Survivor's = john and alex in denial and over reacting



 Cascade Survivor's seem to think that because the counselors there treated them well that there is no way they could have mistreated or abused anyone else. One thing about Cascade is that those who run it treat those who they like very well and those they do not the opposite. When those who are not treated well and abused by Cascade open up about it they are called losers and told they need medication. Cascade's agenda was "we don't believe in psychiatry". many cascade alumni have this attitude that because the staff at cascade were there for them in their time of need that therefore they treated others the same. Sadly, what these self-absorbed alumni think is dead wrong. Cascade counselors treated many as just something to abuse and hold until they were done abusing them. They had no regard for the trauma they inflicted and would terrorize students who talked about the abuse and even encourage others to harm them. It is no coincidence that many were found suicidal or suicides. Many former students are so selfish that they cannot understand that many were harmed by cascade and all they can do is blame the victims of cascade abuse. it is a destructive cult that only seems to care about those who survive and disregard those who are left traumatized.



 

"

 ::bigsmilebounce::  ::birthday::  ::drummer::  ::hatter::  ::heart::  ::kiss::

[Anonymous]

Hi, this is Alex.  I can only assume I'm the same Alex in your headline as I'm co-owner of the Cascade Survivor's site.

Since I don't hide behind false screennames when it comes to this, my full name is Alex Nicholson and my email address is [email protected]. If you have something to say to me, say it in person, not by misrepresenting me on a public site.

I started the site to find a friend, but I was too late as he had already committed suicide. DO NOT TELL ME I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE PAIN THAT CASCADE INFLICTED. I lost someone I loved.  A lot of us have.

Here's the irony of the whole thing. I did not particularly enjoy my stay at Cascade, but it was a necessary evil that made me the woman I am today. Cascade Survivors is certainly not the site I intended it to be. There were a lot of battles along the way, but it is the only place most people have to find the ones they lost touch with.

The site runs itself. We do not force rose-colored glasses on the membership. We do protect the site and keep it for people (staff included) who cut ties with the school. With the school now closed, that is a little easier.  

You want to pick an enemy, turn the blame and your petty accusations of denial and selfishness on someone else. I've moved on, maybe you should too.

[geechee_girl]

By John and Alex, I'm going on the presumption that you reference the yahoo site co-owners, Alex and Leslie (since I share an email with my honey as John / Leslie on that site).

By the tone of the post, I'll make a second presumption that you were, in fact, moderated in some way on the yahoo site as well.

The fact that you are slinging mud anonymously gives your post little credence, however; I'll respond anyway.

I had a very long and painful stay at Cascade.  As with any experience, some pleasant memories shine through the muck.  These memories mostly have to do with fellow students, a handful of truly caring counselors and teachers and very little to do with the program itself.

Having witnessed first hand the abuses staff heaped on the students from malice, a lack of education,  a lack of experience, too little supervision, perversion and a host of other reasons I can say that I think the school closing was both bound to happen sooner or later and a fitting end to a program that had gotten away from it's original intent.

As to the Cascade Survivors site - to watch it grow (exponentially) and change since what it started out as in 2000 has been a long and interesting ride.  Everyone has different opinions on the program, all of which are welcome there.  Since the purpose of the site has evolved into a place to reconnect with former peers and make friends with alumni from other grad years more than anything else, abusive posts get moderated.  

We encourage discussion about the program, although there will always be at least one person who is very "rah rah" about it all and will be offended by a dissenting view - it happens.  As long as the posts, both for and against the program, are not abusive to the site members my moderating theory is that people should be grown ups and accept a difference of opinion.  The minute a post crosses the line of civility, we speak up.  There are other forums around where you can be as vitriolic as you wish about your thoughts and feelings on the program - in fact this seems to be one of them.

Long and short, don't assume what someone feels about their experience or call them out online anonymously just because they know how to talk about something in a constructive way.  

We ALL have friends we mourn who were damaged physcially or mentally by the program.  And we all know a few who were genuinely helped by it, in spite of its flaws.

Leslie Poston '89

[Anonymous]

don't bother guys, same guy who was banned from survivors for spamming insanely long posts littered with the word narcissism, about a year ago if I remember correctly, and when I emailed him to ask who he was he ranted on and on almost in a cut and paste fashion crap about some CEDU counselor from like 9 million years ago.

if I recall correctly, didn't even attend cascade.

cuckoo to say the least, in a "I don't throw out the daily newspaper, I wrap them in twine and keep them in the corner, I have 12 years worth" kind of way...