Author Topic: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?  (Read 38937 times)

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Offline Anonymous

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Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« on: March 27, 2006, 10:17:00 PM »
I think this is where they are hanging out.

1420 of them

but it looks like it would be pretty much impossible to log onto their site.

http://www.synanon.org
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Anonymous

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Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2009, 07:33:26 PM »
If anyone here was in Oakland Synanon in 1972, we need your help. A girl named Rose Cole, 15, was sent to Synanon by the Flint MI juvenile courts in early 1972. Her family never saw her again. She worked in the kitchen. Her family received letters saying she ran away from Synanon. She sent letters & postcards, the last saying she was in SF and she wouldnt be contacting them anymore for fear of Synanon finding her.

 Please visit this site to view pics and copies of her letters.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showth ... ost1066634

(THAT IS A THREAD FROM WEBSLEUTHS.COM - THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION/LINKS ABOUT ROSE THERE.

OR EMAIL HER FAMILY AT:

[email protected]

 ANY INFO WOULD BE APPRECIATED AND KEPT CONFIDENTIAL.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Anonymous

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2008, 03:55:09 PM »
Yes, that is where we are "hanging out". Some are reliving their fond memories and getting reacquainted, while others (me) are trying to figure out what the hell happened to us (I was a kid), why it happened, and dealing with the trauma with those who experienced the same abuse, at the same time at the same place. I appreciate that it is not open to the public, I don't need or want the whole world knowing the hell I lived in and how it could have f*cked up my entire life if I let it.

It's kind of like support groups, you shouldn't join if you didn't have the same experience ex: rape counseling, battered wife syndrome, alcoholism.etc.... There might even be a ton of support groups for kids who have survived all the different schools and camps and even then you would find that those who went to the same school would congregate towards each other. The Synanon site is no exception. It's the umbrella and we all have our different ways within it.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline psy

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2009, 12:50:48 AM »
Quote from: "Guest"
If anyone here was in Oakland Synanon in 1972, we need your help. A girl named Rose Cole, 15, was sent to Synanon by the Flint MI juvenile courts in early 1972. Her family never saw her again. She worked in the kitchen. Her family received letters saying she ran away from Synanon. She sent letters & postcards, the last saying she was in SF and she wouldnt be contacting them anymore for fear of Synanon finding her.

 Please visit this site to view pics and copies of her letters.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showth ... ost1066634

(THAT IS A THREAD FROM WEBSLEUTHS.COM - THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION/LINKS ABOUT ROSE THERE.

OR EMAIL HER FAMILY AT:

[email protected]

 ANY INFO WOULD BE APPRECIATED AND KEPT CONFIDENTIAL.
Thanks for the info.  Sad story.  Hopefully she'll find this thread or another and get in contact.
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Offline Oscar

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2009, 02:38:41 AM »
Rosa Lena Cole is mentioned at the Charley project created to find missing people as you can see on our victims datasheet regarding the 1970's.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline evaderci

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2011, 01:14:11 AM »
In 1975, I was sent to Synanon, Santa Monica when I was 11 years old. I was not a troubled child, drug addict or afflicted in any way mentally. My mother was seduced by one of the Synanon fundraisers, "Rona", who convinced her that they had a "great summer program for kids." My mom shipped me off to Synanon from Chicago (probably so she could spend more time with her latest husband) for 8 weeks. She knew NOTHING about the organization. Strictly took Rona's word for it. I begged her with collect calls about 3 times a week to let me come home. I was subjected to "Games", incredible hard labor and verbal/mental abuse by my "dorm mother." I moved to Santa Monica about 5 years ago and must have almost completely blocked out my experience until I was walking past the Casa Del Mar one afternoon and my husband saw me go completely white. I asked, "What is that building?" When he told me it used to be the Synanon headquarters, I collapsed on the sand and everything came rushing back. The worst part is that for all these years/decades, I have had no one else to talk to. It is like the worst acid trip or night terror -- you experience it, but you can't relate it to anyone. I came back to Chicago a very different child then when I'd left. No one understood why the sweet, malleable, good student was replaced with an almost demonically mature girl who could make anyone cry with just words. I'd learned quite a lot in those games. My deepest hurt is that my mother will not accept her mistake in sending me there. Cannot accept that she just flat out failed as a mother to protect her child. She put her delusions and interests ahead of everyone. When I tell her that I want to learn more about her thought process in sending her 11 year old daughter across the country to some unknown "camp", she just says, "You never remember all the good things I've done for you." I wish I could just talk to someone about what it was like to be there as a child. As a child with no one to look after me, or comfort me. It was war. I was enlisted for hard labor in Tomales Bay for Dederich's wedding. I was tormented by every adult female to shave my head. The best memory is of the Vietnam Vet who lived in the hallway on the 2nd floor of the main building. He was too freaked out to stay in a room, so he camped in the hallways. He taught me to play chess and on my last day there, he let me win. I don't even know how I was let go. I know there were kids there that couldn't get out. There were 3 or 4 boys there who were really tough and they made themselves my older brothers. They taught me to swear, to dance, to fight, to fight back. I would've died there without them. I'm over-all an incredibly lucky person. I have lived an amazing, full life. Still, I have a lot of pain caused by my mother's actions and in-actions. My experience at Synanon is still a bit beyond my comprehension, but I'm hoping to find some sort of closure or at least commiseration. Maybe here? Thanks for reading...
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Offline Ursus

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2011, 11:29:47 AM »
Quote from: "evaderci"
In 1975, I was sent to Synanon, Santa Monica when I was 11 years old. I was not a troubled child, drug addict or afflicted in any way mentally. My mother was seduced by one of the Synanon fundraisers, "Rona", who convinced her that they had a "great summer program for kids." My mom shipped me off to Synanon from Chicago (probably so she could spend more time with her latest husband) for 8 weeks. She knew NOTHING about the organization. Strictly took Rona's word for it. I begged her with collect calls about 3 times a week to let me come home. I was subjected to "Games", incredible hard labor and verbal/mental abuse by my "dorm mother." I moved to Santa Monica about 5 years ago and must have almost completely blocked out my experience until I was walking past the Casa Del Mar one afternoon and my husband saw me go completely white. I asked, "What is that building?" When he told me it used to be the Synanon headquarters, I collapsed on the sand and everything came rushing back. The worst part is that for all these years/decades, I have had no one else to talk to. It is like the worst acid trip or night terror -- you experience it, but you can't relate it to anyone. I came back to Chicago a very different child then when I'd left. No one understood why the sweet, malleable, good student was replaced with an almost demonically mature girl who could make anyone cry with just words. I'd learned quite a lot in those games. My deepest hurt is that my mother will not accept her mistake in sending me there. Cannot accept that she just flat out failed as a mother to protect her child. She put her delusions and interests ahead of everyone. When I tell her that I want to learn more about her thought process in sending her 11 year old daughter across the country to some unknown "camp", she just says, "You never remember all the good things I've done for you." I wish I could just talk to someone about what it was like to be there as a child. As a child with no one to look after me, or comfort me. It was war. I was enlisted for hard labor in Tomales Bay for Dederich's wedding. I was tormented by every adult female to shave my head. The best memory is of the Vietnam Vet who lived in the hallway on the 2nd floor of the main building. He was too freaked out to stay in a room, so he camped in the hallways. He taught me to play chess and on my last day there, he let me win. I don't even know how I was let go. I know there were kids there that couldn't get out. There were 3 or 4 boys there who were really tough and they made themselves my older brothers. They taught me to swear, to dance, to fight, to fight back. I would've died there without them. I'm over-all an incredibly lucky person. I have lived an amazing, full life. Still, I have a lot of pain caused by my mother's actions and in-actions. My experience at Synanon is still a bit beyond my comprehension, but I'm hoping to find some sort of closure or at least commiseration. Maybe here? Thanks for reading...
Wow. What a story. Eleven years old is soooo young to be put through this kind of experience!

We don't get many folk from Synanon here, in part due to the fact that they have their own site (see link above), and possibly also due to the experience inculcating a certain insularity in individuals, e.g., "we vs. them"; outsiders presumably cannot understand... The Synanon site being closed to the public also doesn't help matters much. No one gets to really learn many details of what people actually went through. (Plus, the site is managed by someone ostensibly, for the most part, pro-Synanon.)

However, fornits *IS* very much focused on similar (not same) such programs, most of which involve group peer pressure methodologies utilized to bring about change in individuals. Often at the expense of the individual. And frequently involving trauma that has a way of lingering...

Some of the programs on here actually evolved specifically from Synanon. If ya stay a while and read a bit, you might even get triggered by some of the practices, specific rites, etc. that bear eerily close resemblance to their origins. Or not so close, but still recognizable.

I am curious: how did your mom "ship you?" Did she employ a transport person, e.g., someone affiliated with or employed by Synanon? Do you remember this person's name?
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Offline AuntieEm2

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2011, 02:47:13 PM »
Dear evaderci,

Very sorry to hear you were subjected to this abuse. No one, especially a child, should have to endure this.

I am concerned that if you are in the process of remembering and revisiting this part of your past that you have a good support system around you--people who will listen and can help you understand all this, be there if you are having nightmares or flashbacks, or other symptoms other survivors have reported. You will find support here, but it's not quite the same. This can be a very difficult time, so take care.

Good luck,

Auntie Em
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« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2011, 03:08:04 PM »
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Offline none-ya

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #9 on: November 28, 2011, 04:47:24 PM »
A compelling story indeed.Tell me, you just happen to move to Santa Monica, And you didn't remember that's where synanon was? Why would you go back there?
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Offline Ursus

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #10 on: November 28, 2011, 06:35:39 PM »
Quote from: "none-ya"
A compelling story indeed.Tell me, you just happen to move to Santa Monica, And you didn't remember that's where synanon was? Why would you go back there?
I can't really speak for evaderci, but I imagine when you are eleven years old, you might not remember the specific name of the town/city in which your institution of torment was located, quite as well as you might when even a few years older... However, she sure remembered the actual physical place alright. She went "completely white," and then "collapsed on the sand" when her husband told her it used to be Synanon.
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Offline none-ya

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #11 on: November 28, 2011, 06:49:31 PM »
Tell me anyone, if you can't remember where you lived when you were 11?
It's not like being in the womb. Where did you go to the 6th grade? Some coincidence to move back to the same town decades later.
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Offline DannyB. ll

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #12 on: November 28, 2011, 08:37:08 PM »
I was in Daytop, Daytona, Days Inn, Synanon, Cinnabon and Cincinnati. Then I turned 12 and was sent to prison, served three years in the Army, and came out in time to get sent to Elan

Then at 13 I started a million man construction company and spend all my time relaxing on the internet  :nods:
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Offline evaderci

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #13 on: November 28, 2011, 09:25:22 PM »
None-ya: Let me be more specific... I remember being at Synanon and that it was in California. As I grew up, I realized it was located specifically in Santa Monica. I moved to Southern California from the East coast as an adult over 30 years later. I did not remember the EXACT building that is now the Casa Del Mar, until it was brought to my attention.  What is your question's point of WHY did I move back to Southern California? Did you read my initial post? I'm seeking some closure about my experience, not an interrogation as to why I moved my residence. Are you questioning the validity of an experience (mine) that you did not have? Or did you? If you can't offer anything further, why don't you just move on?
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Offline DannyB.II

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Re: Looking for Ex-Synanon Members?
« Reply #14 on: November 28, 2011, 10:33:22 PM »
None Ya is our resident online bully and troll. He or she thinks he or she is some kind of program sage

She is a welfare bum who trolls survivors and has a fixation on me.

 :feedtrolls:
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