It IS a very insightful statement. If the poster has a bad rep for being a liar and/or a hypocrite and still puts that statement out on "front street" knowing how people would react to it and him, then I gotta pat that person on the back for doing it despite the consequences and the potential backlash.
However, it does not vindicate a person that has wreaked havoc non stop for a long time.
I try to remain 100% posotive about people in general. I have seen so much ugliness in such a short life that I am saddened for my 8 year old daughter to grow up in this world.
Thus far her/our loving family has "shielded" her and are letting her fully enjoy the beauty of childhood before puberty hits and she is boy crazy and experimental and before the wistfull innocence slowly fades away into adulthood and all of it's trial and tribulations are thrust upon her and her friends.
Everyone dealt with Elan and the aftermath of it in their own way. After Elan nearly all of us were a little shell shocked and it was very understandable.
I don't put a person down that got fucked up by the place nor do I try to force a person to feel bad about their role in Elan if they feel there is no need to feel bad. So be it.
It is up to the individual.
I HAD a hard time admitting the role(s) I played in Elan, at first.
I was SO against the joint and the methods used in it. But I too joined in on occasion and did to people what I had done to me, the things I truly hated just to get off of a shotdown or get out of the corner or to move up a position or to get people off my back.
All I wanted after awhile was peace and quiet and to get to bed before midnight on a weekday.To stop the obnoxious resident pulling on the post from shining a flashlight in my eyes and saying "Is she asleep yet?" I got into a lot of trouble for snatching the light and chuckin it on the floor off of a top bunk!
A young person can only take so much horse shit and abuse in general before they snap.
For crying outloud we were barely out of puberty (most of us anyways) and were thrown into roles in Elan that were hard on the mind and the heart and the conscience.
Game playing was the daily norm, liking changing your underware. Students and staff alike played all the games and made up a few as they went along. We were so young and naive for the most part.
We had seen ugliness before Elan and one time I talked to a few of the hard core, bad ass dudes that came into Elan and they told me that this was like nothing they have ever seen or experienced before.
A lot of us lost a vital growth period in life. How can one "grow" in Elan? They can't. In a healthy way, anyways. I was taught how to be petty and underhanded and passive agressive. This is my opinion and mine alone.
Maybe someone else was taught something they consider to be more posotive and usefull. Unless you work for Corporate America then the Elan experience will serve you well.
I was sick of being a shotdown and scrubbing the garbage can area on my hands and knees only to have a power trippin ram-rod run their fingers along the floor and say "Look at this dirt and filth, did you even clean it? You need to do it over again and do it right this time!"
I wanted to smack them people with a shit stained mop! POW! Right in the smacker!
I got my feelings off to "look good", I booked people, I dropped slips, I got my feelings off in a few GM's, I did the "pull up" thing, Etc.
I can count on one hand all the times I got my feelings of for a person for a legit reason. One of those times was for my BFF who split and got caught. Then it was not anger it was sadness and hurt for leaving me all alone in this place.
My legit times were not anger related really, mostly being hurt by a friend. I saw so many people that were just screaming machines in every group/GM. How can one person be so angry in every group? I guess some used it as a release. Can't blame em.
Some people were able to withstand the screaming and the "tear them down to build them up" method. Some were not. Those who could not deal with it were not "bad" people or "less than" those who could.
After Elan we have all seen the graduates do well and the non graduates fuck up and vice versa. Who's to say how our life would of ended up if we were non graduates or graduates? Marc or Jeffrey or Tania or Claire or Petey or Missy or Terry?
No, they were NOT the all knowing guru's they made themselves out to be. They predicted grim fates for us fuckups/non graduates and the really funny thing is that I have seen more fuckups do better after Elan than the so called superstars of Elan. Life is not that predictable. They did not have the power of the 3rd eye.
The therapy Elan passes off is not therapy at all. Come on now, what sane therapist condones verbal abuse to put someone in check or to help a person get over an issue? Not those that want to retain their license to practice anyways.
Yes, Elan sucked. Yes, Elan was all kinds of fucked up. Yes, Elan was abusive to it's residents. Yes, the residents abused one another.
Whether you were released 2 days ago or 20 years ago the fact that you are here posting about it means it is on your mind in some way shape or form. To find old pals or to reminisce. By looking up old pals I knowingly brought Elan back into my world again along with the happiness of finding an old friend I had to deal with Elan and all the rotten things it stood for in my life.
I tried to forget all about my experience in Elan. You can't forget them. Maybe that's the point.
Lets face it, some of us think that people need to get over it and move on, then there are some of us that think those people are insensitive assholes and that Elan needs to be exposed in all it's glory.
Whether you were there 2 days ago or 40 years ago it does not lessen the trauma and pain you feel when thinking about Elan and it's abusive ways. We all saw fucked up shit, we all said to ourselves at one point that what was going down was dead wrong and did NOT want to participate in it. The consequences were to severe for NOT participating.
The fact that we all gather here with our different ages, colors, backgrounds, experiences, Etc. and share about Elan or life in general is great. It has led to many people hooking up again, old beefs get squashed, shit gets worked out and talked about, we laugh our ass's off at the other people here, argue like cats and dogs, meet new people online, reminisce, catch up on gossip about other residents, share happy and sad stories we hear about ex residents, Etc.
If only we showed such solidarity while in Elan then maybe places like Fornits would not be needed so much.
