Unless the "abuse" was better than walking out onto the street, which suggests it wasn't really abuse.
Again, walking out wasn't really an option and if what you're describing was accurate, I would say you would have a point. In any case, read the description in my signature of what Benchmark was like and come to your own conclusions of whether or not what some of the things they did were abusive. I never claimed Benchmark physically abused kids (apart from maybe the Benchmark "diet"). I was quite clear it was almost exclusively verbal and psychological, as was CEDU, it's progenitor. Synanon had a strict non-violence rule which CEDU inherited. That being said the verbal confrontation was harsh enough to convince people to confess and even believe in things they did not do and problems they objectively did not have. Clearly you do not understand how cults work. I'm sorry if you suffered abuse in a physically abusive program (I assume that's why you're so bitter), but to discount all other forms of abuse is a slap in the face to a good 70% of this forum's population. Consider yourself lucky that you didn't get convinced you had problems you didn't, and have to work that out later in life. Consider yourself lucky you weren't convinced by the program that you were a worthless less-than-human being who had no ability to live on his own. Consider yourself lucky you weren't beaten down that far, but don't dare judge if you were never there.
Again, if you want to know about the logistics of what went on, call me or use the search function. I've already explained it at least five times before (but I lost my bookmarks on my other machine).
