Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Seed Discussion Forum
Group Think
cleveland:
If you look on the other forums here, it won't take too long before you find a similar story...someone claiming this of that Program helped them, while others will claim it was the work of the Devil...
My personal view is that when you deliberately stress people out, confront them with their faults and weaknesses in a group setting, make them emotionally vulnerable and confess their weaknesses, and finally have them swear allegience to either the the leader or the group itself...and dedicate themselves to spreading this message...
Some will seemingly achieve big life changes - seemingly a 'miracle.' Some will reject it and leave. Others will stay for a bit, then move on. Point is, what happens years down the road? Why do we need to use this way to achieve change, if it even works, these techniques can create monsters too (Hitler Youth?)
Isn't there a better way to change your life?
Personally, I think so, but it is hard work. I don't really believe in 'miracles'...just the long slow work of changing yourself for the better...
Rob P.:
testing sig
cleveland:
I can't believe it...
People will spend all day arguing about whether the Seed was good or bad, but won't talk about the program itself...
Good or bad, what were the 'techniques,' what were the 'tools,' everyone refers to? I'm sorry, I hate vagueness when it comes to taking a position...
Let's talk about it: is it OK to stress kids out, aggravate their sense of shame, restrict their rights, instill an unquestioning belief in authority, and restrict their contact with the outside world? Would anyone argue that this is not what the Seed did in fact - and the same techniques are used by WWASP today? Is it OK 'for their own good?' Is it OK if I think it 'helped' me?
The stories people tell in these forums are all the same, more or less...
Tell me I'm wrong!
GregFL:
Your not wrong Cleveland. The thing is, some people buy into the myth that they were so damaged, so worthless, that this saved them from themselves.
They for some reason don't realize they were for the most part just children going thru normal teenage problems.
As far as the tools, they were 7 of the twelve steps lifted from AA. They were really meaningless in the overall scheme of what "worked" at the seed. I contend you could have replaced them with anything and still got the same result.
The real effective part of the experience were the cultic aspects. The motivating, the forced attention at all times, the public humiliation and confessions, the constant threat of punishment, the love bombing, the restriction of freedom and thought, the forcing of demonizing all pre-seed memories, the isolation from the rest of the world, the us and them mentality...
these are the real techniques. The steps and "signs" were just fluff IMO, especially in light of the fact that they were using addiction treatment "steps" on mostly non addicted kids.
cleveland:
Greg,
I'd like to hear from some of the folks who feel the Seed helped them, and explain how they were helped - did separating them from the outside world, subjecting them to group confession and day-long raps, having them live segregated from each other by sex and from the outside world - what tools came from that?
In short, how does that work to make you a better person? Some people here think it did...I'm not going to argue with their reality but I am interested in how 'honesty, the gift of self-awareness, and wanting to 'do the right thing' come from those things above. Or do those things come from something else?
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