Author Topic: Whine whine whine  (Read 8841 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline The truth teller

  • Posts: 2
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« on: December 01, 2001, 02:27:10 PM »
Whine whine whine
God I just found out about this website about a week ago and since then I've just listened to people whine about how hard done by they are and how these AARC ruined their lives And you know what its too bad If you feel that way, but I know for myself and many other people who went through aarc, it has made a real difference in our lives. And you claim that that AARC just brain washes people but you know what if I was brainwahsed I'm grateful that I was because I lead a happy and serene filled life and I know I would have any of that in my life if it weren't for aarc. If you guys are so happy then why have all I've heard form you is that your still torchered by night mares of what these "mind rape mills" have done to you. I know I sleep sound at night. Just a thought

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline 2dogs2

  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2001, 04:18:05 PM »
Must be different
I keep hearing about how aarc wasn't so bad , or that it was different. That has led me to believe that it must have been different , because you don't find anyone else defending the other places at all.  I know for certain that  I would be dead or jailed if I wasn't in Straight when I was.  I graduated with honors , Yet I would never defend them.  For years after , I would have been better off dead, and everyone else around me then would have had it better if I were dead. Working that @#%$ out of my head took everything I had and left me exhausted. I wish I would have ended up in any other place than Straight even your aarc.  But you all ought to know that people who are saying all this @#%$ about "mind rape mills" have a valid reason to do so.  Although I think it would better serve thier purpose to stick to what they know personally instead of blanketing everyone elses experience with thier own.  Read some stuff on Straight before you start calling folks whiners.    .......Dogs

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline kaydeejaded

  • Posts: 719
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2001, 05:16:40 PM »
Must Be Different
You are right. There really must have been a difference. Straight was insane and there really is no way to defend it. It also was so traumatic that all these years later I am still burning with rage at the @#%$ that happened to me and all the other people there. I really know nothing about AARC but I want to know... were your mouths covered by your peers?? did they deny you the right to use the bathroom?? did they keep you pinned down on the floor for hours and hours without the ability to get up and get a drink of water or move around? There were kids who slashed their wrists in group and staff that dealt with it by standing them up and screaming at them about how weak they are,or bringing them to the "infirmary" for a bomb squad. I am not grateful I hate them 11yrs later and I really hate them with vengeance.

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
or those who understand, no explanation is necessary; for those who don\'t, none will do

Offline Kathy

  • Posts: 449
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • http://ficanetwork.net
Whine whine whine
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2001, 07:01:58 PM »
Re: Whine whine whine
I don't know if it is that much different.  We assume there must be  some similarities since, Newton ran Straight, then opened up KInds inc... and Newton trained your director.  How could it really be all that different.  All the Straight programs have a definate "Newtonian element" to them.  


Give us some specific examples of how AARC is different.  And tell me where to find the research that proves the efficacy of AARC.  


thank you,

Kathy

Kathy

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Kathy
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."    ~Plato

Offline the

  • Posts: 1
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2001, 09:39:24 PM »
Explaining a little more about the difference
SO, Ive gotten a few responses back and I'm glad. ANd you know what I'm sorry for calling you guys whiners, I've heard how horrible Straight and Kids and the Seed were but I don't sit here pretending to know all about it, because honestly I don't know, ANd I guess that is what frustrates me so much, I just feel like everybody who had some tramatic experiences in these other treatment centers are bashing AARC and I don't feel it is right. to answer some of your questions No our peers didn't cover our mouths, no we were not denied the right to go to the bathroom when we needed to, no we were not pinned down for hours without the ability to get up and get a drink or move, and I can tell you that if someone was slashing their wrists in AARC that person would not be screamed at for hours and be told their weak, that person would get help, because obviously it takes alot of pain to slach your wrists. I really belive in AARC and I wouldn't defend something that I knew didn't work. Like I said I don't have nightmares, I don't have built up rage inside of me towards aarc. I live a very happy and serenity filled life. And I thank god for aarc helping me get to this point.

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Cheeky54

  • Posts: 9
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2001, 10:52:23 PM »
Differences
 I don't think anyone here ever said that AARC was like KIDS/Staight in everyway.  Let me speak only for myself.  No I did not get restrained, I was not denied food or the ability to go to the bathroom.  The ability to go to the bathroom alone... well that is another story.  I slashed and I know and remember exactly what happened to me afterwards and during that is seared into my mind and no one can ever tell me it did'nt happen or try to down play it.


We can talk all we want about how certain things at AARC were different from KIDS.  Hell lets stop comparing it to KIDS etc. all together.  It doesn't make it any better.  I have said before and I will say again the specific things that harmed me(at least some of them anyway):


-the slashing and how it was handled obviously

-being confronted in rap about being a prostitute (then once I was on staff being told by one of the ones confronting me that they knew I wasn't they were just doing it to F^ck with my head

-having to have someone in the bathroom with my and there when I take a shower

-Sexual confessions (talking in detail myself in front of others, and hearing others share)  Beastiality, insest, rape etc. only to name a few)

-The constant negativity, breaking me down, to build me back up the way certain people think "productive members of society" should be

-Being told that "being Gay is a disease like alcoholism, they're sick"


Etc. Etc.  I know that the things that went on there scarred me, and maybe why there are so many people defending the centre is because it's no one has talked about the wrong things before, and I believe if you are still involved with AARC it still has you in its grasp.  Of course you think it saved your life, it is your life.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Antigen

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 12992
  • Karma: +3/-0
    • View Profile
    • http://wwf.Fornits.com/
Whine whine whine
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2001, 12:02:22 AM »
No one defends Straight? Loretta defending her cult (click the link and then click on the link to 28 DAZE to view the video) We met some SAFE defenders in Bethesda who were just as sincere as you seem to be.

Letters to The Trebach Institute Scroll down a little, the 3rd or 4th letter and the next one are very interesting.

Straight Incorporated Alumni Former 7th step officer and staff (I do believe), Don Smith started this group to counter claims made by us druggielosers over on Straight, Inc Survivors. He set out to round up Program supporters, but couldn't find any. Don's a good guy. He's taken the time to think about things and has at least conceded that the Program was probably a bad experience for some of us. I still get attacked pretty hostilly by some folks for being very anti-program. (if you want to read but don't want the mail, get a yahoo login if you haven't got one, join the group but opt for no mail. You'll be able to read the archive on the web, but won't have 100 msgs a day landing in your mailbox)


Most damning of all, I think, from: President Bush to Nominate Sembler to be the Ambassador of the United States to Italy "In 1976 Sembler founded STAIGHT, an adolescent drug rehabilitation program which has graduated over 12,000young adults nationwide." The sanctimonious son of a bitch is STILL bragging about his crimes, like the cat who swollowed the cannary.


Same with every faction of the TOUGHLOVE hate group. They all have their devoute followers who would lay down their lives to protect their cult. Cults are like that.
-If there's a worse idea going than locking kids up for victimless crimes, it's probably locking them in close proximity to some tyrannical altruist bent on helping them even if it kills them.
Anonymity Anonymous
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
"Don\'t let the past remind us of what we are not now."
~ Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes

Offline velvet2000

  • Posts: 198
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2001, 10:13:50 AM »
No Different
Shitty, some of you are getting brain washed!!!!


"truth teller" didn't just find this board he's been posting here all along. All of you need to remember that there are only two people "defending" AARC. They are staff, and one is the owner/"clinical director" of the program. They are here to "defend" because if they don't they will loose their income.


AARC had to change some things in order to get off the ground, and though I don't believe that Vause liked it, it turned out to be great for AARC. Fattening instead of starving kids looks great. Giving them the necessary amount of sleep that Social Services had them abide by turned out for the better, and not restraining kids as often for as long was better for their reputation too. But They do restrain, so don't let them try to say it doesn't happen, it happens fairly regularily. They restrain for anyone who's out of line, like tries to walk out of group (or anywhere they aren't supposed to be) or whenever anyone tries to "run" even if they legally were allowed to do so.


"In a way AARC perfected the Kids Centers of America. The restrictions layed upon them by the government allowed them to pretty up the program. It gave them time to throw heart wrenching homecomings, and fancy graduation ceremonies."


Anonymous source, but a suiting quote.


For those who went through other Straight based programs, you need to think about which was the most damaging, being restrained or having "blast raps" all of the time. I personally could have died due to not being allowed medical attention. I think that's a pretty serious threat against a kid.


Another great example of people defending Cults is the movie Not MY Kid about parents taking their child through Kids Centers of America. Has anyone here seen that?

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Antigen

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 12992
  • Karma: +3/-0
    • View Profile
    • http://wwf.Fornits.com/
Whine whine whine
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM »
Re: No Different
Yeah, what ever happened to the first and most important rule. In Bethesda, I stood face to face with Brian Seeber, SAFE's lawyer and devoted parent groupie. He lied right to my face saying they don't use any violence or restraint. So I asked him if he were there the night Leah Marchisalt was tackled up against the wall by group when she tried to break for the door during open meeting. He didn't deny it.


Another interesting detail that our split personality poster gave away. I asked him (them?) if they sent copies of that flyer to Calvina. I got no answer, not even "Who the hell's Calvina?" Group members probably don't know who she is. But Miller Light there certainly does. She's the executive director of the corporation formerly known as Straight, Incorporated.


I'll tell you another thing. I feel badly for those people who were deprived of adequate food and left always hungry. I've never experienced that, and I'm sure it's horrible. But we were never starved in Straight, Sarasota, `80 - `82. We were forced or coerced to eat too much of a high fat, high starch, low protien diet. Almost all of the girls gained 20 or 30 lbs. I went in a healthy 115 @ 5'2" and came out the other end weighing 140 with pasty white, acne covered skin and green hair from the flourescent lighting and never seeing the light of day. Then, to add insult to injury, we once had a rap about how the girls' side needed to respect ourselves by staying in shape and losing weight; asif we had a choice about what we did or how much we ate! They even had some of the guys point out which girls grosed them out the most. How therapeutic, huh?


For some reason, though, most of the guys' side didn't gain a lot of weight. They were just as pasty and acne covered as we were, but most of them weren't fat.  

-If there's a worse idea going than locking kids up for victimless crimes, it's probably locking them in close proximity to some tyrannical altruist bent on helping them even if it kills them.
http://fornits.com/anonanon/'>Anonymity Anonymous

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
"Don\'t let the past remind us of what we are not now."
~ Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes

Offline gr8ful2aarc

  • Posts: 19
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM »
Thank you 2 Dogs 2, Kathy etc.
Thank you for hearing that AARC is not like SEED, KIDS etc.Like I have said before AARC was going to be KIDS of the Canadian West.Dr.Vause, the parents from KIDS and some others decided not to go that route.The early days of AARC weren't the easiest because all the peers went through KIDS and really struggled with their own demons.By the time I had got there most the staff had left for various reasons and there was only 3 or 4 staff from kids left.As time went on and they went through lots of growing pains and made a lot of changes.They strayed away from a lot of the KIDS ways of doing things.AARC has found its own methods of helping the teens in a very positive loving way.I remember how hard it was back then and I am so grateful to how far AARC has grown and changed.I believe in AARC 100% and I will admit somethings in the old days weren't right but AARC has grown and changed a lot and they keep getting better as they go along. I have been clean,sober and living an absolutely wonderful since I went through AARC and many years since.Thanks for keeping an open mind!

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Antigen

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 12992
  • Karma: +3/-0
    • View Profile
    • http://wwf.Fornits.com/
Whine whine whine
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2001, 09:55:42 PM »
Dead crazy people
 I guess that in the same way they see dead crazy people all over the place, they unsee anything they don't want to.


Oh!, here's atheory worth considering. Maybe the Program devout are the dead crazy people. They only see what they want to.


Of course the programs aren't absolutely identical. Art Barker was a washed up Vaudivillian comic and that was reflected in the Cult-ure of the place. They sang sogs like "It Ain't Neccissarily So" and "The old Soft Shoe" and there was a distinct anti-religious theme running through the whole thing. Straight was a little different. The language changed. Chicks and guys became girls and guys, split was replaced by departed and then by simply left. Cop-out had a different meaning than before at Synanon and after in all of the programs. It meant mental  avoidance, not physically leaving.


Come to think of it, that's about as apt a term as I can think of for your assertion that AARC is nothing like the other branches. I would direct readers once again to Cheeky's post, subject header "Sleepless in Canada".  There are plenty of other similarities. But if that bit about 'treating' a sicide attempt with shame and hostile confrontation were all of it, that would be enough.


Oh, and just because I was raise to share and not be selfish, here's a little bit of info that I hopw will bring you dreams as interesting as some that the Program still gives me sometimes. There's a  man sitting in the Florida prison system right now for shooting his ex wife in the head over their daughter's grave. She was sentenced to a life term for driving her young daughter to suicide.  But the courts allowed her tp visit the gravesite before shipping her out of the area. The method by which she commited this crime was sexual shame. She forced her 13 or 15 year old daughter (can't remember the age off-hand) to work in a local strip club.


Do you have any idea how powerful sexual shame is to a young person? I mean aside from the ways that you view as expedient to your twisted ends.


The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Vause. And I believe you are acting on the best of intentions. I hope you reach your destination. Happy dreams.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
"Don\'t let the past remind us of what we are not now."
~ Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes

Offline Kathy

  • Posts: 449
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • http://ficanetwork.net
Whine whine whine
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2001, 10:56:29 PM »
Re: Thank you for what?
 OK, I will take an "open mind" as they say in 'the Program' , however, you have given me no reason to believe that the program is any different.  I'll take an 'open mind', but I'm not stupid.  Show me the studies that show the efficacy of your program, show me the facts, then maybe you'll be able to persuade someone on this board to believe you.  So far, I've only heard your opinion, but I;ve heard no facts.


Just the facts please ma'am or sir.
Kathy
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Kathy
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."    ~Plato

Offline 2dogs2

  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2001, 05:05:07 PM »
Can't let it go?
If these places all changed and started doing things the "right" way (although I don't know what that would be) All the folks who are still dragging themselves through the "victim" excuse for not living up to their potential , would lose their "right" to fight.  And for those who have made it their lives mission to stop what happened to them, would be lost.  So I say, let em'  rant , it gives them something to do.

  And before y'all start "motivating" at me you should know that I believe that your pain is valid , But I also know that it is possible to overcome if you really want it bad enough....Dogs  

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline 2dogs2

  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2001, 05:22:57 PM »
Whlie I'm at it.
Question:  Do you think that it is possible that an ex-staff member from a "Straight-like" program could go somewhere else with the intention of taking the good stuff he learned(however small the amount) , and starting a new program with none of the abuse's that he/she themself knows don't really work?  I know I could.  With all the pissing and moaning about how it has all got to stop(myself included) We seem to forget that there are millions of parents out there who have no idea what-so-ever to do with their ,out of control kids. Maybe if there was a place that was worthy of supporting , we could all get behind them and overshadow the "the mind rape mills". Maybe kill two birds.  Makes more sense to me than just spinning my wheels. Then again I'm not the kind of person who "likes" being angry". Once I was , and I know how confortably familiar anger can be but I've found that I don't have to be pissed-off to have conviction....DOGS

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline kaydeejaded

  • Posts: 719
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Whine whine whine
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2001, 05:46:00 PM »
Where are you at?
     Dear Dog, I really am not feelin where you are coming from. Forget about the parents now we are the parents and this situation still remains. I have no problem with anger personally and I am comfortable expressing it. What I am not comfortable with is your idea that we should get over it. If we just get over it then it is forgotten and done with nothing and no one to stop it from happening again. I have conviction in anything I believe in but tend to get angry when it is a cause almost unsurmountable. The people who run/own and operate these Straight type TC communities are the government. Fighting the government is not the most effortless thing to do bro. You get behind Bush and implement your new wave of treatment centers better yet why don't we lock the parents up and teach them how to control their "out of control kids" that may work. If you loved you campy rehab experience then go head but not me and I will not forget it. Peace out Dog

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
or those who understand, no explanation is necessary; for those who don\'t, none will do