Fornits

Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

A film journalist  will be at my home this week near Williamsburg. His interest is the War on Drugs.  He is familiar with Straight.  Anybody like to get interviewed here, send me an email.

wes@wesfager.com

Would you two be willing to tell me your stories by email.  I would not reveal your identities without your permission.  Do I know one of you?

Thanks

Wes
wes@wesfager.com

One other change we made was to try to make the page smaller  so that it will load quicker, and so that it will be more readable.  We did not remove links to any forums (and if we did it was by accident).  What we did do was to limit ourselves to "direct" links to only three forums.  Two on thestraights (of which LIFE fits into that model) and one on ScientologyTM.  There is a fourth link "other forums" and LIFE, KIDS, et. al. are in there.  

We don't expect that links to these forums from our page are being used as jump off points for our readers into the forums--rather we want to alert new readers that there are forums for their specific experiences.  

So the writer is correct in stating that the "direct" link has been removed, but unfortunately the intent was missed by the writer.  If people are saying they are using theStraights.com as a jump off point into forums  then we will rethink our design.

Wes

Anybody in Virginia with capablity of converting standard audio cassette tapes to digital format for computer playback.

Thanks,

Wes

Ginger please email me where it documents Jeb wants 100 mil for rehabs

This forum has always been long on complaining about what was done to them at Straight and short on doing anything about it.  Straight was founded by Mel and Betty Sembler yet there  was little discussion or participation from the Straight crowd when St. Pete for Peace protested the Sembler Company last month.  Most TV stations that covered the protest were careful to shoot their camera shots so that the Sembler  Company and its logo were not in the background.  Everyone quoted by the reporters sounded off about George Bush--all of which is noteworthy because there was a purpose for the protesters being at the  Sembler Company in the first place.  The Straigtht crowd was represented--but poorly.  Nevertheless some great photos were taken by the Straight crowd of the protesters with the Sembler Company in the background.  The photos are in our vaults for future books, newspaper  and magazine articles, web pages, fliers  and TV shows.  

Three years ago protesters flew in from  all around the country to protest at Sembler's home in Treasure Island.  A reporter from the new St. Pete Times was there taking names and shooting photos.  What great shots he took of 20+  people in line at the same time in front of the dynamic duo's home while others were on a bull horn across the street in the little park.  How often have people flown in from all over the country to protest an ambassador tied to child abuse on a grand scale--his Order of Australia notwithstanding.  What a great story. The Straight crowd did not take any pictures relying on the Times.  Well the Times never ran the  story and the pictures are lost.  But exactly one week later the Times announced that it had been given exclusive right to sell their paper in Sembler shopping malls.  This deal included large, electronic ticker tapes in Sembler malls and also an entertainment stage named for the Times.   From what I saw last month the  Times covered anti-inaugural protesters in California and elsewhere in the country but ignored the protesters across the street from it.  

Look, all I am saying is that you can buy off a newspaper or TV station as long as the story can be controlled.  But you can not control a story that involves the protest by 100 people--or more!!!  That brings in national level coverage that makes the local papers have to at least pretend to cover it.  Sitting on your duffs, talking  but  doing nothing is exactly what they want you to do.    They don't even want you discussing  it on the Internet, but they can't stop that.    So they settle on containment--limit it to a narrow group on the web.  Dear friends, you have to help make the story happen.  

Citizens for Legitimate Government have issues with the Semblers for trying to stiffle free speech and other issues as well--including those of the Straight crowd.  See:  http://www.legitgov.org/front_stpete_sc ... 12205.html

Who among you has even bothered to inform them that there will even be a protest?

And what about the Uhurus.  They have racism issues with Sembler.  Last year they did a joint protest with the Straight crowd of Sembler's home.  See: http://thestraights.com/pickets/st-vale ... /story.htm

Who would like to be at the protest but can not make it to Florida?  Would you consider staging a protest at a Holocaust Memorial in your area.  Can you send money? Who has contacted the press?  Who has contacted the picket coordinator to inquire whether there is anything you can do over and above showing up--which is the minimum you can do?  Who has even thanked the  coordinator for trying to put this together?  The coordinator can be reached at: http://stpeteforpeace.org/events.html

Wes Fager
ed., http://www.theStraights.com

You hit it right on the head.  Most Straight survivors themselves want no part of a protest of a Holocaust museum and it's easy to understand why. They still don't understand why this could possibly  be an issue, and they find it distasteful, under any circumstance, to be a part of such a protest. The very idea!

Under any normal circumstance  no one but a neo-Nazi or other like-minded anti-Semite would dare protest a Holocaust museum. But this is a special exception and besides it is not the Holocaust that we are protesting anyway, nor is it the honorable principals of what these institutions stand for either.

I have presented my case of why there should be a protest here:

http://thestraights.com/articles/case2p ... museum.htm

and here:

http://thestraights.com/reports/sembler ... rights.htm

How about two theme signs:

1.
      STOP MEL SEMBLER
 FROM HIDING UNDER THE SKIRTS
   OF THIS HONORABLE MUSEUM
(we are the anti-Straight crowd)

and 2.
SUPPORT THE FLORIDA HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
  (we are the anti-Straight crowd)

Either two sets of signs, one set exposing  Sembler's duplicity, one set supporting the museum, both tied to the same crowd.

Or just boldly include the following on all signs:

 WE SUPPORT THE FLORIDA HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

We should make a group contribution to this fine museum--$100 minimun--and a letter should be sent to them--if this has not already been done--explaining why there will be a protest. Perhaps  the letter could attach my two articles.  Let me know and I will make a printer version with hyperlinks for you.  

There is a national Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC as well as the Simon Wisenthal Centre in LA, plus other places where survivors who can not travel to Florida could conduct con-current protests in their own areas. But somebody has to take the initiative.

Also, has anyone given any consideration to coordinating this, and other similar events,  with others who have a beef with these guys, others like St Pete for Peace, the Uhuru, and such?

You know, there were many Jews in Straight and many Jews are outspoken about Straight.  I spoke to one of these guys recently who had a grandfather in the Holocaust.  This person told me that people view the Nazis with such hatred and contempt because they destroyed the spirit as well as the body. Do you see what that person  is saying in context with rehab abuse?

As an aside, here's something to think about.  Not My Kid is a movie  based on Miller Newton's book of the same name.  It did a lot to recruit kids into Straight and it did a lot to help keep parents inline once they joined the cult. Actor George Segal did a great job playing  the father in the movie. Segal is a well educated man and a sculptor.  he is also a Jew and one of his designs was used in a Holocaust memorial theme.
   
Thank you all for your hard work.  Send us many pictures and, at least, we can all agree on one thing: I'm sure we're all rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles in the big game.

Wes

"If David Miscaviage can go to his deposition as Admiral Farragut, then Keith Henson can go as Bozo the Clown."

[ This Message was edited by: wesfager on 2005-01-28 18:49 ]