Fornits

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

I'm struck by a few things as I read this thread. The first is that, simply, I find it hard to believe that the 12-step recovery programs, including AA, have only about a 5% success rate. It seems, based on people I know and have known, that they actually do much better than that. I have a good deal of respect for 12-step programs, which are voluntary, nurturing programs for adults who are in a lot of pain. As far as I can tell, these programs, even with their cult-like trappings, do much more good than harm.

But Walter's history at the beginning of this thread is most interesting. Why IS it that prophets, sages, charismatic individuals throughout time immemorial receive certain "revealed truths" which DO affect great positive changes in themselves and those around them--but then once these revelations are codified and rigidified into a self-perpetuating system or philosophy or organization, they almost always lend themselves to some very crazy thinking at best, and abusive behavior at worst?

I'm thinking right now, for example, of Hasidic Judaism. (I myself am Jewish, so I hope this is all right for me to talk about.) Hasidism was begun by a rabbinical mystic known as the Baal Shem Tov, who was an ecstatic, effusive visionary. And yet the movement that proceeded from his insights is full of so much solemnly prescribed ritual, such strict methods of dress and highly structured modes of worship, it seems almost antithetical to the original spirit of the Baal Shem Tov's vision.  

I actually do believe in revealed truths. I just think human rationality and logic are a safeguard, a criterion against which "divinely revealed" truths must ultimately be measured. And not all revealed truths turn out to be true, let alone 100% true.

I think the allure of revealed truth is that life is so complicated and confusing--it's comforting and seductive to get to feel unconflicted, 100% sure about anything.

Go Walter! Thanks for this thread.

What's up with all these anonymous posters making condescending and rude remarks? Is it just one or two anonymice amongst us? Is it that they are still being loyal to the Seed, "protecting their anonymity" per the rules? Or are they merely spinelessly mean-spirited? Gee, I don't know. What do you think, FueLaw?

You go, FueLaw. For the record, though I never witnessed or experienced a physical beating in the Seed, I totally believe your account about John Underwood beating you up together with someone else. It sounds perfectly in character to me. And yes, every time he posts, he reveals his own seething sense of inadequacy, and even after all these years, it's a pleasure, isn't it?

I hate to spoil the politeness party here, but John, every time you post, you just reveal yourself to be a bigger jackass.

What exactly is your point? All these people who ended so badly, and they weren't using drugs yet at 15 . . . is this some kind of evidence that all 15 year old non-Seedlings were bound for Hell? I mean, what on earth are you suggesting?

As a 40-something baby boomer, NEARLY EVERY PERSON I'VE EVER MET IN MY LIFE did some drugs in their teens. Furthermore, everyone I knew who was in the Seed at the same time I was returned to using drugs within a year or two.

I think it is dishonorable and pathetic to trot out the tragic stories of people whom you've known, in an attempt to use those stories as some sort of justification for the Seed, and for your own role in the Seed. Just how much are you willing to contort yourself, how many rationalizations are you going to reach for, before you simply admit that you fucked up? Asshole.

Some of the people who helped author the language of the bill were disillusioned Teen Help parents, who realized that their kids had been abused.

 The main people to write to would be Rep. Miller, thanking him for introducing the bill and stating your support; Rep. John Boehner, who chairs the Committee on Education and the Workforce; and Rep. Henry Hyde, who chairs the Committee on International Relations. (The bill has been referred to both of these committees.)

Following are some template letters; please feel free to copy them. I'm also including each Congressman's mailing address.

***

The Honorable George Miller
2205 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Miller,

I am writing to thank you for your sponsorship of HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.

I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Thank you for your work with this bill and this important, under-publicized issue.

Sincerely,
 
***

The Honorable Henry Hyde
2110 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Hyde,

I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill. Because many of the residential behavior modification programs for teens are situated in foreign countries, though they are administered by U.S.-based entities, I believe this issue falls under the jurisdiction of your committee.
 
I am a survivor of a program called _____, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.

Sincerely,

***

The Honorable John Boehner
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Boehner,

I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.
 
I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.

Sincerely,

I think this bill is an excellent start; it basically gives the attorneys general of each state a mandate to investigate the practices of both domestic and foreign-based residential treatment institutions "to assure the welfare and safety of American children."

Some of the people who helped author the language of the bill were disillusioned Teen Help parents, who realized that their kids had been abused.

The main people to write to would be Rep. Miller, thanking him for introducing the bill and stating your support; Rep. John Boehner, who chairs the Committee on Education and the Workforce; and Rep. Henry Hyde, who chairs the Committee on International Relations. (The bill has been referred to both of these committees.)

Following are some template letters; please feel free to copy them. I'm also including each Congressman's mailing address.

***

The Honorable George Miller
2205 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Miller,

I am writing to thank you for your sponsorship of HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.

I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Thank you for your work with this bill and this important, under-publicized issue.

Sincerely,
 
***

The Honorable Henry Hyde
2110 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Hyde,

I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill. Because many of the residential behavior modification programs for teens are situated in foreign countries, though they are administered by U.S.-based entities, I believe this issue falls under the jurisdiction of your committee.
 
I am a survivor of a program called _____, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.

Sincerely,

***

The Honorable John Boehner
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Boehner,

I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.
 
I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.

Sincerely,

As many of you may already know, there has been a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman George Miller of California, entitled the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005 (HR 1738).

I think it's an excellent start; it basically gives the attorneys general of each state a mandate to investigate the practices of both domestic and foreign-based residential treatment institutions "to assure the welfare and safety of American children."

Some of the people who helped author the language of the bill were disillusioned Teen Help parents, who realized that their kids had been abused.

You can read the bill here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.1738.IH:

You can sign a petition to support the bill here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/hr1738/petition.html

But personal letters are far more effective than signatures on a petition. The main people to write to would be Rep. Miller, thanking him for introducing the bill and stating your support; Rep. John Boehner, who chairs the Committee on Education and the Workforce; and Rep. Henry Hyde, who chairs the Committee on International Relations. (The bill has been referred to both of these committees.)

Following are some template letters; please feel free to copy them. I'm also including each Congressman's mailing address.

***

The Honorable George Miller
2205 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Miller,

I am writing to thank you for your sponsorship of HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.

I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Thank you for your work with this bill and this important, under-publicized issue.

Sincerely,
 
***

The Honorable Henry Hyde
2110 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Hyde,

I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill. Because many of the residential behavior modification programs for teens are situated in foreign countries, though they are administered by U.S.-based entities, I believe this issue falls under the jurisdiction of your committee.
 
I am a survivor of a program called _____, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.

Sincerely,

***

The Honorable John Boehner
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Boehner,

I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.
 
I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.

I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.

Sincerely,

[ This Message was edited by: marcwordsmith on 2005-09-16 12:32 ]

No way, Ginger. That just doesn't ring a bell. I was sure if I saw it I'd recognize it. Then again, maybe they didn't sing that verse while I was there. "To help the loser see the light"? I'm sure I'd remember it.

Hey let's make up our own verses! I'll go first.

For every druggie still at large
We'll scoop them all up and we'll show who's in charge
We'll make you admit that you're all full of shit
If you cry and you scream we don't care one bit