Hey Dan. :smile: Kick back, get yourself some coffee or wine (your pleasure), put your feet up and enjoy the show. We've dealt with this kind of monkey-wrenching pretty constantly over here. The trick is to really understand the slight of mind.
There's a whole lot more than money driving this. I know, I spent most of my childhood as a jr member of the Seed cult and ended my association with Straight as a pre-trainee for staff.
Yes, it's intentional. But the organization is sort of free-lance.
Here's a quote from that NYT article: "I don't think I'd be alive today if I hadn't been sent there, but I have nightmares to this day about it," said Sarah Levesque, 20, who was sent to Elan by her parents in 1996 at 14, for two years. "I wake up crying at least once a week. Elan saved my life, but I feel haunted by it."
The physical abuse that goes on in these Programs is only the tip of the iceberg; more a symptom or eventuality of what's going on than the meat of it. It's hard for anyone to really understand who hasn't had it happen to them, though we keep trying to find common points of reference because it's so important that people DO get the picture.
In a word, the Program is very, very effective! Not the least bit therapeutic, mind you, but
VERY effective. Some people, all these years later, are
still brainwashed. The point of breaking down the will of a client is to convince them that they are wholely and utterly worthless. Then, when they're well broken, lead them down an imagined path to redemption via working the Program. In the end, you have a sincerely grateful, utterly dedicated follower who will fight almost to the death to defend the Program. Take away the Program and they're just the worthless, hopeless wretch the psychos at Elan convinced them they were.
That unfortunate young lady, Sarah, now 20 years old, really and truely believes that Elan saved her life. Now, you and I know that, although parents lose sleep and go gray worrying about their teenaged kids, most of them survive those wild and wonderful days without being brainwashed. Even the Quakers have a word for it; can't remember offhand what it is, but it's German for something like "rampage."
Ever check and find out how much the rank-n-file staff is paid? I know Joe Ricci made millions, as did his partners and a few high ranking staff. But generally the clients who go on to staff survive on near minimum wage stipends.
No need to ban anyone over here. We'll just keep telling the truth. They
hate when that happens. But a good many who were initially very hostile (like our anonymous friend here) have hung around and come out from under the ether since then. Kinda makes it all worthwhile.
_________________
Ginger Warbis ~ Antigen
American P.O.W. 10/80 - 10/82
Straight South (Sarasota, FL)
Anonymity Anonymous[ This Message was edited by: Antigen on 2002-06-03 08:09 ][ This Message was edited by: Antigen on 2002-06-03 08:12 ]