Friday, 4 October 2013
aacultwatch forum
Extract from our forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/aacultwatch under “TLM in Alanon UK?”
“Here's a couple of films about the Synanon Cult. I think the cult's early stages of development, its historical significance in influencing drug/alcohol rehabilitation from the 1960s to present, its influence in AA (evidenced in the 1968-1975 AA Grapevine articles in my 12th May post) and AA's response to the embryo Synanon cult in 1958, might give today's AA members, and those to come, an important historical insight into the practical application of AA traditions. And, an insight to recognising cultic threats to AA and how to separate these from AA before they become developed. It can be noted from the AA Grapevine articles and in the films below that destructive cults such as Synanon start as benign organisations before they become destructive. When in the apparently benign stage of development, they are at first attractive, welcomed and accepted by many and at the same time not perceived as a threat by the majority. Coercive persuasion (also called thought reform) techniques that modern cults use are so subtle and sophisticated that most people, including professionals, are unable to detect the threat until the cult has evolved to the destructive phase of its development. This may be years after its formation. By then its destructive power has already been felt in the wider society. Maybe if there was more widespread understanding of how cults develop, then newcomers to AA wouldn't be so attracted to move away from traditional mainstream AA groups to novel groups such as you mention in your 16th May post and old-timers might not be so complacent. Having said this though, if more AA members took the time to understand AA Traditions ,Concepts and responsible leadership, then this would be largely unnecessary, because how to prevent cult formation within AA is already explained in these Traditions and Concepts. ' The principles and responsible leadership actively demonstrated by the AA members in Santa Monica 1958 and the Central Office manager in Orange County.
The first film about Synanon is a University of CaliforniaTelevision (UCTV) production:'The Lawyer Synanon Tried to Kill ' - University of CaliforniaTelevision (UCTV) http://www.uctv.tv/shows/The-Lawyer-Synanon-Tried-to-Kill-Legally-Speaking-24671
'Los Angeles attorney Paul Morantz has devoted his professional life to fighting cults. But in the late 1970s that life almost came to an abrupt end when one of the cults he litigated against planted a live rattlesnake in his mailbox. Morantz speaks with California Lawyer editor Martin Lasden about his career and the dangers he faced.'
17.05 mins- 18.26 mins into the UCTV film:
Martin Lasden: 'You point out in your book that Synanon didn't start out as a violent cult, it started out as a relatively benign drug rehab program. What was the turning point? Can you identify the turning point?
Paul Morantz: 'Very easily, yes. First, Dederich was an AA fanatic who [..?] been volunteered for an LSD trip, which made him think that he saw insights into mankind'.. he began to read at the library eastern philosophies and various books'.. and the AA speeches which had religious overtones, Dederich was now being philosophical and psychological and developed his own following who would come to his apartment''. he developed what would later become the game where they would sit in a circle and attack each other's behaviour with the rude truth, but truth wasn't required, you could say anything to cause an effect''
18.39 mins - 19.27 mins:Paul Morantz: '' and the fact is, he wouldn't keep statistics. And what he really had was, he had a lot of old-timer addicts who had had enough; and if they could get themselves into a home and fed with fellows like themselves and bond as a group they were capable of staying away from drugs. The fact is that the [..?] statistics done by '66 showed that Synanon had no greater success than Kensington Hospital; and Dederich by '66 realised that most of the people who left Synanon went back to drugs. So in '67 he decided that the only cure was that no one ever leaves''
The second film including clips of TV news film of the time shows Synanon's benign phase through to the destructive. Synanon Short Film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THu690d7qJE
In describing Dederich, note Paul Morantz's use of the terms: 'AA fanatic' 'AA speeches which had religious overtones' and reference to old-timer addicts bonding as a group. - A parallel perhaps, with some groups in AA today? And also with what other AA members are saying about them.”
Cheerio
The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
