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Purported cult
This material is from the article List of purported cults, which we are paring down to a pure list. Editors here can best evaluate its statements and decide how to integrate it into this article. Thanks, -Willmcw 20:46, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)
- Synanon
- Synanon was founded in California as a drug rehabilitation program in the late 1950s, but turned into a profitable business enterprise and the cultish "Church of Synanon." Members were reportedly required to donate their savings, to work for the business, to participate in coercive group therapy, and to have abortions and vasectomies. It aquired a number of properties, some quite remote, to house as many as 1,700 members. Beatings of opponents and ex-members culminated in the attempted murder of a lawyer by placing a live rattlesnake in his mailbox in 1978. That led to the forced departure of the founding leader, Charles Dederich, and a number of enforcement actions that cause the group to fold in the 1990s. The Synanon program did work successfully for some persons. Synanon is credited by some with giving Jazz musician Art Pepper several more years of creativity, and it is also remembered fondly by some former members.
UFW
Any connection between the UFW and Synanon? Read this somewhere...--Rockero 09:59, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
- Apparenty. [1] Wanna do some mor research and add it? -Will Beback 20:57, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
German Synanon
Synanon had an early offshoot in Germany that is still active to this day. German Wikipedia has some material on it. There probably should be a section on the German Synanon organization, though it would probably need to be written by somebody who reads German, since pretty much all literature on this group is in that language. Peter G Werner 02:57, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
- Thanks for that info. I created a stub section and added the link. Perhaps someone who reads German can follow up and fill in some details. Cheers, -Will Beback 03:14, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
Synanon (movie)
I'm surprised the article doesn't mention the eponymous movie about the movement/cult. (It's here at IMDB.) I remember seeing this twice as a kid, for some reason. ==ILike2BeAnonymous 07:13, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
Famous Residents?
How about a listing of well-known individuals who were treated or lived at Synanon? (Other than the few jazz musicians mentioned.) For one, I know that former "Our Gang" member Matthew "Stymie" Beard resided there for many years. StanislavJ 23:52, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
Synanon Game
I'd like to see a bit more detailed explanation of the "Synanon Game." It seems like a fairly central practice of the organization.
The explanation of it that is on the article now is "group truth-telling sessions." That doesn't seem to enough. More detailed explanations ae available, for example, on this page at The Religious Movements Homepage Project by The University of Virginia.
And it doesn't match the description from this page, an article on a drug treatment program "spin off" program called Amity, where the point is made that the attacks don't have to have any basis in truth.