synanon imperial marines

He aimed to ensnare patients to remain in Synanon forever, and create a utopian society of his own design. Men were given forced vasectomies, and a few pregnant women were forced to have abortions. Synanon is mentioned in Joan Didion's 1979 essay The White Album. [14] The practice has been charactized as a form of attack therapy. They acted as "the punch" of the Imperial Starfleet. Synanon purchased in 1967 the Club Casa del Mar, a large beach side 1926 hotel in Santa Monica (during WW II it was a military headquarters), and used it as a center and dormitory for drug treatment and business operations. According to Department of Justice records, Dederich discussed the possibility of Morantzs assassination with Synanon Imperial Marines leader Doug Robson. Philip K. Dick makes several references to Synanon in his 1977 novel A Scanner Darkly and 1981 novel VALIS. Only the threat of violence was prohibited. [21] Furthermore, for their first ninety days in the community, members were expected to cease contact with outside friends and family. (People vs. Dederich; Arrest report on Charles Dederich; IRS vs. Synanon). And there was no way that its leader was going to share any of that with the taxman. The husband hired attorney Paul Morantz, who had recently finished a case against persons who had kidnapped skid row alcoholics and kept them on thorazine in nursing homes in order to bill the State. It was first offered to the selected few as an honor, but the entire population was eventually targeted. Escape From Cielo Drive (A Tale of Three Charlies) 0 December 26, 2010. Let your ego golet things happen to you. Legal problems continued, despite this change. It would grow to become a well-funded utopian society throughout the late '60s and early '70s, before declaring itself a religion in 1974. . Babies were taken from the parents and raised in the Hatchery. Mothers who wanted to see their kids too much were called head suckers. Children were reared communally in the Synanon School where eventually they wrote essays on Dederich telling everyone what to do, Syndo (karate) changing partners, childliness, and fighting the Holy War. (Casriel, So Fair a House, Yablonski, The Tunnel Back: Guy Endore, Synanon; Charles Dederich tapes on history of Synanon; Dederich, Childiness; Time Magazine l977). The couple claimed that the wife had been held captive by Synanon and that during her stay, leaders at Synanon had attempted to brainwash her. In response to these accusations, Dederich declared that Synanon was a tax exempt religious organization, the "Church of Synanon". Robert Graeme told reporters that upon arriving, the cult's leader threatened him. Such acts comprised the bulk of a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by Dave Mitchell, of the Point Reyes Light weekly newspaper. In 1974 Synanon declared itself a religion and centered on middle-class searching for utopia rather than addict curing. Many young teenagers who got too close to Synanon property were beaten brutally by Synanon mobs. Paddy Wagons awaited Synanon protesters. [27] People who left the organization were at risk of physical violence for being a "splittee"; one ex-member, Phil Ritter, was beaten so severely that his skull was fractured and he subsequently fell into a coma with a near-fatal case of bacterial meningitis.[28][29][30]. Professionals, even those without drug addictions, were eagerly invited to join, provided they transferred their assets to the organization. Synanon evicted by tossing people and belongings out of apartments (even off a roof). Some cried for their mothers. His successful prosecution of Synanon led to an attempt against his life, by means of a rattlesnake. We will make the rules. They also beat a neighboring rancher, Gamboninni, who was helping children run away from Synanon and return to their parents (Light on Synanon; Dave Gerstel, Paradise Inc.; Marin County crime report on Gambinini beating, Synanon memos describing incident. He was saved from meningitis in the l940s by the discovery of penicillin. He gathered his own following in AA and after a time of meetings at apartments, they rented a small store in seedy Venice. Two other Synanon residents, Joe Musico and Lance Kenton (son of the musician Stan Kenton) were also arrested and pleaded "no contest" to charges of assault and conspiracy to commit murder. Through a telehone call to Paul Morantz by the Marin County council, the Supervisors requested Morantz lobby to defeat the bill which was in its last committee for vote. Montell's father was a member as a child and spoke freely to Amanda about his experience in Synanon. Beginning in the mid-1970s, women were required to shave their heads (men did the same and bib overalls became the uniform). The game took on each unbrokens dirty rotten story with great brutality. Casriel went on to found Day Top in New York and thus came the birth of modern day drug rehabs (Casriel, So Fair a House). Synanon fought and lost the action on summary judgment based on their own admissions in their internal records. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. He had been trying to get his child out of the cult, and had gone to the authorities complaining of forced vasectomies in Synanon. Given its growing popularity, it began to spread throughout California, and Synanon became a counter-culture community by 1964. Get this The Hanford Sentinel page for free from Thursday, August 9, 1979 ,Aug. 9, 1979 JWork jkn&ul upi Photo Synanon Imperial Marine Lance Kenton runs down the stairs at Superior Court after his . Synanon became a Third sector within United States borders, seeking to have its Embassy in Washington, D.C. [14], During its first decade, Synanon members entered into a 12-year program in three stages aimed at preparing members to reenter greater society. Robson wrote back the mission was accomplished (Garfield-Robson letters). You will learn more about yourself, your fellow man, the world, the nature of reality in one weekend than you would in four years. Beginning in the mid-1970s, women in Synanon were required to shave their heads, and married couples were made to break up and take new partners. [32] The snake bit him, and he was hospitalized for six days. In 1974 Synanon declared itself a religion and centered on middle-class searching for utopia rather than addict curing. Everyone was to cop-out (confess to past sins). This made him a public hero and Governor Edmund Brown, Sr. signed a save Synanon bill giving Synanon an exemption from Health licensing laws. Children who had been assigned to Synanon began running away, and an "underground railroad" had been created in the area that sought to help them return to their parents. One was four months pregnant. During the first stage, members did community and housekeeping labor. The Trippers, many of whom had been awake for 65 or more hours, were hugged and cheered. (West Magazine, l967, Morantz archives on Synanon) Subsequently, Synanon acquired a large industrial building in Oakland, California, transforming it into a residential facility for its members, outsiders were permitted to attend the Game there as well. "They are draining life's blood from us, and expecting us to play by their silly rules. "But it wasn't too long before I knew it was true," Morantz says. He got a job at Hughes Tools. Skip to content It's Time for Morning Meeting Sharing our Synanon Stories Menu About Stories Contact Kids Places Faces Philosophy The End Early Days Work Play 'imperial marines 1978' Leave a Reply Cancel reply As a rule, Synanon wasn't a violent place while my dad was there, but over time, Dederich grew crueler and more deranged. Some Trippers began to hallucinate, Dederich having achieved his LSD replicated altered state of consciousness. Though many San Francisco area newspapers and broadcasters covered the Synanon case, they were largely silenced by legal action from Synanon's lawyers[citation needed], who made claims of libel. "He was beaten, he was hit in the head and then socked in the stomach.". [34][35] Dederich died on 28 February 1997, at age 83, after a series of strokes; the cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure. Much of the violence by Synanon had been carried out by a group within Synanon called the "Imperial Marines". The "Game" was presented as a therapeutic tool, and likened to a form of group therapy; but it has been criticized as a form of a "social control", in which members humiliated one another and encouraged the exposure of one another's innermost weaknesses. According to court records, the group also formed a militant branch, known as the "Imperial Marines," to inflict violence against opponents of the organization - including former Synanon members. Those suffering from addictions to illegal drugs were not always welcomed into AA because it was considered that their addiction issues were significantly different from those suffered by alcoholics. Aids returned with smut obtained from the un-brokens spouses to use. ", Los Angeles police officer Richard Grotsley holds the rattlesnake that bit attorney Paul Morantz. "The Social Development of the Synanon Cult". But there was a catch: new members had to transfer their assets to the organization. (Synanon board minutesJady Dederich, Wendall Stamps Imperial Marine diary, People vs. Dederich, IRS vs, Synanon). At age 12 his mother remarried and Dederich went on a jealous rage turning to drinking and rebel rousing. Synanon enterprises would run gas stations, pottery making, apartment buildings and other income businesses without having to pay workers or taxes. [21] After Synanon's transition into an alternate society in 1968, this program changed to a "lifetime rehabilitation" program, with the premise that drug addicts would never truly be well enough to return to society. ), he cut himself off from society, and instead of sending rehabilitated junkies back into the world, they were to stay in Synanon forever. (Freidenber, Nation 1965). Marino said: "I thought they were going to kill us.". It was also there that a luxurious complex known as the Homeplace was being constructed. The squares were pushed to confess their prior loneliness and despair. [7] It has been called one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen. In lessons, children were taught how to fight the Holy War" to defend their leader. You can get killed dead, literally deadthese are real threats, he snarls. I am quite willing to break some lawyer's legs, and next break his wife's legs, and threaten to cut their child's arm off. In another terrifying experience, a former junkie wanted to visit the cult, but he took a personal security man, Jack Harding, in case things turned nasty. His success in trapping so many people - at its height the cult had more than 1,300 members - resulting in a healthy bank balance, as its assets totaled about $33 million. (Eidson v. Robson, Synanon; Synanon memos describing incident). The Grand Jury report also rebuked the governmental authorities involved for their lack of oversight, although it stopped short of directly interceding in the Synanon situation. [10][11] It is currently active in Germany. Some rolled up on the floor in fetal positions. The influence and culture of the Synanon organization, which was founded by Charles Dederich Sr., started as a drug rehabilitation program in the late 1950's. . Synanon A Los Angeles lawyer is attacked by a poisonous rattlesnake leading police to a bizarre cult veiled as a drug and alcohol rehab facility. As a condition of probation, he was disallowed from taking part in managing Synanon. It was alleged[by whom?] The Galactic Empire trained these stormtroopers to board rebel warships. [5] Outside of The Game, members were required to act civilly to each other. "[28] During the investigations researchers also came across multiple lawsuits and arrests against Synanon members. The name was chosen when a member slurred the words "Symposium" and "Seminar." One of its early cardinal rules was "no violence" or threat of same. In l977 in Santa Monica, Synanon took in a woman in a pre-psychotic break, and would not return her to her husband and transferred her to Tomales Bay. [31] NBC continued with a series of reports on the Synanon situation on the NBC Nightly News. . The Trip was so successful that in only its second year the lifestylers business contributed $500,000.