The Fall of Synanon and The Peoples Temple

In the first two blogs I compared Synanon and the Peoples Temple. Specifically I discussed the similarities between the leaders. We saw how the leaders charismatic and personable characteristics were able to attract a large following of individuals to join their organizations. These NRMs had leaders who seemed to have good intentions at first but would slowly change over time. In the second blog we looked at the transitions/changes in both Synanon and the Peoples Temple. Both Synanon and the Peoples Temple start out as a place that empowered people to a controlling religious cult.

In this blog we will look into the last phase of both new religious movements and ultimately the fall of both organizations. I believe that the fall of both Synanon and the Peoples Temple can be traced back to the public perception and the relationship with the media.

For the Peoples Temple, the public perception following the move to Guyana, was that Jonestown was a bad place. Some family members and relatives believed that their family members in Jonestown were being held against their will. As this perception spread, the media increased their reports and highlighted the concerns that the family members had. The media and public began to paint Jonestown as a place of secrecy. The family members formed a group called the Concerned Relatives and were able to get the attention of California congressman, Leo Ryan. Unable to convince the government to address the issue, congressman Ryan decided to investigate the matter himself. As the media attention and pressure from the congressman increased, Jonestown became even more separated from the outside world. The leader Jim Jones would become increasingly paranoid with the situation. As time passed, Jones would restrict all communication between the members and the outside world.

By comparison, Synanon faced a similar relationship with the public and media. In the beginning the media had a good relationship with Synanon. The media showed Synanon in a positive light as a revolutionary program. However, when Synanon moved to Marin County a small local newspaper would investigate the organization and raise concerns regarding Synanon. The local newspaper, the Point Reyes Light would portray Synanon as a violent cult that was a danger to its neighbors, community and the general public. In addition, the nation would became aware of Synanon after Time magazine printed a story about Dederich and Synanon’s beliefs.

As the media attention and investigations increased, both Synanon and the Peoples Temple would separate themselves from the outside world. During this phase there was an increase in abuse and violence in both organizations. For Synanon, this separation would lead to the formation of a militia. For Jonestown, contact with the outside world was restricted for its members.

It was during this separation from the outside world that both groups shifted to focus on control and reducing the individual’s rights. Some members began to realize that these beliefs were not in their best interests. Some members were able to distinguish between what was right and wrong. When senator Ryan and other media members visited Jonestown they were impressed at the village in the middle of the jungle. However, as the visit continued it became clear that there were several members who wanted to leave. These people knew that following the leadership of Jim Jones was just not right.

As the media attention grew on Synanon, violence would increase and spread beyond the property boundaries. Threats were made to neighbors and those opposed. People who traveled near Synanon were harassed. Synanon would be placed even more in the spotlight after several members placed a four-foot rattlesnake in a lawyer’s mailbox. At the time the lawyer, Paul Morantz was investigating Synanon and raising red flags about its practices. Paul Morantz was seriously injured from this incident but more importantly it brought more attention to Synanon’s questionable practices.

With the increased media attention and after the rattlesnake incident, the government and law enforcement decided to look into the situation and investigate Synanon and its practices. The investigations would lead to multiple arrests and lawsuits against Synanon and its members. Upon further investigation the Internal Revenue Service found some problems with Synanon. Ultimately the fall of Synanon would come as a result of the IRS revoking Synanon’s tax-exempt status.

By comparison, the end of Jonestown and the Peoples Temple would be much worse than the fall of Synanon. When the Peoples Temple moved to Guyana, there was very little concrete information about what was actually occurring in the jungle. The government did not have enough information to bring family members back to the United States. When congressman Ryan attempted to bring back those who were unhappy, they encountered an attack on the airstrip that had been ordered by Jim Jones. Following the attack Jones ordered his followers to drink a poison ending in a mass suicide of unprecedented proportions.

In many ways the fall of both organizations is a result of the leaders Jim Jones and Charles Dederich. Obsessed with pride both leaders would do whatever it took to demonstrate their superiority. As the media pushed to discredit these organizations, the leaders fought back, sometimes with violence and sometimes through hiding. But the fact remains that in both situations, the media, government and the public did not fully understand the nature of these organizations.

In the case of Jonestown, the tragedy was a result of the underestimation and misunderstanding of an apocalyptic society. The government, congressman Ryan, the media and the Concerned Relatives underestimated the beliefs. The result of the mishandling of the situation led to a mass suicide of 912 members of the Peoples Temple.

At first the Peoples Temple and Synanon were recognized as revolutionary and to be cutting edge. However as time passed the groups would turn to violence and today are remembered for their negative historical actions. Hopefully we can all learn from these events and work to create a society that ensures another tragedy such as Jonestown never happens again.

Work Cited

Cherry, H. (2011, April 29). They Called it Synanon. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/hcherry/2011/04/they-called-it-synanon/

Dawson, L. L. (2003). Cults and new religious movements: A reader. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.

Ostrow, R. (1985, October 02). U.S. Indicts Nine From Synanon in Tax-Exemption Effort. Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://articles.latimes.com/1985-10-02/news/mn-16054_1_tax-exempt-status

Reiterman, T. (1997, March 28). Archive: Jonestown's Lessons Still Go Unheeded. Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-me-jonestownarchive28-1997mar28-story.html

The Beliefs of synanon

Moriah Ponder

April 24th, 2016

Professor Delaporte

Blog #2

The Beliefs of Synanon

            Synanon began as a very peculiar Rehabilitation Center that didn’t use doctors or medication. Over the years Synanon went from the first ever no doctor involved self help drug rehab, to a building of a new society in Synanon cities to lead the world into the 21st Century, to becoming a self-claimed religion. These changes occurred over the span of the life of the cult.

            Charles Dederich grew up living a rough life. He lost his father in a car accident at age 4. Then at age 8 he lost his brother from influenza. He felt very guilty and responsibly, he would never have a good relationship with children again. His mother remarried when he was 12, he turned to alcohol and rebelled. He dropped out of Notre Dame, got married twice but both relationships were ruined from alcohol. Even after having children of his own, he still had bad relationships with children. He almost died from meningitis but was saved by penicillin in the 1940’s when t was discovered. He was found passed out on a kitchen floor and was told, “Fatso,” if you do not go to Alcoholic Anonymous you will die.” (Morantz).

            Dederich joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and attended meetings every day; he even became a regular speaker. He read Emerson’s “Self Reliance” and it inspired him to devout his time to cleaning up other Alcoholics.  He lived off of a $35 unemployment check and donations and charity from others. He volunteered for an LSD experiment, during this time he thought he understood the world and that good and bad are the same. When he spoke at AA meetings, his speeches shift from more psychological topics to philosophical. He slowly began to gather a group of followers; they had meetings in an apartment, and then rented a small store for meetings because they grew. The original named for Synanon was The Tender Loving Care Club. The main form of therapy was the group session called “The Game”. This consisted of people yelling at each other about anything they wanted, it didn’t matter if it was true or not. Violence was prohibited during “The Game” and outside of it as well. Members of this group survived off of stale food from catering trucks, and hookers doing tricks and donations.

            Eventually, drug addicts began to attend and alcoholics objected. Dederich kicked out alcoholics because there was already AA.  A member’s slurring the words “symposium” and “seminar” led to name Synanon. While in Synanon members go through withdraws and are mentally and emotionally abused. Addicts’ behaviors and past lives were attacked viciously in games, members were told their lives depended on staying, contacts with family were prohibited, and a system of rewards and punishments was applied. Dederich preached “Act as If” which meant do not try to reason as to what Synanon asks they do; as thinking got them there, just trust what they were told and act as if it is right.” In 1962 Dederich moved to an empty National Guard building on the beach in Santa Monica. He was arrested and imprisoned for operating without a health license but Governor Edmund Brown Sr. signed a bill to save Synanon and make them exempt from health licensing  laws. The imprisonment made Dederich a public martyr. Monetary donations came in from the rich and Hollywood, as guys like Robert Wagner, Leonard Nimoy and Ben Gazzra came to Synanon to play the game with ex-addicts and ex-hookers. Synanon became an alternative community in 1964, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions known as the “Synanon Game.” With its new wealth, they started building its first “city” in Marin County (Tomales Bay) (Morantz).

            Charles Dederich believed that his program was unsuccessful. He realized that ex-addicts would revert back to drug without peer pressure. He believed that people should stay at Synanon forever. If members stayed forever they could build a Utopian world designed by Dederich. The organization developed a business that sold promotional items, a successful enterprise that eventually generated roughly $10 million per year of revenue. Synanon enterprises would run gas stations, pottery making, apartment buildings and other income businesses without having to pay workers or taxes. Dederich bought and sold real estate. 

            Synanon purchased in 1967 the Club Casa del Mar, a large beach side 1926 hotel in Santa Monica), and used it as a center and dormitory for drug treatment and business operations. The city tried to claim they owned the beach front but Dederich went to the press and declared Synanon would sue the city. At this point Santa Monica surrendered and Synanon became untouchable. It no longer obeyed zoning rules, sympathetic donations reheated and Synanon soon became Santa Monica’s largest land owner.

            Synanon began using other ways of treatment such as containment (keeping member separate from their families), The Trip, and The Stew ( a 72 hours Game).

            In the 70’s juveniles were sent to Synanon, but these juveniles did not want to be there causing the methods of Synanon fail. Synanon accepted juveniles to keep their tax free status. Violence was permitted on juveniles. This was the first time Synanon broke the “non violent rule”.

            On remote properties in California such as Tomales Bay in Marin County and Badger, Tulare County, the organization had built unpermitted buildings, a trash dump, and an airstrip. (Gerstel, Paradise Inc.) Beginning in 1974 the authorities began to question Synanon’s promises and practices.   Paul Morantz brought various issues to the Health department in regards to Synanon and some of the medical practices they did. This caused some tax problems. Dederich declared in l974 that Synanon was a tax exempt religious organization, the “Church of Synanon (Morantz).” Dederich declared no more children were allowed in Synanon because it took time away from Synanon goals. Men were forced to have vasectomies and women were even forced to have abortions. These were just some of the crazy beliefs Synanon had during their history

.

Morantz, Paul. "The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich." The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich. Paul Morantz. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. 

Paranoia in Communes

Blog #3

In my other two blogs that I have written, I’ve talked about the kinds of encounter groups that Synanon used which they believed helped the addicts recover from their drug addictions. As well as Synanon’s beliefs on relationships throughout its history and how it was changed from the beginning to end.

In this last blog before the semester comes to an end I will be talking about the beliefs and views on violence. 

At the beginning when Synanon was just starting out, Synanon was a non-violent community that did not put up with any violence what so ever. The agreement for everyone that was living there was that they would work hard, do their jobs and get along with others. Meaning if they had a problem with someone, it would be brought up through communication either in the game or just as an adult with someone else. If a person acted on violence they would be kicked out. Synanon would not put up with any acts of violence. 

This started changing in later years, in 1975 it went from absolutely not violence to using violence when needed. This was looked at as a way to keep members loyal and to keep them in line. Synanon started acquiring weapons, learning martial arts, and learning self defense methods. It was believed that this was a way to protect the group and religious community but it also started taking peoples rights away. But what did they need protection from? The outside world started questioning Synanon when it was found out that they had somehow bought over $300,000 in weapons as well as when stories started coming out about what they were doing inside the community. So did they have a reason to be afraid/worried or were they just a tad bit paranoid? 

When taking about paranoia it is interesting because a lot of communes felt that way and ended because of it. I think paranoia started off as a reason in Synanon and caused other things to happen causing Synanon to shut down in 1993. But we can look at other communes as well that ended because of paranoia too. 

One of the most known communes that ended because of paranoia is the People's Temple also known as Jonestown. Jim Jones was the leader of this commune in Guyana, South America. This was seemingly just like Synanon where everyone was there because they wanted to be, it was a place that made each person seem loved and like they were supposed to be there, and then it took a turn for the worst at the end. Jim Jones became very paranoid, started to not trust anyone, and believed everyone was out to get him and his group. 

Both groups seemed to end mainly because of paranoia. Jonestown was because Jim Jones knew the news and people had been talking about Peoples Temple and people in the community wanted to leave and would talk about how awful it was getting. So Jim Jones started lying and killing people that came to visit Guyana. Then when he came to his senses and realized that he would get into trouble when people would find out he ordered people to murder the visitors,he convinced 909 people that were with him to commit suicide with him by drinking cyanid poisoning in a juice. This was considered to be a mass murder even though people drank the poison themselves. 

At Synanon things were getting hectic but on a different spectrum. Charles Dederich was not trying to murder anyone but he was getting paranoid like Jim Jones was. The news was starting to write papers on Synanon, and he was starting to have his people retaliate. They were beating people up, putting snakes in peoples male boxes, and training to where from the outside world, it looked like a cult was being formed. Because of all of this the government had to get involved. Lawsuits were happening. People were leaving due to not wanting to be there anymore because Synanon was turning into something it wasn’t. Until it finally came to an end in 1993.

Could these communes stayed together and still be here today had the leaders not been so paranoid? Or was this fate of both Synanon and the Peoples Temple bound to happen?     

Change in Beliefs of Synanon and the Peoples Temple

In the last blog I compared the leaders of both Synanon and the Peoples Temple. We saw how the leaders charismatic and personable characteristics were able to attract a large following of individuals to join their organizations. These NRMs had leaders who seemed to have good intentions at first but would slowly change over time. These transitions/changes in both Synanon and the Peoples Temple would start as a place that empowered people to a controlling religious cult. These transitions/changes can be separated into three different phases.

The first phase of both NRMs is the founding and when both groups had good, well-intentioned beliefs and goals. The Peoples Temple began as a normal Christian church that was focused on building a better community through change. This new church attracted a large following of people who were searching for a place to belong. Inspired by the teachings of father Divine, Jim Jones a white reverend, preached racial equality in a time and place where both racism and poverty existed. The combination of both these factors were just what the people in the community needed as a group of people who felt as if they had no rights. The Peoples Temple provided these people with exactly what they were looking for, a place that was special and different than the norm. Besides just social change, the leader Jim Jones demonstrated that he had healing powers during church sessions by performing coordinated “acts”.

Similar to the Peoples Temple, Synanon was founded with the same good intentions to help others in the community. Synanons beliefs and goals intended to rehabilitate those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. The original intent of Synanon was to rehabilitate individuals and return them back to society. The hope was that through Synanon, and through the support of other individuals, addicts would be able to quit their addiction and rejoin the normal society. As a recovering alcoholic, Charles Dederich understood the process and worked to create a place based around similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. At the time there were no institutions or forms of treatment for drug addiction or rehabilitation. Drug use at the time was considered a mental problem and the only form of treatment was through a mental institution. People were drawn to Synanon in the hopes of a successful recovery. In its early years, Synanon did not hide from the public. In fact it did just the opposite, every Friday was open house where outsiders were welcomed into Synanon.

During the first phase of both the Peoples Temple and Synanon, they were considered new and cutting edge to the society at the time. This radical new thinking was unlike anything the people had ever seen, attracting those who were searching for direction in their lives. During these early years, Synanon and the Peoples Temple attracted favorable attention from the community, media and the government. From an outside view, Synanon was viewed as a positive place to be, Synanon was even recognized by government officials. Synanon even received funding from outside private supporters. During their early years, these NRMs had a working relationship with the rest of society and the communities they were in. Both organizations did not hide from the public, in fact they loved the attention.

As both NRMs moved into their second phases, both had a change in beliefs and sought to create more of a communal society separate from the outside world. For the Peoples Temple this meant moving to Northern California, to create a utopia free from the threat of any nuclear war. In Ukiah, the Peoples Temple formed a self-sustaining community based around farming. The Peoples Temple distanced themselves from the outside world. However, despite its belief in communal living and separating themselves in a rural area of California, the Peoples Temple still was involved in the outside world. Because of their large following, the Peoples Temple a very influential power and became involved in politics. The fact is that the Peoples Temple could be mobilized to rally voters and even provided a large number of voters itself. In San Francisco, Reverend Jim Jones was even asked to be an advisor for politician George Moscone.

Similar to the Peoples Temple, Synanon expanded from its beachfront location in Santa Monica to Northern California, specifically, Marin County. Marin is a country/rural area that allowed Synanon to transition from a rehabilitation center to a community organization where people were expected never to leave. Charles Dederich now believed that addiction was something that could not be overcome and recover from, Synanon members were now expected to stay in the community forever. Similar to the People Temple, Synanon became a place where people would live communally.

As both organizations transitioned into the third phase, both NRMs had a change in the relationship with the rest of society. After allegations of abuse and after several changes to the beliefs both NRMs attracted further attention from the media and government. These changes and secrecy brought opposition from the community for further information and transparency. The new found attention would have negative effects on both Synanon and the Peoples Temple. In this last phase, both Synanon and the Peoples temple would further distance themselves from society to become organizations of mystery and secrecy. As time went on, both NRMs would become a violent and controlling religious cult. Both organizations would purchase guns and begin training their own military forces. Driven by the media coverage both organizations would act out in ways that harmed other individuals. This last phase and the fall of both Synanon and The Peoples Temple will be highlighted in detail in my next blog post.

Work Cited

A timeline of Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple. (2011, November 18). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from http://www.modbee.com/latest-news/article3138637.html

Biography: Jim Jones. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/jonestown-bio-jones/

Synanon:The Game

Moriah Ponder

April 15^th, 2016

Professor Delaporte

Blog #1

                                                              Synanon: The Game

            Synanon was founded in Santa Monica, California in 1958 by Charles Dederich. Dederich was an alcoholic and was inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous and their methods. He decided to create Synanon as a place for addicts and individuals with character disorders to recover and get their lives established to re-enter society. Synanon was founded in California as a non-profit corporation. Eventually in 1968, Synanon opened their membership up to non-addicts. During this time, Synanon slowly changed their beliefs from a religious organization to a cult.

Within Synanon, Dederich did not use any medication to rehabilitate anyone. Instead he used a method of group therapy that he created called “The Game”. This method of recovery offered addicts time to talk and express themselves.  Even though it was intended to be group therapy and help addicts, to a certain degree it was mentally and verbally abusive to the individual that it focused on. “The Game” was basically an attack on one person by a large group of people. This was the most influential “medication” that Charles Dederich offered in Synanon.

“The Game” was the core of Synanon; it was the center of everyone’s life while in rehabilitation. According to Charles Dederich, “The Game” was the seed of Synanon:

“First was the Game. Everything came from the Game. There was no thought of a foundation or giving any kind of a name to the community or group when we started to have meetings back in 1958. The Game produced the beginnings of the community. On the date of the first Game there was nothing that looked like it would someday be the ancestor of the community. I was occupying a little apartment in the Ocean Park, there was nobody who lived there that I knew and very shortly after I began to moderate these Games people began to move down and a community formed. No one formed the community. The community formed itself. The community formed because of the game.” (Simon, pg.5)

All residents of Synanon participated in “The Game” on regular bases- at least once a week. “The Game” wasn’t a choice; it was a condition of residence. Even children played “The Game” beginning at the age of four. As Synanon developed, so did “The Game”. While playing “The Game”, everyone was seen as equal.  “The Game” was designed to break down communications barriers between addicts. It was used to produce the maximum communication and flow of information. Employees, officers, other leader personnel would play along with the residents. It didn’t matter if you were young or old; every game consisted of various ages and ethnic backgrounds.   “The Game” began as concentrated attack and defends sessions, lasting an hour each. Synanon grew into the central procedure of management, education, recreation, religion, socialization, art and so forth.

            Synanon consisted of two different sets of norms. One was used outside of “The Game”, while the other set was used in “The Game”. The two norms were very contradictory to each other. The out of the game norms consisted of members being friendly, polite, supportive and helpful. While the other tended to be undisciplined, irreverent, attacking and impolite. All residents must agree to abide by all norms in Synanon.

            “The Game” was supposed to be an educational tool. When everyone participated fully, it helped accomplish unification and healing of the personality. It also helped residents be more appreciative and accepting of new and more constructive forms of behavior and the embracement of new values. When played correctly, “The Game” could become a very intimate session between members. During “The Game”, one’s deepest thoughts and feelings of all kinds of concerning his action, the action of others, and the relationships of people to each other, are exposed to the process of group examination. “The Game” is a ritual in Synanon resident’s lives and is key to forming their beliefs. Those participating in “The Game” are trying to live by what Jesus Christ meant by “to confess ye to one another”. Instead of the traditional relationship of penitent and confessor, Synanon uses an “Omni-confessional” in “The Game”. By participating fully and being trustworthy with others, residents are trying to move towards realizing their true potential as a human being.

            During a “Game”, people do not speak rationally or truthfully. Everyone speaks in anger or rage. They play with a person’s emotions and twist them every way possible. In “The Game”, people do not speak truthfully; the words are not spoken for the truth of their content. While in a “Game” those participating are supposed to exaggerate and distort everything they are saying. Lying occurs consciously and unconsciously during a “Game”, lying is acceptable. Those who participate are not required to speak rationally; in fact it is okay to be irrational. During every Game, those involved have freedom of speech and expression. It’s normal for Synanon Game participants to use language in the Game which they would consider shocking or obscene in other contexts.

            “The Game” was a cruel way to help rehabilitate addicts. Many residents believed it saved their lives. While others feel like “The Game” had a major negative effect on their lives and it didn’t help them at all. I believe this form of group therapy could be helpful if it was only a positive atmosphere, with very few negative aspects. Sitting and yelling cruel things at someone or lying about who they are isn’t going to help them. I feel like this would just tear them down further.  

Dederich. Charles E. "The Synanon Game From Synanon vs. The Hearst Corporations. Synanon Foundation Inc.

Simon. Steven I. "Synanon: Towards Building A Humanistic Organization. Synanon Press. San Francisco CA. 1974 

Simon. Steven I. "The Synanon Game: A Lecture. Synanon Press. San Francisco, CA 1974

Encounter Groups

Blog #2

Why did Synanon partake in encounter groups?

Encounter groups were used at Synanon as a way to gain physiological benefit through close contact with one another in the group. This included different kinds of encounter groups such as: The Game, Dissipation, Trip, and Stew. All of which were ways the group kept people in line and had them get better as their own. Synanon believed these groups were essential and were a way to keep things going smoothly. The groups kept people in check, allowed for people to be called out when needed, and made it to where everyone knew everyones business and there were no secretes at all in the house.
"The Game"- This was when the group of Synanon got together and talked about change. It had ten to fifteen people in a session and one "synasist" who would facilitate the meeting. This time was a time for open thoughts and opinions where people could verbally criticize/ attack each other in order to reach perfectionism as well as self-realization. Everyone at this time is encouraged to be extremely honest and to tell everyone about how they feel and what they are thinking. This was considered a way of showing how people cared about one another. Its interesting to see how people could verbally attack one another with hurtful words yet at the end this kind of encounter group "seemed" to always help.
"Dissipation"- Was another kind of encounter group that could last anywhere between thirty six hours to seventy two hours depending on what was going on at the time. This was when people in Synanon discussed their childhood to each other while experiencing hallucinations because they had not slept in so long. At this time the group would use the ouija board to talk to old spirits of Synanon or important people of the past to try to find out the missions of Synanon and their importance of why they were there. When reading this the question comes to mind is that did this really work or were they so tired that they were just seeing things due to the lack of sleep that they had?
"Trip"- This was like the mini session of dissipation because it only lasted forty eight hours. It was expected that concussion was to occur at this time which they thought would cause more honesty and exploration into self-reliance. At the end of this encounter group suggestions would be given to each member to hold them to a personal commitment and to become a better person for them and also for the community.
"Stew"- Was the last kind of encounter group used at Synanon. it was an eighty four hour session where anyone that was participating in it was allowed to rotate in and out of it and could take two six hour breaks in between.
Having these encounter groups at Synanon was interesting to me because when looking at other articles where they had taken the "Synanon like tactics" to try to use with teens it is proven that most of the time it does not work and does not help the addicts at all. So why were they used and kept around at Synanon for so long when statistically it was proven that it really was not helping?
In The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry it talks about encounter groups from Synanon being used at boot camps, wilderness programs, behaviorist programs, and other groups. All these groups use the forms of the encounter groups as tough love. Words that describe it are emotional, punishment, humiliation, harsh. These word show how hard the encounter groups are on a person and how high the standards are for people to get better or else they would keep going through the verbal attacks and humiliation during the group meetings. It is proven that these group sessions could provide lasting psychological harm and almost too much for any human being to have to deal with. So why is it still used and allowed through out all the different programs and groups if it is that awful and truly does not do anything for a person besides hurt them?
   

The Synanon Philosophy, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, and Recovery

Blog #1: The Synanon Philosophy, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, and Recovery

The American psychologist, Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), developed the theory of the human hierarchy of needs and was interested in human motivation. His essay “A Theory of Human Motivation” described human action as a means to achieve particular goals and these goals were to satisfy certain needs. He expanded on this essay and did research on ‘successful’ individuals to understand how they reached their goals. Maslow found that many of the individuals who were seen or categorized as ‘successful’ had certain qualities and life experiences which from this he concluded that human potential must be ‘Self-Actualized’. In his research, he came to the Theory of the Human Hierarchy of Needs which is depicted as a tiered pyramid with certain categories that represent a certain ‘need’.

In his original diagram, there were five categories; Physiological, Safety, Belongingness, Esteem, and at the top, Self-Actualization and each tier needed to be met or satisfied before ascending to the next tier. Physiological needs were the lowest level of needs and included basic, survival needs like food, shelter, water, clean air, sex (non-intimate), and other biological needs. Next came Safety needs, I think would be better stated as Security needs, including employment, property, rights, resources, and environment. After Safety came Belonging needs which includes the feeling of being accepted and build relationships with community and family. Esteem needs were above Belonging and was explained that people need to feel special and recognized. This could mean having a title of prestige like lawyer or doctor or could just be the feeling of internal confidence and self respect. Finally, the top of the period was Self-Actualization which is the point when an individual can be creative and develop decision making skills based on their experiences. Self-Actualization was the key to developing moral and ethical ideologies because individuals need to come to moral conclusions on their own terms and through their own devices.

In terms of influence on the Synanon Philosophy, Maslow visited the Synanon community several times, giving speeches about his theories to members, and provided his theoretical manuscripts to Synanon’s leader Charles E. Dederich. A copy of these were provided for reading material and “Everyone either read Maslow or found out what his main ideas were… Everyone was very conscious of self actualization. It was thought that a person who could stop using dope and keep an orderly Expeditor’s office or drive a forklift through the door to the warehouse without knocking the wall down, or cook a decent breakfast for the house, was well on his way to becoming a self-actualized man or woman” (Patton, 8). The point was for the addict to work the program Dederich was offering in order to facilitate the process of realizing their highest potential and capabilities. Maslow also believed that “when men learned to organize their social and economic lives unitively along lines similar to Synanon’s they would be enabled to realize their true nature” (Patton, 8). The Synanon program was supposed to aid in the process of enlightenment and transcendence to a higher consciousness.

It was said by Tom Patton, resident of Synanon since 1965, that Dederich himself was “a philosopher at the very least the equal of Abe Maslow” (Patton, 9). He did his own expanding on thoughts not only based on Maslow’s theories but other very well known thinkers including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau.

References
Patton, Tom. “The Synanon Philosophy.” Synanon University Press. San Francisco, CA 1974.

Leaders of Synanon and the Peoples Temple

Blog #1 

By Ryley Chong 

           

            When we look at the history of New Religious Movements there are several that are better known than others. Two of the most notable New Religious Movements is the PeoplesTemple and Synanon. So question becomes, what makes these New Religious Movements so special, iconic and a little more memorable than the rest? The answer can be broken down into three different parts. Both Synanon and the Peoples Temple had iconic leaders, a transition/change in beliefs over time and have both come to an end.

           

The Peoples Temple originated in the Midwest in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the Peoples Temple would move to Northern California, first to Mendocino County, near Ukiah and later in the 1970s south to San Francisco. In the late 1970s the Peoples Temple would move again, for the last time to South America. Lead by the leader, Reverend Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple had a diverse following with people from all racial backgrounds.

Jim Jones is best described as a charismatic, well liked, and very personable leader. These characteristics of Jim Jones attracted many followers to his Temple. The Peoples Temple’s racially diverse following viewed Jim Jones as a person who could change their lives. Many felt that the Peoples Temple was the best thing that had ever happened in their lives. The people believed that Jim Jones had special healing powers and that he could literally perform miracles.

Over time Jim Jones became a well-respected public figure. Jim Jones was recognized and well liked by the media. As his influence grew, he would become involved in politics. As an influential public figure, Jim Jones was appointed by San Francisco Mayor at the time, George Moscone to be the chairman of the San Francisco housing authority commission.

           

In 1958 Charles Dederich founded Synanon in Santa Monica, California. Charles Dederich a recovering alcoholic, inspired by the work of Alcoholics Anonymous decided to create Synanon as place for addicts to recover and to later rejoin society. Impressed with the Alcoholics Anonymous tactics, Charles Dederich decided to employ similar techniques in Synanon, and created the recovery method called “the game.” This method of recovery was considered a form of group therapy but to some degree the verbal and mental abuse was harmful to the individual. Overall, Charles Dederich was a leader who loved organization and control.

Synanon’s original intent to rehabilitate individuals and return them back to society fully sober. But, as time passed Synanon would become much more than a place of recovery and shifted to a religious cult with Charles Dederich as its fearless leader. Establishing itself as a religion meant that Synanon could retain more membership and receive a tax exemption. As a result, Synanon distanced itself from the rest of the world and preparing its own armed military forces. Synanon would become associated with crime and with help from the media, Synanon became a problem in society.

When we analyze the characteristics of the leaders of Synanon and the Peoples Temple it is not difficult to see the similarities. In the beginning each leader had the charismatic nature to earn the approval of the community. Both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich were very influential individuals. The characteristics of both these leaders attracted a large following of people who seemed to be searching for someone to guide them in the right direction. These followers felt that these leaders could provide them with the guidance that they needed in their lives. Both leaders seemed to empower their large groups of followers by providing them with a clearly defined organizational structure to where individuals felt in control of their lives. The nature of both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich made them well liked by everyone.

At the beginning, both Synanon and the Peoples Temple seemed to have good intentions. Both organizations received support from the government and had a favorable relationship with the media and politicians. However, it seems that as time passed both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich became obsessed with preserving their organization and would do anything to maintain control over their people. Both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich made their followers feel as if they were dependent on their leaders to survive. In the end, both leaders would do whatever it took to maintain their reputation and image, Jim Jones would even die for this cause.

Towards the end, Jim Jones and Charles Dederich seemed to believe that the world and especially the government were out to get them. Both became obsessively paranoid with the outside world. With a deteriorating relationship with the media and a growing negative public perception of their religious movement, Synanon and the Peoples Temple would start to acquire weapons and their own military forces. In an effort to maintain control both leaders took violent approaches and worked to demonstrate authority. Feeling as if all of their hard work was going to turn to nothing just because of the negative public perception from the media both leaders took action in what can only be described as extreme.

In the end, both leaders seemed to have their own agendas. For Charles Dederich this meant creating his own holy war and military to separate Synanon from the outside world. Both Synanon and the Peoples Temple would establish borders and restrict access from outsiders. For Jim Jones, this meant causing the largest mass suicide, in what should be considered as killings and not a voluntary act.

Work Cited

History.com Staff. (2010). Jonestown. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.history.com/topics/jonestown

Morantz, P. (2009). The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.paulmorantz.com/cult/the-history-of-synanon-and-charles-dederich/

Van Gelder, L. (1997, March 4). Charles Dederich, 83, Synanon Founder, Dies. Retrieved April 5, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/04/us/charles-dederich-83-synanon-founder-dies.html

Synanon Vs. Free Love

Blog #1

Free love Vs. Synanon 

If both communes weren't so strict about their relationship/family rules, could they have lasted longer?

The Oneida Community:

The Oneida Community also called the Perfectionists, was a religious commune in New York founded in 1848 by a man named John Humphrey Noyes. He was a firm believer in perfectionism, the second coming of Christ and that Heaven could be made on earth. One of his main beliefs was about “free love” where sexual relations were strictly regulated. He believed a person should not be committed to one single person, that the more relationships a person had the closer to God they could be. He did not think marriage was a good thing because that kept people from getting close with their spirituality. Some people were allowed to have children and reproduce while others were not. Everything about relationships and sex were very strict in this community. This worked for a while and people listened to what Noyes said but he started to get older and other generations were getting older and could not really understand his reasoning behind what he was telling them. People started leaving the commune and starting their own families and getting married because that is what they wanted to do. The decline in followers of the commune is what caused the end of the Oneida Community. 

Synanon: 

Then when looking at the Synanon commune things are a little different. At the beginning in 1959-1968 when Synanon was just starting up, the nuclear family was not looked at as a bad thing. Families could be there, with their kids, or a mom could live at the commune and have their kids come visit and stay with them for a while in the commune and leave after. They were also aloud to go outside the commune and be basically normal human beings without feeling like they were trapped in their little community all of the time. The rules were pretty fair and flexible and if the person in the commune was willing to cooperate with Synanon’s rules they could see their family, inside or out.

  But that all changed later on in the years of 1969-1975. The idea of a nuclear family was not accepted anymore because the founder Charles Dederich had his own personal experiences and hated the family idea so then he decided it was not okay anymore. He blamed his family and said they were the reason for his addictions and his problems causing his life to be where it was. After 1975 it got even worse for the family life and how it was looked at. Synanon became a family and child hating cult. In 1977 men were FORCED to have vasectomies making it impossible for them to have children, abortions were mandatory, and divorce was highly practiced. If people already had kids in the commune, contact between the two were highly discouraged and the children were in a really abusive environment. On top of all that during this time period, sometimes children were forced to participate in confessions, haircuts, and humiliation. The children's schooling went down hill from caring about their education to just teaching them what would be helpful and important in the Synanon community. All of this caused tons of problems for the Synanon community. Children were in an unsafe environment causing them to run away, turn to drugs, or think they have no future. This is also around the time when the government got involved with the commune causing conflict and issue leading to the commune ending in 1993.

When looking at both these religious communes we can see they are very different yet at the end are very alike and the end result are the same. The beginning beliefs and how they go about things in the Oneida community and Synanon community are very different but by the end before both communes end are very much the same. Right before both communes ended they both said that nuclear families were not okay, the leaders or people in charge did not agree with being married, or having kids, or anything of that kind. It was looked at as holding a person back. And because of this, people stood up for themselves, left the commune, and the commune ended.

Oneida Community Mansion House: Historic Structure Report