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?
I think the comparison you did with People's Temple is really interesting. As I did my research I also noticed that paranoia was a theme that sprung within Synanon. However, I feel like the paranoia in Synanon was largely from the people in the group rather than Dederich. But it really is interesting in how such strong groups that had such promise could fall so quickly because of paranoia.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder if maybe they would still be around if they had no negative publicity? Negative publicity could have helped to aid in their grown paranoia. I wonder if the media had not gotten involved in Jonestown, would most of those people still be alive? But I do also wonder if they did not suffer from paranoia, would the groups still be around today. It is crazy to see paranoia can destroy things in an instant.
ReplyDeleteI wondered that too. Maybe had the News portrayed them in a more positive aspect then Synanon might have still been around to this day or maybe Jim Jones would not have convinced all those people to take their own lives. But at the same time, maybe it would not have happened on that day but it still might have happened later anyways not matter what no matter the publicity or not.
DeleteI really liked your blog because I had not made that connection that all these communes had ended because of paranoia. It does make sense that paranoia was a big factor but its not a factor people have really talked about. Jones was definitely filled with paranoia and he led his whole group to be scared. Both Jones town and synanon cared a lot about what the community thought of them they went to extremes when they got scared of what the public might do.
ReplyDeleteI believe that paranoia is exactly what caused Synanon and the Peoples temple to come to an end. The fact is that this paranoia was driven by the attention from the media. Both Charles Dederich and Jim Jones had gone to great lengths to build their image and reputation. I think that when the media attention increased both leaders felt threatened. Although they used different approaches the two main ways they handled the situation was through violence and hiding. For the Peoples Temple this meant going to Guyana. For Synanon the answer became violence. Although this might not have been the best way to handle the situation, this was ultimately the way that Charles Dederich decided to attack the problem.
ReplyDeleteI Agree with you I do believe that both groups seemed to end mainly because of paranoia. If you look at Jonestown, Jim Jones and a few other people were the only access to the outside world. When Jim Jones found out about the negative attention The Peoples Temple was getting, he started to become paranoid and violent. Charles Dederich completely lost when after his wife died. He also became paranoid and violent towards people who thought negatively towards Synanon.
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