Most of the survivors of Synanon would disagree with that final sentence. It’s startling to listen to how lots of the individuals concerned on this group nonetheless discuss its origins positively, noting that they wouldn’t be right here with out it. And but watching “The Synanon Repair,” one can see the rot on the core of this method to sobriety from the very starting. Based in 1957 by Dederich, Synanon was a drug rehab program in Santa Monica that was constructed round tearing individuals down. They gained notoriety for one thing known as the “recreation,” a type of assault remedy whereby individuals primarily criticize, ridicule, and insult somebody, forcing them into sobriety by disgrace greater than anything. Does it work? There are individuals alive right this moment who insist that it does. But it surely inherently creates a deeply flawed energy dynamic in that somebody must be accountable for the “recreation.” It’s extremely simple to attract the road from Dederich overseeing assault remedy to the way in which he would enhance his makes an attempt to regulate Synanon members over the many years to return.
“The Synanon Repair” actually captures how applications like this depend on brainwashing. By the tip, Synanon was abusing kids, forcing members to swap companions, and even allegedly making an attempt homicide by rattlesnake. Between these early days of letting junkies clear up on a grimy sofa and the downfall, Kennedy particulars the more and more disturbing selections by the facility construction of Synanon, notably Dederich. A lot of what’s captured here’s a story of how controlling habits feeds on itself. Each time Dederich acquired his followers to do one factor, he needed to prime it the subsequent time, till he was breaking one of many core guidelines about violence, broadcasting his members’ private trauma, and shaving the heads of the females in Synanon. When Kennedy will get to interviewing the kids of a neighbor who was well-known for being a kind of Underground Railroad for younger individuals fleeing the abusive compound subsequent door, it’s clear that the group has way back left behind its larger ethical objective.
And but what’s so fascinating concerning the last hour is how little judgment the survivors place on Synanon. As a standalone hour, it’s probably the most fascinating paperwork in a very long time concerning how cults type and persist. All of us wish to consider that we wouldn’t fall for a cult chief like Dederich however hear to those individuals who have seen a lot terrible habits discuss group, survival, and supporting each other. Cults type as a result of individuals ignore the unhealthy and focus solely on the great that they’re getting from that group. When a gentleman speaks of being compelled right into a vasectomy in his twenties throughout a time when Dederich thought their group needs to be childless—ladies had been compelled into abortions too—there’s virtually no anger in his voice. One would anticipate these individuals to be livid at being manipulated, however they appear to nonetheless think about all the unhealthy stuff that occurred as mere price for the clear group that saved their lives.