By Professor Rod Janzen
Chuck Dederich--a former Alcoholics nameless member who coined the word "Today is the 1st day of the remainder of your life"--established Synanon as an cutting edge drug rehabilitation heart close to the Santa Monica seashore in 1958. Synanon developed fast into an experimental commune and "religion" that attracted hundreds of thousands of nonaddict participants and used to be strongly dedicated to social justice and innovative schooling. Over 25,000 humans have been contributors of Synanon at a number of instances, together with jazz musicians Charlie Haden and Stan Kenton; supporters of the crowd integrated Senator Thomas Dodd, comic Steve Allen, and psychologist Abraham Maslow. In its later years, even though, the gang grew to become enthusiastic about hugely publicized violent actions--including placing a rattlesnake within the mailbox of a Los Angeles-area attorney--making the group's identify synonymous with paranoid cults.Based on vast basic assets and interviews with former participants, the increase and Fall of Synanon explores how the establishment developed within the context of yank social, political, and fiscal traits. Historian Rod Janzen argues that the group's downfall resulted from participants giving an excessive amount of energy to Synanon's charismatic founder and a small team of top-level affiliates. Media awareness involved in the group's cultlike actions, neglecting the community's major successes in drug rehabilitation and social integration. Janzen's in-depth research of Synanon serves as a desirable case examine of the way replacement societies can switch over the years and the way the final public's reactions to such societies can shift from tolerance to stances of worry and lively competition.
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Extra info for The Rise and Fall of Synanon: A California Utopia
Example text
57 Synanon experienced significant growth during its first decade, from 40 residents in 1958 to 823 members by the end of 1967. The mystique of the beach and the nearness to the entertainment industry caused Synanon’s Santa Monica location to attract a wide variety of people. This was radically different from the rural isolation of western Marin County and the Sierra Nevada foothills, where the majority of Synanon people later moved. Dederich knew that change did not come easily for those with addicted personalities.
47 It was an essential part of Synanon’s program throughout its existence that resulted in diminished energy consumption and productive use of residential space (though Dederich himself often lived in separate, upscale quarters). It provided members with a strong sense of identity, and many former members viewed the communal aspect of their life at Synanon as more satisfying than anything else. All members dined and played the game together and wore clothes that had been donated to the supply center.
68 Still many middle-class Americans feared communitarians and former drug addicts and criminals who were committed to interracial equality. In 1967 at a protest meeting in El Cajon, near San Diego, a citizens group called Project Stop attempted to halt Synanon’s purchase of a former Catholic school. ”69 “These people” were then taunted in public places, rocks were thrown at Synanon vehicles, and community property was destroyed. Public relations thus became a high priority for the commune. Since unjust attacks were used as positive publicity to increase membership and donations, Dederich once criticized two residents for a public display of affection because he thought this might bring negative attention to the foundation.