“On May 10th of 2007 at around 2:30 in the morning two strangers barged into my bedroom.” And so begins one young lesbian’s tale of being sent to Cross Creek, a “specialty program” for kids who just need a little brainwashing.
She goes on:
The queer shaming was present in nearly every aspect of the program, including the language used. We were not allowed to use curse words such as “shit”, or “bitch”, but I never saw anyone reprimanded for saying “fag” or “faggot.” This fostered an environment in which teasing and bullying for all sorts of things were fully tolerated. I even remember a facilitator in a seminar trying to trigger a girl by calling her a “dyke.” And no, before you say something, I really don’t care about breaking confidentiality of seminars at this point because I am fed up.
Go read the whole thing and get ready to cry. And then get ready to take action: another Reddit thread asks, “Are you horrified these facilities are abusing kids? Good. Let’s talk about ways to close them.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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Nick Thiwerspoon
This is horrible. Loathsome. Appalling. And all because of a purblind aversion to gayness fuelled and inspired by a constant drip of ChrisTaliban poison. If you tell ppl often enough that homos are evil, immoral, perverted, unChristian, unBiblical, wrong, mentally unsound, and inferior to hets, eventually ppl start believing you. The Goebbels technique.
Jeffree
This is an honest question: what can any of us here [Queerty followers] do to shut down / outsmart /mute these “reprogramming camps”?
Our mutual friend & sheer brilliantessa co-Queerty commenter Shannon1981 got sent through such “treatment” at least twice (& lived to tell her story). Not everyone has such strength.
Say the word, I’d appreciate concrete steps, ideas, tactics & strategies.
No prob if you [Queerty] don’t have A’s to my Q’s: throw it out there. Our collective wisdom mightn {clue the dramatic music} amôunt to something worth trying.
Syl
@ Jeffree: write you representatives and senators. E-mail this link to all your friends and family. If there’s a camp nearby, print out pamphlets, hand them out around town, picket…and if you’re not afraid to go to jail for a good cause, burn the camp down.
Reddit TroubledTeens
Hi, I’m pixel8 on reddit and I’m doing everything I can to save kids from being abused and tortured.
Thank you for coverage of this topic, Matt Baume and QUEERTY.
Right now, as you read this, kids are being brutally restrained, forced to hold stress positions, locked in isolation, denied food and psychologically tortured. There are hundreds of these facilities, they exist in all 50 states. It’s a billion-dollar business and there are some rich and powerful people involved.
Hardly anyone knows about it. I only found out 2-1/2 months ago! I was so outraged I decided to do something about it. I’m just a normal person who is a concerned citizen like many of you.
If people know about this, it won’t be allowed to exist. The most important thing you can do is to tell others. Put it in your facebook, blogs and tweets. Tell your friends.
We have moved our base of operations to a brand new site, http://www.troubledteenindustry.com. If people would like to get involved, post there. We are also organizing bloggers over there.
You can also connect with us the following ways:
Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/troubledteens
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TroubledTeenIndustry
AND
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_185627381482928&ap=1
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/r_TroubledTeens
Reddit TroubledTeens
I just wanted to say that while I think you have an excellent publication, and I don’t want to knock it, when I first came to this page there was an ad for Turnabout/Stillwater Academy, which has indications of being abusive.
I realize that your ads are probably fed by a media company and are based on keywords. This is an excellent example of how mainstream these places are. Any facility that advertises that the can help ‘troubled teens’ should be suspect. Reputable therapists know that the problem is not with the teen, but most likely within the family, and they treat the whole family.
Turnabout/Stillwater is mentioned about 1/2 way through this article:
http://reason.com/archives/2006/12/28/the-trouble-with-troubled-teen/singlepage
You can also find info about Stillwater here:
http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title=Turnabout/Stillwater_Academy
http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/search.php?sid=c32c24c9bf60040f044e2c1583aec7a2
Again, not to knock your publication. These places are everywhere and it’s big business, people need to know what to watch out for.
Reddit TroubledTeens
@Jeffree: One thing people can do right now is to sign this petition to close Cross Creek: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/871/920/694/
We will be coming up with more action steps here: http://www.troubledteenindustry.com/forumdisplay.php?11-How-Can-I-Help
Thank you for asking, Jeffree!
Jeffree
@Reddit TroubledTeens:
Thanks for the info & lïnks on the prison camp. I’ll follow up.
(I can’t open links until I get back to my laptop)
I’m hoping you’re also getting this stuff out to any & all LGBT-affiliated website. Some of the state/local LGBT press will run articles that the bigger orgs won’t touch.
Oh, university GSAs etc., also could be an ally. Even though its Summer term, the doors aren’t shut !
Like so much in life, follow-thru is chore, but sometimes repeated exposure really helps get issues noticed. One good, true story can attract attention than a page of graphs & text.
(And setting fires is probably not exactly my speed, lol)
Keep up the good work. You *can* make a difference.
Reddit TroubledTeens
@Jeffree: Thank you for your suggestions! It’s hard to do everything I would like to do–and I work on this in every spare second I have! Nothing is a chore. Can you recommend some orgs that I should get in touch with, and can you help spread the word with any sites you frequent?
hybridjohn
Thanks Reddit for giving such an informative article. I also read your above reply comments and got various important links. Teens camps are very good option for those children that are suffering from various teenage problems.
http://www.teenscamps.com/