Domestic Terrorism?

April 9, 2002 12:01 PM

Domestic Terrorism? One makes you wonder that, while our country is so adamant at fighting terrorism, they are turning a blind eye to what's going on in our own country. Here's another site with a lot more articles about parents who are hoodwinked into giving these people carte blanche over their kids and then have to fight to get them back.
posted by bkdelong (11 comments total)

Yes, it's all true. About 2 years ago, I was doing some heavy research into these groups until I got so emotionally involved, I had a breakdown and had to step back. It truly is unbelievable how these companies are still running with all they've done.
posted by bkdelong at 12:05 PM on April 9, 2002

is that dumb parenting or domestic terrorism? are these camps teaching rebelious teens the joys of plasic explosives? poisons and you! 22-caliber sniping and more! letter bombs: how much postage?

i agree that these camps are a bad idea. The camps that have killed kids need to be shut down, the owners need to be in jail. Absolutely. But terrorism?

If we attach that label to everything then the terrorists have already won.
posted by th3ph17 at 12:27 PM on April 9, 2002

This hardly rises to the level of "terrorism". Con-artistry, gross malfeasance, abuse of trust... all these are sufficient terms to describe what's outlined.

If the word "terrorism" is used for any and every crime, it will lose its significance. You're using the word out of its place.

Main Entry: ter·ror·ism
Pronunciation: 'ter-&r-"i-z&m
Function: noun
Date: 1795
: the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion


Nope. This isn't terrorism. I think you're just using the word to draw attention. Use the right words if you wish to be taken seriously.
posted by dissent at 12:27 PM on April 9, 2002

the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion

I'm sorry, have you *read* all these articles? The above definition seems to fit more than I thought.
posted by bkdelong at 12:31 PM on April 9, 2002

parents, if your kid is a normal kid (ie, without genetic disorders, brain damage, etc.), be parents to your kids. don't try and send them away to some sort of therapy school or such bs to "fix" them. i think the dramataic upswing in psychology and therapy ideas, techniques and practices in the past decade or two clearly illustrates how people in our society, as a whole or individually, are becoming completley incapable of sorting out their own problems. i read too much about these "programs" that either brainwash or abuse the "students" and then how everybody is outraged at what transpired.
posted by sixtwenty3dc at 12:40 PM on April 9, 2002

I would never send my kid to a program whose acronym is W.W.A.S.P. Scary.
posted by mariko at 12:42 PM on April 9, 2002

this is the way i read that first article with my tiny little brain:

after helping our daughter traumatize herself for years with rigorous training and schooling away from home, we didn't know what to do when she was hurt and came home. What a shock it was to actually live with our daughter rather than just looking at pictures! What horror we found at her teenage rebellion. Why would our daughter not respect us? Had we not paid for her training and schooling?

So, we found someone else we could pay lots of money to in exchange for them taking responsibility for our daughter. Boy howdy, was that a bad idea! We paid money to mean, fraudulent child abusers! So now we have started an organization to help other parents to find Good programs to coerce their children into righteousness thru less evil methods, with staff and services that may even be covered by your health plan.

*cough*

anyways, bkdelong, i can see that you are very emotionally charged about these programs, that is great. People do need to be educated about them. They are dangerous, and parents who send their kid off into some desert should be ashamed. [i had a friend who spent 2 months in the desert of southern Utah. It got him BACK into drugs. He had already quit, but he still wasn't going to Church, so off they sent him.] But using the term Terrorism--i feel--takes the blame away from the parents. Call it Child Abuse thru Well-Paid Proxy. Something. Terrorism is about idealogy, violence against systems and groups. That is the definition that is important, and that we need to stick with....no semantic arguement is going to turn youth camps, bad schools or even State Prisons into "Terrorism."

That said, you mentioned you had done a lot of research into various camps, yes? When did these things start showing up? And are their resources for youth to protect themselves against parents willing to do such a thing?
posted by th3ph17 at 1:32 PM on April 9, 2002

bkdelong: I'm sorry, have you *read* all these articles? The above definition seems to fit more than I thought.

Terrorism typically refers to crimes against societies or governments and the "unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence". While I find what these institutions are doing reprehensible (yes, I did read the articles), calling it terrorism is a stretch.
posted by jaden at 2:12 PM on April 9, 2002

The parent who wrote that first article is pathetic. What did the poor girl do that was so bad? She quit her job. She has been known to drink wine coolers. She wasn't the same little angel anymore. Oh, boo hoo. Kids get older; they become their own people, they have problems, they (gasp) drink wine coolers. If I had been living under that awful woman's roof when I was in 8th grade, who knows what sort of evils I would have been accused of, what sort of awful place I would have been sent to. What a twit.
posted by bingo at 2:47 PM on April 9, 2002

Four years ago I had a beautiful 13-year-old daughter who had just made the National Team in Gymnastics.

This is the first sentence. The *author's emphasis* puts this young lady's gymnastics career well above her personal well-being. That having been said, I'd note that only people with certain body types have any hope of competing in world class gymnastics, and the difference between a 13 year old girl's body and a 17 year old woman's is pretty huge.

Thank God she didn't do drugs, however she did like to drink wine coolers.

Thank God she didn't do anything but grow up.

I am ashamed to say, I never did a background check on these programs,

Umm, okay. "I had a couple wine coolers at a party", from a 17 year old is kind of an oopsie. "I accidentally put my child in control of strangers" is child abuse.

I believe if you take a negative child, and put them in a negative environment, such as a boot camp, it builds resentment and anger.

Excellent conclusion. Yes, this kid's pissed off that she got sent to boot camp. For no reason. The kid's right.
posted by swell at 6:32 PM on April 9, 2002

I took the quiz designed to help you determine the risk level of your teen using a combination of the experiences I knew I had as a teen and my best guess as to what my parents might have felt. I got a 67% which places me in the high risk category: A Residential Center, Treatment Program or Specialty School is strongly recommended.*

* Caution: these recommendations are tentative, a rough guide. Please contact us to personally evaluate your situation.

Funnily enough, a feeling of powerlessness on the part of the parent is good for 7% on the quiz. Pretty high considering that it might very well indicate a serious problem with the parent. Wine coolers, indeed.
posted by rocketpup at 2:44 AM on April 10, 2002