I forgot about that comic and that he was still making them! For anyone who isn't aware, its a guy telling his story about going to one of those scared straight type of schools for problem kids...
I forgot about that comic and that he was still making them!
For anyone who isn't aware, its a guy telling his story about going to one of those scared straight type of schools for problem kids and outlining the abuse and crazy involved.
I recognized the school name immediately, since it's rather infamous. But was also super confused about this site leading to a comic. So thanks for providing the context and clearing that up for...
I recognized the school name immediately, since it's rather infamous. But was also super confused about this site leading to a comic. So thanks for providing the context and clearing that up for me (and for anyone else confused by this topic).
Just to provide a bit more context, the Elan School is perhaps the most infamous example of a broader class of organizations that fall under the umbrella of the troubled teen industry. It's...
Just to provide a bit more context, the Elan School is perhaps the most infamous example of a broader class of organizations that fall under the umbrella of the troubled teen industry. It's shameful that these things are not more strongly regulated.
I stayed up all night, reading the rest of this. When I had last left off, Joe had just graduated from Elan. So what followed ended up being a very different kind of horror for me. It was the...
I stayed up all night, reading the rest of this.
When I had last left off, Joe had just graduated from Elan. So what followed ended up being a very different kind of horror for me. It was the aftermath of trauma.
I had a different kind of traumatic childhood, so well I was reading through that, I thought it was some kind of dark mirror into my own past. I was kind of glad to read this because it was the only thing I’ve ever read that had any kind of hope of explaining how difficult it is to explain exactly how emotional abuse is so incredibly hurtful and how it causes you to make stupid decisions, even after it’s all over.
It’s easy to criticize this work from lasting longer than it should have, but I would disagree with that. It lasts so long to show you that when you’ve been through some thing like this, it’s not some thing that you can just heal and be done with. Something will always be fucked up with you forever. It erases years from your childhood so you’re always playing catch-up.
I think one of the strongest takeaways from this for me is when Joe learns that his parents didn’t have to keep him there. They actually wanted him to be there. There was a reason why they never believed his stories about it. It was just because they never wanted to deal with it. They were OK with the abuse. They were complicit. They wanted it to happen. And if they didn’t, then they were OK with it so long as the results were what they wanted them to be. They can pretend to still be the good guys.
I think the lesson here is that this dirty trouble teen industry is not some thing that popped up by accident. It exists because there is a demand for it. Joe’s parents and my parents and many other parents across the world are just like this. This is what humanity really looks like as much as we would prefer it not to.
You may be thinking to yourself, that this kind of thing is rather rare, but it’s something that I see in different colors all the time. It seems you can’t turn on the news for any amount of time without hearing about some new atrocity committed against a child in the name of so-called parents rights. Right now you may be hearing it the most in regards to trans kids, or parents trying to bring their kids out of public schools to brainwash them into their religion.
This is the point in my comment where I would suggest some kind of solution, no matter how unrealistic it may be. But frankly, I don’t see that this is something that there is a solution to in any meaningful way, short of taking kids away from their parents.
Oh man, I looked into this thinking it hasn't been that long since I last checked up on it - a year maybe - and it looks like it exploded in size. And so I went back quite a bit and I came across...
Oh man, I looked into this thinking it hasn't been that long since I last checked up on it - a year maybe - and it looks like it exploded in size.
And so I went back quite a bit and I came across this page that brings up that it was based on concepts taken from Synanon. Every time I look at this thing I find something new and terrifying.
Actually the worst thing about it is that as I went through it I realized I had already read this. It's just so full of despair that I made a point of not thinking about it.
I’ve never heard of this comic, but read through it completely. What a trip. It’s a great work of art and reminded me - not necessarily the artistic style, but more the format and feeling...
I’ve never heard of this comic, but read through it completely. What a trip. It’s a great work of art and reminded me - not necessarily the artistic style, but more the format and feeling afterwards - of Maus. I’ve read that one in one sitting too, and remember it imposing a feeling of sadness and powerlessness at times.
The medium is just perfect. It was just really immersive to me.
While the industry is vile, we have to realize: Parents do this to children. Who in their right minds willingly institutionalize their own child, think about this. You read about atrocities happen in ‘official prisons’ all the time, let alone these weird no rule organizations. Even if you don’t know, really really think about it. You send the one person, the one you love, that’s dependent on you, to be alone amongst… And even if the institution would’ve been populated by therapists and schooled staff. What would the child gain from it? It would learn that it’s unwanted, it needed those surrogate caregivers to learn.. something? And in the worst case, it would learn that it’s unwanted AND go through the trauma of such an hellhole.
“They will fix you and the problems will be all gone when you’re back.” Like it’s a Pokémon brought to the Pokémon daycare. Get some extra levels y’know. At least I don’t have to deal with the grind of really parenting. What they really wish are birds in cages. They get birds in cages. It looks really good for the outside world you know, such a well-behaved child. All caged up in their own minds.
It’s a toxic mix of the narcissistic generation - of which I have very low expectations with regards to raising children - and corrupt ‘free’ markets in the prison/juridical structure.
Holy crap. I just read through the whole comic without putting my phone down after seeing this link, and the story is completely insane. It is incredibly depressing to see how complete sociopaths...
Holy crap. I just read through the whole comic without putting my phone down after seeing this link, and the story is completely insane. It is incredibly depressing to see how complete sociopaths can make bank on ruining children’s lives, and that they are able to get away with it.
I’m at a loss for words. Might edit this comment at some point later on when I can better articulate the thoughts flying around in my head, but if this isn’t true evil, then I don’t know what is.
Thanks for the reminder! I had read the first half of the comic a while ago, but I put it aside and didn't follow the updates. I read the second half of it last night. I definitely enjoyed reading...
Thanks for the reminder! I had read the first half of the comic a while ago, but I put it aside and didn't follow the updates. I read the second half of it last night.
I definitely enjoyed reading it, and it's hard to put down — the author loves his cliffhangers. The ending is realistic but a little unsatisfying: the struggles of life continue without any clear point in time that feels like a resolution. Maybe that's just a consequence of being an autobiographical work? At any rate, I'm looking forward to the epilogue that he promised for October.
The author definitely seems haunted by his experiences. I wish him success, and I hope the act of producing this comic helped him process things.
Like everyone else commenting I also stumbled across a post about it and couldn't stop reading until I was caught up with it. One of the things that really stuck out to me about the situation they...
Like everyone else commenting I also stumbled across a post about it and couldn't stop reading until I was caught up with it.
One of the things that really stuck out to me about the situation they put these kids into is that it functions like a cult (another user has already pointed out that its' methods are based on the cult Synanon), except unlike other cults the mechanisms that keep people there are not just from manipulation and abuse, but also legal. It's a fucking cult that if you leave, the cops (or hired private citizens operating legally) will hunt you down and bring you back. These places are disgusting and so is our society for letting them exist in the first place.
Thank you for posting this. It makes my RTC experience seem like a cuddly teddy bear by comparison, but the parallels and the effects of the trauma such an experience has mirrors so closely what I...
Thank you for posting this. It makes my RTC experience seem like a cuddly teddy bear by comparison, but the parallels and the effects of the trauma such an experience has mirrors so closely what I continue to work through. It was both a horror to read and at the same time so cathartic to hear a voice that actually understands the kind of thing I went through and was able to put words to such an unspeakable and unrelatable experience. I'm just in awe. I have so much respect for this author, and I'm just so grateful for all his work.
I forgot about that comic and that he was still making them!
For anyone who isn't aware, its a guy telling his story about going to one of those scared straight type of schools for problem kids and outlining the abuse and crazy involved.
I recognized the school name immediately, since it's rather infamous. But was also super confused about this site leading to a comic. So thanks for providing the context and clearing that up for me (and for anyone else confused by this topic).
Just to provide a bit more context, the Elan School is perhaps the most infamous example of a broader class of organizations that fall under the umbrella of the troubled teen industry. It's shameful that these things are not more strongly regulated.
I stayed up all night, reading the rest of this.
When I had last left off, Joe had just graduated from Elan. So what followed ended up being a very different kind of horror for me. It was the aftermath of trauma.
I had a different kind of traumatic childhood, so well I was reading through that, I thought it was some kind of dark mirror into my own past. I was kind of glad to read this because it was the only thing I’ve ever read that had any kind of hope of explaining how difficult it is to explain exactly how emotional abuse is so incredibly hurtful and how it causes you to make stupid decisions, even after it’s all over.
It’s easy to criticize this work from lasting longer than it should have, but I would disagree with that. It lasts so long to show you that when you’ve been through some thing like this, it’s not some thing that you can just heal and be done with. Something will always be fucked up with you forever. It erases years from your childhood so you’re always playing catch-up.
I think one of the strongest takeaways from this for me is when Joe learns that his parents didn’t have to keep him there. They actually wanted him to be there. There was a reason why they never believed his stories about it. It was just because they never wanted to deal with it. They were OK with the abuse. They were complicit. They wanted it to happen. And if they didn’t, then they were OK with it so long as the results were what they wanted them to be. They can pretend to still be the good guys.
I think the lesson here is that this dirty trouble teen industry is not some thing that popped up by accident. It exists because there is a demand for it. Joe’s parents and my parents and many other parents across the world are just like this. This is what humanity really looks like as much as we would prefer it not to.
You may be thinking to yourself, that this kind of thing is rather rare, but it’s something that I see in different colors all the time. It seems you can’t turn on the news for any amount of time without hearing about some new atrocity committed against a child in the name of so-called parents rights. Right now you may be hearing it the most in regards to trans kids, or parents trying to bring their kids out of public schools to brainwash them into their religion.
This is the point in my comment where I would suggest some kind of solution, no matter how unrealistic it may be. But frankly, I don’t see that this is something that there is a solution to in any meaningful way, short of taking kids away from their parents.
Relevant reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Politics_(book)
Or just watch some of the videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f9R9MtkpqM
Oh man, I looked into this thinking it hasn't been that long since I last checked up on it - a year maybe - and it looks like it exploded in size.
And so I went back quite a bit and I came across this page that brings up that it was based on concepts taken from Synanon. Every time I look at this thing I find something new and terrifying.
Actually the worst thing about it is that as I went through it I realized I had already read this. It's just so full of despair that I made a point of not thinking about it.
I’ve never heard of this comic, but read through it completely. What a trip. It’s a great work of art and reminded me - not necessarily the artistic style, but more the format and feeling afterwards - of Maus. I’ve read that one in one sitting too, and remember it imposing a feeling of sadness and powerlessness at times.
The medium is just perfect. It was just really immersive to me.
While the industry is vile, we have to realize: Parents do this to children. Who in their right minds willingly institutionalize their own child, think about this. You read about atrocities happen in ‘official prisons’ all the time, let alone these weird no rule organizations. Even if you don’t know, really really think about it. You send the one person, the one you love, that’s dependent on you, to be alone amongst… And even if the institution would’ve been populated by therapists and schooled staff. What would the child gain from it? It would learn that it’s unwanted, it needed those surrogate caregivers to learn.. something? And in the worst case, it would learn that it’s unwanted AND go through the trauma of such an hellhole.
“They will fix you and the problems will be all gone when you’re back.” Like it’s a Pokémon brought to the Pokémon daycare. Get some extra levels y’know. At least I don’t have to deal with the grind of really parenting. What they really wish are birds in cages. They get birds in cages. It looks really good for the outside world you know, such a well-behaved child. All caged up in their own minds.
It’s a toxic mix of the narcissistic generation - of which I have very low expectations with regards to raising children - and corrupt ‘free’ markets in the prison/juridical structure.
Holy crap. I just read through the whole comic without putting my phone down after seeing this link, and the story is completely insane. It is incredibly depressing to see how complete sociopaths can make bank on ruining children’s lives, and that they are able to get away with it.
I’m at a loss for words. Might edit this comment at some point later on when I can better articulate the thoughts flying around in my head, but if this isn’t true evil, then I don’t know what is.
One night I binged on a dozen or so pages. It was very addictive. But it was so sad I couldn’t continue. I had no clue it was being actively updated.
Thanks for the reminder! I had read the first half of the comic a while ago, but I put it aside and didn't follow the updates. I read the second half of it last night.
I definitely enjoyed reading it, and it's hard to put down — the author loves his cliffhangers. The ending is realistic but a little unsatisfying: the struggles of life continue without any clear point in time that feels like a resolution. Maybe that's just a consequence of being an autobiographical work? At any rate, I'm looking forward to the epilogue that he promised for October.
The author definitely seems haunted by his experiences. I wish him success, and I hope the act of producing this comic helped him process things.
Like everyone else commenting I also stumbled across a post about it and couldn't stop reading until I was caught up with it.
One of the things that really stuck out to me about the situation they put these kids into is that it functions like a cult (another user has already pointed out that its' methods are based on the cult Synanon), except unlike other cults the mechanisms that keep people there are not just from manipulation and abuse, but also legal. It's a fucking cult that if you leave, the cops (or hired private citizens operating legally) will hunt you down and bring you back. These places are disgusting and so is our society for letting them exist in the first place.
Thank you for posting this. It makes my RTC experience seem like a cuddly teddy bear by comparison, but the parallels and the effects of the trauma such an experience has mirrors so closely what I continue to work through. It was both a horror to read and at the same time so cathartic to hear a voice that actually understands the kind of thing I went through and was able to put words to such an unspeakable and unrelatable experience. I'm just in awe. I have so much respect for this author, and I'm just so grateful for all his work.