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{{Quotation|"When you deprogram people, you force them to think.... But I keep them off balance and this forces them to begin questioning, to open their minds. When the mind gets to a certain point, they can see through all the lies that they've been programmed to believe. They realize that they've been duped and they come out of it. Their minds start working again."}} {{Quotation|"When you deprogram people, you force them to think.... But I keep them off balance and this forces them to begin questioning, to open their minds. When the mind gets to a certain point, they can see through all the lies that they've been programmed to believe. They realize that they've been duped and they come out of it. Their minds start working again."}}

] Communities began in the early 70's in Ted Patrick's hometown, as the Vine House. One of the victims of Ted Patrick's deprogramming, Kirsten Nielsen, was (and still is) a member of the Vine House community and describes her experience with Mr. Patrick as follows:

{{Quotation|"The lack of peace my parents had about us being here was obvious through different comments they had made over the years, and we didn’t trust their intentions. Old fears began to come to me, considering how they used to call the police on us as children before, without warning. We began to suspect the possibility of them getting in touch with Ted Patrick, a deprogrammer who was becoming sort of famous at the time. “Black Lightning” was the name he had acquired, because he would swoop in like lightning and kidnap people from various so-called cults. It seemed highly possible that they had hired this man and had now spent the past three days conspiring together, planning to kidnap and deprogram us. I expressed all my fears to some of my friends. Even though our community had already experienced some deprogrammings in the recent past, it was still hard for them to imagine someone doing such an outrageous thing. Nevertheless, they advised us not to go anywhere with our family alone, or at least not without our fiancés with us.

On the third day they finally called. My mother sounded very happy and at peace. She said she was sorry for the delay, but they had wanted to rest up for a few days before coming. She assured us that she, as well as my father and my two younger brothers, couldn’t wait to see me and my sister. I hadn’t seen my brothers for almost four years. The way she said it sounded all so reasonable and I began to feel a little stupid for ever suspecting them of doing such a ridiculous thing as kidnapping us.

When they arrived at some of our houses on Vine Street they appeared very much at ease. None of them seemed at all nervous or suspicious, only happy and genuinely glad to see us. I didn’t sense any anxiety. My brothers had changed a lot. I hardly recognized them with their mustaches. They were so tall. I left them as boys and now they were young men, 18 and 19. It was a happy reunion, and I felt so awful for ever thinking they were up to something. Every fear of mine vanished in the morning sunshine, and I even felt a twinge of pain that I had thought such things. I had to laugh when I saw that they had rented a silver Mercedes. My dad only got the best.

They expressed how they had really not had time to buy something for my sister and me, and although they knew my sister’s wedding was only two hours away, they wondered if we could go with them and do a little quick shopping, as they had also really wanted to get something for us that they knew we would need and really enjoy. Of course, they didn’t want to make her late for her wedding, but there must be a mall around here somewhere. My mother was very convincing and at the same time didn’t seem under pressure. It all seemed so innocent, something almost more for her sake than ours. You almost hated to disappoint her. My sister and I told her fiancé and another friend of ours that we had obviously misjudged them. They just wanted to take us shopping for a little bit, and we’d be back shortly. Everything was all right and we didn’t need anybody to go with us. I remembered how with worried faces they let us go.

Happily, my sister and I got in the back seat with our two brothers on either side. At the mall, my father and brothers quickly disappeared. We wondered where they went. My mother said with a smile, “You know how they hate shopping.”

“Oh yes, of course,” I thought.

“They’ve probably gone to find something of interest, like the Hi-Fi and TV department, or the hardware section,” she continued.

After having gotten a pair of shoes and a jacket for me, and a leather handbag for my sister, the men finally reappeared and we were ready to go. By now time was running out and we hurried out to the car. Not noticing a particular car pulling out in front of us, as it was a large parking lot with many cars continually pulling in and out, we headed back to the Community, following behind this particular car.

My sister was past being nervous and was now depressed. Her smile was gone. There was so little time left, and she still needed to take a bath and get ready for her wedding. She noticed that we seemed to be going the wrong way and said something as about it. My dad didn’t answer. I looked at him. His face was red and I thought he was probably embarrassed because my dad never loses his way — he has an excellent sense of direction, even if he’s never been there before. He’ll find his way, I thought, not a bit afraid or suspicious as my mother rattled on cheerfully.

“Honey, show Dad your new shoes and jacket. Look Don, isn’t it nice?” She successfully distracted us. I should say me — my sister was pretty bummed out. Her smile never returned. She knew she probably wouldn’t make it on time.

Suddenly the car took a sharp right, sped up a long steep private driveway, and abruptly parked in the back of a green house that I had never seen before. In an instant, the doors flew open and my brothers, who were on either side of my sister and me, quickly got out and stood blocking the open car doors. In the same moment, my father was out of the car in a flash, and walked quickly to the back door of the house as six or seven people came out to meet him. One of them, a very overweight, older-looking man, walked directly to my father. They shook hands... It was obvious it was a business deal.

This is always a horrible moment for me to remember. All my worst fears of a few days ago suddenly became a horrifying reality. It was like a nightmare. My sister and I looked at each other in total shock and began to moan. “It’s Ted Patrick! We’re being deprogrammed!!” My mind was frantically looking for a way out, but there was no escape. It was hopeless. My brothers who were guarding the doors were almost six feet tall, young and athletic. We didn’t stand a chance. My mother slowly turned around in the front seat. She didn’t say anything. There was a tear on her cheek, yet what also seemed to me a familiar look of triumph. I felt so betrayed."}}

The above description is a small part of a whole series of kidnappings and attempted "deprogrammings" of Twelve Tribes members by "Cult experts"; the most shocking of which were the kidnappings of Kirsten Nielsen on her sister's wedding day, and later on, her international kidnapping from Europe to Kansas after she had returned to the Twelve Tribes Communities and gotten married. Her first person account of her kidnappings and deprogrammings can be read at http://www.TwelveTribesCult.org .


According to a 1979 ] article, Patrick gave himself the moniker "Black Lightning."<ref name="SPELL"> Henry Allen ''Washington Post'' February 6, 1979</ref> However, ] activists ] and ] state, in their 1978 book ], that cult leaders gave him that nickname.<ref name="SNAPPING">Conway and Siegelman, '''' (Chapter 6 of '']''), 1995, ISBN 0-9647650-0-4</ref> According to a 1979 ] article, Patrick gave himself the moniker "Black Lightning."<ref name="SPELL"> Henry Allen ''Washington Post'' February 6, 1979</ref> However, ] activists ] and ] state, in their 1978 book ], that cult leaders gave him that nickname.<ref name="SNAPPING">Conway and Siegelman, '''' (Chapter 6 of '']''), 1995, ISBN 0-9647650-0-4</ref>
Line 33: Line 61:
*On 11 June 1984 Scientologist Paula Dain was awarded $7,000 in compensatory damages by a federal court jury in a $30 million civil-rights lawsuit against Patrick. The jury ruled that Patrick had violated Dain's civil rights and freedom of religion, but determined that Patrick did not act "with evil intent" or in "reckless and callous disregard for Miss Dain's safety." *On 11 June 1984 Scientologist Paula Dain was awarded $7,000 in compensatory damages by a federal court jury in a $30 million civil-rights lawsuit against Patrick. The jury ruled that Patrick had violated Dain's civil rights and freedom of religion, but determined that Patrick did not act "with evil intent" or in "reckless and callous disregard for Miss Dain's safety."
*In the case of Kathleen Crampton, where Patrick and her family members were acquitted from kidnapping, the judge wrote: "The parents who would do less than what Mr. and Mrs. Crampton did for their daughter Kathy would be less than responsible, loving parents. Parents like the Cramptons here, have justifiable grounds, when they are of the reasonable belief that their child is in danger, under hypnosis or drugs, or both, and that their child is not able to make a free, voluntary, knowledgeable decision." *In the case of Kathleen Crampton, where Patrick and her family members were acquitted from kidnapping, the judge wrote: "The parents who would do less than what Mr. and Mrs. Crampton did for their daughter Kathy would be less than responsible, loving parents. Parents like the Cramptons here, have justifiable grounds, when they are of the reasonable belief that their child is in danger, under hypnosis or drugs, or both, and that their child is not able to make a free, voluntary, knowledgeable decision."

==Sources==
#{{note|twelvetribescult.org}}{{cite web | title=The Shocking Kidnapping of Kirsten Nielsen | work=The Twelve Tribes: Controversies | url=http://www.twelvetribescult.org |}}



==Publications== ==Publications==

Revision as of 17:30, 29 April 2008

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Theodore "Ted" Patrick is widely considered to be the "father of deprogramming." Some criminal proceedings against Patrick have resulted in felony convictions for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

Early life

Born in what he calls "a red-light district" in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he was surrounded by "thieves, prostitutes, murderers pimps. From the time was old enough to remember, saw people being killed, shot up, cut up, beat up. The place was so bad even the police didn't want to come there."

He had a speech impediment, which set him apart from the other children. Until he was sixteen, no one could understand what he said, which made him "shy and backwards and miserable and embarrassed" for most of his childhood. According to Mr. Patrick, after being taken to countless faith healers, witch doctors and voodoo practitioners, the final straw was an embarrassing spin the bottle game. The bottle pointed to him and the girl wouldn't kiss him. He then decided to take his problem into his own hands. His speech improved, and with it his confidence and interpersonal skills. He dropped out of high school in tenth grade to help support his family. After working in a variety of jobs, he saved enough to open a nightclub called the Cadillac Club with his cousin. The venture was successful, and eventually he sold his share of the business to his cousin. Patrick was the co-chairman of the Nineteenth Ward in Chattanooga. He planned on opening a restaurant and cocktail lounge; however, two days before the restaurant’s opening, political enemies of Patrick’s stopped it from opening.

At twenty-five he left his wife and infant son in Tennessee and went with a friend to San Diego, California. There he started the Chollas Democratic Club to assert the rights of the Black community. Perhaps their main accomplishment was picketing supermarkets and other stores to get them to employ Blacks. After he had saved enough money, he brought his wife and children to San Diego. Other organizations he started in San Diego were the Logan Heights Businessmen’s Association, the Junior Government of Southeast San Diego and the Volunteer Parents Organization (VPO.) During the Watts Riots in 1965 the VPO was instrumental in keeping the violence from reaching San Diego. For his efforts in the Watts Riots Patrick was awarded the Freedom Foundation Award, which ultimately led to his job as the Special Assistant for Community Affairs, under then-Governor Ronald Reagan.

Career as a deprogrammer

Despite a lack of formal education and professional training, Ted Patrick was able to gain the trust of hundreds of parents and family members who hired him to "deprogram" their loved ones. A high school dropout, Patrick based his techniques and practices on his own life experience. According to Ted Patrick himself in a TV debate with members of the Hare Krishna group (May, 1979), "How I got into deprogramming was through my own son. All outdoor boy, couldn't nothing keep him in the house. Then one day, he was psychologic... psychological kidnap by a cult". In this interview, Patrick also explained that his quest to understand cults led him to speak to "witches, warlocks, healers" and in fact, he went "all the way to New Orleans" to the same person his mother brought him to for his speech impediment. He also stated that he spent time in a religious group and after a week "..didn't know where I were, nor how I got there... I was hook.". Patrick stated that this research and his understanding of the mind from his ongoing struggle with his own speech, was the background for his work in deprogramming.

On June 12 1971, Mrs. Samuel Jackson contacted Patrick to file a complaint concerning her missing son, Billy. As Billy was nineteen, the police and FBI would not look for him. Billy was involved with the cult known as the Children of God, which had approached Patrick's son Michael a week earlier. Patrick contacted other people whose relatives were in the cult and even "joined" them to know how the group operated. This is when he developed his method of deprogramming. He ultimately left his job to deprogram full-time.

Ted Patrick, one of the pioneers of deprogramming, used a confrontational method:

"When you deprogram people, you force them to think.... But I keep them off balance and this forces them to begin questioning, to open their minds. When the mind gets to a certain point, they can see through all the lies that they've been programmed to believe. They realize that they've been duped and they come out of it. Their minds start working again."

The Twelve Tribes (New religious movement) Communities began in the early 70's in Ted Patrick's hometown, as the Vine House. One of the victims of Ted Patrick's deprogramming, Kirsten Nielsen, was (and still is) a member of the Vine House community and describes her experience with Mr. Patrick as follows:

"The lack of peace my parents had about us being here was obvious through different comments they had made over the years, and we didn’t trust their intentions. Old fears began to come to me, considering how they used to call the police on us as children before, without warning. We began to suspect the possibility of them getting in touch with Ted Patrick, a deprogrammer who was becoming sort of famous at the time. “Black Lightning” was the name he had acquired, because he would swoop in like lightning and kidnap people from various so-called cults. It seemed highly possible that they had hired this man and had now spent the past three days conspiring together, planning to kidnap and deprogram us. I expressed all my fears to some of my friends. Even though our community had already experienced some deprogrammings in the recent past, it was still hard for them to imagine someone doing such an outrageous thing. Nevertheless, they advised us not to go anywhere with our family alone, or at least not without our fiancés with us.

On the third day they finally called. My mother sounded very happy and at peace. She said she was sorry for the delay, but they had wanted to rest up for a few days before coming. She assured us that she, as well as my father and my two younger brothers, couldn’t wait to see me and my sister. I hadn’t seen my brothers for almost four years. The way she said it sounded all so reasonable and I began to feel a little stupid for ever suspecting them of doing such a ridiculous thing as kidnapping us.

When they arrived at some of our houses on Vine Street they appeared very much at ease. None of them seemed at all nervous or suspicious, only happy and genuinely glad to see us. I didn’t sense any anxiety. My brothers had changed a lot. I hardly recognized them with their mustaches. They were so tall. I left them as boys and now they were young men, 18 and 19. It was a happy reunion, and I felt so awful for ever thinking they were up to something. Every fear of mine vanished in the morning sunshine, and I even felt a twinge of pain that I had thought such things. I had to laugh when I saw that they had rented a silver Mercedes. My dad only got the best.

They expressed how they had really not had time to buy something for my sister and me, and although they knew my sister’s wedding was only two hours away, they wondered if we could go with them and do a little quick shopping, as they had also really wanted to get something for us that they knew we would need and really enjoy. Of course, they didn’t want to make her late for her wedding, but there must be a mall around here somewhere. My mother was very convincing and at the same time didn’t seem under pressure. It all seemed so innocent, something almost more for her sake than ours. You almost hated to disappoint her. My sister and I told her fiancé and another friend of ours that we had obviously misjudged them. They just wanted to take us shopping for a little bit, and we’d be back shortly. Everything was all right and we didn’t need anybody to go with us. I remembered how with worried faces they let us go.

Happily, my sister and I got in the back seat with our two brothers on either side. At the mall, my father and brothers quickly disappeared. We wondered where they went. My mother said with a smile, “You know how they hate shopping.”

“Oh yes, of course,” I thought.

“They’ve probably gone to find something of interest, like the Hi-Fi and TV department, or the hardware section,” she continued.

After having gotten a pair of shoes and a jacket for me, and a leather handbag for my sister, the men finally reappeared and we were ready to go. By now time was running out and we hurried out to the car. Not noticing a particular car pulling out in front of us, as it was a large parking lot with many cars continually pulling in and out, we headed back to the Community, following behind this particular car.

My sister was past being nervous and was now depressed. Her smile was gone. There was so little time left, and she still needed to take a bath and get ready for her wedding. She noticed that we seemed to be going the wrong way and said something as about it. My dad didn’t answer. I looked at him. His face was red and I thought he was probably embarrassed because my dad never loses his way — he has an excellent sense of direction, even if he’s never been there before. He’ll find his way, I thought, not a bit afraid or suspicious as my mother rattled on cheerfully.

“Honey, show Dad your new shoes and jacket. Look Don, isn’t it nice?” She successfully distracted us. I should say me — my sister was pretty bummed out. Her smile never returned. She knew she probably wouldn’t make it on time.

Suddenly the car took a sharp right, sped up a long steep private driveway, and abruptly parked in the back of a green house that I had never seen before. In an instant, the doors flew open and my brothers, who were on either side of my sister and me, quickly got out and stood blocking the open car doors. In the same moment, my father was out of the car in a flash, and walked quickly to the back door of the house as six or seven people came out to meet him. One of them, a very overweight, older-looking man, walked directly to my father. They shook hands... It was obvious it was a business deal.

This is always a horrible moment for me to remember. All my worst fears of a few days ago suddenly became a horrifying reality. It was like a nightmare. My sister and I looked at each other in total shock and began to moan. “It’s Ted Patrick! We’re being deprogrammed!!” My mind was frantically looking for a way out, but there was no escape. It was hopeless. My brothers who were guarding the doors were almost six feet tall, young and athletic. We didn’t stand a chance. My mother slowly turned around in the front seat. She didn’t say anything. There was a tear on her cheek, yet what also seemed to me a familiar look of triumph. I felt so betrayed."

The above description is a small part of a whole series of kidnappings and attempted "deprogrammings" of Twelve Tribes members by "Cult experts"; the most shocking of which were the kidnappings of Kirsten Nielsen on her sister's wedding day, and later on, her international kidnapping from Europe to Kansas after she had returned to the Twelve Tribes Communities and gotten married. Her first person account of her kidnappings and deprogrammings can be read at http://www.TwelveTribesCult.org .

According to a 1979 Washington Post article, Patrick gave himself the moniker "Black Lightning." However, anti-cult activists Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman state, in their 1978 book Snapping, that cult leaders gave him that nickname.

He was one of the founders of the FREECOG organization founded in 1971 to extricate members of the Children of God (COG). He later helped found the Citizens' Freedom Foundation, which evolved into the Cult Awareness Network and is now owned by associates of the Church of Scientology.

Patrick described details of some of his kidnappings in his book Let Our Children Go! (E. P. Dutton, 1976, page 96)

"Wes had taken up a position facing the car, with his hands on the roof and his legs spread-eagled. There was no way to let him inside while he was braced like that. I had to make a quick decision. I reached down between Wes's legs, grabbed him by the crotch and squeezed--hard. He let out a howl, and doubled up, grabbing for his groin with both hands. Then I hit, shoving him headfirst into the back seat of the car and piling in on top of him."

Patrick stood in trial several times for kidnapping activities. After the first trial (which found him not guilty), he stopped executing the actual kidnapping but continued with his deprogramming.

Criminal proceedings and convictions

Some criminal proceedings against Patrick have resulted in felony convictions for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

  • In 1980 he was convicted of kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, and false imprisonment of Roberta McElfish in San Diego and sentenced to one year in prison.
  • On 28 December 1981, Judge Clinton Olsen dismissed the Church of Scientology's lawsuit against Ted Patrick and three others for lack of cause of action in Multnomah County, Oregon.
  • On 11 June 1984 Scientologist Paula Dain was awarded $7,000 in compensatory damages by a federal court jury in a $30 million civil-rights lawsuit against Patrick. The jury ruled that Patrick had violated Dain's civil rights and freedom of religion, but determined that Patrick did not act "with evil intent" or in "reckless and callous disregard for Miss Dain's safety."
  • In the case of Kathleen Crampton, where Patrick and her family members were acquitted from kidnapping, the judge wrote: "The parents who would do less than what Mr. and Mrs. Crampton did for their daughter Kathy would be less than responsible, loving parents. Parents like the Cramptons here, have justifiable grounds, when they are of the reasonable belief that their child is in danger, under hypnosis or drugs, or both, and that their child is not able to make a free, voluntary, knowledgeable decision."

Sources

 # "The Shocking Kidnapping of Kirsten Nielsen". The Twelve Tribes: Controversies. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)


Publications

  • Patrick, Ted. Let Our Children Go. New York: Ballantine. 1976.
  • Conway and Siegelman, Black Lightning (Chapter 6 of Snapping), 1995, ISBN 0-9647650-0-4

Bibliography

  • Patrick, Ted. Let Our Children Go. Ballantine 1976.

Notes

  1. Breaking the Spell That Binds Henry Allen Washington Post February 6, 1979
  2. Conway and Siegelman, Black Lightning (Chapter 6 of Snapping), 1995, ISBN 0-9647650-0-4
  3. "Regulation of religious proselytism in the United States". Retrieved 2008-04-04. {{cite web}}: Text "Brigham Young University Law Review" ignored (help); Text "Find Articles at BNET.com" ignored (help)

References

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