Funny, I?ve been a member of BL for a while and I just came across this while going down a Bob Meehan wormhole on the Internet.
I was sent from Atlanta Insight in 97 out to Arizona for Pathways. I was 17, but I knew the whole thing was a scam.
I wasn?t a terribly fucked up kid, but dabbled in all the normal shit....some coke, L, mushrooms, etc. Full time pothead, but that?s about it. To this day, 21 years later, I think my parents overreacted by sending me to rehab and they now admit that they did.
I suppose if you were in the program for a long time, I could see how it could fuck someone up. Me, I was there for about 6 months before bailing to do a summer of phish tour before going back to Atlanta to finish high school and get on with college.
Anyhoo.....it didn?t fuck me up, but I do remember some key things that just didn?t seem normal.
They sheltered me from my own parents who had put me there in the first place. I was allowed to see them once in the six months I was there. They talked down about them and, even though I was angry with my parents at the time, it pissed me off. It wasn?t just my parents, they sheltered you from anyone that wasn?t in the group. I was concerned about finishing high school, but they didn?t give a fuck about that. I wanted a job, but they just told me to ask for more money from my parents.
Every chance they got, they told me how fucked up I was and what a total addict I was. They tried to make that seem like it was some sort of badge of honor. But I knew damn well I wasn?t an addict, I was middle class white boy who dabbled in drugs who?s straight laced parents bought into the whole thing.
We did a lot of fucked up shit in that program. Stayed out all night and had a general disrespect for authority. Vandalized some shit and were pretty wreckless. But, in their eyes, as long as you were sober and with other people from the program, that shit was okay.
Pretty crazy. In the end, I?m glad Bob?s empire crashed. He was a narcissistic racist that was cashing big checks on those who were ignorant to drugs (ie: my parents).
Looking back, I?m glad I bailed and didn?t get sucked in, but I feel for those who did. I?m sitting here responsibly enjoying a nice glass of wine and have a wonderful life.
I don?t know if programs like this are prevalent these days, but if you?re struggling with addiction, make sure you do your research before getting involved in groups like this.
I?m not sure if this is any good, but I?m about to watch it....
https://youtu.be/BXBLYEeF5vs