Physical Abuse at Casa by the Sea

So why is residential treatment so bad? Based on my experiences, while I was there I did have it rough. Casa by the Sea has hurt me more in the past 7 months than it did over the 28 months I was there. I will start from the beginning....

I was at Casa by the Sea from July 11, 2001 until November 3, 2003. I left a 15 year old boy. I returned just shy of 18.

The details of my incarceration are hard to recall. I struggle with discerning between the physical abusive events which occurred, and the emotionally abusive events which live in my mind and physical trauma. I know that I was thrown into a wall by a man named Arturo when I first arrived. I know that an administrator named Dustin was there and witnessed the event.

Worksheets was the mellow version of time-out. Normally students would go there from 3 hours to days. I spent two straight days in worksheet once. We sat on 3 inches of wooden bench, feet together, knees together, hands on your knees, back straight, looking straight forward. We had to ask permission to scratch, sneeze, use the restroom, or drink water. We sat like that for 45-60 minutes in a row, listening to educational tapes.

Three times a day we went outside and performed physical fitness. Worksheet fitness varies by the student-leaders which are working it. One time I performed modified jumping jacks for 90 minutes straight. No water breaks, just exercise. To add injury to insult, we were barefoot on concrete covered by Astroturf. I was unable to walk straight for one week. Another time I performed various sprints, pushups, and movements in a sand pit. I was so fatigued that I vomited twice. I was not given a water break or medical treatment either time. These two events occurred in coastal Baja California in the August/September timeframe.

For comparison, I have a link to the Army's standard for work/rest cycle (http://tinyurl.com/ldvg72). All of the above I have described would be classified as "Hard Work" by the Army. Best case, Casa by the Sea doubled the Army standard. Worst case, Casa by the Sea violated this standard by 9 times. These youth were not trained or built up to that standard. If a Drill Sergeant treated a new recruit like the staff at Casa by the Sea treated me, they would be tried, convicted, sent to jail, and dishonorably discharged for their crimes. The commander in charge of the Drill Sergeant would have a letter of reprimand in their file, preventing further promotion.

Lose-Lose for Youth Rights

Forest Grove V. TA

Recently, the Supreme Court heard a case in which nothing good could come. I think either way the court ruled, someone was losing out and it would impact CAFETY in a negative way.

Brief summary, child was not doing well at school and had behavioral issues. Parents sent child to Mount Bachelor Academy and the School District did not want to reimburse the parents for tuition fees.

If the district won, then every child with behavioral/mental issues would have to attend special ed classes before they could get tuition reimbursement for external schooling. If the parents won, then it is acceptable to use taxpayer dollars to send a child to a school where the following is acceptable: "students say staff members of the residential program have instructed girls, some of whom say they have been victims of rape or sexual abuse, to dress in provocative clothing — fishnet stockings, high heels and miniskirts — and perform lap dances for male students as therapy."

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the parents. So, citizens of Oregon, your taxpayer dollars are going towards a facility which believes re-creating the circumstances of sexual assault for victims is an acceptable method of therapy.

I have a connection to Mount Bachelor Academy, they use the Lifespring training model, the same I experienced at Casa by the Sea. I know what that place did to me. Lifespring is not Special Ed, it is Special Dead. A method of brainwashing to chomp away at a person's soul and replace it with a shell, programmed to respond a certain way to external stimuli. Their goal is to create more minions to spread the gospel according to Lifespring. I have seen hundreds of people walking around as this Lifespring Zombie, preaching the seminars as the only way of life.

Upcoming Schedule

Next week I will start a series of blogs concerning my experiences in a WWASP school, called Casa by the Sea. For a teaser, you can read the schedule below.

Physical abuse at Casa by the Sea
Emotional abuse at Casa by the Sea
WWASP Seminars in depth - Discovery
WWASP Seminars in depth - Focus
WWASP Seminars in depth - Accountability
WWASP Seminars in depth - Parent/Child I
WWASP Seminars in depth - Parent/Child II
WWASP Seminars in depth - Parent/Child III
Returning home
Basic Training to Iraq
Coming home and the interim
December 4th, the day which will live in infamy
PTSD
PTSD Part II

Dates have been removed.

The problem with partisans

In relation to H.R. 911, here is why both political parties have serious mental handicaps (I call it lackingcommonsenseitis). Do you see this map?

This map should look completely different. The map should be ENTIRELY BLUE! As far as I am concerned, those who voted against H.R. 911 had two reasons.

The first reason, used by Virginia Foxx of North Carolina's 5th district, is that Ms. Foxx used to operate a residential treatment center. She said it in the House hearings, which Kathryn Whitehead and Jon Martin-Crawford both participated.

The second reason, used by everyone else, is that Republicans saw this issue as a pet project of the far-left. They lumped H.R. 911 into the rest of the stuff that comes from the far-left, save the whales, stop carbon emissions, don't test on animals, you get the picture. The marketing for our organization to those center or right on the political spectrum is miserable. Utterly miserable.

Please, write your congress(wo)man. Let them know how residential treatment has impacted you or someone you know. Do not allow these corrupt, out of touch loons with no real-world experience get away with such injustices. Hold them accountable, when you vote for your House representative, ignore the little letter next to their name. Read their record and vote based off what the law says.

Upcoming CAFETY Events

CAFETY will have a booth at the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade this weekend, 27-28 of July. Anyone who would like to volunteer, please e-mail cacafety@gmail.com .

If you are just interested in finding out about CAFETY, speaking with some volunteers, and learning about our organization, look for us there.

Paging Bill O'Reilly.....

Mr. O'Reilly,

I have watched your show for years now. I enjoy it and expand my political knowledge everytime I see it. However I feel it is my turn to expand your knowledge.

Jessica's law is a just and worthy cause. I applaud the amount of time you have spent dedicated to the passage of such protection for youth. Where were you for H.R. 911? Why haven't you spoken up about the youth being falsely imprisoned within your own state of New York?

These youth are stripped of every semblance of legal protection. They are humiliated, beaten, and deprived of food, water, and social contact. I can speak from direct personal experience, having been in the military for 5 years and spending a year in Iraq. I would rather be in Iraq than in a residential treatment center.

I hope that you will heed the call of this young conservative. I hope that you will turn the media power which you hold against such residential treatment centers and expose them for what they are, torture camps against American citizens within our own borders.

Sincerely,
Eric Beasley

Introduction to Conservative thought

Republican does not equal Conservative!

I am very passionate about that. Republican is a political party, conservatism is a political philosophy which centers on the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Constitution. Whatever my personal feelings on a subject may be, I feel bound by the above laws and documents of our country. My religious views (Buddhism) may reflect in my personal opinions, however my legal ideas are separate.

As far as CAFETY is concerned, residential treatment centers are a festering plague upon our nation. People complain about the abuse at Guantanamo, however they overlook such abuses happening miles away from their homes. Abuses happening to American citizens, both at home and abroad. These youth are not judged by a jury of their peers. Nor do they appear before a judge. They have no lawyer, no legal representation. As far as I am concerned, these youth are falsely imprisoned and deprived of the most BASIC human rights, "life, libery, and the pursuit of happiness."

I was one of these youth. I was kidnapped, taken across county, state, and federal borders. I was taken in the middle of the night to Ensenada, BC, Mexico. I did not see the inside of a court room. I was not judged by a jury of my peers. However, I was thrown into a wall my first hour there. I was told that I was a druggie because I had on a pair of Vans. My rights as a human being were taken away from me with some signatures from my parents.

Think about it, when a minor commits a crime, are they given a trial? Yes. Do they have access to a lawyer and information concerning their legal rights? Yes. So why would a youth, like myself, who never broke the law be stripped of their rights? Owners, employees, and referral agencies are all DIRECTLY responsible for the gross human rights violations committed at these facilities.


Do some youth need to be taken to some form of residential treatment? Yes, definitely. However, there is no justification for depriving these youth of their rights as human beings, let alone American citizens.