“An ear in a glass of alcohol”

Lessons from an Outlier

By Marshall Carder

[This essay appeared originally on WordPress, posted on March 20, 2016, prior to the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Republished here with the permission of the author.]

The rise of Donald Trump as a serious contender for President has elicited an avalanche of criticism aimed at stopping this impending catastrophe in its tracks. Comparing his rapid ascent to that of the most reviled figure in recent history, Hitler, is so common that it may have lost its power to disgust. The tired analogy is generally thrown around mostly as pure hyperbole by both sides of the political spectrum, but in Trump’s case that is chillingly not so. In a few short months he has gone from a laughingstock orange carnival barker to the overwhelming favorite to gain the Republican nomination, and he has done so with a sordid mix of lies, insults and incitement which can only be understood properly if you have lived through this type of thing before. There is a good reason that the experts and pundits failed miserably to notice his sick and widespread appeal. They have not witnessed first-hand what “normal” people will resort to when the rhetoric and circumstances have ignited their inner furies and primal fear. There is almost nothing they won’t do in defense of their “principals” (read Rights).
    Although there are many direct descendants of the victims of Hitler, there are only a handful left in the world that actually heard him speak and saw his rise. We are all familiar with the terrifying consequences that ensued, but most people are baffled as to how one could just stand by and do nothing. There is always a voices that shouts, “I would never fall for that,” or “Those people must have been really stupid,” as if we were somehow better or different from them. The fact is, and scholars have demonstrated, that people will do horrendous and unthinkable things to others and themselves when they are manipulated in just the right way. That is why 2,000-year-old magic tricks still work the same as the day they were dreamed up. All of us are human.

None of us individually has the power to stop the leviathan once it has grown to full strength. The only hope we have of is to recognize what is actually happening and not allowing it the room in which to do so. The reality is that there are actually some of us that saw this type of dangerous demagoguery on display as a part of our daily lives in one of the many Intentional Communities that sprouted up in the 60’s. In my case that community was Synanon, and the dangerous demagogue was Charles Edwin Dederich. The striking parallels between what I witnessed first hand as a youth are manifesting themselves right before my eyes and my greatest concern is that the end-game will be the same. The fear and anger that is being incubated and nurtured will grow into the violent, deadly mob that will threaten the very fabric of our society, just as it did within many of the intentional communities of the last five decades. We all remember Jonestown and how Jim Jones followers literally “drank the kool-aid” in the ultimate act of self sacrifice and group violence (many did not voluntarily commit suicide but were murdered). The phrase has entered our lexicon and is often used quite inappropriately given its true origins, but the fact is that when that happened, many in our own community feared we were next. The rumor was that the very “kool-aid” they were drinking was donated to them by Synanon. (Strangely, the “kool aid” was artificially colored and sweetened so none of us kids drank it because it was so strange. We always referred to it as either “green death” or “orange death.” Little did we know.)
    Gratefully, Synanon did not end with the mass suicide of the residents, ala Jonestown or Waco, but the violence that did occur and grow out of the fanaticism brewed by the charismatic leader changed many people’s lives forever. The fear of Trump is real because the consequences are grave. Any thought or idea that Trump is just playing games is either denial or ignorance; there is no other way to put it.
    The foundation of Trump’s persona is built on the “attack first,” put them on the defensive method. There is an old story about Lyndon Johnson telling his adviser to report to the newspaper that his opponent was sleeping with farm animals. The aid replied that there was no truth to the statement and Johnson replied, “I know, but let’s see him try to defend it.” From his comments about women, minorities, disabled, Muslims, Mexicans, etc. to his snide “little Rubio” or “lying Ted” smears, Trump’s number-one go-to is to hit first and hit as low as possible.

Chuck was no different. Just like Trump he knew how to read people with the clarity of a street smart cage fighter. He would use their strengths to his advantage while incessantly hammering them on their “faults” (real or imagined) to keep them in a position of weakness. Look how he treated Chris Christy the past couple of weeks, publicly humiliating him as Christy was busy kissing his ring and hoping for that AG job. Nobody could challenge Chuck, just like Trump. He was the king, he could “fire” anyone and bust them down to the dorms. Those who came in as drug addicts or alcoholics were always and often reminded of this and told that would fall on their ass if they ever left (sowing fear). Lifestylers with an education such as the Doctors and Lawyers were always called “Leather Elbows” in much of the same way the right refers to anyone with an education as “Elite” as if being educated were somehow a negative.
    Chuck built an amazing community which at one time helped a lot of people, in the way that I imagine some of Trump’s more successful ventures have done, but his oversized Ego and overwhelming Hubris got the better of him and destroyed everything that we had all dedicated our lives to. That is what I see if Trump is continues to use this despicable playbook. The monster he creates will consume the lives and liberties of many well meaning people because the fear, hate, racism, xenophobia, and sheer ignorance being harnessed by the Master Manipulator Donald Drumpf. If it grows out of control, it will destroy our democracy.
    The violence that has begun is not a coincidence. I have seen it before and I can assure you that it will only escalate until someone dies and then perhaps it will already be too late. Chuck used the very same tactics to get his followers to cross the line, it works every single time. Like Trump, he started by creating a common external enemy to unite his followers. Like Trump he called them and taunted them and when they reacted he said to his minions, “see, they hate us, they are going to hurt us, we need to do something about them.” Chuck didn’t have Twitter or Facebook, but he was certainly a Troll in modern parlance. And just like Trump, Chuck implied the kind of violence he wanted to see. If you wanted to prove your loyalty to the cause you were going to take the initiative and get a “piece of flesh” in defense of your noble motives. In Trump’s case they are “rights” that the “other” has stolen and abused and you must defend yourself against this certain doom.

There is a famous tape where Chuck says to his audience that he wants to see “an ear in a glass of alcohol on my desk.” In a very bizarre parallel, he first told people how successful he was and that he had made his money and was rich but that the “enemy” was threatening their future, just like Donald does. Chuck would directly call his followers weak and lacking, while Trump inverts the equation by saying we are getting beaten all of the time (same implication). When I first heard Donald say that in the old days, “people would be getting carried out in stretchers,” my heart stopped. People ARE going to be carried out in stretchers, that is how this works. Everyone trying to prove their strength and loyalty are going carry out his sick little fantasies and invent their own, and somebody is going to die. Synanon was famously responsible for placing a de-rattled rattlesnake in the mailbox of Paul Morrantz, almost killing him and changing the course of his life forever. He still suffers from that horrible incident to this day. Phil Ritter was beaten within an inch of his life because of his refusal to back down to the bully Chuck Dederich, and the list goes on.

But it gets much worse. The most startling and horrendous aspect of the violence that was fomented by Chuck’s manipulation was that it came to be directed against the children and others within the community. The violent rhetoric could not be contained and directed only towards our enemies because it had become a tactic for dealing with problems. Violence was the solution to any and all conflict where the “Community” wanted to impose its will. Public beatings, spankings and other forms of terrifying humiliation and abuse, became the norm for both children and adults who got on the wrong side of the community. Lost was the art of reasonable dialogue, in its place was pure vitriol and hatred. Does this sound familiar to you? It should.
    To this day, I remember the faces of many of the abusers in Synanon like I saw them this morning. Those are the same faces I saw heckling and spitting obscenities toward lawful protesters who oppose the heartbreakingly hateful message that Trump espouses. The fear-fueled fanaticism is exactly the same as what I witnessed, and the results will be so as well. Unless someone takes a stand, we shall all be responsible for the carnage. Unfortunately for so many Synanon residents, nobody ever did stand up to Chuck, I pray that will not be the case with Trump.
    Trump is not just a racist, a misogynist, a braggart, a buffoon, he is a master manipulator that will hang us all with as much rope as we give him. Take it from me. I have seen it first hand.

Copyright © 2016, 2021 by Marshall Carder Marshall Carder lives in Cardiff by the Sea, California. He is a father, a husband, and writes occasionally about things that inspire him.