A few years ago Sheriff Don Hunter started a juvenile boot camp in Immokalee. The idea was to turn the life around of juveniles at risk of becoming habitual adult offenders. It wasn't an easy program. The juveniles lived on site and their routine, both academic and physical, was rigorous. The instructors, Drill Instructors, were Deputies who had recieved training from the toughest DI's going: The Marines at Parris Island.
I was visiting one day watching the induction of a group of "Candidates." The juveniles had been rushed, shouted at, and bedeviled, a common tactic in boot camps to disorientate the inductees and show them who was in charge.
A DI was addressing the group, who were quivering, standing at attention. "Any one here with A D D or one of those 'initial' things."
A reluctant recruit held up his hand. The DI approached him and placed his hand over his head. "You are healed! We don't have 'initial syndromes' here. No A D D, D O P E, B S, any of those things. All you who claim you have them are cured. They are not tolerated."
And they were cured, many going on to complete high school and some entering college!
As Jim Hansen, Commander of the camp said: "No meds prescribed to treat those "conditions" were permitted at the boot camp and we never saw any negative affects from that.
We firmly believed that 99.9% of those kids were lacking in self control and were manipulators. That was borne out when they realized the consequences of not following the rules and staying focused turned out to be worse than if they did. All of a sudden, we had a miracle cure! Can you imagine?"
Wonder, if school teachers were allowed to discipline and control jerks in class, would the results be the same?
Hmmmmmm. Gonna have to ask my friend Dr Jose Lombillo, a psychiatrist, about that one. It's too deep for me.
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