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Many know about how bad it is to grow up Mormon in Utah - but I really don't think people understand the extent of it. I personally know/knew two kids who were sent to a concentration camp. One for being gay, the other for smoking herb.
I knew the first kid in Jr. High School, and he just sorta .. disappeared. We weren't that close, but we talked occasionally and I just remember him being super nice and sweet to everybody. He hung himself when he was 14 after spending a few months in this camp.
Another kid I know is the younger brother of one of my friend's partners. He got sent there for 2 1/2 years straight because he was caught with some weed at home.
They are housed in solitary confinement, in concrete cells smaller than jail cells, with slits for windows.
They are housed in solitary confinement, in concrete cells smaller than jail cells, with slits for windows.
Almost all of the staff are convicted sex offenders, and there have been (I think?) over 60 civil suits settled out of court for sexual abuse of minors. They do "conversion therapy" there, where they try to "pray away the gay" or whatever (among other things).
To "make" the kids not gay anymore, part of the exercises they have the kids do is dress up in skirts or dresses, and dance with other boys, or with counselors, play weird "ass to mouth" games I couldn't quite understand from the description he gave, etc...
Every year they have a carnival, where they charge the community of West Jordan entrance fees and for tickets for rides, games, etc.
The children are made to erect, manage, and deconstruct the entire carnival, which is extremely hard labor and takes weeks - for no money.
The children are made to erect, manage, and deconstruct the entire carnival, which is extremely hard labor and takes weeks - for no money.
That's the sole way they operate the camp, in fact, besides some donations from the Mormon church and the community. And when I say "concentration camp", I mean it - like, it's surrounded by multiple layers of barbed wire and sentry outposts and shit.
Just a weird thing I thought I'd share today about Mormon culture, and what it is to grow up Mormon in Utah. The place used to be called the "Utah Boys Ranch", now it's known as "Westridge Academy". Here's their website:
