Top all-time · #2454
Joe
Personal blog · elan.schoolculturewriting
Joe writes Elan.School, a personal blog at elan.school about culture and writing. Since 2020, 34 different Hacker News readers have linked it 41 times, most often “Elan School”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-04-24, and you can follow it by feed.
Most-linked posts?
- Elan School21 people · 23 mentions · first linked 2020-02-19
- /4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2022-03-28
- Joe vs. Elan School2 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2022-03-28
- /2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2021-08-25
What Hacker News says?
I most recently read http://elan.school
Comment linking /
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?”Submitted Elan School as a story · 157 points
HN discussionThere is a very good/gripping series of illustrations about the school drawn by one of its victims: https://elan.school/
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on “Phony diagnoses hide high rates of drugging at nursing homes”Submitted Joe vs. Elan School as a story · 37 points
HN discussionYou should read the comic at http://elan.school It's unbelievable and if they ever make a movie or HBO-type series of it, it will need to be seriously toned down, lest it ends up being too horrirific.
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on “They thought they were going to rehab but ended up in chicken plants (2017)”Submitted Kidnapping kids remains legal in USA, this site has you experience it first-hand (2018) as a story · 24 points
HN discussionhttps://elan.school/ is a deep and artistic comic from a survivor of the infamous Elan School. It really gives you an impression of what these places are actually like.
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on “Troubled teens left traumatised by tough love camps”Submitted Today, 150k – 200k kids in the USA are locked up in "fix your teen" programs as a story · 5 points
HN discussionIf anyone's interested in a first hand account of this type of thing there's good webcomic: https://elan.school/ I haven't checked in a bit but I think he's still releasing new chapters.
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on “Troubled teens left traumatised by tough love camps”Submitted Elan School as a story · 5 points
HN discussionI think you should probably limit it to psychology. The whole point of psychology is social control. Making society into what someone wants it to be instead of what it needs to be (from the perspectives of individuals who are trying to survive/do well, whatever that means to them ). Changing individuals while doing only things to the individual, not touching the problems their behaviour is trying to solve. Pointing…
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on “Taken under fascism, Spain’s ‘stolen babies’ are learning the truth”Submitted Elan School as a story · 5 points
HN discussionhttps://elan.school/tag/comic/ Be warned it's NSFL.
Comment linking /tag/comic/
on “List of Creepypastas”Submitted Elan School as a story · 5 points
HN discussionI was sent to one of these schools and attended from late 2005 - early 2007. The school was called Excel Academy about an hour north of Houston; it has since been shut down. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excel_Academy_(Conroe,_Texas) My reasons for being sent there are similar to the author's. I didn't take my dad's car without permission, but I did drink a lot, skip school, was generally rebellious and refused to b…
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on “When I was labeled a ‘troubled’ teen, I obliged”Submitted Joe vs. Elan School as a story · 4 points
HN discussionThe "Joe vs Elan School" comic you're referring to is really good, so I'd second this recommendation. Grim, but good. https://elan.school/chapter-1-5/
Comment linking /chapter-1-5/
on “When I was labeled a ‘troubled’ teen, I obliged”Submitted Joe vs. Elan School – A true cult classic as a story · 3 points
HN discussionOthers have mentioned https://elan.school -- it's a horrific eye-opener. I'd recommend against binging the story; it's heartwrenching. There's a few methods they use: (a) they do shit so horrific that folks don't believe their own children (b) they brainwash, gaslight the kids so they're conditioned to not talk about it, even teach them lies to tell their parents with dire consequences (c) police and politicians are…
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on “When I was labeled a ‘troubled’ teen, I obliged”Submitted US school had staff-sanctioned fight clubs and wasn't closed until 2011 as a story · 2 points
HN discussionIf anybody wants to read a comic with the perspective of someone that went through one of these places and spent the years after fighting against them, I stumbled upon this one a few years ago: https://elan.school/ I am not in any way affiliated with the author, it's just one of the few books with real content that I've read in a long time.
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on “A new documentary about the history of forced psychiatric treatment in Spain”Submitted Joe vs. Elan School as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThere is actually a compilation of evidence of what went on at the Elan School here - https://elan.school/proof/
Comment linking /proof/
on “Elan School”Submitted Elan School as a story · 2 points
HN discussionYikes. The “funnel,” the requirement for instant obedience… this gave very https://elan.school vibes.
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on “Bye, Mom”Submitted Joe vs. Elan: The terrifying mechanics of a automated, student-run prison system as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSo that works if it's possible to actually reach the person and the family agrees that they need help to get out. What if the family is part of the problem or is tricked? (I recently read https://elan.school/ about this unimaginably horrible Kids for Cash-like scheme/cult. The only thing I can think of to prevent such things would be to get parents, teachers, lawmakers and social workers to read those stories too.)
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on “How do the pros get someone to leave a cult?”Submitted Joe vs. Elan School: The graphic memoir of a controversial troubled-teen program as a story · 1 points
HN discussionIf you, ahem, liked 1984, you'll want to read: https://elan.school/
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on “Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline”Submitted Elan School – A true cult classic as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
