I knew Jim well too. And his daughters. I was so saddened to see him being used this way. Or just as bad, spewing such things himself. It’s a sad state of affairs.

And Mike, my heart goes out to you. I can’t fathom the pain of seeing your daughter say such things about you – even if you think it may not be her actually writing them – it’s gotta hurt. You are a warrior and I thank you for the incredible impact you are making daily here and with Leah on the Aftermath. Just watched the latest episode last night – great show! Every time I see you guys take up a new topic it is like peeling the onion, so therapeutic to realize all those niggling thoughts I had over the years were not an overt, but just me spotting the reality of it all. The truth. The emperor has no clothes.

Great! My Congressman, Vern Buchanan, is already against Nation of Islam.

It takes him a mere minute and two seconds of talking to reveal himself a Scientologist to anyone who is even marginally aware of the buzzwords, when he talks about the need to “produce enough to get back an exchange of abundance.” And I’m a never-in!

I’m going to try too get a face-to-face meeting with mine during the shutdown. He’s not just my Congressman but a friend. We are in Washington. I’d like to convince him to watch the show if he doesn’t already. “Aftermath” will do the rest of the convincing for me.

Obviously this is all conjecture but it just makes sense to me. I could be completely wrong and I acknowledge that. But I just cannot help feel that this is the position she finds herself in and it is a terrible one to be in.
I have read your responses on this blog and I have respect for you. I’m glad I didn’t offend you with my thoughts on this terrible issue.

Thanks, Balletlady. Along with Stefani, you also have opened a window and let in some light, so to speak. I was not taking into account how very hard the cult must have been on Bernadini after Mike blew. Maybe they did blame her and what do I mean maybe? Of course she got hell afterwards. But then, the abuse she no doubt endured due to Mike’s blowing, the unfairness of it, the injustice of blaming her for his decision should have shown her just how batshit the cult was and why he was right to blow. I’m going to go out on a limb and opine that if she had loved Mike she would have understood why he blew, and not blamed him. If she had loved him his suffering and abuse at DM’s hands would have distressed her immensely and she’s be secretly glad that he had escaped.

Stefani, thank you. Well communicated and poignantly illustrated by your own early (horendous and unspeakably cruel ) parental experience you brought to light a possible key point that never occurred to me.

Of course, due to the demands of Sea Org life Taryn never had a close relationship with EITHER of her parents, and now, via the cult’s fury at Mike because of Aftermath, now a reconnection between mother and daughter has been forged, with total approval from Miscavige and as a result Taryin is getting some attention and approval and even tenderness from her mother. Wow. I get it!

Bashing her father, obediently doing whatever she can to contribute to his downfall – to her mind – a total win. She gets an outlet for the unresolved anger and resentment over her upbringing. She can channel her fury at both her parents safely at her father which in return gets her approval and attention from the cult and her peers. She gets approval and attention from her mother. The more she trashes her father is the more she is “loved”.

OMG I just shuddered re-reading thist because it is so not my own experience but at the same time, yes, I can look from this viewpoint, the viewpoiint of a woman who has now given up on getting love from her father and who is now getting a reasonable facsimile of that emotion from her mother. And its precious, and she’ll do anything, say anything to keep it coming…wow…I get it! And it makes more sense of Taryn’s habitual expression, which to me looks like that of a furious little girl just on the verge of tears. Thank you again, Stefani!

Add Lyn Irons to the list of people who are Scientologists please. Anyone checking out his new business should know his ties to Scn. Karma rears its ugly head.

They can’t play the Roseanne card because they are not allowed to take Ambien………..

Aquamarine, please know that I say this respectfully to you- Taryn is an adult, for sure but having been raised in the Scientology environment her emotional maturity is questionable. I was never in, but I was raised by an abusive, controlling narcissist who would bestow his love and approval on me when I would say anything negative about my mother and withhold everything except icy disgust when I longed for her. I learned very quickly that if I wanted at least one parent to love me, I’d have to sacrifice the other. Outwardly I complied because I felt there was no choice but inside the burden of guilt over betraying my mother was heavy and terribly hard to bear. Being emotionally abused and manipulated whether by cult or by parent (and in this case I believe that Taryn has felt both between CO$ and Bitter Bernardini) leaves a LOT of fear and self doubt. If it is true that Bernardini was also not around much for Taryn’s upbringing then it adds to the confusion because now Taryn has her mother suddenly paying attention to her and showing her approval. Suddenly Taryn has a “real” relationship with at least ONE parent and believe me, it means EVERYTHING. The fear of losing that is incredible and unbearable. If Bernardini is telling Taryn “your father was never there for you. I was and am the only one who loves you and wants to protect you.” Then in order not to lose the ONE parental relationship she has she will most likely be willing to do or say anything to keep her mother from abandoning her. Added to all the emotional control, Scientology already has a policy of parental alienation firmly in place. Scientology is all she has ever known and the outside world is a horrible place filled with horrible people.
While all of this is, of course conjecture, I believe it is reasonable conjecture. I also believe that deep inside there is a LOT of conflict going on with her.
It is easy to lose sight of the HUGE emotional and psychological impact Scientology has on those who live within it’s twisted, manipulative world. I am often guilty of trying to understand Scientology as a Never In and it just doesn’t work.
I absolutely condemn the false accusations and the lies. I do believe that Taryn is a participant in all of this and she is making her choices. However I believe that those choices are being made under duress, under false pretenses and out of fear.
As I said, I am split down the middle. Her actions are infuriating, frustrating and wrong but I also feel great empathy for her.
JMO here.