There are many wonderful quotes from this truly inspirational man who had the courage to stand for what he thought was right and good and just.
I had intended this post to come earlier in the day, where in the US we are celebrating Martin Luther King Jnr Day today. But things got away from me, so it is a little tardy.
Someone pointed out this quote to me the other day, and it stuck with me. It was written by Dr. King from a jail cell in Birmingham Alabama on 16 April, 1963, and this is the paragraph from which the quote above is lifted:
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country’s antireligious laws.
I have often equated the church’s practice of disconnection (they are now seeking to call it “shunning” to make it appear somehow religiosier) with segregation and the Jim Crow laws.
Dr. King summed it up perfectly.
And Monique Yingling, David Miscavige’s personal attorney, brought it home in the recent New York Times article about the church attack on the upcoming HBO documentary:
Monique E. Yingling, a lawyer for the church, said shunning was practiced by a number of religions, has been upheld as legally permissible by courts, and in the case of Scientology, is reserved for those who have started “attacking the religion.”
Isn’t is ironic that the organization that proclaims itself the champion of human rights uses the argument that their abuses are LEGAL.
The REAL human rights advocate champions what is MORAL and RIGHT.
As usual, scientology takes the low road.
Bingo! You are right on the money with this. They hide behind legalities to justify morally reprehensible practices. And hence civil disobedience must be exercised to bring about awareness that these “legal” practices need to be changed.
An apt description of the church’s knee-jerk reactions:
“Fools multiply folly.”
Poor Richard’s Almanack
Good quote. The only accurate way to determine what should be “legal” or, the converse, is with a thorough understanding of Natural Human Rights. Start with John Locke and study onward…
Coming out.
I write this with considerable trepidation and fear of back flash from what few friends I still have that are currently in the choich as staff or public. With shaky fingers and visions of extreme condemnation and possibly an instant electronic declare sans a committee of evidence.
I was a word clearer at flag in the nots unit in 1985-1986.
I experienced a surrealism not known to me as a public.
I have the greatest admiration for auditors and C/S’ but (I apologize in advance) I hold administrators in contempt and I see no reason to change my mind at this time.
History has shown that tyrants (psychopaths) are helpless without considerable help from administrative sociopaths willing to do the dirty work for status, power and money.
In the event that I am attacked by my “friends” I will simply refer them to the many sites that represent the truth instead of defending myself. Hopefully most of them will survive the experience. R K
Welcome to the fresh air Ron. Live with your integrity in and if someone doesn’t like it….fuck em! You’ll be ok.
What she said.
Ron,
Remember that those who disconnect from you are forced to do so at the behest of a church who now sees you as dangerous. You are another person who Monique Yingling is lying about. You have not attacked anyone. You have not committed any crime other than growing tired of the lies. Welcome to the sunshine.
You probably won’t be declared. Scientology doesn’t have time to declare the steady stream of people rushing out its’ doors right now, it’s too busy pretending it isn’t happening.
Besides, an SP declare is now a badge of honor. It means you’ve seen the light and are actually willing to be honest and moral again rather than to lie or do someone else’s dirty work. Well wishes heading your way.
Valerie.
Well done, Ron! Your integrity shines through clear and strong. Continue! And if “friends” disconnect from you, what kind of friend were they anyway? You have many true blue friends on the outside, myself included.
Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life Ron. Nice job!
Well, Ron, if you do get attacked by your still in “friends,” maybe they really weren’t your friends to begin with! But, rest assured, you now have a bunch of new friends here at Mike’s Blog. We welcome you with open arms and hope that you continue to post here.
“Scientology, as a philosophy, can corrupt personal morality and make good people do bad things.” Yes, unfortunately you are so right about this, Statpush. Just like the Nazis turned kids into brown shirts who turned in their parents and neighbors.
Berlin Wall went up overnight, instantly separating families and friends from each other. The purpose of the wall was to “keep the evil out” of the East. The real purpose of the wall was to stop the Brain Drain of the people in East Berlin who were escaping to the freedom of West Berlin. Hmmm…does that sound vaguely familiar?
Those families who were torn apart by the wall held wedding ceremonies in apartment buildings tall enough so that friends and members of families on the other side of the wall could see the ceremonies. East Berlin responded by making the wall higher to block the view.
IMHO forcing someone to not see their family and others they hold dear is much more likely to make them want to leave a place than taking away personal freedoms.
Berlin Wall only lasted 28 years before it crumbled. For anyone who has studied the history of the Berlin Wall, it started to fall because a bureaucrat made a mistake in his interpretation of the reading of a decree. The borders were then opened wide several hours later by one guard who dared defy the orders of his superior to make the people go over a border crossing one at a time, instead opening the gates and allowing an irreversible flood.
As brutal as disconnection is, it is unfortunately legal and so amazingly immoral as to be nauseating. Scientology forces those inside its’ walls to not communicate with anyone outside the walls because it knows that if they do, they will lose them. It is my hope that one tiny misunderstanding will break the dam and allow the flow out that occurred with the Berlin Wall.
I think it’s so important to include history in our analysis, it adds much perspective. Nice job Valerie!
Martin Luther King paid the ultimate price for his freedom. The Church of Scientology is still a work in progress to it is an important lesson one learns.
It is not always something the church did or didn’t do to harm another that matters but more the kind of responsibility they are willing to assume or not assume for their harmful acts once done that causes the greatest good to come about.
Yingling relies on the ignorance of her audience when she claims that the courts have ruled that shunning is legal, and disconnection is reserved for someone who “is attacking Scientology.” First, the courts have ruled they may not interfere with the religious practice of shunning or excommunication because of the prohibitions of the First Amendment. Once that occurs, however, the courts have consistently ruled that they may act against a church if the “shunned” has property stolen from them, has contracts that are interfered with, is denied the right to see their minor children, is harrassed and/threatened, etc. etc. Miscavige and Yingling have enjoyed the benefit of the fear instilled by Miscavige in the disconnected against taking action against the church. Most of the time, the disconnected realizes he/she has the right to sue, or file police reports, after the statute of limitations has run. Let’s hope that changes soon.
Yingling also misleads her audience when she claims disconnection is the same as shunning. Scientology’s current disconnection policy is more akin to Hitler’s actions than the shunning actions of other churches. Ironically, Deixler brought up the Hitler analogy when deposing Marty Rathbun last month. I doubt Rathbun would have made that analogy without Deixler’s assistance. The Gestapo were ordered to “remove” any individual “tainted” with Jewish blood, going back to the grandparents. They roamed the streets and had agents everywhere looking for the Jews (and gypsies, homosexuals, and critics of Hitler). Scientology spends enormous amounts of time and money looking for the “tainted” inside the church. The “tainted” are those connected to people who have read Internet criticism of Scientology, who have whispered criticism of Miscavige, who have contacted their disconnected children unlawfully, and so on.
Yingling’s audience is increasing more sophisticated and aware of what Scientology really is. Given that growing awareness, which will only increase after the Gibney documentary is shown, Yingling is going to have a difficult time presenting her client in any kind of light that will be acceptable to the majority of the individuals she is trying to reach. Harrassment, stalking, slander, libel, interference with contracts, destruction of families….these are not actions courts have ruled to be acceptable and I dare Yingling to try and defend them.
I think as long as she gets paid, “it’s all good.”
Some excellent posts re the difference between legal and MORAL and RIGHT. Hitler decided what was legal because after the burning of the Reichstag he declared a state of emergency that never ended. He used that excuse to arrest every other political party leader and then everything he did was ex post facto ‘legal’.
Sheriffs, county clerks and other officials could keep anyone they wanted to from voting. While it took time, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 fixed that problem.
I don’t see a legal system based end to $cientology at the moment. There just aren’t enough of them to be a problem and everyone thinks they’ll die out in the next 10 years. A ‘live and let die’ approach to rodent control.
“The time is always right to do what is right.” ~ MLK
Come on out Doubters and Under the Radars. We are waiting for you.
This is one of the more interesting effects of Scn – the corruption of morality. I’m probably not much different than most on this blog, raised in a middle-class home, Christian parents, private and public education. My personal morality was formed by the values held by the family, as well as by the Christian school I attended. There is no one thing that they said or did which brought about my morality. It is a complex process that takes years. I emerged with a pretty good sense of right and wrong.
Scn comes along and reduces all this to a single statement – The greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics. It is heralded as a breakthrough in a subject of ethics. Through the wisdom of LRH this complex subject as been reduced to clinical equation. Brilliant! Or is it?
I was forced to confront this during my prolonged departure from Scn. During which time there were staff members who were clearly doing things which were immoral, just flat-out WRONG. Those Scnists close to me who were aware of the situation were incapable of taking a moral stand on the matter. When I confronted them about the morality of the church’s actions they told it did not matter, that it wasn’t a question of right or wrong. I was dumbfounded.
How could such intelligent people be so stupid? Someone does something to another that is observably harmful and we cannot say “That is WRONG”? What has happened to these people to make them so crippled?
To me this was the opposite of what ethics and morality was all about. These were not strong individuals. These people could not be counted upon to do the right thing. They COULD be counted upon to pick a side – that of the church – regardless of the morality of their actions.
This goes further. These same smart, basically good individuals, COULD be counted upon to do bad things at the behest of the church.
One thing they all had in common was they adopted Hubbard’s system of ethics, which knowingly or unknowingly altered their viewpoints of good/bad, right/wrong; never realizing Scn Ethics is designed to protect Scn. When you apply Scn Ethics “technology”, Scn is ALWAYS the winner, never the loser.
While “The greatest good for the greatest number…” sounds logical and sane, it lacks compassion and empathy, and turns making ethical decisions into a computing exercise. It actually encourages dispassionate evaluation, turning the individual cold and heartless, making it easier to inflict harm if necessary.
For me, this explained why my “friends” acted they way they did. From this I concluded:
Scientology, as a philosophy, can corrupt personal morality and make good people do bad things.
Stat Push, there is no mystery why Scientologists do not have a moral rudder. Ron did not have one and actually decried the subject of morality with distain or at least did not like the subject nor it’s application.
“we are not moralists” “I am not interested in wog Morality”
This is so obvious to me folks. You do not have to farther than these words to understand where the break in normality came from.
These very power statements from the Old Man clearly state how a Scientologist is supposed to view morality.
This is an instruction in depravity. And once agreed with, then Scientology Ethics takes it’s place.
Teachers teach and students learn.
To think that I am Ron bashing is so wrong. I am only quoting him.
And to define what it was that L R H was not in accord with, this is the first entry definition from American Heritage Dictionary online.
1) “The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct”
1) hitting on married women
2) the creation of a punishment Gulag (RPF)
3) breaking and entering
4) destroy utterly
5) imprisoning children in chain lockers
6) hypocricy (Ron took many drugs to get high and avoid pain)
7) sympathy below hate on the tone scale (redefining words to undermine normal human morality eg. Open minded)
8) being physically violent (just like Miscavige though maybe not as diabolical)
9) the hatred of Christ (who taught love)
10) the claiming of being Buddha to cash in on the 60s mystic wallet
11) third partying to us every other wise man and system but Buddhism (I wonder why he exempted that one)
The moral repugnance of Scientology is seamless from Ron to his mini me.
This is not conjecture:
“We are not moralists.” “I am not interested in wog morality”
And Bolivar is Ron’s moral code. An instruction of behavior. Instructions of behavior is a moral code. An instruction of loyalty through acts of violence.
Geeze! Do you think Scientologists have read, word cleared, demoed and Chinese schooled Bolivar and Destroy Utterly?
Is it possible that the study tech worked?
Good points Brian. I concur.
Stat push, I would love to see someone clay demo Bolivar and not see where this Scientology violent tendency came from.
Ok, I can see it now, “Please Mr or Mrs course supervisor, I need to take a break tonight from my clay demo of Bolivar so I can go home tonight and cut up some pink leggings, my dead women in the corner needs more mass.”
When one condones, participates in, and does not sense anything wrong with harming another soul, they have lost their humanity.
Good and decent people always stand up and fight against evil, unfairness, and injustices. Cowards see evil being done and say nothing about it, or just pretend nothing bad is happening. Ones sense of Morality, justice, and fairness are inborn an can never be suppressed forever.
Just because something is done to benefit the majority (or greater number of beings), does not mean that whatever is being done is fair, moral, or just. As a human being you do need anyone to define for you, or tell you what is moral, just, and fair. Every human being has an inborn ability to be able to decide what is fair, just, or moral. What makes human beings good and decent people is making sure that their actions do not harm others.
I think it’s been proven that the Scn culture can corrupt morality but what frustrates me is that I did/do not interpret the greatest number equation that way. My understanding is/was that integrity was everything, was the bottom line, was the point of the whole “going OT” game. That is, that one calculated this equation against ones own viewpoint of one’s own dynamics, priorities, time track and personal conviction. It was a PERSONAL decision where you kept your own counsel and selected your own decisions. Only then can you fully embrace the outcome as yours and take responsibility. I think the original concept got perverted and then became mandatory, that the 3d was everything, but that’s not my understanding of the original issue. It’s only my experience but I’ve had a lot of success with this when you let people run their own lives and just help them to do it better on their own terms.
You mean think for yourself Hallie Jane? Heresy! Burn the witch!
Monique Yingling is a liar who is as sociopathic as David Miscavige, IMHO. “Shunning is reserved for those who are attacking the church.” Should read “Disconnection is for those who speak out against David Miscavige and his practice of felony assault, extortion, fraud, false imprisonment, human trafficking, and for those who read the internet.”
I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to live with yourself and be them. I would imagine that it has to be some version of hell on earth.
” it has to be some version of hell on earth.”
I think if you could imagine a hell here on earth it would not appear much different from your description McCarran.
” David Miscavige and his practice of felony assault, extortion, fraud, false imprisonment, human trafficking, and for those who read the internet.”
Dave is just one of many zombies in a group gone mad. Hell is truly realized when the members of the cult also are willing to adopt the behavior of der leader and execute the same behavior on their friends, families, associates and mankind. That hell has truly arrived now as we witness icons, role models and other false prophets all in support of the behavior you have outlined.
And hoping that someone such as a judge or a priest or a government official is somehow going to do something about it …………………….. I don’t think so. It is up to us to stand up and call them on it. Thanks to all of you here and elsewhere that do so every day!
Yo Dave, OSA and the rest of you cult sheeple that somehow justify demonstrating the worst that mankind has to offer…………………………………..we will not rest until you are all (each and every one of you) exposed for the true liability you are. How about a new acronym ….WPODs …… Worthless Pieces of Daveshit.
Thank you, Cooper, for this and for what you are doing.
When one sheds light into this Organization, the so called Church, one sees an organization hiding a lot of crimes against humanity.
Just because one can do something and get away with it legally, does not always mean that whatever you can get away with is fair, just, moral, right, ethical, or humane
Just because under the current laws of the land one can get away with puting a lot of pressure on another individual to donate their entire life savings and/ or inheritance to the so called church, does not mean it is fair, just, moral, ethical, or right
Just because under the current laws one can get away with pressuring an individual to disconnect and forego any contact with friends and family members whom they love dearly for protection, survival and the benefit of the so called church, does not mean it is fair, just, moral, ethical, or right
Just because under the current laws of the land one can get away with pressuring a woman into divorcing a husband or taking abortion because having a child will make them less productive for the so called church, does not mean it is fair, just, moral, ethical, or right
Just because under the current laws of the land one can get away with harrasing people and their family members by using private investigators to track their every move, defaming people by making up stories and posting then on the Internet for the whole world to see, sending disgusting and hateful materials to co-workers to ruin people’s lives does not mean it is fair, just, moral, ethical, or right
Just because under the current laws of the land one can get away with not paying tax while overcharging for products and services in order to make huge profits does not mean it is fair, just, moral, ethical, or right
Just because under the current laws of the land one can get away with pressuring individuals into buying services or products they do not want or need does not mean it is fair, just, moral, ethical, or right.
Just because under the current laws of the land one can get away pressuring people to lie for you in public and in the court of laws does not mean it is fair, just, moral, ethical, or right.
An enlightened spiritual being recognizes what is truly moral, fair, just, ethical and right. Just because something is legal does not mean it is fair, moral,just, ethical, or right. There was a time when Apartheid was legal in South Africa. Slavery and Segragation used to be legal in USA. In some places Women still do not have equal rights as men and this is considered legal.
Great comment!
Great quotes, sensibility and the concept of true justice can be such a delicate thing to get right but life itself ultimately depends on it for human sanity.
Something that has always made me feel bewildered is the fact the technology of Scientology is based completely on the ability of the auditor. I’ve done some of it and have witnessed first hand what it can do sometimes. Nothing in life imho substitutes for the thank-you you get from a PC freed from a deeply personal trauma. LRH made the assertion the auditor is the most valuable being on the planet and the whole existence of the organisations of Scientology are wholly geared to making auditors and/or them plying their craft in safety.
Yet, the people speaking for, directing and defending what Scientology has morphed into under miscavige’s reign are NOT auditors, not even close. Even miscavige himself doesn’t practice auditing and stands accused of striking a PC in session and never completed the most basic of auditing internships and that was decades ago. And he now dictates the technical aspect of Scientology?? Give me a break!!! The guy is a technical loser of the highest order.
And now lawyers, executives, administrative personnel and other behind the scenes people run an organisation that has totally lost its way and cannot see the forest because of the trees. They’ve been forced by sheer criminality to rely on lies and deception to keep the $ rolling in.
I truly don’t care about the reasons people come up with that Scientology doesn’t work etc and Hubbard is an asshole. I’ve seen enough to convince me it’s a good thing within the scope of co-operation. Clearing the planet and saving mankind from itself, well… I’m not so sure about that and don’t believe that hype anymore anyway, plus I don’t subscribe to nor condone any reason to blindly segregate people from their families and rip people off for this greatest good crap either.
The likes of MLK and a great many other humanitarians wouldn’t object to my views and the way I live as I don’t have to have nor demand other peoples obedience as part of my operating basis in which to live or be accepted within a group.
Geezers, what is the hell is wrong that I have defend what I know feels good and works without hurting others? It seems as though as soon as humans group for long enough, the shit hits the fan. And to those that think I’m some type of weirdo who hasn’t seen much, I’ve done my time in the military and have seen what authoritarianism leads to without sanity. I know what violence is.
Absolutes are unobtainable – I believe that too!
Nice!
Beautiful, thoughtful comment Yawn! People indeed have the right to walk away from the unsafe insanity that the radical church has become. I feel they also have the right to complete their bridges, as originally laid out on their own terms, if they wish to. The radical church has become a giant “can’t have” for many who desired to have spiritual gains, which is another version of the suppression perpetrated by the rcs, a side effect of the vulture culture. I just helped a person get onto OTIII, who has wanted to do it since she was declared in the mission debacle of the 80’s. She’s ecstatic. This is HER goal and HER right to do it on HER terms. She puts ethics in on herself if she wants to. She prioritizes her life according what’s important to HER. She does what she damn well pleases according to her own integrity. I know there are those who don’t value auditing but for those who do, independence is a brand new day. The work was free and we’re not talking only money.
Here’s another great quote for MLK day: “The truth crushed to the ground will rise again.” MLK
PS… Shall we make that Mike’s new title; Riser I/C? 🙂
Way to go Hallie Jane, may you and your friend live and prosper on your own terms. Best of luck.
Great post Mike, I never realised that before “everything they did In Germany was legal”! And what about “shunning” what an understatement for tearing apart families.
you nailed it on the head, mr. rinder. as usual. excellent post. please keep up the great work.
I yearn for the day when the law catches up to Scientology. Every lawyer and judge that shows some backbone and stands up to this corrupt organization is a step in the right direction but so much more needs to be done. I wish I had the answers but I do know that if we keep talking, our voices will be heard…eventually.
I agree, jenstnick. Let’s all do what we can to make this happen.
Wow! You had me at your picture and MLK quote! That packs a punch.
“I find most people who attack Scientology have never enjoyed good auditing. I especially feel bad for my many friends, ex-SO members who gave most of their lifetime to Scientology but never had any decent auditing. That is DM’s design, not Ron’s.”
Dani I have long thought the same thing and you just expressed it so well. I wish some of the haters could actually experience some good auditing on their own case. These are good people who gave decades of their lives to staff and SO and never got their own cases addressed at all. They deserve to have some good auditing.
“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.”
Malcolm X
Beautiful point. This surely will open some eyes. Thank you.
MLK’s words are truly inspirational, thank you for presenting them here.
The worst atrocities in history were committed legally, by tyrants, to annihilate those with courage to speak up against evil. My grandfather fled Nazi Germany in 1934, the rest of the family were murdered.
The present Israeli government “legally” grabs the lands of Palestinians and has instituted a “legal” apartheid regime to deny them of basic human rights.
Ron Hubbard too made a clear distinction between morals and ethics. The Church of Scientology has become an enslaver of thousands, using the exact same methods of Hitler, Stalin and the nut from North Korea.
That intelligent individuals in the “Free World”, the U.S. and Europe, are willing to support Miscavige is an astonishing frailty of human nature. Many have researched this paradox of human nature. Ron gives a partial explanation in saying, “Man in his anxieties is prone to witch hunts. All one has to do is designate ‘people wearing black caps’ as the villains and one can start a slaughter of people in black caps. … Man is not naturally brave or calm in his human state.”
Miscavige has become an expert of terror and intimidation. But we also know from history that such regimes always fail, their hold on power short. The Church is dwindling, while those practicing Scientology openly, in the open, are rising and connecting world-wide.
Freedom for all is achieved by the courage of a few to stand up to the oppressors despite personal danger.
Thank you, Dani.
Excellent Post, Dani.
I agree with you 1000%. You cite what has motivated every critic of L Ron Hubbard and Scientology since Dr. Winters.
Are Scientologists at the Dror Centre allowed to stand up for their own integrity and criticize L Ron Hubbard and Scientology?
Alanzo
Dear Alanzo,
When you come here for auditing you have my special permission to throw darts at Ron’s picture. You may also swear and spit at it. Scientology is NOT about Ron Hubbard.
Forces of gravity have nothing to do with Isaac Newton, relativity does not belong to Einstein. Who remembers who invented the wheel?
Scientology has workability as proven in many places daily.
At Dror, I know not of any “failed cases”. Just doesn’t happen. I’ve never had an upset pc here, never had a refund. We are steadily growing, because people have fun and gains here. I am not boasting to anything, just giving you facts that are easy to prove.
Come visit us, Dani
Hard to argue with the man.
I would love to take you up on your offer some day, Dani.
Thank you very much for your response.
Whether Scientology has nothing to do with L Ron Hubbard is highly debatable, of course, and the flaws in Scientology technology are very much there to see in the fact that it has never produced Clears or OTs as Hubbard defined them, but I very much appreciate your willingness to have a dialogue with critics of LRH and Scientology.
As long as you and other Independent Scientologists keep your communication lines open to criticisms of LRH and Scientology, only good can come from that.
After all, if Scientologists were allowed to criticize Scientology, David Miscavige might not have ever risen to power over them.
You are getting very close to an “Alanzo Pass”, Dani, so keep up the great work!
Alanzo
I wish your center was here in southern California, Dani! Israel is a bit far off.
But, it sounds like you’re doing great! Keep it up, my friend!
I agree with everything you said , Danni, but in my opinion and experience I have to say that some men and women are naturally brave and calm , whether they have experienced the bridge or not.
You are right, of course. None of the great heros of history had any auditing. Auditing has helped me a lot but I was rebellious and full of hutzpah even before Scientology.
Dear Dani, thank you for your answer , your letter to Miscavige remains a classic and I have nothing but admiration for what you do.
All the rebels are out , aren’t they?
It is still difficult to separate the founder of the tech from the ” misdeeds”.
I envy your equanimity and resolve , but it is obvious that your and your wife inherent goodness is a big factor in your success.
Over at the Bunker are new Freedom of Information Acts documents regarding Ron acting just like Miscavige.
Look at it head on.
Please read Tony’s blog today.
“I am not interested in wog morality”
“We are not moralists”
L Ron Hubbard
Brian, please see my comment above to Alanzo.
Scientology is NOT about Ron Hubbard. Let’s agree he made tons of mistakes, or worse, misdeeds. Miscavige should have corrected these errors, should have brought Scientology to a course of acceptability and universal availability. Miscavige fucked up royally by being even much worse than Ron!
My invitation to Alanzo is open for you too. I find most people who attack Scientology have never enjoyed good auditing. I especially feel bad for my many friends, ex-SO members who gave most of their lifetime to Scientology but never had any decent auditing. That is DM’s design, not Ron’s.
Dani, I have come to the conclusion that there are many types of Scientology.
I know there is an argument that states ” if a person creates a great technology like, let’s say, a great motor, and that creator is an asshole, his condition of asshole does not in anyway affect the quality of the engine he created.”
My argument to this argument is this:
Scientology is a philosophy not a physical product that we can easily distance from its creator.
Scientology is a system of thinking and acting. It is impossible to separate L Ron Hubbard from Scientology. It is his psychological system.
In my opinion, the only way to truly separate Scientology from L Ron Hubbard is to:
1) not deny some of the evil that is part of this thought system that created this situation in the first place.
2) when discriminating intelligence is able to extricate the good from the evil in Ron’s system, then the knowledge is independent.
But until the reality of the man is confronted, not denied, not glorified, the system has dangerous potential.
Just look at the fruits.
Dani, maybe you have made the distinction. If criticism of Ron is embraced and allowed, I applaud you!
Dani, I have had good auditing. And my views are not attacks. Attacks are what most Scientologist’s think disagreements are. Attack is a word that we learned to use from Ron.
Attack is the language of war. I hope you may see the difference.
Well said Dani, thank you! I too have found that people who have not had good auditing can be very angry, in losses and pissed off. I have handled many of these to remarkable change. I too feel very angry that the decent, altruistic and hard working staff have suffered the most from “no auditing”. And this includes the torture known as sec checks. Shameful.
I have never been tested in a way like those who have survived totalitarian regimes.
I can only hope I would have been brave enough to do the moral thing to do.
Thank you for the full quote.
In the case of the church is a justification, a ‘reason’ to carry on what the leader and others have decided is right.
The problem is the enforcement of it, the “nothing else but this”; it does cut exchange of views and ideas and the simple fact of using whatever means to come across with ‘we are right’ denotes a separation from reality of other’s existences, views, and lives.
They could or might be right, but that is not the point; it is the tyrannical way they go about it that kills any moral principles of relationships with others.
A great quote from a great man. Here are some wise words from someone who inspired Reverend King:
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Wonderful, MM.
Perfect.
I’m sorry, I’m confused. How does something that does not exist need to be justified as a legal activity? Get your arguments straight cult.
Disconnection very much does exist and the way it is practiced in the C of S is morally reprehensible.
Exactly!
Exactly! First the church via Tommy Davis says disconnection doesn’t exist. Then under DM who writes under the pen name “Karen Pouw,” says that disconnection exists and is called a more tender word, “shunning” and that all the great religions practice it. Huh? Get your story straight? Does it exist in Cof S or does it not exist?
It depends on who’s asking silly.
“Somebody some day will say ‘this is illegal.’ By then be sure the orgs [Scientology organizations] say what is legal or not.”
– L. Ron Hubbard, Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter, 4 January 1966, “LRH Relationship to Orgs”
One of THE most scariest quotes I’ve ever heard from Hubbard. The arrogance is just so over the top.
Dave,
Situation:
January 25th is looking to be a busy day.
Data:
Ellis is to fat to fly to Tampa and only available on January 25th.
Solution:
Put Ellis in the back seat when you and Tom drive up to Park City in the Land Rover. Do the Ellis deposition in Park City and then take in a documentary film or two. This will put all parties on the same page, as scientology purports: ‘everybody wins’.
It’s never too late for a Martin Luther King Jr. quote. 🙂 Any day is a good day for it, let’s not keep it to only one day a year.
He was such a beautiful man and that I took for granted – in a big way – how courageous he truly was to stand up, speak out and march for a just cause.
I appreciate him so much more now that I am older and wiser.
I wish him eternal peace.
+100
^ What she said…
Funny that the church hides behind “it’s legal” when they cry like little girls about the FDA raiding the Washington church in the 70’s. That too was “legal” yet the church has been playing victim on that for 45 years now. They never tell the earlier beginning of that incident, which was that the church broke into the government and stole documents from them. That is what the church did to “pull it in.” This is one case where they actually did pull in this raid.
And Pouw / DM says that the “shunning” is only for people who are “attacking” their religion. That is why if they write a goldenrod on you, they make sure to put in it that among other things, you are “attacking their religion.” And you are “conspiring to bring down the church.” That is not true. I have never joined a protest or thrown rocks at the buildings, or conspired to bring the midget down. Yet that is what they say to make it look like we deserved the disconnection they dealt out. It’s lies on top of lies on top of lies. Legal, yes but morally right? NO!
If you are critical of the Church, it’s because you have overts. If they are critical of you, it’s because you have overts?
How interesting. In the organization’s typical attempts at obfuscation by misdirecting with strawman arguments (no one said disconnection isn’t legal), they have inadvertently proclaimed the lowest possible standard for civilized behavior, legality, is good enough for them. That’s all the more infuriating in that they’ve never shown any regard for what’s legal anyway.
You will know them by their fruits. — Matthew 7:16
Well said! And there’s Gandhi, “There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.”
Nice, Hallie Jane.
Great one Hallie!
Greta
Epic statement. First time I read this.
All I gotta say is that when it comes to how the Sea Org treated PAC ranchers, their problems are going to come from what the Sea Org considered “moral” but what was actually ILLEGAL. What…what you got for me Odo? Come at be bro!
Not much to add except – Amen!
Beautiful post, Mike. I’ve seen the quotation before, but never in the full context. Many thanks.