Brian,
we you at the celebrity center? Did you know Aaron well?

Nope.

So until THAT happens Scientology is just like Charlie Browns teacher: wah, wah and WAH.

“Can you imagine a company like Walmart responding to criticism in the same manner with broken record responses at a predictable tone of anger instead of say sympathy, for their victims?”

Believe me, I know of one. Just ask Eric Scheibeler. Look his name up on Google.

So many *churches* are nothing but cults in disguise. I was raised Mormon. But the *original* LDS, not to be confused with the FLDS.

I find that the cults have one glaring thing in common. This is simple but so telling. Can you leave at will? If you no longer wish to be affiliated does the church wish you well and leave it at that?

I do not follow the tenets of the LDS church, but I do not have people screaming in my face. I do not have PIs following me. My neighborhood is not under siege with people lying to discredit me. My family members, who are very active in the LDS church, talk to me, care about me, and cherish all of our family connection.

The LDS church will answer any question about it’s beliefs. And one very telling thing. Family is all important. Supporting the family, being a loving supportive family.

I read Dietetics when I was younger and found it a crock of steaming crap then. Watching the show I find it incomprehensible that thinking people would buy into this third rate hack writers megalomania.

That said, I hope this program alerts law enforcement and children’s services to begin doing their jobs and closing down these *schools* and *camps*.

Why?? If another religion or pretend religion/cult is abusive, does that make scientology right? Does scientology abuses make others right? If SCN allows child molesters to roam among children and the fundamental LDS church does the same…are they both good?

I think Mike and Leah need to stay on topic. There are some basic tenets of religion that are in direct conflict with the “religion” of Scientology. Those simple things like not taking all your money or causing you to lose your family…Those things are not practiced by traditional religions.

I’m wondering if a point was missed, both about the show and in this thread. Mike and Leah didn’t blame Tayler’s Mom for Tayler’s suicide. I believe the point of the story was the fact that Scientology is not equipped to handle mental illness and to show how the Scientology paradigm toward mental illness is to shun and ostracize the person who needs help.

A couple of posters have taken issue with blaming the church or the parents/friends/tormentors for Aaron or Tayler’s suicides.

I don’t believe the church CAUSED the suicides, but they did not help these young people, and much of what exacerbated their conditions is part of the systemic problem with Scientology. Fear of Mental illness and mental health practitioners and methods makes the mentally ill person a danger to Scientology. As a result, they must be labeled as PTS or SP so SCN may “rightfully” distance itself from them.

The subsequent laying of blame on Marie by Aaron’s mother for his death (in the black PR piece) is precisely what Alonzo indicated is wrong.

Abuses of Scientology include the disregard for and mishandling of mentally ill parishioners. As in Tayler’s story, the torment she suffered at the hands of staff and other members was written up by her, following the “correct” lines. Her plea for help and justice went unanswered. Her mother’s post was yet another demonstration of the disconnection policy.

We can never truly know what drove Aaron to take his life. Speculation by those of us who didn’t know him would be rude and presumptuous. If a person was struggling with their sexuality as a member of a group who hates homosexuality and this group was all they had, can you even imagine the pain? So many of us formers know what it took to get out and to recover, and some of us were not the pariahs that Aaron or Tayler were, or that Mike and Leah are.

Dissolving into an argument amongst ourselves over blame and semantics distracts from the matter at hand. The truth must continue to be revealed. Something can be done about IT.