It seems to be all hands panic stations inside the scientology bubble. In violation of Hubbard policy and all earlier practices, they are now "spreading the flap" by announcing it to all scientologists and "encouraging" them to write letters and sign a petition to shut down The Aftermath. This really is an unprecedented action in the annals of "attack the attacker" history. Scientology usually does its best not to make their public aware of "bad media", knowing most of them will not look at it anyway. Standard practice is to pretend it doesn't exist. They must be deluged with reports … [Read more...]
Season 2 Aftermath Special: Aftermath
As I did after each program in the first season, I am putting this here as a place for people to make comments about the show that has just aired. The outpouring of support has been amazing already, just as it was in Season 1. As always, I am interested in your views - including criticisms and things you think might be better explained or covered. For new readers here I thought you might find it instructive to be directed to some earlier postings that may help explain some things. You may have seen some of the over-the-top statements about Leah, me or anyone who has a differing opinion … [Read more...]
Aftermath: Continued
I am cheating -- this is not really a "post," I am simply directing you to read this new article in Entertainment Weekly. I am traveling which has hindered my blogging abilities. And also, I saw a dozen fake twitter accounts sent out tweets about me this morning, so I figured they must be going nuts about something. I checked the news and this story is at the top of the Scientology newsfeed on Google. I figured this was the cause of their latest bout of ad hominem bleating, so it deserved wider coverage. It's my middle finger of the morning to the evil empire. Read the article … [Read more...]
#ScientologyTheAftermath 2nd Reddit AMA
Tonight's 2nd Reddit AMA is the final show we have shot for this season of Leah Remini Scientology The Aftermath. A&E has another special coming about Leah, but it is a bonus, not considered part of this "series" of 7 episodes and 2 Reddit AMA specials. It has been a wild ride -- the response has been beyond anything we could have hoped for. What I said at the end of the show is absolutely correct. I am not stopping. This experience has only motivated me to push harder. Though it is on everyone's mind right now, I cannot tell you that there is a Season 2 yet, nothing has been … [Read more...]
Scientology and Psychosis – The Aftermath
Tonight's season finale of Leah Remini Scientology The Aftermath touches upon the subject of how scientologists address mental health issues. For many years, though Hubbard railed repeatedly against psychiatry, and called for psychiatrists to be shut down as a profession -- he had one caveat. The insane should be left to the institutions. They were barred from participating in scientology auditing. It was one of the many contradictions that can be found in Hubbard's writings - while he claimed all psychs were maiming people, he didn't want scientology to be involved in dealing with the i … [Read more...]
Why Now?
As I have mentioned in a number of posts recently, there has been a remarkable groundswell of response to Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. It goes beyond the show trending on Twitter every week, many, many emails and messages on Facebook and handshakes in the supermarket from complete strangers. Most heartening is the number of people who are reaching out to tell their stories. Many have not been heard from before, and the stories are utterly devastating. Perhaps it is a measure of the level of devastation inflicted on people how long it takes for them to be able to talk about … [Read more...]
Scientology Aftermath Episode 6: Aftermath
As I have been doing after each program, I am putting this here as a place for people to make comments about the show that has just aired. I must say, this was the toughest episode to film. So heartbreaking and Aaron is such a good man, father and friend. Tough to watch too. But unfortunately, it is the horrible truth. And if you have not already done so, I recommend you check out Tony Ortega's blog this morning. Aaron, in his usual meticulous detail, rips apart the scientology smear site and POW videos that were put up a couple of hours after the show aired. On a more positive note, the … [Read more...]
Happy New Year
2106 is done and we embark on a new year. A lot happened over the past year in the scientology world -- and as always, Tony Ortega has diligently documented it at his excellent blog. Nothing significant happened in the scientology sphere that he has not comprehensively covered. He saved me a lot of work by reviewing it month by month and I don't have to look back to try and summarize the year. For that I am thankful. But I will say there were some massive upheavals that have changed things forever. The exposure of scientology abuses has reached unprecedented levels and I am sure it … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas
To my friends who join in the discussions and contribute meaningfully to this blog, and to all those who follow without commenting but are a silent force of support -- I wish each and every one of you a wonderful holiday filled with joy. Cherish the family and friends you are with. They are truly the most valuable things in life. Sometimes that only hits home when you no longer have them. Enjoy your day, wherever you may be or whatever you may be doing or whoever you may be doing it with. Forget the bad and spend a day focusing on the good and happy. … [Read more...]
Where Are Scientology’s Spokespeople?
Hurricane Leah is blowing scientology's house down and their only response is to send legal threat letters, create "WhoIs" smear sites and put up a webpage with their extremely lame response. Here is their "handling" for the relentless storm surge that is swamping their leaking lifeboat. I have commented previously about their responses, this article addresses the statement above (this is the SAME response they have had on their website forever as even more of their dirty laundry keeps tumbling out, this is apparently the best they can do) and this is another article … [Read more...]