You may have seen the news or watched Aaron's recent video about scientology becoming a hot topic in the mayoral race in Los Angeles (if you have not watched Aaron's video, I suggest you do -- it's only 10 minutes -- you can click on it irectly above). Subsequently, Danny Masterson's lawyers filed some desperate motions to try to delay his criminal rape trial, claiming the jury pool was prejudiced because "There is a really negative view of Scientology… the general public's view of Scientology is more negative than any other religion." His lawyer argued everyone agrees scientology is an " … [Read more...]
Can Scientologists be Christians or Jews Too?
This is the eighth "vacation" post, revisiting some of the more important articles to have appeared on my blog over the years. The original post and comments is here. Scientology likes to tell the world that you can be a scientologist and also be a Christian, Jew, Buddhist or anything else. This is an "acceptable truth" (defined by Hubbard this way: Handling truth is a touchy business also. You don't have to tell everything you know-that would jam the comm line too. Tell an acceptable truth. Agreement with one's message is what PR is seeking to achieve. Thus the message m … [Read more...]
Scientology Homophobia
This is the sixth "vacation" post, revisiting some of the more important articles to have appeared on my blog over the years. The original post and comments is here. Is scientology homophobic? There has been considerable discussion about this. In today's world, where it is no longer socially acceptable to be anti-gay, scientology has taken steps to attempt to portray itself as tolerant and welcoming of the LGBT community. But similar to scientology's claims that disconnection "doesn't exist" or is simply a "personal choice," the PR smokescreen hides an ugly and unp … [Read more...]
Cult v. Brand
Someone Someone sent this article to me recently: Is There a Difference Between a Cult and a Brand? This is the sort of positioning scientology, and Miscavige in particular, absolutely HATE. Scientology is put into the same category as Heaven's Gate, NXIVM, Rajneesh etc. and compared to Tupperware, Amway and Mary Kay... It notes that these MLMs use the same model that L. Ron Hubbard did: selling increasingly expensive courses and “technologies.” It also mentions "the ever-growing library of documentaries about Scientology." It's a growing problem for scientology. As much as they … [Read more...]
Did Scientology Lie? Of Course…
Another of the documents from the recent FBI docs release. In September 2009, not long after the investigation began, scientology made an FOIA request to get all docs concerning any investigation of scientology. Though the originator of the request has been redacted from the letter, you can see in the accompanying fax cover sheet that this is a request from scientology. This is not a "routine" request that is filed every month. It is a request because scientology became aware of the FBI investigation. Yet, despite this, in 2013 they denied any such investigation took place … [Read more...]
Family Interventions and Deprogrammings
Here's an interesting article from Narconon, pushing the virtues of interventions. This is how they describe what an intervention is: Family intervention is a common approach used because it provides the right nudge toward treatment. Family interventions work, but it is difficult to predict how the intervention could unfold. Certified family intervention specialists have the training to prepare a family for what to expect. Most family interventions use pressure to encourage an addict to admit to their problem and seek treatment. A group of close friends and family come … [Read more...]
Scientology: Government Against The Ungovernable
Two Castle Rock, Colorado High School students, Sally and Madelyn, made a short film about scientology. They entered it in a local competition and won first place in their category! They were required to submit a paper, describing their planned film and why it addressed a worthy topic before they began. You can read their submission here: Context Essay This is their description of their documentary: "Our submission was for the 2022 National History day senior division documentary category! The theme this year is debate and diplomacy, we chose to represent this with the conflict seen … [Read more...]
New Human Trafficking Lawsuit
You have probably seen by now the news that 3 former children of the Sea Org filed a lawsuit today. Tracey McManus article in the Tampa Bay Times. Ben Schneiders article in the Sydney Morning Herald This is a copy of the filed Complaint Three powerful law firms are bringing this case, all have experience in big, hard-fought litigation. The complaint goes into extensive detail about what happened to these victims, and also how scientology is organized and operated. The allegations are horrendous -- but are not new and similar things have been stated by many others. … [Read more...]
Scientology’s Not-so-secret Clearwater Political Campaign
Someone forwarded this recent scientology email blast to me. They're trying to keep it hidden. Note the "DO NOT POST ON FB" bold ALL CAPS at the end. It contains a bunch of coded language. Despite what it says, the recipients of this message know they are not supposed to actually do their own research -- they might see something they are not supposed to see. By labeling Aaron an "Anti-scientologist" nothing more need be said. Because he is an "anti-scientologist" he is automatically an "anti-social personality" (or SP). Every scientologist knows you must NOT support an S … [Read more...]
Scientology and Litigation — the Real Truth
Among the many falsehoods perpetrated on the STAND League website are a series of FAQs where they try to present the image of scientology as victims of predatory, greedy litigants ... It's a typical fable that gets off to a rollicking start: During the history of the Church, some individuals sought to make money from unfounded allegations, but the Church successfully defended against those claims. It's a false premise for a number of reasons. There have been successful litigants -- notably Lawrence Wollersheim and Julie Christoffersen who were awarded multi-million dollar … [Read more...]