Thank you for the information.

Scientology’s retirement plan for Sea Org members too old and/or infirm to work is to offload them. No matter how long they served or how hard they worked or how useful they WERE, once they can for whatever reason no longer work, they are let go, even if they still WANT to be there, doing SOMEthing – perhaps not what they used to do, but something. The cult decides who is “still useful ” and who isn’t; ditto at what point in time the former becomes the latter. Those Sea Org members let go for health and/or age reasons may possibly be given $500 when sent away. (Of this last I’m not sure.) In Scientology’s Sea Org, getting rid of members who are no longer useful due to health reasons has a name; it is called “Fitness Boarding”.

That’s scary, out on the streets with five bucks in your pocket and no backup resources. “Thanks for your lifetime of service. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

I think they “retire” them out the front with a few dollars and then shut the door.

Perhaps Black Africans readily recognize Hubbard’s fraud for the nonsense it is, coming from a different cultural background. Scientology is very intellectual and westernized, and in fact so specific to a particular mid-century Anglo-European popular environment that it only ever made much headway in certain urban areas, and now even contemporary westerners widely recognize it as a sham.

Scientology also hasn’t done well in India, where a long tradition of fraudulent “Godmen” gurus and their supposed powers and miracles has left the population deeply suspicious of such figures from what I understand, even though a not insignificant number of people still fall for them. Also, Hubbard’s “work” probably doesn’t seem like anything special in a culture where meditation and yoga (which to them is much more a mind-body practice) are deeply ingrained.

I don’t intend to implying anything here about cultures somehow being superior or inferior, more advanced or more primitive, just note that differing cultural and social conditions affect views of Scientology, and its uptake. Plus of course there’s the economic factor, which has also limited its appeal and participation to even more specific demographics.

Same effect as last year and the year before that AND the year before that.

LOL, Mike, Even the finest hotels can have some rats and roaches! Haven’t been saying much lately, trying to navigate the craziness with our team members as well as all the rest of the crazy last 6 years.

Hope you and yours are doing as well, facebook seems to indicate so.

I hear you Scooter, and the reality that people of the age he must be right now with no social safety net, having paid nothing into the system, almost inevitable age related medical situations, have an even tougher road. Feeling more and more fortunate that I left that world young enough to have been able to catch up.

Does no one sitting there listening think to themselves – “If he’s right, why isn’t the Org doing these things? Wouldn’t this help bring in people here? Something seems off.”