Strength in their numbers: more ex-cultists confrim the abuse inherit in Scientology

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/article1023717.ece

There is much more, but here is an excerpt

They are stepping forward — from Dallas and Denver, Portland, Las Vegas, Montana — talking about what happened, to them and their friends, during their years in the Church of Scientology.

Jackie Wolff wept as she recalled the chaotic night she was ordered to stand at a microphone in the mess hall and confess her "crimes" in front of 300 fellow workers, many jeering and heckling her.

Gary Morehead dredged up his recollection of Scientology leader David Miscavige punishing venerable church leaders by forcing them to live out of tents for days, wash with a garden hose and use an open latrine.

Steve Hall replayed his memory of a meeting when Miscavige grabbed the heads of two church executives and knocked them together. One came away with a bloody ear.

Mark Fisher remembered precisely what he told Miscavige after the punches stopped and Fisher touched his head, looked at his palm and saw blood.

Miscavige is an abusive, psycchopathic maniac- he is a sociopath and he is evil. But the thing is, he fits the cult of scientology- he is the leader they require and deserve- the cult created by Hubbard to "Make money, make money and moake more money" is founded on abuse and evil.

Leave ths cult. Leave it and regain our freedom and your dignity as a human being. You deserve better than to throw your life away on this cult.

I have lurked her off and on, and seen you guys downtown. I have to wonder with all this coming out about Scientology, how its members can stay inside? Do you think a lot of people stay in because they don't know any better, or because they are afraid that the church will publicize their confessions like they did with the people in the original St. Petersburg Times articles?

Plus going through the rogue gallery, you would think a rational person would realize they had thrown enough good money after bad when they cannot pay their taxes or are being sued for debt! I cannot think of another church that bankrupts its members and yet these people stay in. I just don't get it!

CuriousG wrote:I have lurked her off and on, and seen you guys downtown. I have to wonder with all this coming out about Scientology, how its members can stay inside? Do you think a lot of people stay in because they don't know any better, or because they are afraid that the church will publicize their confessions like they did with the people in the original St. Petersburg Times articles?

Plus going through the rogue gallery, you would think a rational person would realize they had thrown enough good money after bad when they cannot pay their taxes or are being sued for debt! I cannot think of another church that bankrupts its members and yet these people stay in. I just don't get it!

I believe there are two factors playing a big roll in this.

One is cognitive dissonance, caused by the person allowing all they have invested (financially, mentally, emotionally, etc) to outweigh the information coming to light.

The other is self censorship of anything the corporation/org/DSA has implied might be "entheta." Many Scientologists have not looked at the data coming to light because it might "impede their case" or otherwise "invalidate their wins."

I guess if I had wasted so much time and effort and money I would keep telling myself that next time it would be different, or next time the course would work. I don't get the higher up guys, the OTes who must really suffer from cognitive dissonance because aren't they supposed to be masters of like all time an space and be always healthy and not have to have glasses or get sick?

Does Scientology pull away a person's ability to look at objective reality and not allow them to see that the promises the books and classes make just are not fulfilled?

I am sorry if I sound dumb but I don't get it. I am Christian, a Catholic, and the tenets of my Faith are internally consistent. It also accepts the order of Nature, and things like the age of the universe and evolution are perfectly acceptable explanations... I am not trying to shill for Catholicism, just giving a counter example to what I see as the constant internal INconsistency of Scientology's teachings and its inability to resolve its teaching with the real world.

As far as I can see- and I have read books from them in area libraries- there is no correspondence between what Hubbard dreamt up and reality. And their dictum of "What's true for you is true" is just illogical, solipsistic nonsense.

I have a question... how do they keep people in scientology, during that stage when a normal, not yet brainwashed person must at some point thing, "What the heck am I getting into??"

Chef or anyone, care to field this? Because while I am Catholic too, I feel a distinct lack of Charity where the cult of scifaggotry is concerned and your cooler head would probably be better put to this (though I think we both know the answers to the questions.)

CuriousG wrote:I guess if I had wasted so much time and effort and money I would keep telling myself that next time it would be different, or next time the course would work. I don't get the higher up guys, the OTes who must really suffer from cognitive dissonance because aren't they supposed to be masters of like all time an space and be always healthy and not have to have glasses or get sick?

The thing is, by the time you get to those upper levels, you have become very good at imposing the thought control and doubt avoidance on yourself, plus you have likely spent a vast sum of money learning to do so. Any sickness or weakness you may be experiencing you know are your own fault, for not applying the tech correctly, just look how well everyone else is doing, KSW. Also, after having spent so many years in, much of your social circle will be composed of Scientologists, and you will most certainly not still be talking to any "free thinkers" in your family. These factors all help tip the scales in the direction of Scientology instead of reality.

Does Scientology pull away a person's ability to look at objective reality and not allow them to see that the promises the books and classes make just are not fulfilled?

I am sorry if I sound dumb but I don't get it. I am Christian, a Catholic, and the tenets of my Faith are internally consistent. It also accepts the order of Nature, and things like the age of the universe and evolution are perfectly acceptable explanations... I am not trying to shill for Catholicism, just giving a counter example to what I see as the constant internal INconsistency of Scientology's teachings and its inability to resolve its teaching with the real world.

I'm also Catholic, and I question my own faith and the beliefs I have about it and arising from it daily; I think its only healthy. This is just what I would ask any Scientologist to do.

As far as I can see- and I have read books from them in area libraries- there is no correspondence between what Hubbard dreamt up and reality. And their dictum of "What's true for you is true" is just illogical, solipsistic nonsense.

I have a question... how do they keep people in scientology, during that stage when a normal, not yet brainwashed person must at some point thing, "What the heck am I getting into??"

I'm not a doctor or phychologist but I think if you do a little research about the introductory courses and especially the training routines (TRs) which every new Scientologist must do this will make sense. Many people who are ex-scientologists or have been through narCONon have said some of the TRs can cause you to feel euphoric, enter an altered state of consciousness and even have hallucinations. I think there are a lot of parallels between these experiences, some forms of meditation (I'm thinking Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, etc.), and the endorphin highs experienced by athletes, base-jumpers, etc. There is ample evidence these experiences are at least mildly addictive, and some people will chase the high for years.

Hope this helps.

Second the TR research. I'll even third it. That and the basic communication course set the whole stage for inducing a state in which doubt just does not occur. Also, as in lots of cults, the new member is "love bombed" and come to rely on that approval. If they show the slightest hesitation, they are told "Son, I am dissappoint" by everone who acts all sad that they care about this new member so much, but he or she just doesn' see the truth of scientology.

Also, three Catholics in one thread? We need some other denomination or religion- or non-religious- in this tread it it is going to look like a Vatican conspiracy and Dan Brown will end up writing another shitty, lousy book. The last thing this world needs is Tom Hanks in another movie! \o/

Thanks guys. That was helpful ChefXenu and I will look into the TRes as you both recommend. I, too, always examine my Faith, and even more carefully, the Church's teachings and interpretations of the Faith and my own relationship to it. I was raised that way and it seems so alien to me that people like the Scientologists just swallow everything hook, line and sinker. But then, I always viewed them as another New Age cult, but they make most of those look positively benign.

I will pray for them, that they just open their eyes to how they are being used, and for the safety of all of you letting people know about this cult of Scientology and its tricks and traps. People know, though. My own grandmother saw one of those new ads on television and said, "Well no wonder that commercial was creepy! It's the Scientologists!"