Information that
Scientology does not want you to read
A perceptive poster says goodbye to alt.religion.scientology
From troutman@teleport.com Tue Oct 17 11:47:41 BST 1995
Hey folks,
After careful consideration, I have decided to stop posting to
alt.religion.scientology. In the grand scheme of things on a.r.s.
and in the world of those fighting against the unethical and
harsh tactics of Scientology, this is an event of little or no
significance. However, I have made new friends here, and I felt
that I should at least tell people I'm leaving, rather than just
vanishing without a trace.
No, this isn't one of my trolls, though it would be a pretty good
one. I will not emulate my good friend Robert Marcus and declare,
"I will definitely not be posting here again." I might be back
someday, but not in the real near future. I have not been threatened
or assaulted by Scientologists; they haven't bothered to take
the very simple steps to figure out who I really am, and I'm not
really a threat to them, anyway, since I have limited myself to
lampooning them for the amusement and cheer of those who find little
funny about the cult and their involvement with it. I've never
posted Fishman, I wasn't able to do any physical protesting, and
I'm not privy to any of their dirty laundry that they don't want
discovered.
Mostly, I'm just out of time. This will seem gratuitous to those
who are spending their lives fighting off the cult's goons, but each
person needs to do what they can, when they can. I've been spending
two to four hours a night, every night, reading a.r.s., slamming my
head against the table trying to get out what little humor resides
there into satirical posts, and wishing I could get Andy Milne into
a room with me to watch him dance, swivel and wet his pants in response
to questions. I also want to know, by the way, if he's the thin,
nasal-voiced, humorless geek his posts suggest he is; if anybody
has seen him, I'd appreciate an email message. Andy, you don't
need to respond yourself, 'cause you'd just lie as usual.
So anyway, I wanted to apologize to those stronger souls here for
wimping out on you. If I get things organized elsewhere, I might
come back in a few months, but we'll see. I assure you that I
will continue to educate those people around me as to the
dangers of Scientology; I am still made uneasy by the number of
people I talk to who say, "Scientology? Uhh...isn't that that
weird volcano place downtown? Never bothered to find out what
they do there." After five minutes with me, they swear bug-eyed
that they'll never go near the place, but it's a one-at-a-time
thing. It's really effective to say in the space of 60 seconds,
"They raided a guy in California. They raided a guy in Denver.
They raided a guy in Virginia. They've threatened to shut down
ISPs. They framed a woman for bomb threats because she wrote a
book. They threatened the whole Internet with lawsuits. They
have been illegally canceling other people's critical posts.
They have prevented a man from even speaking about Scientology
in any way, contrary to his rights in the Constitution. They
torture dissident parishoners in concentration-camp-like settings.
They have been sued and been found liable in court, but they
refuse to pay the settlement." And they call themselves ethical...
Before I go, I'd like to reiterate my most interesting observations
about Scientology that I have learned not from the other critics
here, not from the wealth of information on Web sites, BUT FROM
THE FEW SCIENTOLOGISTS I HAVE SEEN POSTING HERE. THIS IS THE
EFFECT THAT YOU HAVE HAD.
1. They demonstrated that their miraculous tech,
which includes the ability to leave one's body, to implant
thoughts into other people's minds, and to modify and
control Matter, Energy, Space and Time, somehow falls
short of being able to detect dozens of people in the
Guardian's Office carrying out flagrantly illegal activities.
The Tech also could not detect that Steve Fishman and
Larry Wollersheim were flaming maniacs (according to the
church) that would undercut the church's foundation of
support. It fell short of being able to control the
dissidents like Wollersheim, Lerma, Erlich, Cooper,
Atack, Koos, RVYoung, Capricorn, dozens of posters in the
Free Zone on the Internet, and 28 posters in a.r.s.
2. Scientologists have a penchant for smearing the character
of those people they don't like, for whatever reason.
They have many reasons that justify this behavior,
including saying that such septic dumps are "the truth",
but to my mind, it implies a weak will and a poor
intellect when a confrontation of facts results in name-
calling on the part of the Scientologist.
3. They have an Orwellian gift for reverse definitions.
They silence a man's Constitutional right to speak, and
declare themselves Freedom Fighters. They lose in court,
and declare, literally and verbatim, "Total Victory", even
as they appeal the decision. Bald lies and obvious duplicity
are defended as the truth. They are "The Road to Total
Freedom," while their members' minds are held captive,
unable to question the behaviors, technology and people
around them.
4. RPF is a harsh punishment for someone who merely begins a
sentence with the word, "But..."
5. They experience fear more than any group of people I have
been acquainted with. They fear the Internet and what it
represents. They fear their leaders. They fear criticism.
They fear confrontation. They fear their own existence.
They fear the loss of their "scriptures" into the public
domain. They fear what their ex-members might reveal about
the organization. And they lash out in animal aggression
because of their fear, spilling acid and blood, yelling
at people in public, raiding homes, smearing reputations,
calling people haters and bigots and racists and Nazis
and criminals and rapists and child molesters and
psychotics out on Usenet. All in the name of "Freedom of
Religion," but it is nothing more than a basic, raw
reaction to a perceived threat.
6. They have one and only one true freedom. It is the freedom
from choice. Their lives and their minds are controlled,
rigidly and totally, by the "tech" and the organization that
administers it. They are even taught to control themselves,
in case the organization must leave them alone for short
periods. And because they have surrendered one of the most
precious freedoms of all, the freedom to reason, they are
enslaved by the chains that they themselves helped to forge.
No Scientologist has ever displayed behavior to me that refutes
or alters any of these observations. The closest response I would
get to these statements that would approach an argument would be,
"You do not understand. You should go to an org and get the
truth." I have done that. I played a person without money.
I was nervously shown the door. If this is the truth, then the
truth may be summarized as, "Scientology is interested solely in
your money. You are important only as a vehicle to procure it,
or as a tool which we may use to procure it from others."
If that is the truth, then I wish no part of their reality. My
reality contains far more precious things than greed.
In closing, I'd like to reiterate my sincerest gratitude and warmest
regards and affection to those here who befriended me, and sent me kind
words of encouragement in response to my presence and my posts.
Though I must leave a.r.s., I would be pleased and more than willing
to converse with you via email. I would also like to thank
Andrew, Vera, Chris, Helena, Woody, Jet, RonArtist, Robert Marcus,
Bob Wallert and Rick Davis (and most recently, DLYNNBLAIR) for
helping me to understand what Scientology is really about.
When I arrived here, I knew nothing about it. Now I know more
than I thought possible, and I and my family are safe from the
cult forever. I am indebted to the OSA for that. ...though, not
in a way that would give you grounds to collect, so don't bother
to send me an invoice...
Take care, everyone, especially the Scientologists who read this
far. You need good wishes more than most; I will continue to think
good thoughts about you, in the hope that your recovery be gentle,
or that you never figure it out.
--
Troutman, Defender of Sticks
troutman@teleport.com