I’m sharing with you an email I received last week via YouTube. First a clarification: My primary concern so far has been making the evidential information freely available that Scientology has been trying to hide or dismiss, so that people who know little about the organization or are curious about it can make up their own mind or at least conduct their own research before the lies and propaganda of Scientology get to them first. There are two types of Scientologists we are talking about. The first one consists of the likes of the late L. Ron Hubbard and David Miscavige, top leaders whose sole purpose and intention is monetary gain, political power, and the destruction of anyone who stands in the way, i.e. enemies of the church. There are, however, decent Scientologists that were simply tricked and brainwashed into it and have not the slightest idea of what is really going on. They don’t know anything about the Fair Game policy; they think Operation Freakout or Operation Snow White are just some Cyber legend made up by “terrorists against the church”; Disconnect is thrust upon them whereas they are led to believe that it is for their own good. How does this happen? Because the Scientology corporation has either been carefully restricting their access to such information or brainwashing them so thoroughly that members only believe what their “religion” says. What these innocent people choose to believe and practice is none of my business, although I do hope that they have equal access to the legal and journalistic documentations as well as personal and judicial testimonies against Scientology that we take for granted; it’s the top level officials and the organization’s militias who set up front groups raving about religious freedom and human rights but in fact are practicing everything they publicly denounce and condemn that I’m speaking out against. Scientology itself is not a religion; I am even reluctant to call it a cult these days. Scientology is a commercial enterprise and a political organization that preys on innocent people on the one hand, and networks individuals with nefarious purposes in the fields of mass media, politics and the entertainment industry on the other; a “church” that hides behind the shield of religion, who will not turn the other geek and will do anything to silence or even destroy critics.
I wish people would ask more questions about Shawn Lonsdale.
But I regress. The email makes several interesting points and suggests some very good ideas. So feel free to pass it on to anyone willing to take a stand against the Scientology corporation.
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Among many of the bizarre and inhuman practices inside the cult of Scientology, the policy of Disconnection is probably the most devastating for families and friends of Scientologists:
UPDATE (03/24/08): watch how all videos critical of Scientology are frozen (with one mysterious exception of the second segment of “The S Files”, which YouTube held hostage for some 29 hours after the upload before releasing it online), while all non-Scientology related videos play just fine.
UPDATE (03/16/08): Scientology has relaunched its websites and uploaded its own self-produced videos of propaganda and deception. Interesting coincidence?
screenshot 1:(click on the pictures to see them in original size):This is just a one time thing that happened last month. Technical glitch on YouTube? I had no problems searching other key words though.
Remember those Net Neutrality videos you watched on CC a while ago? Turns out some corporation not only wants to control the Internet traffic, they want to block public forums as well. Last year Comcast, one of the biggest cable companies and Internet Service Providers in the United States, was caught injecting forged TCP/RST packets into users’ traffic to interfere with their BitTorrent uploads and downloads. FCC, or the Federal Communications Commission, therefore set up a public hearing to take place on February 25th at the Harvard Law School on a first-come, first-served basis. Based on discussions on this public forum as well as written comments from private citizens, the regulators may establish on what ISPs may and may not do.
If you still think Scientology is just some nutty and harmless religion, please watch the following videos. There are more in the forum and all over the Internet.
Don’t just believe one single source. Read copiously. From as many sources as you can find.
If you are an ex-Scientologist, it’s time you stand up and share your stories with the world. If you have been targeted by Scientology, know that you’re not alone and contact your local support groups. The Internet is Scientology’s worst nightmare. The more visible our presence, the more difficult it is for Scientology to attack and silence its critics, and get away with it like it used to.
Knowledge is power. Don’t let any religion or any cult take that away from us.
Anonymous is Everyone and Everywhere.
BBC vs. Scientology
What are you afraid of?
Scientology’s obsession with Camera
Scientology bankrupted and bought Cult Awareness Network
This is an excellent paper explaining why Scientology is not recognized as a religion but a commercial enterprise in Germany, why its activities are under surveillance, and why the federal court is moving towards a ban on the criminal organization. All emphasis are mine, and links to most of the media coverage on Scientology mentioned in the original article are provided for your viewing pleasure. (update: except for articles from the WSJ and “The Germans have a word for it”, all links are there)
“The German government considers the Scientology organization a commercial enterprise with a history of taking advantage of vulnerable individuals and an extreme dislike of any criticism. The government is also concerned that the organization’s totalitarian structure and methods may pose a risk to Germany’s democratic society. Several kinds of evidence have influenced this view of Scientology, including the organization’s activities in the United States.
I’m sorry this is all rather upsetting for the New Year, but you gotta hear it to believe it. The scary part is, I can hear those Fox-News-watching Rednecks cheering already.
