Comments on: Attacking Scientology – Turning the Tables

By: Dave Hitt

Dave Hitt — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:28:28 +0000

I didn’t say this was unique to Scientology, but that *most* other cults don’t do it. Some do, most notably fundamentalist Islam.

By: Parrot

Parrot — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:09:26 +0000

What do you mean other cults don’t harass people who leave? That’s just not true. Some cults have even gone as far as to kill the people who leave.

By: Dave Hitt

Dave Hitt — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:59:23 +0000

But there is a big difference between Scientologists and most other cults.

One of the most common characteristics of cults is they shun anyone who leaves. It doesn’t matter if it’s your parents, children, best friend, or in some cases, spouse – you are not allowed to have anything to do with the shunned person. They are dead to you.

It’s a very effective tool. First, get the inductee to give up all their friends in the outside world while building up a network inside the cult. Then threaten to leave them completely and utterly alone if they leave. This also protects existing cult members from the influence of an ex-member.

Scientologists take it a step further, and endlessly harass those who leave, Their goal, it appears, is to drive them to suicide, and they have succeeded many times.

So I think, *in this rare instance,* any ends justifies the means of destroying the organization and anyone who promotes it. However, the clowns who made the threats haven’t even been able to keep the sites down – they’re working, and responding quickly.

By: Dan Pearson

Dan Pearson — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:29:12 +0000

I agree that Scientologists are more dangerous than most when it comes to exposing their “theology.” Still, their teeth aren’t as sharp as they used to be and the more people publicize the underlying Scientology beliefs the harder it will be for them to sue everybody.
On a separate note, I left the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints off the list of groups who can only be hurt by having their theology publicized. If anybody’s read Card’s Ender series, its striking how closely the “Aiua” parallels Mormon metaphysics of the soul, and seems only slightly less out-of-place in a far-future sci-fi novel than in 19th-century LDS tracts.

By: Harley

Harley — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:47:04 +0000

Dan,

The problem is the Scientology often sues the people who do try to inform the public about their practices and beliefs. Many critics have even received death threats from people connected to the church or have found their pets killed.

Scientology isn’t just a kooky group that takes a bit of money from a few followers. It is an aggressive cult that bleeds its members dry after having con artists slowly draw them into an insane worldview and discards them when they run out of cash. If anyone tries to point out what Scientologists actually believe or warns the public about how the top members of Scientology are a bunch of cynical bloodsuckers who have studied cults and scams for years to find out the best way to sucker people, can expect multiple lawsuits and a poisoned dog.

Most New Age religions are kooky and pretty much harmless. Some stupid pap about being a “starchild” or wasting your money on a few crystals. Scientology saps its members money and independence and abuses the legal system to silence its critics and ex-members, along with mailing it critics photos of their children or stomping their cats to dead and hanging them on the door knob.

Fuck’em.

By: Dan Pearson

Dan Pearson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:32:23 +0000

I’m a big fan of both Scientology and Fred Phelps, at least as a spectator. People like these practically mock themselves. Fred Phelps knows how to exploit the status of being a victim and just about everything he does is done to some extent to invoke a harsh response. He *loves* it when people counter-picket his protest. He *loves* it when people respond violently, probably even when his church gets bombed (at least a little). I would hate to turn Scientology into the same kind of machine. I think the most damaging way to “attack” groups like WBC and Scientology is to give out as much info as possible about their beliefs. Seriously, they practically mock themselves. If the public at large knew all about thetans, Xenu, etc from the start, Scientology would practically vanish from the Earth (and sea).

By: Parrot

Parrot — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:19:51 +0000

I’ll give you that point. Being happy that somebody got their comeuppance does not necessarily mean that you endorse the methods used to that end.

My only objection was that you seemed to be endorsing the methods used. I’m completely with you in being happy to see Scientology suffer.