Misdirectin’ Marty

When I read the opening line to Marty Rathbun’s latest blog entry (Worse Than Fair Game?), I got so excited!

I have been criticized by Scientology haters for not laying blame for the abuses and demise of the church of Scientology on L Ron Hubbard.

And then I read the next couple of sentences…

Some have pointed to my refusal to credit the Fair Game Policy… as being the chief motivating policy behind the evil and criminal deeds… My response was, and is, that 99% of staff, including the Sea Org, have not even heard of the Fair Game policy, so of course they do not apply it.

…and it totally killed my buzz. Here, I thought Marty might actually tell the truth, and instead he’s just using misdirection – an oft-used Scientology PR technique, best illustrated in this classic Heber Jentschz radio interview (direct link to MP3). Bring up the subject everyone wants to hear about, and then give a long-winded answer that has fuck-all to do with it.

In this case, Marty starts talking about “Fair Game” (SPs may be “tricked, sued, or lied to or destroyed”*) and then segues into a talk about Miscavige misinterpreting a Hubbard policy letter called “Responsibility of Leaders.”

(* Incidentally, Marty apparently is okay with the Fair Game policy. “At least there were some boundaries with Fair Game,” he writes. “You also had to be declared SP to receive that treatment.”)

Here’s the truth: As far as I know, no one (not even Marty) has tried to blame Fair Game on DM. But there are plenty of other Scientology abuses that Marty has tried to blame on DM, when there is ample written evidence of LRH’s responsibility. Among the ones we’ve discussed on this blog:

• Disconnection
• Private investigators
• Slave wages for Sea Organization staff
• The Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF)
• Severe harassment of critics
• Requirement to pay for membership in order to purchase classes and services
• Abortions in the Sea Org
• Redefining words
• Death of Lisa McPherson

There are more, and you can count on reading more of them on this blog in the coming weeks.

Marty does bring up an interesting question: How can David Miscavige do the things he does? And the answer is simple: He’s following L. Ron Hubbard’s instructions. Marty may try to cover that up, but LRH left such an extensive written record that lying about his policies and intentions is a fool’s errand.

Marty, assuming you (or one of your disciples) are reading this: Nice try, and I’m sure David Miscavige would be proud, but Scientology protesters aren’t that stupid or gullible. You can try as hard as you like, but the truth always comes out… even the truth about L. Ron Hubbard.

ML,
Caliwog