How Scientology works: Re-stating the obvious

The other day, Mike Rinder posted an entry on Marty’s blog that gives a great illustration of the Scientology mind-set.

Mike posted a passage from LRH called “Invalidation.” In it, Hubbard basically says that people with dominating personalities either demand that others do what they say as a condition of a continued relationship, or belittle others in order to increase their perceived importance.

Except, in typical Hubbard fashion, what I’ve explained in one sentence, he stretches to well over five hundred words. And Scientologists confuse this verbosity for intelligence.

The concept Hubbard presents is not earth-shattering. It’s the basis of abusive relationships. (In fact, it’s the basis of Hubbard’s relationship with his Scientology followers – that man is weighed down, and that without Hubbard’s help, they can’t get out of the morass.) I’m sure that most of you, like me, have understood the basic concept since they were in their teens or twenties.

But Scientologists take this restatement of common sense as proof of Hubbard’s brilliance.

How does this happen? I have a theory, and it stems from the fact that the most ardent Scientologists are those that are born into the religion or are attracted to it in their teens or twenties – the time of life when we really start to figure life out. While us wogs are out experiencing life and learning these lessons first-hand, Scientologists are encouraged to turn inwards, reading LRH’s writings, listening to LRH’s lectures, and surrounding themselves with people who feel the same way.

We’ve all had “a-hah!” moments when we figure things out – when we suddenly realize, for example, that our dominating parent or partner was belittling us to make themselves seem more important, because in fact they have low self-images and feel that any importance they have must be manufactured. Maybe we figured it out on our own or maybe it was pointed out to us. It’s called an epiphany; Scientologists call it a “cog” or “cognition.” On the outside, we generally credit these epiphanies to our own understanding. Scientologists credit their “cogs” to the “technology” of LRH.

No wonder Scientologists think LRH is brilliant – and no wonder it’s so easy for the rest of us to see that he was a man of average intelligence at best.

Remember, Scientology preys on those who are looking for answers. Scientology’s streetside Personality Tests and slick TV ads are meant to ensnare those who are seeking out truths. Ever notice how few people become Scientologists in their 40s or 50s, and how those who dabble in it tend to drift away? That’s no coincidence. Scientology is designed to latch on to the needy. Inside LRH’s “Admin Tech” you’ll find LRH’s simple marketing philosophy: Do market research to find out what people want and then write ads promising them the answers.

Do you see the sense of what I’m saying? Of course you do, and there’s a reason for that: Most of you are either not Scientologists, or ex-Scios who have figured out how the scam works. It’s an easy leap for us, but nearly impossible to fathom for those who are still “in” – and by “in” I don’t mean “in the Church of Scientology,” but rather “in the Scientology mind-set.” People like Mike Rinder and Marty Rathbun actually do read essays like “Invalidation” and believe that Hubbard has some unusual insight into life. And when there’s a coincidence – like Hubbard’s first question dealing with height – they say things like Mike did: “Oh, how prescient LRH is.” (Note the use of present tense.) They really do believe this.

How do you explain this to a Scientologist? I’ve tried, pointing out to Scientology friends that much of LRH’s tech is just common sense and life experience. Their answer? “Yes, but nobody ever dived into it to the depth that LRH did.” In other words, no one else could be bothered to stretch one sentence into five hundred words. It’s enough to make you bang your head against the wall. If anyone has had any success explaining this to Scientologists, or if you’re an ex who cares to share how you figured it out, by all means, comment away.

The sad part is that Hubbard treats his followers just as he says in this essay: He explains everything and invalidates their ability to discover these things on our own. So sad, because figuring out life is half the fun of living, don’t you think?

ML,
Caliwog

What’s happening in Germany?

I know a lot of you avoid Marty’s blog, but you really ought to check out his September 3rd entry, Germany, Europe and Human Rights — including the three videos.

The whole post is both entertaining and troubling. Entertaining, because it’s fun to watch Scientologists spar on camera. Actually, the Squirrel Busters come off looking pretty good in this one – they ask a very reasonable question, namely who is paying for Marty’s trip to Germany, and Marty won’t answer. Way to give them ammunition, Marty ol’ pal. (I know, I know – the fact that I’m bringing this up will be used as proof that I’m OSA.)

For the few of you unfamiliar, Scientology has been under deep scrutiny in Germany. Wikipedia has a good description of the situation. Basically, Germany has all but banned Scientology, saying, correctly, that it’s a business, not a religion. They also are concern about Hubbard’s vision of a utopian society in which those who do not comply are dispatched “quietly and without sorrow.” Germany has some experience with that sort of thing, so they are understandably cautious.

From what I can surmise, Marty plans to take his Hubbard-whitewashing show on the road, and will attempt to convince people that the evils of Scientology are due to Miscavige, not Hubbard. I don’t think this will go over as well as Marty thinks it does; after all, the initial German investigations were based on Hubbard’s own writings, and I’ve found that most of Marty’s lies about Scientology can be disproved by Hubbard’s own writings. Surely the Germans will see through them. Still, I can’t help but worry a bit. It’s in my nature. And that’s the troubling part.

I was wondering if the Wise Beard Man would chime in on this, and he did, re-posting Marty’s videos (although I don’t think the Squirrel Busters come off quite as bad as he says. Standing in front of their camera, talking over Rich’s speech, he comes across being just as childish and petty as they are. WBM also posted the video where Rathbun sprays the Squirrel Busters with a garden hose. Way to give the Squirrel Buster Rich credibility, Marty, especially when he talks about your “complsive, self-destructive and psychotic behavior” [Part 2, 7:30]). But in Part 3, Mosey comes to the rescue and finally starts making some sense.

Ah, Mosey… I think I am falling in love with that woman. (Don’t tell Mrs. Caliwog.) Although I do wish Marty would let her read Paulette Cooper’s book The Scandal of Scientology – available online for free – so she could see that Scientology was sending people to the poorhouse long before Miscavige came to power.

Anyway, I was surprised at the way Marty seems to take a swipe at some of WBM’s (and Anonymous’) friends. Like this part, which starts out as an attack on others competing with Marty for Scientology customers:

“Just look for the 1.1s using the safe Independent Scientology space we are creating to promote such practices as no-training-needed to get onto OT levels, ‘OT I and OT II are of little importance’: especially coming from ‘Class VIIIs’, ‘Class VIs’ and folks claiming to be ‘trained by Ron.’ They may as well be saying ‘Scientology is a fraud, because after all I studied it all, and violently disagree with the Bridge created by Ron.’ Think about it. Beware of anyone who has ‘studied it all’ and discourages you from doing the same.” — Marty Rathbun

Uh-oh. Those last three sentences sound an awful lot like Tory Christman, Jason Beghe, and Jesse Prince – three heroes of mine who achieved high levels in Scientology and then came out publicly to say that Scientology is a scam and Hubbard was full of shit.

Marty goes on to say:

“We never lose sight of the mountain and always have the broader, longer view in mind and keep long-term projects advancing.” — MR

That’s good, because it’s the long-term view that I think Germany is concerned about: Hubbard’s vision of “A world without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper.” That all sounds well and good, until you remember what LRH said about dispatching the undesireables “quietly and without sorrow” – or, as Tom Cruise told us, how SPs (suppressive persons, those who dare speak out against Scientology) will be “something you just read about in the history books.”

ML,
Caliwog

Where does the hatred towards Independents really come from?

Apologies for the “comm lag,” fellow SPs; even wogs get to take summer vacations! Let’s dive right back in.

One of the things that seems to amaze non-Scientologists is the rapidity and viciousness with which Scientologists turn on those who practice Scientology on their own. After all, if someone leaves a Christian church, they probably won’t have their house videotaped and picketed. Many religious people feel that as long as people worship God in their own way, that’s good enough.

Not Scientology.

This is not a new phenomenon. As I illustrated in my last post, LRH had nothing good to say about Independent Scientologists. He labeled them “squirrels,” a term he redefined to be one of the most hated in Scientology. As you saw in my last post, he called them “parasitic,” “lice,” and “cheap,” and said they were out to actively harm Scientologists and destroy Scientology.

“Scientology is the only workable system Man has… Squirreling is today destructive of a workable system.” — LRH, HCO PL 14 Feb 1965, SAFEGUARDING TECHNOLOGY

No wonder Church-going Scientologists are so eager to picket Marty’s house.

Marty complains about the harassment, but he seems to feel the same way. This was revealed a few months back in his post Deconstructing the Mayo Myth, in which he attempted to minimize the accomplishments of David Mayo, leader of the last Independent Scientology movement to gain any traction. He called Mayo a liar and accused him of making LRH sick with his auditing.

This led to a backlash from supporters and customers who admired Mayo, so Marty wrote a follow-up post, Before You Knight Mayo, making the exact same accusations against Mayo and his followers that LRH made against sqiurrels – and that today’s Church makes against Marty.

“I have noticed over the past year several old AACers [Advanced Ability Center, David Mayo’s auditing organization] coming out of retirement and hanging up their shingles… they are back in business only because of the exodus we have unleashed. Well, over the past couple months I have had some bedraggled souls wind up on my doorstep who have been mauled by old-timer squirrels. I repaired them, and will continue to do so as needed. But, it is apparent to me that a line needs to be drawn. Squirrels leave the church seeking freedom to do whatever hair-brained scheme their banks feed them. Independents leave the church seeking freedom to practice standard tech.” — Marty Rathbun

Of course, there may be some professional jealousy here. Mayo was Hubbard’s right-hand-man and helped to write policy. Rathbun was Miscavige’s right-hand-man and helped to silence critics and cover up the true nature of Lisa McPherson’s death.

But the big issue is that Marty and his customers, like the David Miscavige and his customers, are simply following what Hubbard said to do. The Indies don’t see themselves as squirrels; they think they are following the true word of Hubbard, and that Miscavige is the squirrel. Which is why you see the same vitriol in their comments on Marty’s blog.

I still think Marty’s hatred towards DM is largely fueled by a personal vendetta, a natural reaction to being pushed out of the seat of power. This is what Scientologists call HE&R – Human Emotion and Reaction – and it’s a perfectly naturally way of dealing with loss. But in Scientology, HE&R is a bad thing.

But Marty’s assertion that this harassment is all because of David Miscavige is a bold-faced lie.

Everything that is happening to Marty is happening because L. Ron Hubbard said so. And yet many people believe Marty’s lies, because it’s impossible to believe that a man could cause such misery twenty-five years after his death.

Those of us who understand the true nature of Scientology know different.

Marty is getting ready to go to Germany to tell more lies about L. Ron Hubbard, and to attempt to white-wash this very dangerous religion. It’s up to us to keep talking and make sure that doesn’t happen.

ML,
Caliwog