Scientology - A Cabal of Fear

"So if Scientology is so bad, and all these people are out, why aren't they talking about it?"  There is a single, simple answer to that one.  Fear.  Fear of reprisal, fear of attack, (legal and physical), fear of harassment and fear of losing loved ones still in the church.  Fear is one of the strongest motivators known to man, and many people are just afraid to talk openly.  There are also many people who talk about their experiences, but you may not have heard of them.  They talk under the anonymity of an alias.  You can read all of their horror stories in places like Ex Scientologist Message Board  and Ex Scientology Kids as well as other places around the net.  You will soon see why fear pervades. Not since the Inquisition, from 1478 to 1834, have so many people been afraid of their "church".

So why are so many people afraid of this purported  citadel of peace and sanity?  Let us start with the words of the founder, L. Ron Hubbard.  From the Scientology Justice manual:

"People attack Scientology; I never forget it, always even the score. People attack auditors, or staff, or organizations, or me.  I never forget until the slate is clear." (Vengeance is mine sayeth Ron )

There are horrid repercussions for opposing Scientology.  As I have mentioned before, there is the policy of disconnection, (which you can read about here), which basically means, if you have been declared a suppressive person (excommunicated), you will not be able to see or speak to your family and friends in the church.

But there are much worse punishments that the church can and has dealt out.  There was operation PC Freakout:

Operation Freakout, also known as Operation PC Freakout, was a Church of Scientology covert plan intended to have the US author and journalist Paulette Cooper imprisoned or committed to a mental institution. The plan, undertaken in 1976 following years of Church-initiated lawsuits and covert harassment, was meant to eliminate the perceived threat that Cooper posed to the Church and obtain revenge for her publication in 1971 of a highly-critical book, The Scandal of Scientology. The Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered documentary evidence of the plot and the preceding campaign of harassment during an investigation into the Church of Scientology in 1977, eventually leading to the Church compensating Cooper in an out-of-court settlement.

Scientologists will tell you that even if that is true, it was years and years ago under a now defunct part of Scientology known as the Guardians Office.  What most will not tell you is that the Guardians Office was just reorganized and renamed as the Office of Special Affairs.  They will also tell you that they don't have any policy of getting even with anyone or terrorizing anyone.

In 2005, A man named Mark Headley, a Sea Org member stationed at Scientology's International base, was scheduled to be interrogated over some trumped up charges.  (By the way, if you don't know what they mean by interrogation, read this.) He knew that there is no way you can pass this kind of interrogation because it is designed for you to fail.  Before he was scheduled to be interrogated, Headley made a break for it, ditching the base in a dramatic chase with security guards that ended with Headley taking a spill on a motorcycle. An ensuing shouting match with Scientology guards drew the attention of Riverside County sheriff's deputies, who helped Headley get away.  Pretty scary stuff huh?  If you haven't read his book, you should pick up a copy.

They have been known to spend incredible sums of money chasing down people who have escaped their clutches and returning them back to the fold.  You must remember that they believe they have the only technology in the Universe that will "clear" the planet.  But how do you go about doing that?  Again, in Hubbard's own words:

Hubbard, HCO Policy Letter of 16 February 1960, Targets, Defense

T1. De-popularizing the enemy to a point of total obliteration.
T2. Taking over the control or allegiance of the heads or proprietors of all news media.
T3. Taking over the control or allegiance of key political figures.

T4. Taking over the control or allegiance of those who monitor international finance and shifting them to a         less precarious finance standard.

And who are these enemies?  Hubbard goes on the explain:

The names and connections, at this time, of the bitterly opposing enemy are
Psychiatry and psychology (not medicine).
The heads of news media who are also directors of psychiatric front groups.
A few key political figures in the fields of 'mental health' and education.
A decline of monetary stability caused by the current planning of bankers who are also directors of
psychiatric front organizations would make us unable to function.

So do you have friends or family in the Church of Scientology?  Are you scared yet?  You should be.
Thanks for sticking it out with me.  Please feel free to post in the comment section if you have and questions or comments.  Please pass this along if you know of anyone who should read it. (everyone).  Again, thank you.