SadStateofAffairs made a comment about the Jobur Jackboots that was a blast from the past when he mentioned the “Latam Strategy.”
The comment was right on. The Jobur Command Team is exactly following the Latam Strategy. For most of you, this is meaningless, so I will provide a little background that is necessarily abbreviated. The topic is instructive to the current scene.
In the early 80’s there was considerable concern by LRH (who was in seclusion) that he and management had lost control of Scientology. There is a LOT of LRH traffic about the “Mission Holder Mutiny” and the Guardian’s Office and moonlighting and “org ripoffs” and “external influences.” LRH sent some very harsh direction to “quell the revolt” and be ruthless with “the SP’s, GO crims and squirrels.”
“External influences” was THE catchphrase of the period. A lot of investigation had been done at LRH direction in the late 70’s on the what he termed “Con Evil” telling management to raise their “Confront of Evil” and that there were a lot of people trying to take over orgs for their own benefit. WISE arose out of this investigation and LRH direction about coralling “Scientology businessmen preying on orgs.”
This whole subject reached boiling point with the Mission Holder Convention at Flag. Bill Franks was ED Int and was viewed as a traitor for “siding with the money-motivated Mission Holders.” WDC and ED Int sent weekly reports to LRH along with a stat analysis and he sent back lengthy responses to these reports with many orders about what was to be done and how Scientology was to be gotten back under control. This included direct orders concerning the subsequent San Francisco Mission Holders event where LRH ordered that “SO Ethics Presence” be re-established and RTC and CSI were to put the fear of God into the Mission network.
Around this time, a Mission was sent to the Continental Liaison Office for Latin America (Latam) as their stats were very bad. The Mission, with John Alesso in charge (then in CMO PAC, now I believe a folder admin in AOLA) had orders to go and find the “external influences”, declare them on the spot and get the stats back up. They found some people that qualified as “external influences” and declared them (following the pattern piloted by Miscavige at the San Francisco Msn Holder Convention), ran a “heavy ethics program” on everyone in the CLO to scare the hell out of them that they would be the next ones declared if they didnt fall in line and stat pushed the hell out of the stats.
The stats (whether false or not I do not know) went into steep Affluence and a new catchphrase was born “The Latam Strategy.” Guillaume Lesevre as ED Int reported the “success” to LRH (he and my ex-wife had run the Mission, she was WDC Scientology at the time I think) and LRH jumped on the “Latam Strategy” bandwagon and pretty soon there were Missions fired out to every Cont not in affluence to “repeat the successful action.” The “Latam Stategy” was a fad like “Ideal Orgs Program” is today. It was the “one-shot Clear” answer to everything for a time. (This one-shot Clear “think” is worthy of a post by itself, it is THE pattern of operation in Scientology — if it’s not Ideal Orgs, it’s Super Power, if not that it’s KTL, not that it’s Purif, not that it’s NOTs, not that it’s The Basics, not that its….)
Primarily the successful action of the “Latam Strategy” was to arrive in full SO Uniform with guns blazing, shoot a few people with verbal declares (SO Missions have unlimited ethics authority), scare the hell out of everyone else and then stat push like there was no tomorrow. Eventually the fad died out as it was NOT sustainable and after a while Missions were no longer able to push stats any longer (for a time, Guillaume and Cathy ran every CLO through a “Latam Strategy” SO Mission on a daily telex with daily stats from “Int Management”).
Nearly 30 years later, Miscavige is bringing the “Latam Strategy” out of mothballs it seems.
Pretty clearly, He IS losing control of Scientology. Too many “disaffecteds” in too many places. He has to act.
I can imagine him pulling out all the old traffic from LRH and having an “Aha!!” moment and then telling his minions how on source he is because THEY have not been doing what LRH said and now he is going to get it done (there is a LOT of LRH traffic commenting very favorably on these heavy-handed methods at that time).
But He doesn’t seem to notice a couple of really important differences:
1. The internet now makes communication possible. You can easily discover, if you want, whether what you are being told is true. Back in those days, the only source of information about what was going on was direct from the church. They said what was convenient about the people they declared and were able to black PR and control the flow of information.
2. 18 Public OL’s is not the same as a couple of crims who were trying to make money OFF THE ORGS. These people are giving money TO THE ORGS.
And He cannot really follow the Latam Strategy because there isn’t anything TO stat push. The orgs are empty shells. They can scream and threaten all they want but if you don’t have any auditors or supervisors and there are no public there is little that can be done to “get stats up.” The only solution becomes to report false stats.
But most importantly, His biggest screw up is this:
In the Miscavige universe, there is no other Opinion Leader in the Scientology third dynamic. He knows He is THE Opinion Leader and so nothing else and nobody else matters. The rules about Opinion Leaders in the PR Series can be ignored by Him, after all He IS Source, or at least Source For Lost And Modified Tech.
Declaring a group of long-term Opinion Leaders is a footnuke of magnitude. He is trying to control the flow of information by having everything done VERBALLY. Otherwise it will get onto the internet — the tool of the devil. But it is not going to work. He has only sped up the process of the demise of Corporate Scientology in South Africa.
Just for shits and giggles and old time’s sake, here are some quotes from HCO PL 11 May 1972 PR Series 6 Opinion Leaders.
Following are some quotes from LRH policy on the subject of Opinion Leaders. This is what Miscavige loudly proclaims that He, above all mere mortals, follows to the letter as the most on-Sourcy of all them all.
Take a read and see how on-Source he seems in light of these passages (this is a long PL, I only selected a small portion of it to highlight the point I am trying to make):
This would be almost mathematical in computation. Spokesman X issuing a Bulletin A that offended 55% of the opinion leaders would get, roughly, a 55% opposing reaction from the whole public.
…
The general unrest and unpopularity is largely traceable to a violent disregard of the subject of opinion leaders.
Attaining power is done usually by the consent of or with the help of the opinion leaders. Arrival in a position of power too often causes the person to shift the basis of his operation. He is now associating with different people in a power strata. It would require quite an effort of will to not be seduced. Having achieved power by opinion leaders, the person may forget them and seek to maintain power by other means or by force. This is essentially a violation of the Power Formula which indicates one should not disconnect. By disconnecting from the previous opinion leaders, the person begins his own demise.
…
Thus a truly suborned leader would desert “opinion leader” as a basis of power and begin to use FORCE and MONEY to hold his position.
But when one assumes a position of power, regard for opinion leaders should broaden, not be dropped.
…
Attilas and Huns and Genghis Khans solved this by simply murdering all imagined hostile elements. They may be known in history but politically they built nothing that endured. Even the pyramids of skulls vanished.
Men like Hitler went so far in reverse in handling this problem as to finally slaughter even their adherents.
…
Omitting the opinion leader is bad enough. Seeking to destroy him is far, far worse.
Yes, one says, but how about the violent opposition? How about that fellow?
Well, he’s a problem. But he is an opinion leader.
One has to decide how much of an opinion leader he is.
If you don’t handle a would-be opinion leader who is anti but who is NOT an opinion leader, people get cross.
The decision here stems from
a. Is he talking about actual abuses, or
b. Is he just lying?
In either case one has certain courses of action. If the abuses are actual, work to remedy them.
…
Abuses by those in charge are never put right by force. They are only worsened.
Perhaps there is no excuse whatever to use force to enforce an opinion. Wars are notorious for failing to solve.
LRH’s Opinion Leader policy brings to mind the story of Alan Walter.
In 1969, Alan Walter’s string of 10 missions was booming. His success apparently was seen as a threat by LRH. To weaken this “opinion leader,” LRH used third-party tech: he covertly wrote to the IRS to accuse Walter of tax evasion (boy did that backfire). The 10 missions were wiped out; Walter left the Chruch. http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?6648-Alan-s-been-kidnapped!-%28was-John-McMaster-s-partial-story!%29/page3
Write your own book, Mike. As you do not have a “source complex”, it will serve history in an objective manner and will also help future generations of Scientologists to sort out their snags.
Yes, Mike, please make this historic post one of the ones at the bottom of your page that are book marked along with the Debbie Cook letter etc. It is that important.
Mike – this post deserves to be bookmarked and the post and all the comments passed on to others. Finally we are getting truth and answers.
One could compare LRH to Martin Luther.
In his beginnings he postulated theta and more power he had, more supressive and crazy he became (burning heretics, meaning to kill the revolting farmers or the jews..)
My god, what a fool I’m.
Until some days ago I was 100% convinced that the craziness of 1982 (finance police, verbal declares, rollbacks, witch hunts….)was created by DM and LRH didn’t really know.
The consequences of those orders and actions directly had influences on my auditing while doing OT IV – heavy evals by d of p and misuse of pc data – and led me to the conclusion to only continue on the bridge again (which I never did after OT IV) when I’m confident that I can trust the tech personal and they are on source.
AND NOW I READ THAT THE OUT-TECH I GOT WAS ON SOURCE AND ORDERED BY SOURCE.
What a SRA you gave Mike.
It’s not easy to confront but now the whole story makes sense !
First, a couple of corrections on words. I’ve recently seen, here and on the Bunker, the use of the word “tenant” (one who occupies land or buildings owned by another) in place of “tenet” (a principal or a belief).
Karen (above) refers to a “soccer punch” rather than a “sucker punch”, a punch launched at someone when they are not expecting it and cannot thus defend themselves. (DM has been leveling sucker punches, both physically and through a hidden data line throughout his career.)
Mike, I would have to agree that this post today is one of the most powerful you have (so far) published. There is a plethora of wisdom and solid information not usually seen in one place. Good questions asked, then answered by knowledgeable people. And, I believe, a very accurate picture of LRH is appearing for the first time, separating his various insanities from the useful discoveries he made or coopted. Hubbard was *not* Scientology and Scientology was *not* Hubbard. His attempts tp freeze the tech, and assuming that only HE could make changes or improvements, was doomed to failure. ANY technology has to be permitted to grow. Brilliant people came up with brilliant improvements and were sacked and attacked for daring to presume. “Standard tech” does not have to mean “frozen in time” tech.
I’ve also stated before that Hubbard’s definition of “ethics” as being “self imposed” was correct. He then proceeded to design an ethics system to be imposed on individuals at the whim of often totally untrained and/or unaudited people who had problems of their own. And thus we have SO “officers” who may declare people instantaneously, and who do so. What a bloody mess he created with it. It has become one of the great anchors on a workable tech. And Hubbard was “source” on it.
Again, my congratulations on a particularly effective article with some marvelous comments made. 101% on this one!
Makes sense to me, but then again I was nmever in.
Regarding the “*functioning* petition line” when LRH was running things: From Nancy Many’s book ‘My Billion Year Contract’
“During my first week on the RPF, I was shown the Ethics Order spelling out my new assignement. Originally the order had been that I was to be taken to the RPF at the same time as my husband. This had to be approved by LRH himself because both Chris and I worked directly under him and others did not have the power to remove us. However, there was someone else who questioned the part of the order that had to do with me. Although I never found out who it was, that person thought that since I was five months pregnant, it might not be appropriate to have me living in a garage with carbon monoxide and other noxious fumes. The question was sent directly to L. Ron Hubbard; his terse answer was an affirmation of my assignment to the RPF….The knowledge that LRH himslef had sent me here was almost more than I could bear.”
Mike ~~
What a great post. ★★★★★ FIVE STARS ★★★★★
Important History.
A little addendum.
Guy White, former husband of Suzette Hubbard White was recalled by Guillame from LATAM. He was CO LATAM. (LATAM stand for Latin America)
Guy White was then put in a windowless tiny, it was cold, it was winter.,
There was no toilet, no food, no water.
He waited for hours in mystery.
‘But he knew it had to be bad.
Several hours later David Miscavige walked in with Marc Yager, Guillame Lesevre and 2-3 others.
Miscavige did not speak a word.
There was no charge, no accusation.
Miscavige hurled a soccer punch at Guy White’s jaw and then
they all walked out of the room.
Guy petitioned to go to the RPF and for the next 30 days, 10 hours a day
scraped paint off metal rods.
He still had no idea what he had done, right or wrong.
Only way later he was told that he was the *WHO* of the crashed stats in
LATAM.
The finger for blame is *always* pointed to a WHO.
The WHO is an evil person with unrestrained Evil Purposes destroying Scientology !
Guy White, another victim of David Miscavige assault and battery, was the WHO for the LATAM strategy and continental lowered stats !
Wow. Very interesting, Mike. Thank you.
Also, you have a great way with words: On-Sourcy. Hilarious! LOL
“Scientology Inc encourages wives to snitch on husbands and vice versa. Parents snitch on their children, Children report on their parents. *ALL* in the culture report any disaffection on negative remark to the hierarchy for discipline. The wives would not have been told about the beatings ~~ there are severe repercussions always. Thought Police do not permit one to voice anything negative. especially about management or Miscavige”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LPUucp4WrE
Mike, this may be one of your most important posts ever.
It has been abundantly clear since 2005 that David Miscavige has lost control of the internet. As a function of this, Miscavige began to increasingly lose control of the Church.
As a counter-reaction Miscavige is now asserting his power over the Church by destroying people. This is an incredibly bad move but destruction is all Miscavige knows. He does not lead by inspiration or moral authority; he leads by terror.
Miscavige’s legal stranglehold over the Church of Scientology has allowed him to effectively destroy the Church because his entire modus operandi is attack and destruction.
Miscavige’s actions are spread by word of mouth, by the media, and by the internet and he has zero control over such things.
Miscavige can no longer even control his own PR unless he shrinks an event into a tent where the public cannot see him or film him.
In the larger sense, David Miscavige is losing his grip on power as fewer and fewer people are willing to listen to him or even obey him.
Relative to the Church of Scientology, we are now in a Post-Miscavige era watching and witnessing his inevitable and inexorable collapse into irrelevance and complete unimportance.
Ok, that makes sense
Thank you for this very informative post Mike! This is such important history to make fully known.
Miscavige screwed up the “Latam Strategy” the first time (’80’s) too, and had as little regard for opinion leaders then as he has now. But it looks like this time he is screwing it up even worse this time. The Golden Age of Straight Up and Vertical Screw-ups.
Hubbard saw the mission holders as potential Don Purcells (circa Wichita 1951/52), and ordered them looted and brought into submission or trashed. Miscavige followed orders and enjoyed himself doing so.
But Hubbard was slicker than Miscavige. Miscavige doesn’t have the “touch.”
For example, in the late 1960s, Hubbard responded to famous author William Burroughs’ criticism of him and Scientology with PR: by writing an article where he smoothly and calmly lied about the “cancellation” of Fair Game and Disconnection.
Smoooooth!
On the other hand, poor Paulette Cooper was not any kind of “Opinion Leader,” so…
Mike, The 1982 SF Mission Holders Conference was a watershed event. For those of us that were not Sea Org or privy to the behind-the-scenes machinations, it was a real WTF? moment. If you have more info, I would love to hear whatever you can add for the historical record.
As you have a nazis marching picture I can give an analogy. The goal had been to get rid of bolshevik soviet union. The plan had been (executed by the nazis) to divide the different groups within soviet union. Creating „splinter groups“. Thus they encouraged minorities to gain sovereignity. (provide propaganda, money and leader)This project had been pushed for around 50 years until the soviet union no longer existed. Stalin trying desperately to handle it by killing many people.
Scientology history is in no way different. Same pattern and basically same people planning and executing. Divide. Provide propaganda, money and leaders. Create splinter groups. Encourage „killing“ (SP declares).
Same pattern and Admin Scale. Result: no more Scientology. Done!
Mike, thank you for this very helpful post. It’s such good information for anyone who has spent time in the Church. Because you were present for so much of what preceded these “Final Days” you can see the patterns that others can’t. IMHO, this is one of your very best posts at this blog.
I agree, what a needed and very good post, Mike! Thank you.
Great ref!
“Thus a truly suborned leader would desert “opinion leader” as a basis of power and begin to use FORCE and MONEY to hold his position.” Miscavige has been doing this for years and years, using force and money to assert his “power” when, in fact, every time he does so he just looses more and more people,( the decent people that refuse to accept his megalomania.)
He was never a leader, he has never really had power; the apparent power he did pretend to have was due to the terror, lies, force he used to achieve it. On his own he never had it and never will.
He is in such despair and committing so many PR and legal blunders that they eventually will lead to his demise, there is no way to salvage his ‘bubble’.
This beside his treasonous act of cutting the lines of people who backed up Scientology, meaning the 18 OLs of South Africa who now join ranks to the 100s of decent people he has cruelly betrayed.
No mister, you won’t get away with it any longer. Start packing, your days are counted.
Pleas dont take this as an attack. I’ve personally had enough of that type of thing. But this paragraph reminded me of something from Martys “31 Factors”, so I am communicating it instead of just being confused and curious. I’m interested in this history and I do understand that LRH was not perfect.
“In the early 80′s there was considerable concern by LRH (who was in seclusion) that he and management had lost control of Scientology. There is a LOT of LRH traffic about the “Mission Holder Mutiny” and the Guardian’s Office and moonlighting and “org ripoffs” and “external influences.” LRH sent some very harsh direction to “quell the revolt” and be ruthless with “the SP’s, GO crims and squirrels.””
“Five
Miscavige accomplished his coup by commandeering the only line of communication to Hubbard during the last five years of his life, plying Hubbard with embellished and false reports of a dangerous environment to keep him out of communication with Sea Org members and his family. The reports falsely accused Hubbard’s family and lifelong friends of selling out to the enemy and that Scientology orgs had been infiltrated by psychiatric and government interests. He prevented true reports from reaching Hubbard in order to make his actions appear necessary and on policy and to solidify his position.”
Chris — both of these things are true. And they are not mutually exclusive. Yes, he was few a lot of bad news and “look how I saved the day”, but if you have studied a lot of earlier references about dealing with attackers and “SPs” you will also know that he took a very militant view towards them. So, instead of challenging the Miscavige style “entheta” being few to him, he jumped on board. Now those orders and directions are used to justify all sorts of idiotic actions “Look, this is what LRH said to do.” Whether the information was true or not, the scenario that was presented is that the Mission Holders and others were “disaffected with management” and “in disagreement with management” and various other catchphrases and LRH’s response to those circumstances was to stamp it out ruthlessly.
One fly in the ointment, so to speak, was the 1979 court ordered release of previously secret Scientology documents. Some of the mission holders had become aware of some of this material, and were wondering, “Huh?”
One problem was that L. Ron Hubbard was very much involved in the shenanigans that came to light in ’79 – it was his “intelligence tech” that was being applied, and his orders that were being followed – and, when the mission holders objected to these things, even though they didn’t realize it, they were objecting to L. Ron Hubbard.
Plus, at that time, Hubbard was calling in what he saw as “debts.” And Hubbard saw the “mutinous” mission holders as owing him big time. He wanted their property and their money.
This, while L. Ron Hubbard was busy concealing his secret direction of Scientology, and Mary Sue Hubbard was on her way to federal prison.
A very confusing time for most Scientologists.
I dont think the Mission Holders objected to “the shenanigans” — they objected to the increasing control being exerted over the Mission network and especially their finances. They sought protection from Bill Franks as ED Int and he generally agreed with them (and as Robin mentioned, the policy on Missions says to basically leave them alone and if they mess people up the orgs will take care of it). But this was NOT the mindset at the time. The ConEvil era was in full swing prior to this. There was an Office of Evaluation and Execution and every one of those evals was sent directly to LRH. He trained those evaluators to “raise their confront of evil” and that meant to ALWAYS find and remove SP’s. NO eval was approved during this era that didnt locate and order the “shooting” of SPs. If Mark Fisher is reading this, he can confirm this as he was in AVC at the time as I recall (newly arrived at Flag). I am not sure if Vinay Agarwala (Vinaire) was still around evaluating then,m he may have been there too.
I know of mission holders who did object to what they saw as “off Source” GO activities and materials, of which they had only recently become aware. At the time they couldn’t believe that L. Ron Hubbard had had anything to do with it.
But, yes, the big push by Hubbard had to do with money and control.
Still, I think the release of those GO docs resulted in LRH having one big “missed withhold” with some of the mission holders who, even before that, he did not trust.
You are probably correct about this.
The Mission Holders in general disliked the GO as until the late 70’s they were required to pay their 10%’s to MOWW which financed GO WW. The GO effectively “ran” the Mission Network. Thus they were not popular with the GO. Franks did not like the GO either. They cramped his still when he was CO LA Org and CO FCDC. He wanted them emasculated when he assumed the new position of ED Int. The GO crimes were very “convenient” for them at that time….
Mike – THANK YOU for such an excellent read! Another good read is Tom Cruise’s deposition, (he is suing some magazine for saying “he abandoned his daughter”) All of the pieces fall into place with the truth!
Great post Mike! I didn’t know this but it makes these crazy puzzle pieces all start coming together. Thoughtful – thank you so much for your post. I really appreciated it. You are so sane. Keep communicating. And, Alan Bowman – thank you for your post and coming out. I’m so proud to be associated with all of you.
I know I can be a harsh critic of Admin Tech, to the point of J&D. But it’s nice to be reminded of the wisdom it contains. Here, LRH is spot-on. And once again we find RCS doing a 180 with policy. It really is 180 degrees opposite of what the old man said to do.
This has always confounded me. Are they stupid? Hmm, no, I have known many bright individuals on staff and in the SO. So, why doesn’t someone say “Er…excuse me Sir, but…read this policy letter…maybe this is a bad idea” I am being purposely naïve.
I don’t think the culture that has evolved (e.g. Orders, Command Channels, Command Intention, Too Gruesomes, RSAs, etc) makes it safe to communicate that. Too much force, too little intelligence. In the presence of fear, stupidity is allowed to propagate. So much so, that I would speculate that church management has been in chronic restim since the late 70s. They have created their own 3rd dynamic engram (quite possibly a GPM given the contradictory nature of their actions).
The introduction of new members apparently does not lessen the restimulation. The contagion of aberration is like a steamroller and serves to indoctrinate the next generation.
I think many have come forward and said, “Er…excuse me Sir, but…” and they have been thrown into the Hole, declared SP or separated from their spouse and sent to the Scientology equivalent of Siberia. Or maybe even Fair Gamed. Thank goodness for these blogs and the internet. !
What is needed is for everyone to contribute their knowledge of what happened, so that the whole history can be compiled. Then it will be possible to audit the 3 D incident of Scientology.
It is the only way to really handle the BPC.
Right 1984! Scientology-cult.com is a great venue for this. Knowledgeable people, or people who just want to relate their experience can write individual articles under their name or handle. It’s a growing history of first hand experience. Having never been SO, I find the stories of those managing scn to be very helpful, for me to understand what actually went down. This sight was critical in my decompression.
Statpush — interesting point.
There’s an anecdote I heard years ago – I can’t attest to its veracity, but it makes for a good read. J. Edgar Hoover (head of FBI years ago) was a control freak and loved his reports – on his desk and on time. He also loved making notes on what others reported and demanded that the authors leave enough space around the text for his comments. Well, one day he got a report, filling out most of the page – thus leaving him no room for his precious comments. So he scrawled boldly across the report — Watch the Borders! and this note prompted immediate action and a high alert on the Canadian and Mexican Borders of the US..
This is what happens when people take things literally without the ability to differentiate. I would estimate that in my personal experience, 8 out of 10 staff members, at all levels, lacked the ability to differentiate between a fact and a law, between an order and a compelling organization-wide concept or policy. That these orders came from an authoritative source was all that was needed for most staff to carry it out or demand that others did..
Let’s face one fact here, LRH designed his 3D to mirror the command structure of the military. In the military, commands are followed, they do not prompt discussion. People are shot for failing to go over the trenches and charge. A dramatic example perhaps, but that’s what was there. Yes, LRH inserted policies that governed hats and command lines versus communication lines but the die was already cast. Orders ran the Orgs, policy merely validated them – sometimes.
The Church’s organizational structure was an awkward hybrid – part religion, part military, part business and finally part sanctuary. I for one, was frequently confused and at odds with the structure. Should I bark an Order, get in Comm, form a committee and discuss things, or simply find a room and meditate on it for the rest of the afternoon. LRH’s penchant for giving people space and freedom in theory was a wonderful concept, in practice though, it drove far too many to interpret policy, tech and common business practices ad naseum. The result was abuse, when dominant Extroverts assumed command positions with little to no understanding of what the real purpose of the Church was. They just wanted to be in charge.
Anyway — this is my theory on why admin tech was so inconsistent.
Mike, what a fascinating read. And to Alan Bowman – welcome! OUT is definitely the new IN.
Pretty sure DM’s plan is to release GAT II next week and force everyone on to course the way he did with the Basics. This should improve the stats for the short term – which is all he probably cares about right now.
If memory serves me correctly, Harvey Jaques replaced Debbie Cook about the same time the basics were released in 2007. The stats at Flag soared as almost everyone in the field was forced to get on course.
I remember OTC members talking about how replacing Debbie was the right thing as look at the stats. I really don’t think replacing her with Harvey had anything to do with it. If anything, I always thought Debbie was awesome and Harvey was a fat little weasel.
Quoting the P/L, “Thus a truly suborned leader would desert “opinion leader” as a basis of power and begin to use FORCE and MONEY to hold his position.” it seems LRH lost sight of this one as well.
Today, DM is a loose cannon and has set his dogs on the public and staff. I really believe he fully intends to sink this ship, all hands lost (save himself).
LATAM Strategy, what a disaster.
The Missions were delivering the goods ie. Clears and auditors.
So whats left is Fund raise till the field is bankrupt.
Dahhhh, brilliant you dumbass.
LRH is responsible for his own insanity. His irrational behavoir, paranoia, 3D delusions, use of force and punishment can be traced back to the ’50s. Too bad because he also had a lot of wisdom to offer the world. But he could not control his own insecurities, fears and immense hostility. It was no accident he found such a soulmate as Miscavige (whom he chose over his last wife).
In all these years I’d never read that reference. Beautiful!
Mike, Very well written and laid out article. This is the kind of thing we need more of. The truth never hurts, since the truth creates reality, and reality is the only route to understanding.
As a note, it baffles me when people cite LRH’s own overts as justification for denigrating the tech. To me, the fact that LRH went grossly out ethics and violated his own philosophy so flagrantly by ordering verbal declares only validates the actual tech. However I NEVER bought into the idea that Scientology is “whatever LRH says it is.” That notion is a total crock. Perhaps the difference is because I studied and learned Scientology in the field, in one of the very missions where the Mission Holder was verbally declared in 1981. So by the time I joined the Sea Org in 1984, I already knew WHAT Scientology was and I knew HOW it was applied. And to my horror, when I arrived at the Int base in 1984 what I saw was a worst-case scenario: the very group in charge of Scientology were complete strangers to the tech: they did not apply Scientology nor even understand its most basic tenants, like ARC. Fear and intimidation were not only the rule, they were being worshiped! I saw that fear in the faces of all the people I met in CMOI since I was taken around and introduced to every single person. On the Academy Levels I had spent long extra hours doing obnosis and I recognized the anxiety-striken tone level instantly. I’m talking about people like Mark Ingber who was at the time, jokingly, “D/CO CMOI.” When I was brought into a room, heads would continue to star at screens and then snap around suddenly and their eyes would look behind me to see if anyone (threatening) was there. Crazy! Who would have ever dreamed that going “Over the Rainbow” meant descending into hell? And at the top, I saw demented “executives” who hadn’t the faintest clue what their real hat was, as how can any “Scientologist” read about ARC and not “get” that therein was the secret of success and the secret of Scientology’s expansion? Instead he and others like him, relied on fear and intimidation to get the job (NOT) done (for as we all should know by now, since we are all big boys and girls, the product of fear and intimidation is inevitable collapse. As with any of the dark arts, their use floats a temporary “bubble” of increased production, which eventually pops leaving bare ground miles below. And it’s always a long way down. How long will it take for us to learn this?)
In the eyes of the few people at the Int base who didn’t seem fearful, like Lisa Schroer who was HCO Chief CMOI, I saw only aloof, haughty, arrogance—the very antithesis of what Scientology is all about, the very antithesis of ARC, the Auditor’s Code and proper TRs.
Scientology is a philosophy that was defined and lies within exact, specific tenants that do not include “slavery in the name of freedom,” “murder in the name of help,” or “suppression in the name of wisdom.” I always had the idea that LRH was a man, and was as fallible as the next guy. And this post proves that notion was correct. In his later years, LRH “got confused” or went PTS or otherwise turned his back on his own philosophy. In fact, this was a fatal flaw that started long before his later years — it started with his inclination to defame Scientologists as “squirrels” for whatever reason. This was wrong from the get-go and no one ever successfully disabused LRH of the idea. That in turn transformed into declaring people “suppressive” who were not in fact actual sociopaths.
“Entheta” is defined as truth that has been twisted or mixed with falsehoods. What can be more entheta than labeling someone as a squirrel who simply wanted to continue to practice Dianetics? Yet so went celebrated author A. E. van Vogt and many others in the early days. Decades later, LRH came out with LRH ED “The Ridge on the Bridge” where he “realized” that when people get excited about Dianetics, the right thing to do is allow them to continue to practice Dianetics all the want. But in 1951, LRH’s response was to declare them all “squirrels” and work for the next 20 years to disband every “squirrel” group that arose. How completely nutty.
Does any of that invalidate the tech? No. The tech stands on it’s own. Technology either works or it does not. And in my hands and experience, auditing tech, TRs, FDsing, CRMU finding, conditions (when used by the individual and not as an enforced condition by the group), the Data Series, and many many more vital tools and discoveries have always worked exceedingly well and continue to do so to this day.
That LRH went out ethics, dramatized the overt/motivator sequence, and subsequently got locked into a no-games condition of hostilities and suffering and eventually died a hunted man living in a motor home while his own wife went to prison, and thereby helped mightily to set the stage for Scientology’s own destruction proves out many of the very Scientology principles he so crassly violated.
Is any of this a condemnation of LRH? No. It is simply the effort to understand the truth. Isn’t the pursuit of truth what Scientology is all about?
In the final analysis, LRH was a man. Just a man. Like any other. But despite all his faults, he managed to produce some of the most magnificent, powerful and helpful technology ever known, technology that can solve problems and unlock difficulties NO OTHER “ologies” can even touch. Try to handle someone who has false data with any other tech. It won’t work. Yet FDSing in seconds can unlock a person’s thinking on the subject.
The beauty of the 3rd dynamic is that others are there who can intervene to help navigate the ship when needed. And currently, that kind of intervention is badly needed and long, long overdue.
The Church of Scientology is a reactive mind and it is up to us to audit it out. And as long as the intent is “to help” there is no way we can fail.
As LRH said, understanding is the only route in life that has no faintest liability connected to it.
Great posting, Steve. At the end of the day Scn is simply a body of data. What you do with it is up to the individual. I think somewhere along the way we, as individuals, forgot this was a personal journey. That we were on the road to truth. And to walk that road we had to discover truth for ourselves; we had to “look” and “inspect” and “judge”; it required critical thought. Those concepts seem foreign in todays church. Yet, those were the very things which attracted me to the subject 30+ years ago.
It feels as though those ideals were sacrificed for the “good of the group”. That somehow being united and standing shoulder-to-shoulder in an effort to save the universe was paramount. In doing so, a bubble was constructed and we chose to become part of the hive. But life in the hive was ruthless and often vicious. So, we change and adapt to survive in the hive. And after a while you stop thinking about the “road to truth”, and people stop talking about it. Being a desirable member of the group, unquestioning support of the group and its leaders, “doing your part”, and being “with the program” is what defines a Scnist in todays church.
All of these blogs and web sites (including your own) seem to be a collective Itsa line for real Scnists trying to find their way back to the Road to Truth.
Well said.
To me separating the wheat from the chaff is the art of doing a plus-point out-point eval with no preconceived notions.
One of the biggest out-points in the wonderful world of scientology management is the way in which stat analysis dramatically favors the sociopathic personality. A guy like miscavige jacks up the booksales by taking everyone off post (crashing their own production) and claims “upstat” even though the destruction in adjacent areas far outweighs any good the sales may have done. I believe this is one way he curried favor with LRH early on. And Ron bought it.
The individual with no conscience who will do anything for his own self aggrandizement is the guy who gets the kudos. It fosters sociopathic behavior. The proof of that is so evident in the Co$ today. Self importance and status are the holy grails of its members.
The out-points of the destruction caused by miscavige and his ilk and even LRH when he operated from that viewpoint are thoroughly not-ised by the party faithful.
Posts like this one, and Mike’s and others who were there are so valuable. Thanks.
Les
+1
Excellent, and accurate, post!
From what I’ve read, LRH was a troubled soul as far back as you can trace his life. He had many facets to his personality both good and bad. And he was aware of it. In his later years, it seems his ‘good’ side became completely submerged.
In Admin Know How 15, USES OF ORGS, I think he was writing about himself (his both sides) when he said,
“There are two uses (violently opposed to each other) to which Scientology orgs can be put. They are:
1. To forward the advance of self and all dynamics toward total survival.
2. To use the great power and control of an org over others to defend oneself.
When a decent being goes to work in an org, he uses (1).
When a suppressive goes to work in an org, he uses (2).
When you get in ethics, the decent one raises his necessity level and measures up. The suppressive type blows (leaves).
It is of vital interest to all of us that we have orgs that serve to increase survival on all dynamics. And that we prevent orgs being used as means to oppress others.
The answer, oddly enough, is to GET IN ETHICS exactly on-policy and correctly. And we will advance.”
Steve, thanks for this wonderfully truthful and observant post. I experienced the same things–learned the tech in an org, had great success as an auditor, came to the base around the same time as you and started to witness people getting yelled at in an evil way. The first time it happened to me was when I was asking Karen West something concerning what she said that I didn’t understand. She was high-up CMO exec at the time. She SLAMMED her hand down on her desk and just repeated (YELLED) the same words again. Charming. I think my whole body jumped a little up out of my chair in shock. My first reaction after settling down again was thinking to myself “Where does LRH say to treat a subordinate like that when they ask to clarify something….” Of course I didn’t hear another word of hers after that…..whatever she said…. LOL….
Longer story short, I appreciate any posts that differentiate the actual discoveries of the tech, and it’s proper use, from the bullying tactics and extremely off-Source methods of dealing with subordinates and even pcs that has become the way of the RCS.
For example, Lisa Schroer was never tech-trained so arrogance had to help her pull off “executive success” because she had no comm cycle and no way to create ARC with juniors. She could only enforce control. For all the years she’s been there she never did any training….what…over 30 years now. That’s RCS in it’s finest. Karen West was trained, maybe even Briefing Course, and she’s an example of being consumed by Bully Tech. I’m sure she remained a wonderful auditor….not.
Anyway, again, thanks for being so complete in your description. And also, Mike, thanks for keeping this blog going, exposing the craziness and also continuing to make this extreme differentiation between then and now better known.
Gato Rojo, Sounds like Karen West was just dramatizing the “winning valence”, adhering to the group ethnics and participating in the contagion of aberration that has fatally infected the SO, the closer to the top, the worse the infection. No, it does not make sense that the basics of Scientology get thrown out the window by the SO, and it makes even less sense that those SO members not trained are in fact mis-trained into the black Scientology of destroying ARC, and managing by intimidation and force. But even most of those trained fall into the trap under the strain of the duress and force used to retrain them. The way SO behaves vs. what it Scientology teaches under the heading of things like ARC and communication is one of the great dichotomies of Scientology.
+1
Thank you! This helps me see the situation more clearly. I have not yet thrown away all my books, lectures and e-meters. I’m still observing (obnosing)… what to keep and what to throw away. I know that LRH was NOT Enlightened… the way he died shows that clearly. Even so, at some points he seemed to reach great heights of insight.
I definitely don’t feel like Scientology is a religion. It’s a way to clear away confusions so that one might be available for Love or Spirit to flow through more effusively… however, it’s seems to me to be more like self-help. Very sophisticated self-help. Or help with an Auditor. That does not mean that everything he said was God-like, or that I should never read anyone else… like Bruce Lipton or Osho or Lao Tzu or whoever else I might find contributing to my understanding this giant entertainment that we are all living in.
Thank you for your insight and for you and your wife’s 100 years of experience with the tech. Thank you for contributing to my life.
Thank you Steve. Your comments are always very useful and sane. Coming to grips with the truth is not easy, but you are helping to make it less difficult.
Very, very well said! And after having been a Scientologist and a staff member since the early 70’s, I can agree with you utterly. Some of the staff I had personally met and in part worked with, who did not seem to rely on fear and force, but use SCN basic tech, were Mark Yeager, Guilliome and his Deputy (a huge Danish or Swedish guy, whose name I have forgotten). They really tried to help – at least what I observed in the early 80s, by using using basic SCN technology.
Brilliant Thoughtful, what a contrast! I too, came up in Scn as an auditor at SFO. I spent years studying the real basics, the axioms and logics, the basic auditing series, WHILE auditing, full time. The most basic principles, truth and as-isness became my primary ideal. Nothing should be done in the name of Scn that does not align with these ideals. I took the “what is true for me” datum seriously and started out very skeptical. In HCOB’s, LRH’s goodness, sanity and deep caring for people shone through, despite his failings. I think he was trying to develop 3d tech, like an OT manual, but I believe this was an off purpose and illogical effort. OT just needs to be achieved, and then, they do what they will. That’s the nature of beings, to be unique, different, and “non standard”. It’s the folly of herding cats.
So true Hallie Jane! +1
Nicely put Steve. It’s always good to hear a viewpoint that can differentiate and clearly state such sentiments without hint of disillusionment in the value of the actual philosophy of Ron’s tech itself. I have yet to find someone who actually knows and applies the tech as it’s written who doesn’t get the results with it or feels the need to bash it.
I don’t have to imagine how it would have effected me if those I’d trusted were actively betraying me or letting their own greed or power hungers or stupidities or fears get in the way of their jobs. We’ve all lived it to a greater or lesser degree.
The “sea org” idea in my opinion was a big fail – not so with the tech.
I always thought LRH was bypassed and he didn’t ordered that witch hunt in 82/83. Any of this actions were so contrary to the philosophy of scientology. How could he become so crazy. I didn’t even recognize his style on thoses policies after 1982. I didnt feel it was him. Mike you really saw him giving these orders?
When I read this PR serie you quote, it’s so clever, so true. I love the style and the concept. How can the same men wrote a big SP shit issue like OT Eligibility which violates even his own policy “scientology the flaw” (where he talks about inspecting before the fact). How did he start to have cop/fascist viewpoint? Makes no sens to me.
FG — if you study there are many contradictions between the philosophy and the dictates on how it is to be administered and protected. It goes back a LOOONG way. There are some pretty outrageous things said in PABs about dealing with “squirrels” in 1954. There is a LOT in the mid to late 60’s about how squirrels and enemies are to be treated. Those who try to pretend they do not exist or don’t mean what they clearly say are simply not confronting reality. Does this mean the philosophy is unworkable or untrue or wrong? Of course not. There is a great deal of wisdom imparted to the world by a lot of very flawed men through the ages.
True to all that you say so true true true.
I will take whatever responsibility I see. I will build upon it. I will construct. I will create. I have just begun to rise to myself. I know whom to thank.
Steve, thank you for a very insightful post. You and Mike are really helping us and the world at large with your large doses of truth and shining light on things that are hard to confront. Keep up the good work. And I’d love it if you both wrote a book, either collaborated on one book or wrote two separate books!
Great post Steve,
That puts a lot of quibbling to rest and validates what needs to be validated!
Thank YOU!
Greta
@Thoughtful,
Thank you for your comment. It is one of the most interesting articles of late. I have experienced the same cognitive dissonance: the tech on one side, and the behaviour of (int) management and some staffmembers on the other. There is a huge amount of mis-application and misunderstanding of the tech. There are only a few who really understand.
Nice post Steve.
For sure the Ol’man wasn’t perfect and like any person. There were contradictions
As Mike says he wrote “What is Greatness” then on the other hand he’d issue “Project Squirrel” or even though he never specifically endorsed the idea suggested that anyone who was declared “Fair Game” “can be lied to…. etc, etc…” it was obviously suggested that this is the way to handle your enemies.
Funny because in his Intel Conference he says this is one way to make more enemies!
Yet like anyone else he was learning.
For instance he wrote the Scientologist Manual on Dissemination where he talks about disrupting squirrels and yet years later writes Superior Org Image where he basically says don’t worry about ’em.
He also at times violated his own policy obviously in the case of the whole Franchise debacle.
I mean instead of a commend. The ones responsible should have been Comm Eved for using heavy ethics on Franchise Holders.
Also like Pilot he let Management do what it wanted with Mayo and basically turned him into a Martre.
Another thing is that he could have demanded a full B of I on the whole GO thing and had the findings published instead of like the one armed warrior amputated his right arm.
Many mistakes he made. That we all made. At the time that basically led to where we are right now.
Excellent post Thoughtful. Poignant and thought provoking!
One thing that I have pondered for a long time, is what did the journey LRH embark upon in the 30s and 40s actually do to him, mentally, physically, spiritually? He didn’t blaze the first usable trail to Yellowstone Park or Yosemite. He mapped a workable technology to the human mind and spirit. What scars were left unhealed as a result? What dark corridors did he venture down and only escape from years later, when the technology began to form into something workable and consistent?
When I listen to tapes or read books that he authored in 1951 I hear the clear and undiluted excitement in his voice. He’s seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Everything is in color, vibrant and alive. When I read his bulletins and policy letters from the 1980s, they are all somber, dark and filled with fear. Whatever LRH was, he was not immune to restimulation or the cascading effect of years of unresolved case and life issues. He ultimately went the effect of his own ambitions, which in a way, is a cruel reward for all his hard work and efforts. He elevated himself to the status of creator in some ways – saw the absolute need to remain there and this, in my opinion, was his undoing.
There are so many great anecdotes here. I got into SCN in 1972 and met some of the most compassionate people I had ever known. Within three years I was staff at GO WW and that dwindling spiral was already underway. Compassion was out – heavy ethics was in. We as a group were so FOCUSED on getting in and preserving Tech & Policy, that we didn’t have the time to apply it. How crazy is that!
Almost every thread connected to this post, reads the same way. People on staff, in the SO, manifesting 3D insanity at a level that didn’t make sense, all the while doing it, to keep SCN and the Tech alive. What a contrary fact – what a GPM!
Let’s keep these coming. As-is-ness is the way out!
+1
The seed of DM¨s arrogance was probably first planted when he arranged himself to be the one feeding the data to LRH leading up to the destruction of the mission network. No wonder LRH’s dispatches were so out of sorts: he was being set up by good old DM himself. How many times larger would Scn be today had LRH just left the missions alone and concentrated on the orgs: 20? 100? A lot for sure. Some day all DM supporters will realize just how bad this guy has been for the philosophy of Dn and Scn, its PR, the organization, LRH and his PR and the many parishioners who joined the movement with good hearts and intentions.I didn’t see it myself when I first blew but it is as clear (and obnoxious) to me now as that tent in Clearwater.
DM will end up like some sort of weird circus attraction from the Victorian era – people will go and watch him and maybe his BFF wailing “You don’t GET IT! We are the true LRH supporters – you’re all just a bunch of dilettantes…”
Truth
Dan, glad you raised this issue. I always wonder too, how many of these issues from LRH may have actually been written by Miscavige or Broeker.
Good point simple.
I was wondering about the providence of some of those “RAs” back then and thinking at times that Miscavige or Broeker or both were making shit up.
I mean the whole Mission fiasco was a total violation of HCOPL ‘Ethics and Franchise’.
The heavy handed way the GO was “handled” by Franks then Gleason was pretty much a report performance of the FBI’s “Chain Saw Massacre” back in ’77 and the underhanded way Miscavige and CMOI deposed Mary Sue and eventually “abolished” both the Controller’s Office and GO in violation of HCOPL ‘Seniority of Orders’.
The way Mayo and a number of Execs were “handled” back then by squirreling the Running Program and having them run around a tree in the desert heat for 15 hours a day.
All the declares being issued at the time of veteran SO members including Diana’s former husband Jon Horwich.
The creation of RTC and CST neither which are mentioned in Policy which allegedly supersede HCOPL ‘Substance and First Duty of HCO’.
I mean you’d think after all these years there would be policies amending ‘Substance and First Duty’ and both HCOPLs ‘Guardian’ and ‘Controller’ per the HCOPL ‘Policy; Source of’ but this hasn’t been the case leaving a vacuum of power for a low life crim who many of us believe is being remote controlled to be sucked into it like a cockroach on the carpet being sucked up by an Electrolux.
Not to mention the arrival of “SPDs” Scientology Policy Directives that most public are unaware of which alter actual policy. Along with various BPLs, BTBs that someone has signed the Ol’man’s name to that he never wrote and probably never saw.
And various “HCOBs” and “PLs” (one which Robert Vaughn Young has since admitted to writing) that allegedly ‘cancel’ the PL canceling Disconnection and the one abolishing Sec Checks which were the key actions instituted as part of the original ‘Reform Codes’.
And so many other “changes” as in alterations that occurred after the coup as I call them took over.
Finally yeah the Ol’man did grant unlimited ethics power to Missionares but back then there was a Board of Review and an Ad Council to review all ethics actions taken by the SO and a *functioning* petition line and as a last recourse an effective SO #1.
And the occasional issue of Amnesties according to the Amnesty Policies.
Non of these options currently exist in the current Government Approved Church of Scientology.
In fact the last one issued exactly according to policy was granted after the ‘Secret Closing Agreement’ and there has been none since.
Robin — you seem to want to ignore what the “Ol’Man” wrote that is indisputable and pretend everything was butterflies and unicorns and that the dismantling of the GO was done by “others” (Franks DID start it, Kerry Gleeson had nothing to do with it other than being the short lived ED Int after Franks was removed following the Mission Holder Convention fiasco).
Please read Marty’s last book. The handling of the GO and Mary Sue was done with full consent of LRH. HE threw Mary Sue to the wolves and disconnected from her. I know this for a fact. I was on watch dealing with her letters that she sent to him in 1979. It was a dreaded task as he wanted nothing to do with them or with her and it was a known cause of upset to have to inform him that another letter had come in from MSH and to propose replies for them. He issued the order that nobody who had engaged in any GO criminality was to be allowed anywhere near a Scientology organization “even if they grew wings.” And that was because they were a PR LIABILITY. The orders about the GO from the “Ol’Man” were the harshest things I have ever read written by LRH. He considered the GO and Mary Sue had utterly betrayed him and was not kind about it. The only thing I have seen harsher from him was what he had to say about David Mayo.
Look, I have defended LRH, and continue to do so, for his humanity and brilliance and the knowledge he distilled and the technology he did make available. But the idea that he was a complete fool that had no idea about what was going on and was so incompetent that he was not aware of what was happening is silly. Yes, Miscavige made himself look good no doubt, and created a dangerous environment for sure as it was to his benefit to do so — but you are talking about pulling the wool over the eyes of the guy who WROTE the Data Series.
There are a lot of paradoxes in the life and writings of L. Ron Hubbard.
He wrote “My Philosophy” and also wrote “Counter Attack Tactics” and “Intelligence Principles” that say to utterly destroy your enemies even if by manufacturing lies and evidence against them.
As they say on Facebook: “It’s complicated.”
I think you are too simplistic when you try to explain everything away as if everything is someone else’s doing.
LRH mandated CST and RTC be created. He also mandated that his Estate could NOT be transferred to CST unless it had tax exemption from the IRS. So the “Government Approved Church of Scientology” is what HE DELINEATED in his Estate Planning (and that was laid out LOOOOONG before the last changes in his will that took out any money going to Pat and Annie Broeker and others).
You have a right to view things however you wish. But as I have said before, I am pretty liberal about allowing commenters on here, but when I see something I feel is important that is not accurate I try to correct it with the information I have.
Maybe I should do a post one day of the “greatest hits” of LRH writing about how to deal with “attackers” and “SP’s” because they are NOT sweetness and light. And they are NOT just about the “real attacks” of the 60’s.
I, for one, would be relieved if you did post thse “greatest hits”. This kind of information can help dispel illusions and perhaps assist a return to reasoned conversation.
Mike,
I am not trying to explain away anything.
I am writing down what I personally observed.
I’ve also given the actual policies violated in each case as well.
Another thing if the GO and Controller was such a PR Liability than why wasn’t HCOPL 1 March 66 along with 29 Jan 69
canceled ?
True according to Trust B he wanted CST to be created with the objective of Tax Exemption but yet he never canceled the blanket transfer of Copyrights and Trademarks “in perpetuity” to HCO.
So what’s up with that?
You mention Counter Attacks and Intel Principles yet it is possible that these GO Dirs were written by others like for example Mo or Jane.
As I suspect many of these RAs were by possibly Pat and Dave.
The old man had a lot on his plate back then:
*Defending his estate against NIBs
*A full IRS audit.
*Efforts by USG to implicate him in the whole GO 1361 debacle.
*The ICs sudden interest in OT phenomenon after SCANATE.
*Actual infiltration
etc.
The above aren’t just the Ol’man’s paranoid delusions but are well documented.
Robin — try to find HCOPL The Guardian anywhere in Scientology. It WAS canceled. Used to be in the OEC. Is no longer.
I cannot ask LRH why he did what he did in his estate planning and “forgot” to cancel the PL about copyrights belonging to “HCO” (HCO is NOT a registered corporation and thus cannot own copyrights in any event). This is a silly question “So, what’s up with that?” You infer this is some sort of nefarious thing as if there are NO inconsistencies ANYWHERE in all of the things that LRH ever did. Are you really serious? Maybe it was actually Petetr Hemery that wrote the PL about HCO owning the copyrights in perpetuity…
Jesus, you ARE trying to explain away everything.
Counter Attack Tactics and Intelligence Principles WERE written by LRH. I have seen the originals and reissued them as OSA NW Orders.
Anything that is inconvenient to your rigid view of things could “possibly have been written by someone else.” Well, on that rationale maybe it was really Dr. Winter who wrote DMSMH? And why wasn’t it cancelled when the Clearing Course was released and then uncancelled again when Dianetic Clearing was issued in an HCOB and NED was developed?
For someone who claims to want to know facts, you are really obtuse when it comes to these sort of things. And while you CLAIM that it is things you have “observed” that is NOT true. You did NOT observe Mo or Jane writing those things? That is your dub-in. You did NOT observe that the Guardian PL was NOT canceled.
Come on Robin. Stop and smell the coffee. Confront reality. It doesn’t actually make anything different if you confront it. You can still be a friend of LRH and a practitioner of his technology. Personally, I find it gives a better understanding and perspective on what he accomplished not to try and pretend there is nothing inconsistent, distempered or wrong in 30 plus years of compiling a philosophy. It’s more REAL.
Thanks Mike for educating those of us who weren’t privy to the inside workings. This post was so important and so jaw dropping for me anyway. I see the Latham happening before my very eyes as friends are being summoned to a Comm Ev and they don’t even tell the person what the charges are on the Comm Ev–it is just a tactic to get you in there in person.
How ironic that Ron wrote, “The Simon Bolivar Story” about Simon Bolivar and his lover, Manuela Saenz and in it he tells people who are close to power, to use some of that power on their own and do whatever it takes to protect the power and to lay to waste the enemies of that power. So Ron writes that, and Mary Sue does exactly as he says a loved one should do in the Simon Bolivar story, and then he turns on her and says she betrayed him and treats her horribly when she was only trying to protect him and help him, just as his reference outlines. Not his finest hour to say the least! I hope Mary Sue destimulates in this next lifetime.
Interesting observation about Simon Bolivar.
And ultimately, LRH ended his life alone in a “ditch” (trailer home)….
Mike, You really should write a ‘Memoirs’ a la Marty. You have had the fortune/misfortune to be privy to events that fit into the category of ‘truth is stranger than fiction’.
Not only would it add to the great 3rd dynamic de-abberration that has been going on, but with your humorous and charismatic writing style, it may become a best seller.
I really appreciate your candor Mike. I, for one, would love the greatest hits post. Any true data about the causes of various events is extremely valuable. It does a lot to explain the skitzo clusterfuck that the c of s has become. The tech of as-isness on one hand, and nazi insanity on the other. No wonder we need decompression.
Mike,
Thanks for the background Mike. I was never there and most of the data I got second hand.
BTW I never said that I “observed” Jane or Mo writing those policies. I said I suspected that they could have been written by others.
Personally I don’t know what the hell was going on up lines. Just that a lot of declares were coming down the pike of veteran Scientologists and SO Members who were OLs (a segue to your blog) so you could say there was a lot of confusion and uncertainty in the “rank and file”.
Leaving a lot of us to speculate on what was going on and thus forming our own conspiracy theories about the whole scene.
Anyway I heard about the Rifle incident where Ron had removed the GO and moved to Creston with Pat and Annie but I figured it was to distance himself from any possible indictments that were coming down.
What you told me conflicts with rumors that I heard at the complex that he would meet with Mary Sue secretly at PAC.
Also from what I read in the Munchkin Behind Scientology that it was Miscavige on his own bat who convinced MSH to step down.
Now regarding cancelation.
As you know from reading ‘Policy; Source of’ this only applies to actual Policy or HCOBs which is why theory is never canceled and why Dianetics would still be in force as well as any other book on the subject.
Also per the HCOPL Seniority of Orders there are standard ways to abolish networks not just omitting them from the latest squirrel edition of the OEC.
As far as I’m concerned Policy is senior to advices or anything ever written outside of this parameter even in a moment of pique by the Ol’man.
(like fer instance the whole Mission debacle)
Now if you would be so kind as to post these issues you mentioned. Maybe we can have a discussion here that might at least see parts of this 3rd Dynamic engram called the Church of Scientology from a different perspective.
I mean each of us contributes in our own way.
Mike,
Thank you for your honesty. It is very refreshing to see. So often I see supporters of the Tech refuse to even consider the possibility that LRH had his own faults. Clearly the situation IS complicated and retro-active airbrushing ultimately doesn’t help anyone.
I firmly believe that a resolution of a problem requires the ability to honestly confront the situation, no matter how unpalatable that might be.
And, there is a very BIG problem with Scientology right now. Miscavige is one aspect but another is the inherited attitudes and behaviours that might have once seemed useful but now have no place in today’s world. A reformation is required, from the top to the bottom.
Hey Mike, awesome post and great comment here. Not sure if I want to push out two great big Thumbs Up now, or go to a corner and cry for a bit. Very Interesting.
I was on staff at GO WW in the summer of 1977 – a.k.a the summer of the Raid on CC Int, US GO and other locations. Walking into the Manor the day after the raid, was like walking into the White House after JFK was shot. A State Funeral would be considered festive compared to the overall pall that hung over the place that day.
On that morning we also embarked on three straight weeks of a redacting frenzy that swept through GO WW. (Redacting – the act of removing or obscuring text on reports, prior to release.) Everybody on post, except maybe the telex operator, was given a new job – go through thousands of files and remove every mention of LRH, MSH, GWW and several other acronyms that were present in them.
Without going into a lengthy story – which perhaps I should do at a later date – I can attest that from the hundred or so files I personally went through, LRH was involved in Operation Snow White. The program that drove some terminals to engage in unsavory acts against the IRS and other agencies. Did everyone at the top know about what was being done? Again, based on what I saw and read – you bet.
Was everyone in the Guardians Office privy to this or engaged in it somehow? No. I can’t tell you how many sideways glances I got from other staff (PR, Legal, Qual, HCO) , all working together in a room, thinking WTF is this all about? I didn’t know about it and I knew a lot. In my opinion, and I am firm on this, the tip of the spear, in regards to this activity was located at US GO. The plan was originated at GO WW and above by several key terminals, but was then executed by a handful of people at US GO and in its field.
Years after this event, I met with, and listened a good deal to the stories told by the black-baggers who actually did the deeds that ultimately brought about prison sentences for most of the acronyms above. The chain of command went through US GO. I feel these few facts are important in order for us to have a little as-is-ness regarding some of the crap that has gone on in the past.
The GO that I knew up until 1982 or so, was comprised mostly of dedicated, well-meaning people, with a proportional number of fucking nutters, who thought sticking their tongues into a live electrical socket was okay, as long as the order telling them to do so came through the correct channels. It’s that simple at times, as much as we may want to have more sophisticated reasons for the shit that has taken place over the years.
What LRH did in coming up with the Tech, was literally priceless. Was he as exacting in his personal life – evidence abounds that he was not. I think we all deal with that fact in our own way and that’s fine.
Very emotional post and comments – Well done Mike – thank you.
Thanks OT. This matches with my understanding. I know about the intense efforts to eradicate any evidence of LRH or Mary Sue or Jane Kember involvement. Ultimately, Mary Sue took responsibility for what happened and had the buck stop with her. She WAS the top of the “GO Command Chain” and it deliberately set up that way. LRH knew she would fall on her sword for him. And so it was. Not very noble for him, but sort of understandable if you felt (as he did) that the survival of Scientology depended on his presence but more importantly on him NOT being convicted.
Unfortunately, the true beginning of the end for LRH was when he abandoned MSH as she was the ONLY person that could ever tell him he was erring.
It’s a bad position for ANYONE to be in that they have NO checks and balances. Look at every dictator in history. Look at Miscavige.
Dan, I’ve often said that DM could have gone golfing for the last thirty years, and Scientology would have easily expanded ten times over what it is today.
It took his full concentration and dedication to destroy something that was built by thousands of others over the thirty years before his time.
He’s an SP. That’s what he does… destroy things.
I just saw “12 Years A Slave” last night. The bad plantation owner played by Michael Fassbender looked to me to be the epitome of DM. Crazy, cruel and destructive for no reason. Loving to watch the degradation of everyone around him and inflicting severe punishment as a sport.
Hi Mike
I have been a Scientologist for 56 years (I am sure that there cannot be too many of us left with that time on the clock). However, I have now resigned from the church. Not declared (yet), resigned!
My wife Wendy Bowman is one of the 18 just declared in South Africa, she is highly trained and a veteran of 50 years in Scientology. Her crime was to point out Tech outnesses and violations of KSW to her friends and associates.
Looking for answers to life and the universe I found Scientology as a teenager in 1957, left South Africa to study in England and did my HPA at 37 Fitzroy Street London. My HPA certificate is personally signed by Ron, whom I also knew personally, and is the one that hangs on my wall! I am also highly trained, a Briefing Course graduate from AOSH UK and have audited hundreds and hundreds of hours using LRH Tech!
Back in South Africa Wendy and I became the major tech terminals for the Port Elizabeth Org for ten years. Despite the numerous attempts to take us out we succeeded in booming the Org and kept it that way for the duration of our time there. We also served time on various posts (including Execs, Course Sups, C/Ss and auditors over the years from 1962 onwards) at Jo’burg Org, Jo’burg North and AOSHUK.
The point I am making is that between the two of us there is over 100 years of Scientology experience that is of no interest to the corporate church, and I appeal to all those who know us around the World and who we have helped over the years to just look and realize that the church, as it exists now, is in a Condition of Treason to LRH. Your bridge, your future eternity are all available to you away from, and outside of the corporate church that has become fixated on fundraising rather than auditing pc’s and training students; the real products of organizations.
It is vital that the loyal Beings amongst us carry the Old Man’s technology into the future …. and keep it free from suppression, greed and alter-is, and above all use it to help others.
ML
Alan Bowman
OT 5 & Briefing Course Grad
Hello Alan!
Thanks so much for showing up here and making yourself known….
Really, the problem is that Miscavige DOES NOT WANT people who were around during the time of LRH. So your experience, rather than a plus, is a huge negative….
Oops, I meant to say “…a huge negative to Him.”
You inspire me sir! Thank you
Welcome Alan!!
What a fantastic story! Thank you for what you have done and are doing now.
Hello Alan, I’d like to invite you and Wendy to add your names to the Indie 500 list. http://www.scientology-cult.com/declarations-of-independence/268-the-indie-500.html
The short introduction at the top explains and says who to contact.
Welcome Wendy and Alan! And it is so sad that Mike speaks sooth when he says that your 100 combined years of experience working with LRH tech is a big detriment to DM because you know the tech he violates daily, and you can see and you try to KSW by writing up tech outnesses, and that is why he got rid of your wife and why you correctly assigned the church Treason to LRH. You will flourish out in the free world. Thank you for your years of service!
Alan and Wendy Bowman
Fellow comrades from St. Hill SHSBC.
Happy to see you !
Please be in touch
Karendelac@gmail.com
*******Hugggggggs*******
Thank you Alan! You made me cry.
Hello Alan, and well-said. The tech is out here for anyone who wants it.
Alan, I’ve been an activist against Corporate Scientology for a couple of years, and I focus on trying to spot trends that are emerging in the organization so that people can better understand what to do next. I have a sense that the current situation in South Africa is about to be repeated in other locations around the world, and that it is far more important to the overall future of the Church than it might initially seem.
Since I’m a “never-in,” I lack a deep network of contacts of independent Scientologists or ex’s in many places outside the US. I would be interested in talking to you about your recent experiences with the SA org. If you were to ask Mike Rinder, I think the chances are good that he will tell you that I am a careful researcher and that I try to be thoughtful in collecting data and presenting it fairly to the best of my ability. I recently started a blog where I try to put to work my Wall Street investment management experience (a long background in economics, corporate strategy, and financial analysis) to work in predicting the future of the corporate church. Part of predicting the future of the Church is looking at what will happen internationally, and this is now more up in the air than it has been.
I encourage you to look at my blog, which I just started this week after writing hundreds of thousands of words at Tony Ortega’s site, at http://www.johnpcapitalist.com. If you’d be interested in sharing your experiences to be interviewed in more detail about what you’ve previewed here, either for publication or for background, please contact me at johnpcapitalist at (sounds like “gee male”).
Thanks!
Alan, thank you for your comm and welcome to the indie blogs.
Do you know Peter and Penny Khalid? I would think you do.
Do you happen to know if they are still alive? The phone numbers and email addresses i had for them when they were living in Clearwater stopped working a number of years ago. They were dear friends of mine. If you (or anyone) has any info on what has become of them or where they are, i would appreciate it.
Alan and Wendy,
Wonderful to see you here and a hearty welcome!
I hope you both will just be able to continue your work, UNPESTERED and with NO arbitrary tech.
Greta
Jaw dropping post Mike. Fantastic.
It always amazes me to see how Scientology (corporate) can implement the most violent and irrational policies while touting that they are the group that will save this planet Earth. If this is how a group would govern, then I would want no part of them.
Wow, how prescient. I joined the Sea Org in 1982 and there was a lot of heavy ethics actions gong on – I guess as a sort of spin-off from the Latam Strategy; Ron Hopkins with Andy Hutton as his sidekick would strut around the UK Orgs declaring people on a whim. Even as a green SO member it looked and felt like madness. (Wasn’t too long after that before middle-aged and married Hoppy disappeared with his tail between his legs after having sex with 16 or 17 year old Celeste Oram, but that’s another story).
As far as today’s scene is concerned, Mike you are absolutely right to highlight the differences, but more broadly the very notion of “unlimited ethics powers” and so on gives me the shudders these days. It’s all just so much psychosis whenever it takes place and whatever the supposed justification for it.
For what it’s worth, Martin & Mreppen, I got out in 1982. I was onlines at the Tustin Org in Orange County. If I remember correctly, prices were inceasing 10% a month. Come to think of it, that might have been a bit earlier. But, there was quite a few staff and public defection at that time.
I totally forgot the term “LATAM strategy”. In l981/early 1982 I was the PAC SO Programs Chief, and I recall those weekly advices coming down the lines. Around this same time the rollback advice issues (they’re were 2 of them) came down. In the Spring of 1982 John Wiley and myself were sent to West US Orgs to Rollback the shit out of various orgs and find the External Influences. Crazy times.