This is a new video from my good friend and Season 1 contributor Aaron Smith-Levin.
Here is how he describes it:
I discuss unreported physical child abuse within the Scientology organization, illustrated by a personal experience I recently remembered. When I was 15 years old (1996), while I was a full-time staff member at the Philadelphia Org, an adult public Scientologist knocked me unconscious with a punch to the head in the reception area of the org. Authorities never contacted. Charges never pressed. Details discussed.
Excellent video. Reminded me of some dark black crap run on me back in the day…
Took my rose-colored glasses off for a minute there…
Love the story about Goliath. Very funny. But really, the church was correct in making Sue build that 6 ft. privacy fence because it is conceivable that a labradoodle can be trained to stop a Scientologist from going up the Bridge. They can be trained to cop a 1.1 valence. Lol….
Aaron, this is my favorite video of yours so far…Ive already told you why in our FB group. Im so sorry that happened to you. Its disgusting. All of it.
Aaron, I’ve watched all of your videos and subscribe to your channel. I am just so moved by your honesty on this particular video and I want to thank you for allowing us to see how deeply the wounds of this cult are imbedded. I know it wasn’t easy to share this information but it has a great impact when it comes from someone I’ve come to know and love and respect. I’m always educated and entertained by your intelligence and humor but today you broke my heart.
Thank you for continuing to mine the depths of your experience in order to help others. You are a brave and authentic voice in this battle against a mind numbing cult that exists to rob people of their individuality, spontaneity and trust of the world. How you emerged as the fine young man you are is quite the miracle.
Lynne: “You are a brave and authentic voice…”
What struck me about Aaron is that he doesn’t seem to have an ulterior motive or any private ends to serve, which can cause bias and result in exaggeration, at best. Aaron is simply there to shed light on the truth as he knows it, which to me is what makes him authentic.
Riveting. Informative. Thank you Aaron for your usual wonderful job of necessary communication. Look forward to more.
So let me get this straight . A Golden Labradoodle got a Goldenrod ?
😀 😀 😀
Aaron, thank you for your honesty and your courage. Your story is so powerful.
All I can say is Thank You,
Aaron.
Aaron is my favorite of all the guest speakers in Season 1 of Leah & Mike’s amazing docuseries. I think I’ve watched all of his videos on YouTube to date. I find Aaron so honest and brave to show his vulnerability and appreciate how he makes things so clear (example: “when I say they, I’m talking about the Sea Org, not the regular $cientoligists”). Waiting for his new videos with Mike Rinder in Growing Up In Scientology AND for Aaron’s continued Q & A videos. I’m so thrilled how happy you and your beautiful family are Aaron! P.S. I’m the Facebook person who grew up near where you lived for awhile in PA, Continued best wishes for you all.
That’s very kind of you, thank you.
I just watched your video very powerful thank you for holding in there and getting it out to us!
i was in the church for a short time in comparison to many but had my share of “crap statements” said to me etc….
im now helping and working with others that want to leave but are not able to do it on there own its a little satisfying knowing i can get under the radar to help and hugely satisfying when yet another person leaves!
what i have seen and heard always makes me think about the Hans Christian Anderson story
“The Emperors new clothes ” every one is either to scared to say something in fear or because they may look Stupid ! the OT levels are a prime example ! who in the right mind can believe it and for many years to afraid to speak out till recently that is….
The same reason i think goes to the reason that people stay “stum” don’t speak out in fear of what they will happen to them ! Brain washing to the extreme.
Its people like you that speak with honesty, conviction and truth that helps to see it as it really is. Please take solace and pride that ever time you do a video you are helping someone to see the truth and say “No ” to the Church!
and just think although it was an assault on you as minor it did in fact stop 2 people joining they saw it for themselves! the horror that goes on! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR VIDEOS AND THE TIME YOU PUT INTO THEM 🙂
That really sucks but it is not atypical in Ron’s house of horrors. Children exist to in order to be exploited by the “church” and other scamologists. Just as Ron taught.
L Ron Hubbard didn’t place much value on other humans, did he?
Zero. Zip. Nada! He was a sociopath. And, he was evil.
Old Surfer Dude nailed it Gravitysucks
Winsk, your posts in Hubbard are so true. After seeing the two hour special I have finally accepted Ron as an evil man apologists under a hypno spell.
Your anger Winski is the correct response to the abuse that the madman Hubbard. His doctrines were evil. He resonate with evil. He caused evil. He hid his evil with the tyranny of good intentions.
It was all BS
I just can’t imagine how big shot scientologists with their own kids would at the very least be curious about all this happening. And make the effort to look into it …
I watched the whole thing and was very moved by Aaron’s story. He really explained well the mindset of someone in a group that thinks the group is “the greatest good.” It was truly amazing that Aaron was the one that got “ethics handling” for getting knocked out. If he would have just let the man walk out without talking to him (which is all Aaron did) then Aaron would have gotten “ethics handling” for that. You just can’t win in scientology. I think the church, because of the whistleblowers like Aaron and Mike, will start calling the police and filing reports when laws are broken. One more thing the church will change because of the whistleblowers.
Also, I really enjoyed listening to Aaron’s take on the book he read about the Jim Jones cult. Fascinating.
It’s true what you say. It also just occurred to me that there is an aspect of KSW that easily morphs into victim blaming. The concept that if someone doesn’t get the expected result it’s “What did you ACTUALLY do? What did YOU do wrong?”. As a pc, if you don’t progress as expected, it’s that you’re out ethics or SP…not that there was anything wrong with the situation itself. This mindset has some pretty insidious ramifications.
Yes. Exactly. Jeff Hawkins has so many good articles on the “thought stopping” aspects in this church.
Aaron – so typical, making the person that’s attacked wrong. And then straight to A BOARD OF ETHICS, what happened to ethics gradients?
Great video, my only critique is that the audio was on very low and it was difficult to hear.
PS – I started out at the Ardmore mission back in the stone age, we probably know a lot of the same people.
I had to wear headphones to hear it myself.
So, sound volume quality C-, content and emotional whallop A+.
I love the bravery. The reality, the getting it out no matter how hard. It helps the listener too. Someone explain why, I don’t know. But it does.
The feeling that you don’t want to be a victim, but dammit, shit happened. I get that so hard. Just a powerful story.
As I have always said. If I hit a staff member ,I am out ethics for hitting a staff member. But if a staff member hits me. Then I am out ethics and therefore pulled in a staff member hitting me. Riddle me that Batman ?
Similar to our current head of state, Scientology blames the victims for making the perpetrator victimize them in the first place!!! So insidious.
Aaron, The pc gets blamed for any rape or physical violence against him/her, and yet in auditor bulletin references, LRH says, “There are no dog pcs.” Another LRH inconsistency.
Thanks, Aaron, for your revealing what has happened to you inside Scientology. It is a wonder you are doing as well as you are now. As an impressionable teenager, unloading these abuses now is a tremendous victory for you.
But you (and Mike and Leah, et al.) are exposing the REAL problem of $cn. Every organization has some zany ideas and history. In the case of $cn, the zenu story, etc. is far out there but it is a relatively small part of the big picture.
As you have exposed, the REAL problems are:
1) Working minors in excess of 80 hour weeks, 52 weeks a year. Violates child labor laws.
2) Physical assaults within the organization, and against minors, without notification to the proper authorities. Child abuse at the most basic level.
3) Removing of a child from custody of their parents, even if with parent’s consent, to engage in adult activities to exclusion of basic and primary education.
While there has been no big push yet, I suspect there has been a number of unreported child sexual abuses cases also.
These problems, in addition to family disconnections, are the REAL detriment not only to $cn, but also to the community at large.
I agree. I think the collateral (and often intentional) damage that is done to children are among the most serious of Scientology’s problems.
As a mother and grandmother as well as a human being, it hurts deep in my soul to think that people go out of their way to hurt others because they can. There is not an excuse for this. None.
It’s called agreeing that Ron is special, reading his writings on critics, agreeing that critics are evil people and seeking to destroy them; learned by reading Ron.
Then comes the Scientologists moral outrage that SPs, critics, are the source of all the pain on the planet and that critics are trying to destroy “man’s only hope”.
This demonic training of hate and bigotry all comes from the mind of a Malignant Narcissist.
That one is a hard one to swallow. We trained our minds with the thoughts of a sick individual……… creepy.
Last night, I dreamt that I was a Scientologist & ppl were chasing me…geez, and I only read 2 blogs, read a couple of books, & watched A&E…can’t imagine what dreams I’d have if I had been really in the organization….
@barbet, I have a therapy dog and have been diagnosed with PTSD. I wake up with nightmares which are triggered by the oddest things, and I can almost guaranTEE that watching Mike & Leah will trigger one, but I continue to watch because I need to work through it too, for so many years I pretended that I wasn’t damaged by the organization. I have been out almost 40 years.
Sometimes I step away from the FB groups because the psychosis is too much.
I was in the SO a long time. After I left, I had a dream one night where David Miscavige promoted me to be one of his assistants and I was spending most of my time with him. In the dream, which subjectively seemed to go on for a whole day, I was scared to death the whole time that he would go off on me…so guess it was a nightmare.
Wow…I can only guess how horrible for Valerie & SadStateOfAffairs…
Truly nightmares. I was scared…I woke up thinking they were going to grab me in the dark…I was never interested in Scientology at all…it was weird cult that movie stars joined…now I’ve learned sooo much more & it’s affecting me…subliminal & that’s scary…
Valerie it’s been 35 years for me. A few years ago my wife asked me if I think my Scientology experience still affects me. She reminded me yesterday of this question she asked. She told me that I got angry at her for implying this. Something in me snapped when she asked the question.
Well, reading these blogs and especially writing for them has uncovered some crap that my young 17 year old brain allowed in.
Long story short. Do NOT feel bad that it’s been so long for you. We were manipulated by a bad guy. A guy that now I feel comfortable saying was playing the game of evil.
The man we know as L Ron Hubbard was an evil man. Just loook at the fruits.
Scientology is psycho-hypno-mind control.
Go to Tony’s site and watch video of Mark Ebner. Just watch the hypno zombies accusing Mark and his crew of being criminals.
To the Scientologist Mark is the same level of evil as Hitler. This association was implanted in the mind by Ron to react that way.
These people, Scientologists in Clear Water, are being triggered by the doctrine on critics that was created by a Malignant Narcissist.
We had an SP as a teacher. Ron was the SP he warned us about.
Aaron, thank you for sharing your story–and for bringing Goliath on camera. He is awesome! I am sure he has been a big help to you and your family through this. What amazes me is your neighbor actually built a six-foot fence??? That is beyond bizarre!!! I hope your neighbor sees the light one day.
Pup talk aside…I, too, endured physical assault and being shamed and blamed for it. I (a public person) didn’t go to law enforcement, I wrote KRs. The result was me going to ethics for “pulling it in,” while the offender (Clear at the time of incident), got a pass and went on to do OTVII without any address to his crimes–let alone making up any damage!! How does that happen?
That’s Scientology “justice.”
It wasn’t until recently, quite accidentally, I found some old files and the KR’s… When I read my write-ups, it was like I was reading about someone else–not me.. I had blocked out months of bad memories from that time and completely negated myself..
My “ethics handling” was a totally twisted mind f–k, introverting me into thinking it was all my fault and I was just a rotten human being. I felt the pain and he was “totally fine.” For more than a decade, I completely dismissed the fact that someone had committed a crime against me… The trauma never left–but I didn’t see it for what it was. I buried that one deep.
Brainwashing at its worst.
It’s a sick organization that punishes crime victims, gives a nod of approval to the offenders and denies us the right to report crimes for a chance at real justice.
However, I do take solace in the poetic justice: In the years that followed, he went on to waste his life and likely spend more than $300,000 on a bridge to nowhere. So in the end, he is paying for his crimes, locked away in the prison of belief.
Eventually the nightmares fade into the past and you get on with enjoying life. This is true.
I laughed so hard when I watched that episode with Leah and Mike, about the dog!! Thank you as well Aaron this thing is imploding around David Miscavige It scares me for the people. I believe that the c.o.b. is loosing his mind trying to keep this going, only knowing that it’s falling apart like sand through his fingers,
Absolute power corrupts, absolutely,
I’ve always heard the saying it’s lonely at the top! Sadly I don’t feel sorry for him!
I always thought, what kept me going along with everything, was that we were creating “OTs”, and that some people were genuinely becoming real “OTs” (as in definition 1 and 3, of the Tech Dictionary).
When I had to accept the fact that there were no “OTs” being produced, and that the whole lineup of Hubbard’s full Bridge, was NOT achieving OT people at the end of it, this changes the agreement with the subject.
The subject is supposed to make “OTs.”
If it did, the world would be being transformed.
Needless to so, there aren’t “OTs” like Tech Dicitionary definitions 1 and 3, only people who delusionally think they have tiny moments of “OTness”, but they are not OT per the Tech Dictionary defnitions 1 and 3.
LRH was in a dismal state of mind at the end of his life. He failed at his own “tech” on himself. He was in a pitiful state of mind, failed by his own subject, and luckily he admitted honestly to Sarge, caught on film and a reason to watch the parts of that interview that have been included in the “Going Clear…” DVD (I hope someday the rest is put in the public domain so those of us who can grasp the finer nuances of anything else Sarge communicated). People who have firsthand and second hand info surrounding LRH’s final months of life would be so important to get that info all laid out honestly for posterity.
LRH honestly thought he failed. That unturns a whole lot of things that LRH’s tech and policy statements claim to the contrary.
I have a ? Who is Sarge.?..lol
The claims that $cn makes about the stupendous super powers supposedly attained by every Oatee who’s made it up the Bridge to (not so) Free Dumb would have long since boomed $cn like never before IF they were real. But, since they are as bogus as the day is long, it’s no surprise that $cn’s active membership is pretty much straight down and vertical.
The only really surprising thing there is that more cultists don’t catch a clue by observing the very non-super powered Oatees in their midst. Seeing that not one single solitary Oatee has ever provided an objective demonstration of any of the stupendous super powers that every single one of them should be capable of is about as big and red of a flag that could possibly exist!
Inside Bubble World, the Emperor’s new clothes are being worn by the entire court, yet no one living in that whacked out, space opera fiction world seems able to muster the courage or personal integrity to say what’s perfectly obvious to the rest of us: “You’re all completely naked!”
I see it differently, HF. Many people would were there for another reason and would still be there – if they had just been able to see continue the kind of gains they witnessed in themselves and in others. Things like being able to be free of unwanted emotions as well as having better life skills, and to help others achieve the same – without the oppressive management policies that all but canceled out those gains, as many see it.
Not everyone was there with the intention to be a super powerful businessman, for example, as a result of “building a better ego.” Many of them simply wanted a better life for themselves and others. The big disappointment isn’t at all in not having super powers.
To clarify, the idea of a “super powerful businessman,” as an example, would be an “OT” whose super powers meant having stronger postulates than the next guy, in order to bring about one’s own success – regardless of the detriment of others. Sort of like “the art of the deal,” where fear and competition is the byline.
Perhaps so, Marildi, we’ll never for sure there.
When I was a $cilon in the late 70’s, the real buzz then was all about the miraculous state of Clear and the super-human powers which were supposedly achievable on the Oatee levels, such as stable exteriorization with full perceptics.
Our lower bridge auditing wins just served to encourage us in our belief that if this was good, then those advanced levels would be just that much better. Sadly, that just didn’t turn out to be true and no one that I’ve ever met could actually demonstrate any of the much-hyped abilities that were supposed to be standardly achieved by all those who completed them.
This was before the Xenu myth escaped the lab and before the whole BT exorcism nonsense became public. I really do believe that I and most of my co-cultist friends would have turned and run if we’d been informed at the outset of what $cn’s central beliefs and fundamental tenets of faith are.
In any event, I just feel very fortunate to have escaped the cult while I was still in my early twenties, and to be able to finish college and go on to a full career.
Yes Harpoona, the ever shifting lies of what Scientology promises indeed.
In the 70s and 80s the cheese in the hypno mind trap was exteriorization and total cause over matter. That was it in no uncertain terms.
It’s possible that those who stick up for Hubbard were not Scientologists then. They have no experience of the shifting lies and new grade chart changes as EPs were really never attained.
In the early 70s Ron told us:
THE BRIDGE IS COMPLETE. I HAVE DONE THE WORK FOR YOU. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PUT YOUR FEET ON THE BRIDGE. THE GRADE CHART IS 100% STANDARD. NO CHANGES NECESSARY
We believed him. This was yet another lie meant to secure paying customers. This was yet another conscious deception by the Malignat Narcissist that we allowed into our brains.
I love your dog story. Just wondering but wouldn’t your neighbor get in trouble for watching the show and have to tell them?
So, the neighbor didn’t find out about the show by watching it. She found out about it because the trucks were outside my house and on the street for a couple days. So she found out a show was filming. Then she “allegedly” decided to google my name for the first time ever and “discovered” I had been up to some very bad things (you know, like talking to people). Then she went into the Church and the rest is history.
Didn’t the cherch come down on her, once your episode aired, and she ended up being forced to disconnect from the dog too?
The idea that the dog just wouldn’t understand, but somehow it would make sense to your kids why she could no longer speak with them, just slayed with the pure, unadulterated idiocy of that $cio-logic!
Bless what you are doing … question: What kind of therapy are you involved in to get this all out & into a livable state ?
I call it Carb Therapy. I enjoy the finest pizzas and beers. And ice cream. And wings.
You had me pizzas, beer, ice cream & wings, Aaron. The only thing I would add is a great bottle of Cabernet. You did a great job in the film! Glad your life turned out wonderful! I’m happy for you!
Oh, one more thing. Both my wife and I think you have one of the best smile we’ve ever seen!
seeing you beautiful children attend school & receive a great education, come home & run into mommy & daddy’s arms, be able to play outside & enjoy themselves. The love of your family bond is so apparent, it wouldn’t be like that had you stayed.
Beautiful wife, beautiful children, lovely home & a great dog too!
Keep your video length where YOU want. If you have 45 min to spare, well then, so do I. And I work. A lot!
There is a place for you in heaven ~ hope you know that!
Thanks. When I do short videos, the comments say to do more longer videos. When I do longer videos, the comments say do shorter videos. I figure I should just put out enough content that is enough of both to go around.
It’s enough to make you pull your hair out!
?
Aaron, I love your video and videos 🙂 You are sooo funny
Thanks man. Did you disappear from Facebook?
Wow ? thanks for speaking out , your videos
Thanks for watching. I’m glad people find them helpful. I find it helpful to do them.
Any person or organization that abuses the innocent – particular children – is depraved and should be shut down immediately. Not to mention adding insult to injury by victimizing the victim… is truly beyond the pale. My heartfelt gratitude & best wishes to everyone who bravely speaks out on behalf of those without a voice.
I agree. The question often comes up “How is Scientology really any worse than any other religions?”. My knee-jerk answer is usually “Well, it’s not really”. But one answer to the question is that normally, religions place a high value on the care and well-being of others, particularly of the young and the elderly. And in Scientology…at least at the core of the organization, this is simply not the case.
I know many ex-scientologists have said that a Jonestown ending is unlikely for Scientology. But I think that there are scenarios where it could happen. Not to public, but to Sea Org.
If DM said earth was lost, the SPs were closing in and it was time to join LRH at target two before the SPs could again implant, who would go?
It is a matter of spinning the past lives/future lives mythology in that direction, to those who are vulnerable.
Very interesting point. I’ll take this up in a video shortly.
I have thought of this concept before as well and my personal opinion behind 11 years in the SO is that Sea Org members are taught to survive as their first priority. Wholesale killing or mass suicide of SO members would be counter productive and non-survival. Now, just maybe if LRH would have written an order or made a tape in his own voice urging this to occur, there would be some zealots that would have followed thru but I must say, there is a line that many would never cross. I think the game would have been over at that point. They wouldn’t follow thru.
Plus, most SO members don’t know about Target 2 and if they did that would either seem unbelievable or possibly a lie. SO members are too much into surviving for the cause, not dying for the cause. I don’t think that many people actually believe the Sci-Fi BS that is eventually disclosed in upper levels. I know I thought it was hocus-pocus. Most SCNist know deep inside that there are no OT’s and if you die you are not in control of where the H you are going.
Now there is a topic for a video – that 99% of Scientologist know there really isn’t any Operating Thetans. Maybe they view the concept of Operating Thetans as similar to when you are about 6 years old and you eventually figure out that your parents are buying the gifts, but you still want to believe in Santa.
I love your videos. On your point regarding Jim Jones and his cult, Amy and I watched a documentary on Jones Town a few years ago and we were amazed on how very, very similar it was to the Sea Org. Point for point. It was one of many things that opened our eyes to the fact that we had been in a “CULT”.
Amazing isn’t it?? I’ve felt this way about North Korea…but the Peoples Temple is so much closer to home.
Thanks Aaron. Your testimony is so important. Your honesty and authenticity is so wonderful to experience. Thanks
Brian
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Great as always Aaron! I was wondering why your eyes looked like they did. I am sorry you where sad. As a person who lived just outside of SF when the people ‘s Temple went down I can tell you you are 100% right. People joined it because their social programs where are and real work was being done. Also I hate to say here in CA we are all a little crazy but we let people believe what they want. That’s why the bad and the good are here (I e why Scientology is still here in a big way). I hope you keep up your great work and Leah and Mike keep up their journey too. All your work is important and if one person is helped it will be worth it.
Thanks for the comment. The People’s Temple had support from high level politicians in San Fran and LA and celebrities for YEARS. They ran nursing homes. They fed, clothed the poor & homeless and got them jobs. They were pioneers on the subject of integration, particularly in Indiana. They would attend protests and then clean up all the mess that the OTHER protesters had left behind. The Peoples Temple is just a great example of how some bad people can do good things, and good people, once they believe in a “greatest good” can also do some very bad things.
This video showed a vulnerability that is heart-wrenchingly honest and pure. Thank you, Aaron, for pushing through the pain and sharing with us. I believe it is important for people like you to reveal to the rest of us as much about this topic as you are comfortable sharing. Again, sincere thanks.
Thank you, and thank you for watching.
I noted this in another portion of the blog but will everyone PLEASE take some time to write letters to your Congressman, State Rep, local politician to DEMAND that the Statute Of Limitations on Child Sexual Abuse be REMOVED. There should never be a limitation or time frame on Child Sexual Abuse. Children are VICTIMS, they cannot protect themselves when an adult or teen sexually assaults them.
To REMOVE the current Statute of Limitations on Child Sexual Abuse will put a huge dent in children being trafficked for the purposes of being sexually assaulted by adults who PAY for “their perverse sick pleasure of having sex with a little child”…bluntly stated it is the RAPE of an innocent child. These child are often sold and traded for large amounts of cash until they “Age Out” & are no longer considered “marketable” for use as a sex object by adults.
It’s time to wake up America and stand up to protect OUR children….that’s right….they are OUR children even if we are not related to them.
How was the Catholic Church prosecuted for the pedophilia when the men coming forward didn’t do so until they were adults? Or am I mistaken about that? I thought there was no statute of limitations on child abuse/rape.
McCarren, there were no priests prosecuted beyond the statute of limitations. There were CIVIL settlements however.
Oh wow. Thanks for the clarification.
Exactly….you can make civil suits for wrongs done…similar to the O.J. Simpson and Ron Goldman case….the Goldman’s filed a civil suit against O.J. Simpson.
I’m not sure if that is correct Wynski. I know of several former priests now in jail because of molestations even after the SOLs had tolled
Then they weren’t jailed for anything that was beyond the SoL’s. They were jailed for other crimes Chee. That is de jure.
IIRC some jurisdictions interpreted the statutes as not starting to toll (begin) until the victim had a memory.
For example, someone is molested at age 8 and represses it until it is ‘remembered’ at age 25. The statute starts to run from that moment.
That was a very impinging video. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of another story about Scientology that better exemplifies the mindset of the CoS – or a better reason to do something about it – which is the fact that not just children (although this is especially contemptible) but individuals in general are not afforded the basic rights any civilized country provides for their citizens. This video should be edited for the Aftermath series, or maybe for a “special edition.”
Great job, Aaron. You don’t think of yourself as a critic but a person who speaks out, and I have to say that you are one of the best who do.
Thank you so much.
I love ya Aaron Smith-Levin , but please try to limit the time on your videos… this goes for Sheldon too. I want to hear your voices, but I don’t have time to sit and watch a 45 minute video.
I like them longer – maybe its because i’m unfamiliar with the history and want to learn a lot. I feel like I get a lot more from the lengthy ones.
I like them long.
I thought the video length was fine. Cutting these types of stories shorter might leave out important pieces that the rest of us can benefit from knowing and understanding. It’s also important to remember than these videos are therapeutic in many ways for the people telling them. I think we can give 45 minutes of our time to listen.
@whatareyourcrimes, I respectfully disagree. In a world where we want our news predigested for us then given back to us as a sound bite, perhaps sometimes it’s better to take the time to get a little below the surface of something. I wouldn’t want a video where he stops to pet his dog or trims his toenails while telling the story, but as long as the narrative is coherent, I prefer more personal details than less.
Valerie, it is simply a time thing for me. When a guys dog runs in and gets loving attention that extends a video, for example, that is fine, but I’d like an edited version, not a “predigested” version. Edited does not mean predigested.
Don’t change Aaron. I love your videos and they really help me get through my stretching routine while listening to them. So, if you could make them at least 30 min I’d appreciate it. 😉
his videos aren’t long enough sometimes, I’m actually bummed when they are only 15 min lol BTW you could always fast forward to parts you want to listen to.
(Copied from another answer) Thanks. When I do short videos, the comments say to do more longer videos. When I do longer videos, the comments say do shorter videos. I figure I should just put out enough content that is enough of both to go around.
I loved your real emotions coming through. That SOB Hubbard called it HE&R.
I have some vulgarities that I want to say about Ron. I think I am finally allowing myself to get angry at that f–king Malignant Narcissistic.
After 35 years I am actually contemplating getting therapy about the effects that this madman, this greedy evil bastard had over me. Layers that were buried are surfacing.
And for those who say get over it I just have to say f–k off.
This feeling of anger feels like a resurgence of personal power.
This emotional video might have been the wrong time for me to criticize the length. Sorry if I offended anyone.
My blood boils at the ED saying you should have let him boil and then a Court of Ethics for you. Talk about Wrong Target.
Typo: should have read “…should have let him blow…”
Cindy,
My thoughts too. But the KSW viewpoint is that all failures are failures to apply some policy or tech to one another. The movement members are trapped within the backbone movement KSW blame themselves rules in all cases where there are troubles or failures. The KSW policy absolutely allows them never to blame the inadequacy of the policy or inadequacy of the tech.
Hubbard only at the very end of his life, and seeminly only to Sarge, the ending of Lawrence Wright’s book spells out the vital truth of LRH’s final months of life. That final history of Hubbard’s is just so important to read and re-read and digest the implications of LRH’s final admissions of failure.
That is about the only time that LRH seriously made that admission, frankly, he wasn’t joking, to Sarge, about failing.
Reading Wright’s book final pages is about as good as it gets (besides Marty’s book 3, Chapter “Meanwhile Back At The Ranch”). The spell that KSW puts all the members within, ought be broken, and reading LRH’s final mental state ought to help break the spell the followers are stuck within.
I agree, Chuck. And then later, after he was knocked unconscious, to then blame him for the horrible act of that public person, that is just beyond the pale. The fact that no one helped a 15 year old kid who had been hit hard just shows you how brainwashed everyone was. And then to take it even further and rain ethics and justice down on the victim, that is so whacked.
Jesus, this sick organization could even embarrass the Roman Catholic church.
Let’s all work towards a goal of shutting it down and shunning all of its supporters.
Screw you Tom Cruise and Kirstie Alley. Do you really want to defend this shitty mess called scientology?
Two points:
The abuse in the Catholic Church is expressly condemned by its most sacred texts (it said that the one causing little children to sin will have it worse than someone tossed into the ocean with a giant rock tied to their neck) Scientology says kids are just little adults, and the founder repeatedly mistreated children.
The scale of the evil in Scientology dwarfs even the worst scandals of the Catholic Church. It is everywhere in SCN. Anyone outraged by clerical abuse in the Catholic Church should be calling for SCN to sued into oblivion
Exactly. The criminal organisation known as the “church” of $cientology established so as to allow L Ron Hubbard to get away with crimes. It’s that simple.
Thanks for clarifying that omega…..it is frustrating when people resort to the ‘all religions are bad’ fallacy or the ‘but Christians/Islam/Jews were/are much worse during the Crusades/terrorism/Palestinian problem.
What people don’t seem to understand (or choose to ignore for their own reasons) is that abuse is written into Co$ policy, whereas in other religions it is the failings of man, not scripture.
As an aside, I actually had an online ‘debate’ with a Scientologist on why comparing today’s abuse in the Co$ was not analogous to the Crusades 1000 years ago.
Not only is it not analogous, when I pointed out that the Crusades was wrong and that Christians don’t defend the Crusades, the debate suddenly stopped.
My God! At a young age doing those kind of hours and riding the bus home too! You are a true BIG BEING. So glad you’re out, Aaron! So glad your life is a success!
I have only told this to one other person in the world on the track. She is probably reading this. When I was growing up I was a neglected and often abused child, beaten, punched, whipped, hit with sticks, spoons, made to stay in the house for weeks on end, never given parties, yelled at among other things, while my family did “what they wanted to do” in front of me. So one day I found a Dianetics book and it seemed like the universe changed around me. I could not wait to forgive everyone and we could all go Clear. And here I am decades later sharing with people how that went. The Church of Scientology just couldn’t wait to pick up where their predecessors left off. This life has been the best! 🙂
I am sorry deeply sorry for the pain you suffered. Children were treated badly in days gone by, some adopted kids were adopted ONLY for the purpose of being used as free labor to work the family farm. Children were given up to “orphanages” because there was NO birth control & the parents could not feed another mouth they themselves created. Kids that were born with a disability, were abandoned on church door steps, orphanages, or left in the streets or side of the road to die Some Native Americans thought it was a curse when a child was born with a clubbed foot or other visible deformity & that child was left in the woods/forest to die..
Those that grew up in a strict “religious organization” would do what they were taught to do by their parents or church elders…”spare the rod, spoil the child”. so children were beaten & often.
In reality, some parents beat their children simply because they enjoyed inflicting pain on the child. Other children were raped by their father & some bore children (sadly I had a dear friend whose step father raped her & impregnated her when she was 16)..
Child Welfare would take children away from parents if someone reported the abuse, or if the abuse was seen or widely known, but what happened to those kids, they ended up in old rundown orphanages. Few were adopted & simply were tossed out when they got older.
Even in our modern world of “Foster Care”….the foster parents get paid only up until the child reaches a certain age, (18) & then the payments stop…the “kid” is now on their own, unless he foster parents allow them to continue to live with them for “free”.
The reality of it all is that permanently removing “Parental Rights” is rarely done. The Courts want to keep the family together, so months of “parental lessons” are given while the kid languishes in Foster Care, not knowing his or her fate..& then is often returned to the parental home. .Unless thoroughly proven in a court of law, the child is temporarily in the care of “the state” with “ownership” of the child the parents’.
Many children are in foster care for years, may bounce back and forth from the ho me to several different foster care homes until they “age out”. The parents REFUSE to voluntarily surrender their parental rights to their child, so this is the ONLY option left….the kid is a ping pong ball bouncing back and forth from parents’ home to foster home & round and round it goes for years and years with the child having no real say in what will happen to them.
IMO, parents should be given a chance to straighten themselves out..with parental classes & continued therapy after classes, BUT .if they can’t accomplish that feat & provide what EVERY child needs & deserves…….the child should be placed p for adoption to a stable & loving home.
Oh, honey. You are so brave, and I’m so proud of you.
You were a kid. Your mother (I know your dad wasn’t in) should have protected you. Your dad maybe should have sued for custody. But you should have had parents.
I used to be in and out of scn… Left because of all of the abuses I observed 1985 – 2008
So disgusting. The Cult of Shame, as well as Greed.
Crimes of $cientology
Are way, WAY to many to mention.
Nothing good can come from being a member of Scientology. Nothing!
Absolutely deplorable. I’m so sorry to know that this happened. It’s incredible that Aaron turned out to be the best wonderful, smart, handsome, charming, loving father and husband that he is!
Been watching Aaron for a little bit now and really really recommend his youtube channel to anyone interested. He really teaches a lot about Scientology to those of us on the outside that only know what we see on tv.
Thank you. I’ve been pleased with the positive reception the videos on the channel have received.
This is a great video. Have tissues. You may shed a few tears.