Quote from Karin Pouw letter to Tampa Bay Times June 2012 :
The last three years tell you all you need to know: The Church has doubled in size since your sources left and, since your opening articles in 2009, Church expansion has only accelerated, contrary to the predictions of both the Times and your sources.
It’s but one example. Virtually every media who has written anything about scientology in the last decade or more have received similar communications from the church or its lawyers.
But the facts are very different. There is NOTHING that supports their lies.
To make it VERY easy for anyone, and particularly the media, to grasp, the brilliant Jefferson Hawkins has designed a graphic, published here for any and all to use and reprint. Spread it around. Send it to your media contacts. Keep it on hand.
IAS membership costs $500 per year. If they had 8 million members, that alone would give RCS 4 billion dollar per year. Never mind the other donations, fees for services, book sales, etc. Clearly doesn’t add up.
Very few scientologists belong to the IAS. $500 dollars is a lot of money for a working person. Auditing services and/or courses are not “more affordable” for IAS members (you only get a 10% discount on books and services). Internal statistics (like the number of academy, extension course and public students) would be a better measure of exactly how many. So, the cited figures do not perfectly indicate how truly unpopular the religion is
I disagree. I think virtually every person who is willing to identify as a Scientologist is a member of the IAS. If they can’t afford $500 they’re not going to be going anything in Scientology anyway.
This is why it’s a lie when Scientology claims they have no way of accurately counting the number of Scientologists in the world. The IAS has a record of ever one, even the ones who are no longer scientologists. And the maximum number they ever had was 40,000 and it’s far less than that today.
Well here’s one who ain’t! I read a copy of Dianetics, and was enchanted with it. But then just when I was ready to join up I saw the BBC Prog ‘Scientology the way to total freedom’, and then soon after was approached by a twit in Melbourne. I had to make up my mind quickly, and thank goodness I made the right decision. I told him to get stuffed. Those are not the actual words I used, but you get the general idea. Since then I have been very interested in the facts behind Co$. And the more I hear the angrier I become. The number of people this so-called ‘church’ has led to ruin. All the best to you Mike, and well done for getting out when you did!
Richard C., from what I’ve picked up most active members are regged hard to pay for lifetime memberships. What I think that actually results in, is a lot of IAS lifetime memberships held by people who were once active but left and are never coming back. We’ve even seen children be bought lifetime memberships.
That seems to be reflected in claims of local membership that are hundreds or thousands higher than the obvious reality, and national claims twenty thousand or more too high — and that’s when they’re not claiming the numbers in central files, which are ridiculously high based on every contact over decades.
It’s bigger than the combined users of Google and Facebook!
Mike Rinder, I am going to look through my wordpress tools and do a little research to see if there is a niftier commenting system I can suggest. Not Discus, as I see the torment it causes on Tony’s blog. But here there it’s a little difficult to stay in the comm cycle with people.
Jenni, I remember you very well and would love to catch up with you. IYawn, Odd and Zzzz… thank you for your communication and views. Cindy… I was directing my “missed withhold” reply to you, but it got shuttled down below IYawnalot.
Mike… good job on your writing and keeping the blog going.
To say the church has doubled in size is ludicrous.
47x more real estate?
EMPTY real-estate. The vast majority of the buildings which have been opened in the name of the Co$ are nothing but HOLLOW SHELLS. Nobody there. Nothing inside. Only the sign outside. That’s all! You see the opening of these buildings with great big ribbons over the front, the crowds of Scientologists outside, shouting, yelling, great big smiles on their faces – and a big Video screen with an address by DM saying how wonderful everything is…then they all go home and leave the building hollow.
Honestly!!!
Dan Locke — interesting comments and fascinating story about your efforts to recover people. I got to LA in 1972, joined staff in 1973 and am certain I knew a lot of the people you tried to recover 20 years on. I honestly don’t know how many Scientologists there were in 1972 – I just know that their presence was felt. I also know that there always seemed to be some element within SCN, some facet of it, that inexorably pushed people towards its boundaries and left them there. In my SCN “lifetime” I saw so many good auditors, good supervisors, good people, get passively expelled like this, left there to fend for themselves. Why?
There was such great effort to bring them in. To train and audit them. To get them to change. And yet, there was this almost organic internal action to start pushing them away, just as they were being pulled in. I observed this from 1973 on to the present and never fully understood it.
On staff, on course, in the HGC, this invisible force was in play, pushing people away for numerous perceived grievances, while simultaneously demanding that they give more, do more, be more.
Your comments brought this to mind. One of many conundrums I’ve had to ponder the last few years.
Odd
I have wondered that all my life. Especially when you consider all that it takes to keep someone in a group are occasional wins and acknowledgements. And these can be VERY occasional! And wins, particularly after you’ve gotten through a few basic services, are not hard to get! Acknowledgements and praise? Easy. But you’d think they were hoarded gold in most orgs.
Miscavige has turned the Scientology organisation into a place where no one wins. The crumbs he does leave around with basic services and altered technologies he uses as a bait & switch operation. He cares only for money & power, he despises sanity in any form, look at the overts that guy has committed! Life to him is some dark lonely battlefield of a place.
The strength of 3rd Dynamic aberration is rather easy to see if you really want to look. Looking at it square on will make most people pretty queasy, even the strong ones and results in all sorts of mechanisms to justify it.
Expecting gratification and acknowledgement from miscavige’s $cn is a trap in itself. Best to leave that behind and manufacture some other viewpoint (Factor 28) and gain your certainty back.
Best of luck hooking up with old friends and making new ones, every new day is a beginning of something.
I’ve never been on Facebook but I hear it’s quite expansive.
Hi Dan. When I first got on Facebook I was reluctant to friend you because I thought you were still in the church or under the radar and I didn’t want to get you in trouble. But then I realized you really are out. My name is Jenni Silberstein, you might remember me as Janet Stein.
I would challenge the 40,000 active Scientologists, including Sea Org worldwide.
. . . as being an inflated number.
Mr Jeff Hawkins – truly excellent. Thank you.
I started to get very concerned when all the people I knew who were scientologists were lying to me about things where money was involved. I saw that the more connected a scientologist was to an org the more they lied. I realized bad examples were being set by org personnel. Org personnel were a bad influence. All outpoints pointed to orgs, mostly FSO. I realized this while I was in good standing. Contagion of criminality.
Nice job Mr. Jeff Hawkins.
Sorry you got RPF’ed for basically doing the good job as you did. Glad you are happy now. I was a public person in LA and orgs were mailing stuff to me at many different old addresses. One address they were mailing to was 25 years out of date and I had lived in 7 other places since. It broke my heart when I discovered this – that they were wasting money as I cared about the orgs then. One of the people cleaning up the mailing lists told me this in about year 2000.
My above reply was to Dan Locke.
Great to see Jefferson using his great marketing skills to dispel the lies of this cult. Ironically it was Jefferson’s ad campaign for the cult in the early 90’s that lead to my harrowing brush with it. Cheers to Jefferson, Mike and to all of us who have escaped the abuse of this destructive cult!
Thank you for this!!
Dan, Wow, I got a glimpse into SO justice and I am so sorry for the horrors and grief you went through on the RPF. I knew you personally and you were a good hat, a friendly person amongst the other cold hard bastards. You had heart and could think and see the person in front of you and didn’t just buy the lack PR that existed on people, especially on public. It looks like the RPF is all political…. a head on a pike even if that head is innocent…. innocence is proven and several on the committee finally see it and agree, only to have a higher up who never was there for the Com Ev take a cursory look at the paperwork and utter “off with is head!” so to speak, just because that was the safest solution. No one stuck their neck out for anyone else. I am reminded of the poem, “The Hangman.” Google that and read it as it applies. Dan, I am so glad you’re out and look like you are thriving and flourishing. Continue!
I’ve never quite had the mass on the “vulture culture” within the SO explained so clearly. Dan indeed sounds like a good bloke and was punished for being one. The SO appears to be at war with itself.
One of the more gory aspects case wise I see with that type of culture (apart from the obvious criminality within it) it is the enforced pushing of people and particularly its members down the tone scale to ‘wait’. With the promise of all what Scientology can do and with the hope of being acknowledged for what one does is a powerful natural urge and occurrence. But then to have all that promise being forced to “wait.” Wait is a bitch of place to be parked and it doesn’t take all that long to drop even further or causes some serious backflash.
Didn’t Hubbard stress – “we deliver what we promise” & “the speed of particle alone determines power.”
Military type organisations often walk a fine line concerning the sanity of its members. The SO is proving to be horror of place to be stuck in. And to think a personality like miscavige is in charge of it… oh my…
Yes, a reckoning must be on the way.
Best of luck to all past and present members, may you find some peace from that madness.
You’ve missed my withhold! So, I’ll get it off: the main reason I post here is in the hopes that I will hear from people I knew. Glad that you responded. If you decide to contact me through facebook and say “hello”, I’ll bet you I can think of a few nice things to say to you as well.
Thank you, Joe, for your observations. You’re talking about one of the main things I have sulked about in Scientology. Spot on observations.
In re; 20,000 Scientologists in L.A:
I was SO at ASHO for a longish time, and all the orgs in the Americas and Canada were supposed to send us their trained and processed lists. (We could have asked for the Latin American addresses as well, and did from time to time, to get the new names stat up, but we knew it was a little silly in that we had very few Spanish speaking resources and only the VERY rich of the Latin American countries could afford an AO or SH service.)
But the main reason I bring this up is because we had a list of all the trained and processed in the LA area, and it was in the low 20,000’s. I would talk a lot about those 20,000 Scientologists.
When I was the CO of the WUS Folo Tours Org in the mid 90’s (I know; sounds pretty stratospheric! But, not so! Me and two others with pennies allocated to us to recover people to the orgs in Los Angeles), I got tired of calling and talking with answering machines. So, I ran off big spread sheets of trained and processed people and popped in my car with my Thomas Guide and just went knocking on Scientologists’ doors, uninvited, nights and weekends. I did this for months and month, visiting literally hundreds of people – lots of them Scientologists, lots of them not (you’ll understand better in a moment.)
There were a few surprises, e.g., one instance where two old time classed auditors lived across the street from each other and did not like each other and even occasionally argued – and neither of them knew that the other was a trained auditor or even a Scientologist!
As I went door knocking through Glendale and Burbank, Sunland, North Hollywood and some other neighborhoods, the ratio of good addresses was pretty high: 80-90%. But in many neighborhoods, even the Ramparts area around the old ASHO and Echo Park area close to the old LA org, we were still sending promo to people who no longer lived at those addresses. Most of the time, the current tenants had marked the bulk mail “Return to Sender, Address Unknown”, but gave up on it years before when the Church just continued to send the mail anyway. So, in lots of neighborhoods, the percentage of correct addresses went down to less than 20%.
The idea that I had at the time was to put a group in every zip code, and I did get quite a few groups started that way, but they had about the lifetime of a fruit fly. I’d get the list for that zip code to a few active Scientologists in that zip, and we do a call-in to all the Scientologists in that zip. Some of these were a lot of fun. I also talked with a lot of old timers who I had left hundreds of messages with and who had never called back. So, it was all good in that way. (Perhaps some of these neighborhood groups are still on the roster?)
For about a month I was in a little flashlight beam of a floodlight as far as popularity with management. Diana Hubbard dropped by for a visit and I was told that they (people at Int) thought I was on to something, and G. Leserve talked about it for a moment in an SO briefing. But then, I never understood why, I was sent back to ASHO.
I wrote reports about this and did some calculations about it at the time, but I’ll need some R3R to arouse my somewhat anaten file clerk to get accurate data now… but suffice it to say, that experience very much shook my stable datum of 20,000 Scientologists in the LA area. I think that the truer datum would be, “About 20,000 Scientologists have lived in LA at one time or another. Perhaps 10,000 still do. The other 10,000 or so moved out of LA and ASHO still is sending mail to their addresses.”
Now, to be fair, I know that there has been a lot more attention to correct addresses since then and I imagine that it may not be so bad as it was then. I imagine Div Two people at ASHO now have a lot more accurate idea about how many trained and processed live there, but it’s going to be a lot less than it was in ’98.
(Somewhat germane to the story is that I went to the RPF in ’98 for 6 years. The main things that I got RPF’d for was talking with SPs – in attempts to recover them from my hat as Chaplain ASHOF – and also for distributing mailing lists to public. This was technically a high crime and I knew it at the time. But I had requested approval from Diana to do this and got her OK in that I was giving out the identities to FSMs for recovery purposes, she and I agreed. I gave out the lists to people I knew who I could trust. I had them sign for them and I got them returned every time. But still, it ended up getting me another public hanging!)
Six years in the rpf for communicating! Too bad you’re not in Chiang Mai, Dan. We could certainly talk a lot over some pad thai.
If that is an invitation for a visit, please let me know. Is there a couch, cot, or palm frond available to lie down on?
Lots of cheap and nice guest houses here Dan in the far northwest (not like those wild and crazy beach places). I live in a hotel so alas, no couch!
My, you’ve been busy and I hope your getting your head straight about what you were doing all those years but let me get this straight – you were RPF’d for 6 years because as a Chaplin you talked with people in an effort to recover them? What’s being SP or not got to do with it if you were simply following your duty as a religious counsellor as you saw it (if you can’t trust a Chaplin who can you trust?). In other words as a result of your communicating in an effort to help someone you were more or less put under house arrest for 6 years. Geezers… & the mailing list scenario created what? A potential of lost business for the organisation as a whole?
For heaven’s sake… WITF else does religion miscavige style entail?
Despite not having been run on the processes, I considered myself a total Grade 0. Dianetics ’55 was a valuable book to me. At the beginning of ASHO F, recovery was a big deal, and I thought Ron’s directives about ASHO’s role in recovering people to fully offset the stuff in the justice codes that penalized talking with SPs. So, I was talking with lots and lots of people who were living in L.A. yet had left years before, and many old friends of Ron; people who had once been very well known and very well thought of, but then had became very much despised.
ASHO had literally hundreds of cabinets that were filled with deadfiled CF. I was actually the PES of ASHO Fdn at the time, holding Chaplain from above. And I would go to these folders of people who were once aboard, and I would read their success stories, and I’d pull them out of the file and call them or go see them. In all modesty, I got quite good at this, and got lots of people back on, even without sessions.
It is very true that the intensity of ARC break is in ratio to the intensity of ARC that preceded it. These people who were VERY upset had all been very excited about Scientology before. I got good at rehabbing that, and getting them back on. And it made very clear to me that much of the upsets that had occurred with people in Scientology had been through some very callous treatment.
In re: my RPF assignment, one thing some non-ex-SO might not know: Most RPF assignments aren’t just. Typically the guys I saw there were not overt product makers or R/Sers, they were heads put on pikes. Most were there just by virtue of an order from someone, often unknown. Someone senior makes a decision that so and so is expendable and that shit canning him will send a clear message, and “RPF, here somebody comes!” (An old line from one of the 70’s Flag movies – remember which one?)
Another thing worth mentioning – the wheels of justice move frightfully slow for anyone in the RPF. Yes you can ask for a Comm Ev, a Board of Review, a Review Comm Ev and you can send appeals, and I did; I had many of these things before and during my RPF assignment; even a couple after! But they all confirmed my assignment. (Another thing worth mentioning about “justice actions” is that they give people an opportunity to prove how “tough and unreasonable” they are by generally being completely unsympathetic to the point of view of the person being charged. One is, generally, guilty till proven innocent; even, often, guilty after proving one’s innocence. Even when one sways the viewpoint of a member or members, it is very likely that a “higher-up” on the justice approval line will take the safest solution: hang the bastard.)
Jefferson Hawkins, you are awesome. Thanks for the help.
Extraordinary work from an extraordinary person. Loved your book too:
http://www.amazon.com/Counterfeit-Dreams-Journey-World-Scientology/dp/0615375642
Anyone studying the subject of Scientology after leaving or being kicked out of Scientology for “thinking for yourself” needs to read this book.
Excellent! I wish this could be sent to the “churches” mailing list.
Scientology is so big that everyone on this planet is a Scientologist, they just don’t know it yet.
Ignorance is bliss 🙂
My rather tired spirits just shot way back up with this post!
Copies of this graph will be going out to where they are going to do some real good.
Jeff Hawkins, every compliment I thought of has already been said so I’m backing each of them along with my thanks for what you have done.
Mike Rinder, you rock, you just freaking rock, that’s all.
Okay, forgive me, people, but I have to do it:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hubbard wrote:
“You may not easily be able to detect a false datum because the person believes it to be true”
So for any Scientologist in good standing with the Chult, DM is THE PROPHET!
He has to believe it.
And that’s it.
Dave can do no wrong. He’s the shit, the bee’s knees, the alpha and the omega, leading us all to the promised land. Don’t agree? You’re just some disaffected, off purpose apostate spouting venomous entheta to similarly minded losers. Get with the pogrom!
so what condition are they actually in according to these stats? non-e? enemy?
7 steps below confusion.
Outstanding Mr. Hawkins! Real numbers that involve real people.
Now that puts things in perspective like mere words cannot. Thanks Jeff Hawkins. Your graphics are very clear.
Great breakdown of the master himself!
Bit O/T but good lulz if you browse through the range of scientology related gifts one can buy.
http://www.cafepress.com/+scientology+gifts
It’s funny how quickly things are changing around the RCS.
Just a couple of years ago such a web shop would have brought down overnight by OSA or through OSA influence.
Ps I actually ordered 2 items :-)! Happy shopping for my co-sps.
Clear, to the point, fantastic report indeed. Thank you very much and, in view that no one cares about you and the apostates nevertheless, we will spread it around.
🙂
What a great graphic and I love Dark Avenger’s idea of creating them in an old Soviet or Chinese Red Army rendition.
Thank you Mr, Hawkins!
I just received the latest Impact Mag and thought you’d like to hear an excerpt from the closing words of COB in full Shermanspeak at the 30th Anniversary event. Brace yourself:
“While overall and in totality, we are the rock and fortress of humanity.
So, if I now ask that you support the IAS with equal totality, I do so from a grand perspective that says, a substantial contribution is an everlasting gesture and far more important than material wealth or social status. As a matter of fact, a significant donation is all that stands between a great void where souls are lost forever and a message to billions that finally reads: ‘You are infinite, immortal, omnipotent, and profound. And that’s why we welcome you to Scientology!'”
That is an absolute masterpiece of pure, unsullied Shermanspeak.
It’s becoming more and more a parody of “Holy Rollers” with lost souls in the great void…
Disgusting doesn’t do it justice. Laughable might. Idiotic probably does.
I had a dream (nightmare from your perspective) of you still being the chief spokesperson for the RCS, having to defend the latest inanities out of the orifices of Dear Leader.
Reporter: Is it true that David Miscavige blatantly lies to his parishioners about the so called expansion of the church?
Mike: Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish.
Reporter: Are you referring to my question or to David Miscavige?
I had to promise my wife I would quit cussing. So I have nothing to say.
I prefer the term “Pure Crap”
Oh WOW!
I’ve never really looked at the fact the language could be turned into a sickly syrup that glugs from one word to the next.
It doesn’t mean shit but it kind of resembles the sticky sweet gel on fly paper… same result really, the not quite bright adhere to it to the buzz of $Ks.
No Dave, a big donation does not help with the big ass void. It’s AUDITORS that could help with that if you hadn’t gotten rid of them all, squirreled the tech, made training painful and wasted all the parishioners money. Stupid fucker. LDW, my hubby likes my sassy side, so that’s for you :).
Bullseye, Hallie Jane, and we like your sassy side, too.
Hear Hear!!!
Thanks for posting this MJ. Miscavige must be sitting on a pile of lawyer and PI bills (47x the usual) for him to stoop to this level of begging. The “substantial contribution” is what stands between doom and gloom and utopia!?! For whom does that apply? For “he who will not be named” – that’s who.
Jeff.
This is awesome! Thank you!
You are to graphics and marketing what Arthur Rubinstein was to the piano!
In the footsteps of Debbie Cook, there is nothing wrong with sending a BLAST OF TRUTH towards the end of the year.
I will definitely use this as part of my X-mas greetings to the deluded still-ins….
Thank you Mike as well!
Greta
WOW! Brilliant graphical work, thank you.
The information flowing about the real state of affairs of the Cof$ just gets better & better. Can’t wait for the documentaries next year.
Got your bags packed Davey?
Surely there’s got to be somewhere you can hide. Don’t worry about the very able trackers out here who’d just love the game of chasing you down, got to admit though you’ve earned their attention – but go on, they’ll give you ahead start.
this:
http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mLllXZ6u7gd0VLbv-dMO8qg.jpg
The difference between Jeffrey’s graphics and The Church’s straight up and vertical loud explosions and more baloney is one is based in research and supported evidence… the other, altered imagination.
The fundamental problem with Scientology is that input$ – output$ = accumulated$
Barring the millions that the whales donate, just one or two times, both the whales and sundry public have been bled financially dry to support input$. There are few new public and whales to provide input$. Over time Input$ – output$ = negative accumulation$ that is accelerating. I believe that accumulation$ is clearly negative.
This fundamental financial equation went into negative accumulation$ years ago; ergo, the Ideal Orgs, for which Little Davie stripped the limited input$ into practically future zero$ for his Ideal Orgs. We know that the public are financially strapped, ergo in reduced public input$. I suspect that the whales have been stripped financially for major input$.
So, it is likely that all of Davies limited remaining input$ donations from the public and the whales, the “church’ is in financial meltdown because input$ – output$ has gone largely negative, possibly in a major way.
Davie’s only recourse is a massive influx of new public who can pay the inflated prices for services to massively support input$. There are few (according to published information), new public, ergo minimal input$. A couple of thousand new public cannot support the input$ in any meaningful way, while output$ remain excessive; i.e.the cult is in financial meltdown. Accumulated$ are strictly negative since Davie has extracted the last remaining input$ due to his ideal org failures where no public are entering, The public have no money left, and the whales are becoming financially strapped. .
Scientology, as a financially viable entity is DOA. Accumulated$ is clearly negative. It’s just a matter of time.
I agree that it is likely in a financial meltdown but we don’t know what sort of regular income they are getting at Flag and the main Sea Org Orgs. Let us say that there are 7000 Sea Org members then I am sure it will cost at least $30 per day to maintain them. 7000*$30*365 = $76,650,000 per year. This is needed in the form of spendable income so where is it coming from? If Mike is right and they are getting in income of $2m per week from auditing and training then they have this covered. If not, then they are using a proportion of dono money as spendable income. And the dono money will surely reduce over time as they lose long-time whales or the whales have less money to give. My feeling is because there has been such a major shift towards donos then it is this dono money that is keeping them operating on a day-to-day basis. And I would imagine that it is the buildings outside the US that are tipping the balance against them because the Scn publics there do not have the money to pay for the upkeep and taxes on these buildings.
Above pages weren’t working when I posted the link. How long this condition will be , I don’t know…
If Dave cared as much about his parishioners as he does his tailored clothes, perhaps Scientology would have expanded.
Wait…what? DAVID MISCAVAGE caring??? Seriously??? Now that’s some funny shit, MJ!
Here the second page of Miscavige LOL..all the rest neither working 🙂
http://www.scientology.org/david-miscavige/creating_a_new_era_of_expansion.html
Hey Roger! Look, man, you’ve got to put a warning out when you post something like this. I read the first couple of lines praising DAVID MISCAVAGE, and puked. I spewed chunks all over the place! I’m better now, but that horse shit was really piled high!
Off the subject, but perhaps totally on point:
To Jefferson Hawkins,
About 2 years ago, when I read your amazing book “Counterfeit Dreams” (on my Kindle) I became haunted by the huge sacrifices you have made for Scientology in your efforts to help.
Since that book, I have had stuck attention on how you would be doing as a person and as an artist.
Seeing your brilliant graphic today has finally given me a release from my concern.
Needless to say, I am far too keyed out from this release to give myself a Solo NOTs session today.
Thank you so much, Jeff, for all you have done and for all you continue to do for Scientology on so many levels.
Much love, One Point Won
Jeff isn’t one to toot his own horn but he does genius graphic art and web design through his company, SkyHawkStudios.com, although probably not nearly enough to compensate for his years of sacrifice. If you know someone who needs that kind of thing, think of Jeff. Just sayin….
Before I read any comments, I must post this so if it is a repeat, it is a good repeat. way to go Volcano Guy. I’m glad you’re working for the “opposition” now. The man behind the Volcano on DMSMH is creating the graphics to show how Scientology is imploding. How cool is that?
Maybe someone could shed some light on a question I have. Does Karen Pouw really exist? Or is she just a name for DM in drag? We all knew Tommy Davis existed and could put a face on the lies, but KP seems to be a phantom of the org.
She is exists. She is french. Married to Anthony Pouw, brother of Marion Pouw.
But while Karin exists, she is not allowed to write or say anything to the media without it being approved by David Miscavige, and oftentimes he dictates what is being said by the church and simply puts her name on it so there is no paper trail that directly implicates him.
To a large extent she is merely a ventriloquist puppet.
She has been taken over by the dwarf, so in a very real sense she doesn’t exist.
Thanks Mike. That was the impression I had. In some ways not seeing or hearing here is even sleazier than having Tommy D. At least he looked into the camera and with the shifty tired eye tech betrayed that truth was just not a priority with him. Selling real estate in TX to the gullible rich is a suitable fate for him.
MJ – ROFL – “She has been taken over by the dwarf, so in a very real sense she doesn’t exist.” This could be used for clay demo purposes of the term “blanketing”. Still laughing – well done. And still laughing!
I think that since 1982 DM shot everyone around him with an IQ above room temp. Now, there is no one left to speak for Scientology except for him.
Yep.
This may or may not be relevant but I ran into Anthony Pouw on the streets of Eagle Rock about 4 years ago. He had resigned from the Sea Org and was now public. Still in good standing as far as I know but one didn’t dig too deeply, you know?
“Brilliant” hardly seems adequate in describing Jefferson Hawkins’ beautiful mind. Sometimes I find his visual or written work so elegant in its simplicity, yet so powerful in its message, that it literally takes my breath away – with profound admiration for the work and the mind of the human being capable of such insight, thoughts, concepts, and the creative execution of these ideas. Today’s graphics are another fine set of examples of this. (OK, I’ll fess up. My momentary loss of breath is also due to no small measure of envy at his prodigious talent! :-> )
Thanks for this, Mr. Jefferson. I will make sure to disseminate these to friends who need to wake up and to “opinion leaders” and media contacts who need to wise up.
Also, I repeat my thanks to Mike and his special correspondents who did the work of gathering the data on the true state of the chult’s “expansion” and summarizing it this past week in a clear, easy to understand format. https://www.mikerindersblog.org/scientology-shriveling-media-take-note-they-lie-to-you/
Now let’s see how effective the Planetary Dissemination Unit (from the unemployed, lunatic fringes of the internet) is going to be in getting this information out. 3, 2. 1…
P.S. I noticed that Jefferson didn’t sign his name or add his mark to his work. I have always believed visual and other artists should always claim authorship of their creative output by putting some kind of “thumbprint” on the work itself. I could be wrong in this case, considering its purpose and intended audience, but I think it might be especially interesting for people to know these graphics were created by the very same person who also created the brilliant marketing and advertising campaign for the Chult, i.e. the iconic exploding volcano on the cover of Dianetics, and who is now not only a former member but also an active critic and author.
I can’t help but think that knowing the author of these graphics could be an added hook to get the media to pay attention and use them, but I could be wrong about that as the work (and Mike’s data that it is derived from) is shockingly powerful enough to stand on its own and the truth it illustrates certainly doesn’t need some sort of “endorsement” as a potential angle to encourage use and publication. If Jefferson believes adding his author’s mark and putting some attention on himself might be a distraction, I will certainly respect that and abide by it.
Otherwise, with his permission, perhaps I (we?) could send a short bio, a link to his website(s), or link to his book “Counterfeit Dreams” to accompany these graphics. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
And BTW, Mr. Mike, I have always done the same with you – providing a link to your “About Me” post (above) as a backgrounder along with a link to whatever blog post of yours I am forwarding. I hope this is OK. If not, please advise and I will simply send the blog post link from now on.
Oops, not sure how my username posted as “Carsher” but I am “Cars.” If you have the time, please correct this typo for me. TY.
Sorry — I am not able to change your name…
Is Scientology still anywhere else? It sure as hell isn’t in Austin.
Oops. Meant “Is Scientology still a thing anywhere else?”
Scientology is dead here. It’s one reason so many former SO guys are moving here. Beyond the reach of the madness.
It’s Dead in Boston
What do you mean Brian? Austin Org is going Ideal!!! With an Ideal Org plus the ads on TV and the Non-E campaign, people will be flooding into the Org at unprecedented rates, as is happening all over the world!!! Everyone will be talking about Scientology!!! Oh, and by unprecedented rates I mean less and less until it’s just a couple staff telemarketing. And when I say that everyone will be talking about Scientology I mean derogatorily. But seriously if you know any of those ex-SO guys, see if you can have them share there story here. They could do a lot of good.
Arslycus.
Great post!
This house of cards cannot come down fast enough.
As usual, Jeff, you get right to the heart of the matter and reduce a bunch of dry data to its essence, then communicate it clearly and aesthetically.
Anyone can quickly grasp the truth of the facts the graphic illustrates; that scientology is not only pathetically small and shrinking, but that it lies like a psychopath with a straight face to the public and the media.
And one can also see,by extrapolation, that the media (with a few notable exceptions, most of them on the internet) has NOT been doing its homework and calling them on their lies. But now it’s just gotten easy to do.
Brilliant!
Important question: Is it possible to get this document in an editable format or to send Jeff a translationm to have it in other languages? Also, although perhaps not relevant to the size claims, I do believe it would help to simultaneously confront scientologists and media with the actual world population (total, growth per year and since church inception) to emphasize just how little impact they are having.
Scientology is really just an elaborate costume to disguise a mafia and a spiritual rapist.
I am posting this and perhaps Jeff will respond when he sees it.
As for the population idea, this is another one Jeff and I have discussed. Great minds think alike….
Wow – I love it! How about a larger version in pdf format?
Yep, it’s great. Even better would be a PNG. Smaller file size, better quality, more readable. Win/win/win.
Dear Scn Ethics, If you right-click your mouse on Jeff’s artwork/chart, you should see a drop-down menu which allows you to then copy that image by then left-clicking on “Copy Image.” Next, go to your regular email program and begin writing a new blank email and left-click once where you would normally type the body of your email message. Next, simultaneously press the “Ctrl” key and the letter ‘V.” (Ctrl-V will paste the copied art image into your email.) Then you can email this chart to your heart’s content. Of course, you can also email this to yourself, as a simple way of saving Jeff’s brilliant graphic. If you copy it directly into Photoshop, his graphic is about 43 inches long by about 8 inches wide. If you have a program like Photoshop, you can also save it as a PDF file. [PDF = Portable Document Format.] The Adobe Photoshop computer program will easily allow you to change the size of his poster. Hope this helps! Much Love, One Point Won
It is only useable for a windows computer .. on a mac you put it with the mouse on the desktop ..
Very cool, but I want a larger version – like about 13 inches wide.
Mike, this is one of your best blogs ever. And that is saying a lot cuz all your blogs are awesome! I think you should put today’s blog of Jeff’s graphics on the side as a blue link of a story that others should see, as a keeper, as a top story that should be read by all. Please post it right up there as a link just like Debbie Cook’s letter is.
I’m new to CW, recently out of the SO. One of my friends encouraged me to start reading this blog last week. It’s not what I expected. I expected a lot of slander and insults. But I like the facts. I listened to Marc Headly’s interview where he mentions the # of e-meters that had been made and I thought — oh my god — that’s a decent measure of how many SCN’s there are, and I couldn’t believe the number could really be that low. I’ve always thought there were millions. It one of those things where…if that was a lie than what else is?
Thanks Tiana. Welcome.
We try to present as much in the way of factual information as possible. There is a measure of snark and satire included, mostly just to maintain a bit of light-heartedness in what is generally a pretty depressing subject of scientology and its lies, abuses and destroyed families.
I live in the local area. You can click on the “Contact Me” button at the top of the home page and send me a message without having to post it all on the blog here. I am interested in hearing any details of your SO history and departure you are willing to share.
I have a lot going on right now. Having a baby soon, etc. But I will eventually.
Congratulations and Welcome out of the SO, Tiana.
Hi Tiana, welcome out! If you like facts you may like the list of ex-COS-members Anonymous has compiled over on WWP. The list itself can be found here: http://whyweprotest.wikia.com/wiki/Former_Church_of_Scientology_members_who_have_spoken_out
Facts, facts, and even more facts! How is that for planetary…. err…. wait. 🙂
TrevAnon: Looks like quite a great on-line resource you have there for ex-scientologists to look up the ones that mysteriously are not seen around their org any more.
Welcome out Tiana. Sunshine disinfects. The truth is shocking sometimes, but oh how nice. Glad you’re reading this and commenting.
A very hearty welcome to you, Tiana! I hope you become a regular poster.
Thanks for posting and sharing. It can be quite educational to hear from people who just left the SO. I’m sure you have been through a lot. It definitely takes courage and integrity to go against everyone and do what YOU believe to be true and right. I hope you’ll continue to share your story.
Careful Jeff. If you put out high-quality graphics about the Church like this, you might end up with a few SO recruiters on your doorstep! “Jeff, PLEASE come back! We have the biggest dissem cener in the history of the universe but no one to staff it! PLEASE come back! We’ll feed you and pay you this time! No beatings, we promise!”
I’ve got a fever, and the only cure is more awesome graphics!
“Yes Jeff, we would accept you back. Dave’s only beating up on guys that have been in 5 years or less so you’d be safe.” YSC – Office of SO Planetary Global Recruitment HFA
Re: “Dave’s only beating up on guys that have been in 5 years or less…”
“I have never experienced nor witnessed any violence from Mr. Miscavige toward anyone.”
http://www.lawrencewrightgoingclear.com/sites/default/files/App11-Jenny%20Linson.pdf
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve have gone back and forth with FLAG terminals trying to point out the error of using lies in PR. These guys are just so off-Source they don’t get it. I’ve sat down with a handful of Div 6 execs, the LRH Host. I’ve written to RTC, etc.
Today’s lie is tomorrow’s egg on your face. I’ve implored them to stop using so much embellishment in the events in the public statements as it makes it hard to disseminate in the fact of unreality, but no one has listened.
I imagine most news outlets wills start referencing Jeff’s data. Maybe that will force some ethics in on the group and we can finally bust open the dissemination lines. That would be a win.
Is the actual Gary Wattman or a psuedonym (spelling?)
Actual. Who wants to know?
Hi Gary — dont know who that is, but I was curious myself 🙂
How long have you been lurking around the fringes of the internet?
“no one has listened”. That’s how it is these days and for quite a few years now.
Hi Gary,
I really like your point of view. Your ability to observe and your bravery communicate to management is very commendable.
Another 100 like you and maybe we could have turned this around?
I don’t know if 100 voices instead of 1 voice could have turned this around or not.
In any case, it is very nice to hear from you. There are many people that think like you.
using lies in PR is off source?
there’s a chuckle. not only to indict scientology but the term itself is a lie.
if person dismisses out of hand 99% of all the PR they ever encounter anywhere, they will be right over 99% of the time.
i call it “the 99% rule”.
if i were a cynical person, i’d bump it up to a 100%.
I’ve been paying attention for a long time. Nothing wrong with being there and communicating in my opinion. I have no major beef with the Church other than the fact that some specific people really need to get their ethics in.
This chart is a service to Texas and all mankind. Thank you Jeff!
Fleet Admiral Miscavige has no ships.
This should be sent out to every major media network there is – internationally. It is a brilliant pictograph of the real scene and easily understood. Fantastic.
Or at least sent out to HBO before the end of the year.
Jefferson Hawkins, you are the man, the myth & the legend! Your presentation was simply incredible! Talk about pounding nails into the coffin that is scientology! Brilliant! I hope your graphic garners wide spread interest with the media.
DAVID MISCAVAGE is the leader of a dying beast…R.I.P.
What an excellent post. It is proof of the lies being told by Scientology INC. Without being able or allowed to research on the internet the Scientology public will never be able to know what is contained in this graphical presentation. Each person thinks that it’s just their org that is small and failing.
It’s beautiful. Thank you, Jefferson Hawkins.
I think it’s important for the press to know some of the reasons they lie:
One of the techniques to enturbulate “SPs” is to tell them how great Scientology is doing. It is supposed to cave them in.
I remember when I left the church in 82 I was sitting in a restaurant when Gayle and Chick Corea came in. We knew each other and they knew I had blown and been declared. Gayle walks over to me and says,” did you know that Scientology is expanding like never before?”
After she spoke she watched me as if expecting my head to explode. She was applying standard SP tech.
All of Scientologist’s behavior is in writing somewhere. Maybe because it’s Ron’s writing that Independents do not reveal it. They are trying to protect Ron and just call it “Scientologists do this or that.”
Associate the behavior with the writings that teach this behavior. There is no mystery to the craziness. It’s not an anomaly. It was studied, drilled and perfected.
Brian, I probably would have burst out in hysterical laughter! And when Gayle didn’t I would of stopped and said, “Oh, gosh, I’m sorry! You were serious!”
Oh, and Brian? Paddle out ASAP. There’s NOTHING like a great surf session to get your mind right…
Laughing for me would have been rude. I actually liked them both. We started at the Geltman mission together. I did not get the meaning of what she said until later.
I believe I have a unique perspective as someone out for so long. Whenever I hear of the craziness going on now and only blaming Miscavige I remember similar human violations before Miscavige solidified his power.
And the justifications to all of this violation of human rights can be found and justified in LRHs writings.
Regarding my mind Surfer Dude: it’s all good, I’m out there most of the time. I paddle back in from time to time to keep a vigil light shining on the SOURCE of this violence and lies.
No doubt Micsavige has notched up the insane abuse of human rights. But his blueprint, his behavior, finds purpose, meaning and technique are in Ron’s writings.
I believe when all is said and done, as this demon is defanged, and the story of this is all fully known by all; it will lead to the doorstep of Ron – our best friend and “only” hope for man.
Great post, Brian!
This attitude (from Corea’s wife) I have noticed usually comes from people who have not really contributed to the subject’s application and are strutting around as if they have done. They are usually poor students as they can’t think in concepts, and ARCXy as PCs. It seems to them to be the least that they can do (admonish those not “on board”) without actually rolling up their sleeves and pitching in as an auditor or course sup or staff member etc. (not that I am being critical of non-staff here – just her and that attitude). “Latter Day” OT Committee members are a similar sort of fish – all very huffy and self-righteous but they don’t actually really DO anything of any value. Saying that I don’t really know what Corea’s wife had/has actually contributed (and of course I don’t mean donations), but I hope you get what I mean.
Epic graphic made by a brilliant man! Thanx Jeff, and thanx Mike for posting it. I will be sending copies with Chris Sheldon’s “What’s Wrong with Scientology” PDF writeup in return postage paid envelopes from the Co$ junk mail I still receive.
Great Idea aegerprimo
Crashing polar opposite definition MU according to DM – contraction really means explosive expansion!
– Churches mean fundraiser venues not places of spiritual gatherings.
– cash, cheque or credit cards instead of auditing, training and enhancements.
– SP’s mean any who use standard tech to improve things.
– Any lie to protect DM is really the truth anyway.
-Large, vacant pretty buildings make happy beings, not VWD auditing hours.
– Status, conformity and control is more workable than knowledge, responsibility and control, ALWAYS!
– By not choosing me as successor LRH in fact chose me.
This is true – NOT!
Outstanding post, Sheeplebane! Very well done!
Its my pleasure Old Surfer Dude, your namesake reminded me of an old past time I need to take up again! The waves are calling and I live 8 blocks away from the beach, salt water and summer in the s.hemisphere! Salt water cures almost anything, perhaps even the stain of DM? Worth a shot right.
This graphic display really paints it up just how much bullshit really can baffle brains! We keep sayin it, how close the end is for COB but I grow ever impatient. I want it to come down now like an avalanche of wet pig shit so the world can see. The cleanup will be easy, the wait for it to crumble too tortuous I reckon! How much more goddamn proof do people need? Why hasnt it happened yesterday? Dont tell me its because of all the money thee and me gave that goblin..or all our slave labour building bridges to ideal money pits either!
Once again, an excellent post! I too, grow impatient, sheeplebane. But, good things come to those that wait. Every single day, more and more people have caught on. So it will be an avalanche. So…Party at my home here at the beach. What’s your drink?
Orwells ‘1984’ principles well applied Sheeplebane…
Greta
Hell, I will drink to DM’s demise anyday! Do you know what his favourite brand of scotch is? Im gonna buy me a bottle of that one to keep for DM demise day! Scientologists Bastille day infact, French revolution type event, but for ex churchies. Make it a public holiday there on out!
Cant wait! Would be nice to have one helluva party after DM, travel expenses paid for by an IAS grant of course! Headline the event as This time the war is really, fully and forever more over, as over can be- DM is gone! Hooray!
Yes Sheeplebane – outstanding. Especially the one ” By not choosing me as successor LRH in fact chose me”. I am still laughing. But your points as well as being comical are also the reality.
Awesome!
It really helps having the graphic documenting the lies.
Jeff, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I hope someone has to show DM those graphics, DM will then freak out and demand that you be thrown in the hole, and then someone will have to remind him that you no longer work for scientology. Then DM will scream at the bearer of bad tidings “YSCOHB!”
This is a great graphic. One hopes that the internet search engines will index it highly so that reporters investing the organization can find it easily. Linking to it will help boost the search rankings.
One nit to pick: I know Jeff is being cautious about the numbers, but I also believe that he is way too high on the claim of 40,000 current members. Based on a bunch of work I’ve done over the last two years, I think something between 20,000 to 25,000 active members is reasonable. The ARIS survey that came up with 25,000 members in the US was from 2005, and the picture is far worse today.
And I think a non-trivial number of those 20,000 to 25,000 are “under the radar” or “sideliner” types, pretending to care while intending only to avoid disconnection from family members in the Sea Org or similar reasons. So the number of active Kool-Aid drinkers is probably between 18,000 and 21,000, including about 6,000 to 7,000 Sea Org and staff.
Thanks JPC.
You are right about being conservative. I guess the thought on this is when you are pointing out the overinflated hype of someone you don’t want to be accused of stretching anything in rebutting their false claims. I had also recalled the church has claimed 10 million members somewhere, but I couldn’t find it. It doesnt make a lot of difference when the orders of magnitude are SO far off, but for the same reason, everything in here is defensible. Their absurd claims and the rebuttals. I agree that it is more like 25,000, but really, who cares? 40,000 instead of 8 million or 25,000 instead of 10 million. Both are absurd.
But, that being said, if someone can come up with dox on the 10 million I would appreciate it. I suspect it was in an Int Scn News or something last year.
I think this graphic is wonderful, and I hope Jeff can spare some time to making more.
Mike, I remember watching an event with DAVID MISCAVAGE announcing that, “You might have heard that we’re the fastest growing religion on the planet.” I’m probably wrong, but, I thought he mentioned 10 million members at that time. However, I can’t ignore that this may have been another ‘senior moment.’
Mike,
Don,t recall anything in writing on 10 million from Co$..
Kirstie Alley did tweet it at least once and I’m pretty sure she said that number on Sterne.
Thanks Les. Kirstie has even less credibility than the church….
I agree that this graphic is wonderful. Re what John P Capitalist said, maybe you can add an asterisk somewhere that says that these numbers are based on 2005 and things have shrunk even more since then. And as for where that 10,000 figure came from, I seem to remember it in one of DM’s speeches at an event.
LDW, I heard her on the Stern show. Howard is not a fan of scientology, but, he withheld comment when she was on the show. And I do believe you’re right, she did say 10 million. Or tweeted it.
The Internet is glad you asked… http://www.xenu-directory.net/practices/membership1.html
Mike, it’s surprisingly old, goes back to 2006, it looks like Bob Adams braved it first.
On the web, the earliest mention of the 10 million members is from May 10, 2006, 45 minutes ‘Scientology show’ with Dave Touretzky, Chuck Beatty and Bob Adams on Clear Channel radio station in Ft. Collins,Colorado:
http://www.scientology-lies.com/radio/kcol-2006-05-10.html
“The first guest was to be Bob Adams, who is
this month’s official spokesdroid for the Church of Scientology
International.
…
They asked him a bunch of questions based on my segment, and what was interesting was the way he dialed back his answers compared to the usual Scientology canned PR
lines.
For example, they asked him how many members the church had, and he
said about 10 million, but it was hard to get an exact number because
it was based in part on how many people had bought books.”
And here is Bob Adams’s speech later that year, from the 2006 Religion Newswriters Association Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah
Sept. 7–10, 2006
At 3 minutes 40 seconds the magic number is put into circulation 🙂 :
http://media.debralmason.com/06saltlake/panels/faith/Bob_Adams.mp3
The CoS Press Office apparently covered the story but since then the page was removed, just a broken link proves that it once existed:
http://www.newsfrombree.co.uk/stolgy_4.htm
“The CoS Press Office also covered this story. He claimed over 10 million members and said that…”
AND, JPC, these “sideliners” and “under the radar” types are getting ballsier. Heard a story of one responding to a request to come in by saying that he/she would come in when GAT V came out.
Love your post JPC and the way your mind works.
I think that Scientology is always recruiting, and that there is a base of 50,000 or so checking it out (taking a class, visiting a center, etc.) and, if you count those, then yes, they have over 50,000, but 99% of those will be gone in 2 years. Of the more core people (in at least 2 years) I doubt it’s over 20,000.
I agree with that JPC. The numbers in the US are certainly much lower than the estimates of 2005. The scene have deteriorated since then quite a bit.
In the rest of the world it is even worse.
I dropped by Brussels org and the whole place was empty! I used to be SO and toured almost all the orgs in the EU area including Russia (I left around 2003). Even back then the situation was deplorable.
I still have many UTR contacts/friends in many of those orgs. Except for sint pete, and Budapest, all other orgs are DEAD. Brussels continue to be on life support by IAS funding. As for the rest of them, they struggle to pay the utility and tax bills. They are fully facing “inwards”. There is not even a serious ATTEMPT to get new people in. I predict multiple orgs in EU closing doors somewhere in 2015-2016. By 2020 I will be very surprised if there are more than a handful left standing.
Witnesses from the ANZO area tell me the same, and Africa…. well, see the SA-blog.
Scientology in Asia was and IS non-existent. Same goes for south-America bare some missions and maybe an org or two.
Appreciate the visuals very much. One nitpick – the ARIS Survey was taken in April 2008. So these numbers are high – Paul Haggis since left, Leah Remini and so many more recognizable names.
Other than that, I think Jeff Hawkins just blew up that volcano! Thank you, Jeff.
Letter from Karin Pouw to Tampa Bay Times sometime in the future :
“The last three years tell you all you need to know: The Church has diminished in size since your sources left and, since your opening articles in 2009, Church expansion has only decelerated, contrary to the predictions of both David Miscavige and Cult spokespersons.”
Yo Dave,
And you have not even begun to experience the sort of shrinkage and contraction that is in store for you in 2015 good buddy. I am working with four people who are in but will not be doing any more courses, auditing or donating to your pies in the sky. As Les mentioned, go to your room……. and do it NOW!
Stupid DAVID MISCAVAGE…Trix are for kids!
He is a very bad dog having just shit in his mess kit!
A wonderful presentation. Love the graphics! This should put this issue to rest for anyone actually interested in fact.
So basically I have more YouTube subscribers as there are Scientologists in the whole world. Like a BAUS!!
That is a wonderful graphic, Jeff. Thank you so much for posting this Mike. A wonderful resource for any of us to use.
Would be awesome if Anonymous would post this up as a poster outside and next to every org in the world. That would be some truth in advertising! I think I know some people who know some people…
Make it happen, Michael! Please!
Make a simplified version of this to be the poster. Or make them into a series. When you use graphics, you still have to limit the amount of information in your poster. Also, make them in different styles, like the early 1920s Constructionist Soviet Union Style, one in Chinese with an earnest Red Army soldier holding the Chinese translation of Dianetics, one with Uncle Sam in an American WW-II era poster, etc.
Thanks. All the information is out there. So you can make as many of these as you wish and in any form you like.
If they are good I will post them here to help get them disseminated as broadly as possible.
I think it would be great if he did a new Orientation film riffing on the classic. It could go viral.
What a great idea, SD! I hope it come to fruition! And you’re absolutely right, it would go viral.
You could grow a pair and walk out or stay with Dave and blow your brains out. It would be insane but you could do it. The choice is yours.
Nice riff!
As a former long time Scientologist, the size of the CoS is almost irrelevant to me. (though I realize that there is the matter of truth and that is of great importance)
Scientology had a CHANCE. A chance to be very, VERY big. And then LRH blew it. In the early and mid 70s, an org like San Francisco was packed to the gills. A hundred plus Cl IVs made each year. A number of very active missions in the area. And the Davis mission chain was booming, getting tons of young people into Scientology on services.
Prices were NOT low. $500 for HSDC, $1000 levels, $625 an intensive …. these seem very low in comparison to today of course. But pre 1970s inflation, and remember we were YOUNG. I was a teenage college student and had to scrape up the 15 bucks for the comm course!! I would not use the word “affordable”, but I would say “do-able.” One could SOMEHOW get the bucks to get on course, a relative, a loan, etc. The Davis missions offered a Life Repair to result for $1500 and their regges worked with students to come up with the money for this and HSDC. The Wimbush missions did the same and flooded an org like SFO with young students on the levels. I heard the same scene was taking place in LA. The BC cost less than $800 and there were hardly any materials to buy (you couldn’t buy the lectures, they were on reel to reel in the org libraries to just listen to on course).
People had wins and wins and wins and looking at a geometric progression as pleased pc;s became auditors themselves ….. well, if things had just CONTINUED, Affluence actually APPLIED …. there might be TWENTY MILLION people on course now in 2014. Forty years of geometric expansion.
But …. LRH just could NOT apply Affluence. Casewise he was somehow just INCAPABLE of continuing successful actions (a subject for another time). The monthly price increase was DEADLY. Over a period of time, auditing and courses were priced out of the reach of younger people; Then the FSO opened, purposely lowering the repute of Org tech AND slowly but surely getting all the “whales” to Florida. All to get the money to the top guys
Then the BIGGEST blow. 1982 – the destruction of the big mission chains, THE biggest by far gateway to Scientology. DEADLY!!!!!! And LRH let it happen. Miscavige thought these guys (Samuels, Wimbush, etc) were taking too much of the loot. And L. Ron Hubbard was still around then folks,
GREED GREED GREED GREED GREED. Every fucking successful action of the seventies was changed. LRH and his top execs couldn’t apply one of their own formulas if their lives depended on it. And they wanted the MONEY.
So the Church of Scientology slowly but surely shrunk shrunk shrunk. BUT …. the coffers kept filling up as Miscavige invented the IAS scheme, the Ideal Org scheme, the book scheme, the lecture scheme, the meter scheme …. scam after scam to get more and more money from people. And to declare anyone who disagreed or didn’t toe the line, throwing OUT of Scientology a thousand trained auditors? Probably more. And these moron idiotic jokers want to CLEAR THE PLANET???? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Yeah, with the most experienced auditors and CSs an Supes in the world declared as SPs.
So now ….. what are there? 15,000 actual active members on service? 20,0000? 12,000? Who gives a fuck. Ain’t gonna get the tens of millions needed to “clear the planet” now.
BUT folks, news flash – the CoS ain’t going anywhere. It’s NOT gonna go out of business or fade away soon. There’s still a stable of upper middle class people still willing to be milked out of every asset they have. AND with Duggan, Cartwright, Jensen, etc, the very richest donating tens of millions, the CoS is mega flush. Miscavige can do what he wants. Why? He got da moolah, baby.
I think the CoS will shrink as attrition kills off us baby boomers over the next twenty years. But I still give it another 50 at least. LRH was right about one thing. If you got buildings, you have a chance of lasting even if you shrink to almost nothing. Have you folks ever seen a Church of Christ, Scientist in your city? Yeah, still around after 150 years or so. Probably still about a few hundred Christian Scientists active too. Maybe.
End of rant. Need to go to bed. Getting late in the mountains of SE Asia.
Joe, I was at the Tustin Mission in Orange County, CA., when the prices started going up each month. I do forget, though, if it was 5% or 10%. Either way, I was on my way out.
As I recall it was 5% per month but that comes out to about double in 12 months and I think that crazy price increase lasted well over a year.
Beryl, I think you’re right. When the 5% increase started, all of my red flags went up in a hurry.
The annual rate is 180%, pretty close to doubling.
Mike, as a former member of SFO, you are spot on. Day & Foundation had the largest most successful internship anywhere and we were pumping out qualified auditors by the dozen. The Academies were stacked to the gills with excited students and it was an UPTONE environment. With a Dianetic C/S like yourself keeping the Tech pure how could we lose?! We sure didn’t see that Dwarf coming!
This was a great write-up spelling out the scene as it really was. Then the Int Execs showed up at the SFO org with the Int Finance Police Storm troopers on their heels and the top of the Motivation Scale went out the window to the dogs and the bottom of the scale “MONEY” ruled the day as it does now and will continue till Miscarriage implodes.
As long as the Internet exists, Miscarriages crimes are revealed to the world and we, on the outside, are having our due. It will always be a pleasure to be your friend.
Totally agree with you Joe.
I would add that another blow to the successful period of the 1970’s, was the change in the Grade Chart. When Dianetics Clear was released, it effectively killed the massive amount of auditing that was going on with the Dianetics Drug Rundown. No more internships after that. Everyone was trying to attest to Dn clear and the status it gave them and the flow stopped.
Joe, you summarized that period of time very well. I knew many of the mission holders. They were on the ball business people and knew how to manage people and get their products. You are so right about LRH. Who would ever have guessed he was the source of his own downfall. But there’s volumes of data available to prove this. I sometimes reflect back on how things could have turned out had the old bastard just left things alone. But that, plus 50 cents still won’t get you a cup of coffee.
I agree also with the length of time the cherch will be around (good reference re the Christian Science buildings) I get the most comfort from knowing less and less people are getting sucked in and that’s due to Rinder, Ortega, and those who keep getting the word out, over and over again.
Spot on Joe. What you describe occurred throughout the USA in the 70s. It’s a fascinating period. The only addition I would make is the rise to power of the Sea Org. Hands down, the worst thing to come from the loins of The Founder.
Let’s just call a spade, a spade – as a group, these guys are off-the-charts, bat-shit CRAZY. Radical, fanatical, deadly serious, para-military “religious” dictatorship. Invite them to a party and see how much fun you’re gonna have.
Post them as bodyguards at a Metallica concert. On second thought don’t bother.
In response to Joe Pendleton, indeed LRH blew a chance at Scientology getting really big. First, the price increases were a big mistake, as you noted. And letting DM blow up the mission network was another big mistake, assuming LRH knew this was going down. And then not having proper controls in place so that someone like David Miscavige could take over in a dictatorial fashion sealed the movement’s doom. I think even in its halcyon days Scientology was carting around considerable baggage with the press, and so even had it not gone mad on price increases, and even had a really good successor been put in place after LRH with the best of intentions, the internet still, I think, to a lesser degree than it does today, would have had enough negative stories to keep a lot of newbies away. And as everyone knows, new people are an absolute necessity to keep the movement alive indefinitely. My other point is that it might be possible that LRH did not care much how long and how well the movement prospered after he left the scene, as long as he could maximize the net worth of his estate.
I agree with all of your points except the last one where you say: “…it might be possible that LRH did not care much how long and how well the movement prospered after he left the scene, as long as he could maximize the net worth of his estate.” From my 44 years of experience with LRH I just don’t see that he would throw Scientology under the bus to have a high net worth. Why was he living in a bus during his final years?
As an exSFO staff member I can testify to Joe’s analysis of the scene. Some strange stuff was happening at a few missions, but nothing that a cram couldn’t have handled. Attacking the mission network was an sp action. The sad truth, as I see it, is that DM was brought up watching LRH at his worst, not his best. He duplicated the negative side of LRH and went for the power position. His own SP personality made him strive for all the power that LRH occupied without any true consideration of the tech or consultation with those beings who knew the tech well enough to duplicate it, and create with it as necessary. Still, the who of Scientology’s downfall is LRH himself. He allowed DM to take over and allowed Mayo to be marginalized and booted out. Even if Mayo had done something off with the tech, which I don’t believe for a second that he did, LRH was still wrong to allow the little runt total control. LRH was PTS big time. He listened when he should have looked! He hid and let Mary Sue take the rap. I use to think that he wanted to preserve his name and position so that Scientologists would not give up hope since we were under the scrutiny of the IRS and other government groups. He was the goal maker, and therefore he needed to be safe and sound so to speak. However, I haven’t held that view for a long time based on how he handled his own dynamics.Frankly, we should have just paid the damn taxes that we owed (after no longer having church status) while we protested the ruling. Instead, we broke the law. Essentially, LRH talked out of both sides of his mouth. He didn’t practice what he preached on any dynamic and evidently his true purpose was fulfillment of his own personal goals of power over the goal of ‘clearing’ the planet. Maybe he really believed this could be done at first, while also contemplating his own pocket book. I am convinced that he never handled his own case due to too many o/w’s and a chronic pts condition. He left the tech in a mess (regarding ot5 and 7) and he left the church with its proverbial pants down. Yet, I have to say that his formulation of a workable system for increasing the awareness of the average humanoid is nothing less than genius. This makes the failure of the church to be ‘an island of succor’ even more of a tragedy.
Great points Jewel. Let’s get in email comm. Long time no talk.
Having lived/gone through both periods that Joe mentions – the price increase period and then the takeover by Miscavige from late 81 onwards, I would say that the point of “impending doom” I noticed was not in the era of price rises. I remember being at Cedar’s and noticing the amount of Goldenrods falling into my in-basket. Now, price rises did seem to drive some people into the Orgs initially to pay for services before they went up each month but also it did not seem to affect the overall stats we had at the Org – the Academy and HGC were both full as were Basic Courses. There was some stuttering as the price rises bit but even so it did not seem to make that much of a dent on Org production.
But my point is that the main indicator for me was noticing the “wave of evil” that came over from management and my first (major) indication of this was the Mission Holder’s Conference of 82 or rather the rabid management newsletter with pictures of “Execs” declaring mission holders on the spot. I can well remember that was my first point of thinking that something was now majorly amiss and that the Church had gone internally insane! This management “newsletter” or whatever it was called, probably had the same effect that Debbie Cook’s email had decades later – it got people to thinking. This was then followed by the arrival of various missions that were basically just a bunch of rabid dogs snarling around and upsetting everyone and I mean – everyone! I believe Miscavige was Action Chief at that time (?) – which post I think runs missions worldwide.
So, I don’t believe from what I recall that the price rises were a major factor in the downfall (from what we had). In fact in the 70s Scientology services one could say were rather cheaply sold and some price rises were ok but then I didn’t complain about the cheap services when I bought them.
I think LRH was sold a line and either was too much involved in his own health matters and/or research to look into it even more closely but then Mike will now say that I am defending LRH too much, which I may be. But I think only a few people know the true facts on this relay of comm to LRH.
But the big change for me was the “wave of evil” takeover at the upper level of management, not price rises, and this takeover has been working to destroy the subject since its inception, which is not just an opinion but observable by actions or rather lack of them and the state of Orgs worldwide now. It’s actually been downhill since 1982 but this “management” couldn’t make it that obvious, at first anyway. Since then the creeping destruction has of course speeded up into the atrocity that they have made the subject today. And of course as we know – nothing happens by accident, nor even stupidity, in this case.
Thank you Jefferson Hawkins! Great Graphics!
David Miscavige and his ilk can only say for so long, “Don’t look at (listen to, read) that; it’s entheta.” After a while, even those who are left in start to say, “What the hell is up with the church? Every time I turn around there’s something I’m not suppose to look at, listen to or read?”
There is always that ONE thing that does it for someone. A graphic like this could be that one thing or it could be the one thing that starts someone LOOKING.
Thank you again, Jefferson. “Counterfeit Dreams” came to me at a time when I was wondering “What the hell is up with the church?” and woke me up to the years and years of lies and abuses.
Hey Jeff,
How does it feel to be able to do these graphics and be free to tell the truth?
I well recall trying to mentally justify what “they” told me vs what I actually saw with my own two eyes.
I personally witnessed a pretty decent expansion in the mid 70’s and then again in the late 80’s. Other than that, the BS PR has never even vaguely connected with any kind of objective reality.
David Miscavige…you are extremely downstat and have been a very bad boy. Go to your room!
But first give back all the free stuff you’ve accumulated over the years, use “your” mansion to house deserving Sea Org members and resign. You can find consolation by crying on Jenny’s shoulder. Your only terminal is your wife. Vaya con Dios motherfucker.
+1
Re: You can find consolation by crying on Jenny’s shoulder.
“Miscavige is a… criminal notorious… and… persona non grata.”
http://www.freedommag.org/sites/default/files/declaration06.pdf
He’s a classic PR Personalty
LDW, I hate to break this to you, but David Miscavige doesn’t have a room, he’s the Alan Harper of the Church of Scientology. The room(s) he stays in are owned by the COS and he’s been mooching them for almost 30 years now. If he were deposed, he would have nowhere to go but the streets.
Valerie, I REALLY doubt that’s true. He probably has at least a couple of houses owned by trusts or such, most likely several, in different countries. Mike has said that the guy ain’t stupid.
I agree with Bob Dobbs, Valerie. Correct me if I’m wrong, but, doesn’t DAVID MISCAVAGE hold the mortgages on the Idle Morgues? And doesn’t he make a (at least) 6 figure income? Doesn’t he have a fleet of cars and motorcycles? When it all ends, he’ll still be a wealthy man.
There are no mortgages on Idle Morgues. They are purchased outright. The titles are in the name of either the local church or CSRT or some other scientology entity. They are not in the name of any individual, David Miscavige or otherwise.
Thank you, Jefferson Hawkins, for this fabulous graphic. I am printing it up today to mail out with some Xmas cards to people who need some straight talk for the holidays! And thank you, Mike, for posting this. Just great stuff!
🙂
Steph: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone could find another Debbie Cook within the COS who would have access to the last 40K emailable K/A imbibers and send them a Happy New Year Welcome to 2015? There has to be a master mailing list somewhere in that organization?
That would entail having 40K emailable K/A imbibers. I seriously doubt there are that many. Just saying. I may be wrong, but my bet is that the hardcore K/A imbibers has dipped below 20K. Maybe just wishful thinking. I hope not.
Brilliant and well researched presentation!
OMG, Mike and Jeff, I got goosebumps reading this and seeing the graphics. This is such a fine piece of research so visually presented. Every news reporter should see this before doing any story on Scn. OMG. If Mike or any Indie is asked for an interview, bring this piece with you and show it to them. We should mail this to every KA drinker who is still in. Numbers and facts don’t lie and the visuals make it hit home.
My only other comment is what about the orgs that have closed? There have been many to close up or have two combined into one, which is a closing of one, and so these orgs are no longer in existence. We need to get that info in there too.
You’re killing ’em with their own numbers, Mike. Or are they simply committing internet suicide? 🙂