This poster has few words but says an awful lot.
The “notice” at the bottom is clearly a legal disclaimer put there by lawyers to protect scientology.
Scientology in Australia got into trouble with the government for not paying staff and providing inadequate health care and other benefits afforded all workers in Australia. They asserted that everyone on staff is a “volunteer” and pretty much got away with it.
Can you imagine a “volunteer” of any other organization signing a 5 year contract of employment (maybe it’s designated a “Volunteer Agreement” – but in spite of its name that is exactly what it is) where you are required to work at LEAST 8 hours every day, even having to show up for musters, are required to study during your “off hours” and if you don’t fulfill your “agreement” you will not only be billed for the services you had to take (designated a “freeloader”) but depending on how drastic your departure from staff may be, you could be declared an SP and tricked, lied to or destroyed. Some “volunteer.”
Note also, it does not say this is a church. It is designated an “applied religious philosophy”. Not sure why this is…
But it does “offer total freedom” — a strange inclusion. Seems like a bit of an outrageous claim for a lawyer to insist on — though it’s pretty nebulous. They may believe it helps explain why anyone would be willing to give up being paid while being treated as an indentured servant. Hell, it would be understandable to give up almost anything in exchange for “total freedom.”
But the truth is that scientology may offer total freedom, but it does not deliver it. People in scientology become increasingly LESS free as they become more deeply embroiled in the bubble-think and restrictions of movement and action that are required of all “good scientologists.” Don’t read the media. Don’t be a dilettante. Don’t waste time on education other than in scientology. Do what Ron says. Don’t associate with “SPs”. Don’t waste time on vacations or money on nice “MEST” when it should all be devoted to scientology. The list is a very long one.
It is funny that in LRH ED 339R the big incentive Hubbard offered staff was a) earning a decent wage and b) getting to OT for free. The living wage has NEVER been a reality for staff in scientology. You would think that selling auditing at $500 per hour would be a pretty profitable activity. Deliver 100 hours a week and you have $50,000. According to Hubbard, an auditor is not supposed to ever deliver less than 25 hours a week. That is just 4 auditors. How could the small number of staff in most orgs not be well paid? Two answers.
- The majority of them do not deliver anywhere close to 100 hours of auditing in a week.
- Massive percentages of the income of any scientology organization are siphoned off… for “management payments”, film payments, royalties, FSM Commissions and other things, all of which comes before even allocating what is left over, with mandatory allocations to “promotion” and other things. Most orgs cannot afford to pay their utilities, let alone pay their “volunteers” (staff). Miscavige doubled down on this when he opened the first “ideal orgs” — he gave a lengthy briefing to the staff in Joburg when he opened that ideal org in 2003. That briefing was played to all staff all over the world. Repeatedly. In it he claimed HE had solved the problems of staff pay and was implementing a new system that “removes all the suppressive arbitraries that have prevented staff from being paid.” Absolutely nothing changed.
The truth is, being on staff is a miserable existence for most. High stress. No real accomplishments. Impoverishment. What’s not to like?
Mark, I’m amazed more don’t “snap” and leave when confronted with such contradictory dysfunction. I wonder if staff in many cases – obviously not yours – self-select for those already blinded and inured to abuse.
Thanks for that very powerful and insightful personal account.
My staff experience of 1 year and 2 months snapped my cognitive dissonance and inspired my departure from the cult.
For me, the staff experience taught me that scientology is one huge, multifaceted LIE.
The pay was horrible. Some fellow staff members were nice people. Many of the “executives” were two-faced assholes, with the most of the “OT’s” on staff being walking contradictions of that exalted state. For all of the utter seriousness and culty,
” hill 10 ” motion and endless blathering about ” ideal orgs and planetary clearing “, I could see that THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH GAVE ZERO FUCKS ABOUT SCIENTOLOGY. I figured out-horror!-that the “wins” bleated about at events were lies. I saw auditors sitting around without pc’s. I saw auditors grumbling about having to do “call-in ” , because the HGC ( Hubbard Guidance Center, wher auditing is delivered in the org ) was almost empty only a few months after this ideal org( FCDC ) had opened. I knew of 4 people who had signed staff contracts who never showed up( smart people! ). There were 2 people in my department who “blew” while I was there. I knew of 3 other people who took leaves of absence because they had to go MAKE REAL MONEY; they couldn’t support a family on staff pay. I thought being on staff would involve being a part of an “OT civilization “( yes, I was THAT naive ), but it was, by far, the worst experience I have ever had in terms of workplace drama and abuse. The displays of rudeness, arrogance, and pettyness were frequent and breath-taking. The environment was so toxic that it eroded the fleeting moments of joy I experienced when I felt that I had helped someone be sessionable or make it through an intensive of auditing(I believed in all of that then ). The toxicity of the environment also made me question the validity of the ” help ” we were allegedly delivering; how could such a jargon-spouting, back-stabbing, foul-mouthed, arrogant bunch of ” superior beings ” create a world without war and insanity? At first, I felt like such a loser because I wasn’t as tough as these other ” veteran scientologists “. After a few months of being yelled at, belittled, and insulted behind my back, I started, very slowly, realizing that I did NOT want to be like many of the people I worked with. Having three jobs outside of the org( one of which was a gig every Sunday at a Baptist church-and each one paid more than I made working a month at the org! ) , jobs in which I was paid fairly and treated well, ratcheted up the tension of my cognitive dissonance. My big regret is that it took me so long to walk away from such a shitty, horrible experience. By the time I did, I was stressed out, depressed, sleep deprived, and emotionally wrecked. Still, I am grateful for the ” wake-up call ” this funky experience provided.
Wow! Very glad you got out, Mark! Now you’re really free! Don’t know how you put up with that shit for as long as you did. But, it’s all down hill from now on!
Good on you!
OSD,
WHAT YOU SAID!
After that experience, I deeply appreciate the simplest pleasures in life.
😊
Mark, you certainly deserve it.
Thanks Mark. Your story is most valuable and should be read by anyone wanting to join Staff.
I could not have said it better than this. Unfortunately my experience was longer than yours…I guess I was even more naive. 🙂
Ruby,
But…you DID leave. Cheers!😊
What is a “call-in” ?
Jonathan, ” call-in ” is when everyone pulls out there cellphones ( not on the org’s phones, they couldn’t afford it )and starts calling people on a long list of contacts; these are people who are currently members of the church that are coming in for classes and/or auditin; people that are technically members but haven’t come in for a while; people who have paid for auditing but haven’t come in to start it, etc. Basically, ” call-in ” is an effort to drum up business. Anyone familiar with the scientology policies that govern how orgs are run knows that things are pretty much in the shitter when auditors are doing call-in. Auditors are supposed to audit, period, not hustle up preclears to audit…
Should have written ” their ” cellphones and ” auditing “, not ” auditin “
Good lord, Mark. I’m not usually without words. I think I have to send you a hug and hope that the sadness and anger I’m feeling about your experience gets over to you somehow.
Aqua: thanks👍
It was the betrayal and the self-delusion that were difficult to come to terms with. When I see these posts with folks in staff uniforms talking about saving the planet, I alternately seethe and feel heart-broken.
Mark sez: “…yes, I was THAT naive” regarding envisioning an ‘OT’ civilization.
Well, you weren’t the only one brother. In fact, there are only a couple of fools who post here that would claim otherwise. Arrogant and deluded bastards.
Ms. B…
Your comment is completely accurate; arrogant and deluded bastards, indeed! It’s an utterly insane group-by design! BY DESIGN; THAT realization spun me… Keep ’em busy, exhausted, stressed, and deluded.
To echo Skyler: Fuck Hubbard and Miscavige.
Mark, did Tom or Steve or any of the other ones make a big effort to recover you? Steve about came unglued when I informed him I wouldn’t be back. He even tracked me down after I moved.
Mark, you did well. Only 18 months. We ALL wanted to improve civilization. That’s a good thing. Like Hubtard said, sociopaths hurt in the name of help. That’s how they gain power and followers. He was warning us about himself.
Mark – great post and many of had the exact same experience. Add to that a shattered family due to divorce. My Tu-Dee was at Flag for years after we got married. I had a transgression, which I now consider normal for a young buck who should be sewing my seeds with my Tu-Dee….but she was GONE getting trained at Flag…to save the planet. Now that I am out, hiding under the radar, I can clearly see that Scientology is damaging in the planet by gaslighting members and wasting their lives. I fucking HATE Scientology.
It seems to me, the harshness/hatefulness of the scam at the top is exposed by the LRH royalty system. The man is dead. Whoever (Big Dummy?) is running the estate should know that 5% of something will always outproduce 15% of nothing. But the philosophy of “get while the gettin’s good and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow” seems to be Big Dummy’s mantra.
Let the chickens come home to roost.
Don’t talk of Orgs going ideal
If it’s so real, show me!
Spare me the tech, Hubbard’s hot air
If you’ve got proof, show me!
Here we are together and you’re talking ’bout the psychs
Why do you sound, so damn uptight?
Anyone who’s ever lost a friend will tell you that
Auditing’s not where it’s at!
Hasn’t your heart longed for true love?
Don’t say how much, show me, show me!
Don’t talk of Ron’s billion year vows
I’m not someone to be cowed, show me now!
Oh, I love this one, Scribe! But you need that AMA-zing pink dress she (Audrey H) wore while singing it in the movie!!
👍
I could have regged all night
I could have regged all night
And still have asked for more
Could have been threatening
And sold a thousand things
I’ve never sold before
There’s nothing else that’s quite so damn exciting
When all at once my stats take flight
I only know when he went into fear with me
I could have regged, regged, regged all night
I’ve enjoyed your lyrical prowess time and time again and I think it is time for you to launch:
Scientology: The Musical.
Thanks Barbara – first I must finish the movie.
Sounds to it turned into traveling snake oil man who left snake oil stores where ever he went. Like a modern day Johnny Appleseed? I welcome comments, please educate me, and thank you.
Sounds to it turned into traveling snake oil man who left snake oil stores where ever he went. Like a modern day Johnny Appleseed? I welcome comments, please educate me, and thank you.
Perfect, Scribe! Per-FECT.
Thanks Aqua.
My understanding is that a legal contract cannot be valid unless there is some “consideration” that flows between the two parties.
In other words, Party A must do or give something of value to Party B and vice versa.
That is why a naked promise can never be legally enforced. If I promise to give you some money but you do not give me anything in return, the law will not recognize the validity of the promise.
So any so-called “contract” that says Person A will do some work for Scam B and in return, Scam B promises they “may or may not” give some pocket money to Person A is complete bullshit and can never be enforceable.
Fuck Scamatology!
No, none of it is enforcible. They get people to do things like stay on staff, stay in the SO, pay freeloader debts etc., by threatening them with other things like disconnection, or by lying to them that the contracts are enforcible. But no, they are not legally enforcible.
I’d be surprised if they’d ever collected anything in an action over any of them. People have successfully sued to get their money back on some rare occasions I think, but these contracts are just part of the mind games.
Terrific article, Mike.
I got in in 1984 and was UTR for Debbie Cooke’s email in 2012. Nearly 30 years in the cult. During that time my org was NEVER NOT desperate for staff. They nearly got me – twice. There were many staff recruitment cycles but only 2 serious ones.
During the 2nd one, after reading and signing the staff contract, I was asked for my Social Security #.
That triggered something.
“Why do you need my Social Security #? It says here I’m a volunteer and you don’t have to pay me anything except “pocket money” and you’re not even obligated to pay that. From what I’m reading here the org is not obligated to pay me anything at all, ever. Why does the org need my Social Security #? I’m not an employee.”
“Don’t worry about it”, the staff who was recruiting me replied, nervously. “Here, give me that, and we’ll go over it later.” She snatched the IRS doxument away and changed the subject to my “Project Prepare”.
“I’m not going to give the org my Social Security number”, I said. interrupting her advice about how to prepare to come on staff.
“You’ll have to at some point”, she replied.
I nodded
It bothered me though. I thought about it later, when I was alone.
When something is important I like it to be well defined and very understandable.
Was I in fact a contracted employee, or and not a volunteer?
The contract said I was a volunteer who MAY or may not get “pocket change” by way of remuneration.
But the IRS was demanding my SS# so perhaps the GOVERNMENT considered that what I was doing was employment.
Long story short; I never thought I’d be thanking the IRS for anything, but I am now. Because of you, I didn’t joint staff. Thank you, Internal Revenue Service 🙂
Nice post
Thanks too IRS. Now do your job and rescind Scientology’s tax exemption.
I’ve been told (and seen a check stub that verifies this) that here in the US the COS currently takes the required taxes out of staff pay. It’s called the FICA tax, which consists of 12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare, a total of 15.3%. Half is paid by the employer, and the other half by the employee. So each party pays 7.65% of the total paycheck to the IRS.
But, and this is a big but, if there ever was a time in which staff members received paychecks without if the required 7.65% employee contribution deducted and paid to the IRS, then the COS could be in deep debt.
There is an easy way to check. Americans with an SS number can contact the Social Security office and get a copy of “Your Social Security Statement.” It will show your income reported year by year – and that reported income comes through the FICA tax system, not your income tax returns.
If your Statement shows years in which you were on paid staff, but the Statement shows little or no earnings reported, start complaining to your local SS office.
It is important not only to hold COS feet to the fire, but also because those ancient earnings get a substantial multiplication factor applied to them when calculating one’s actual SS retirement check. To use 1970 as an example, the actual earnings are multiplied by 7.49 when calculating the monthly retirement benefit. The $1.60 minimum wage in 1970 calculates to an annual income of $3,200. But with the 7.49 factor applied it becomes equal to an annual income of about $24,000 in 2019.
In other words, even a little money *not* reported to SS from those olden golden daze could make one’s SS monthly retirement check much lower than it should be. Don’t think COS would not steal a few cents here and there from its staff – it was always about the money, and Hubbard made sure he got everything he could get his hands on, legal or not.
Very good points made in this essay. I see them going down. Who’s going to stay in those conditions? Not many. That’s why the orgs are empty. 😑
Mostly off topic, but relevant because the subject does include staffing requirements: Mike do you have any further information on the “Doing it All Simultaneously” new pitch for remaining Ideal Orgs? If they really intend to “do it all simultaneously” I don’t think we will see this coming to pass for a very long time, if ever, not because of the money but because they will never be able to staff all the remaining orgs at any one time. This can’t be the plan,can it?
I think it’s just a pitch to try to get more money. When KC or Ventura are done with their renovations I cannot imagine Miscavige NOT opening them. This is the staple of most of his events these days. “Look, we have a building” then next event “Here is a CGI fly though”, then an announcement of the “Grand Opening” and then a video of the “Grand Opening.” He doesnt have anything else to talk about.
It seems like the first contradiction in the “simultaneously” campaign is that the several facilities that are nearing completion will have to be opened in the next couple of months – though perhaps, it occurs to me, all at once. I think that also includes Austin, where construction finally started and seemed pretty far along from the last pictures I saw.
That, or they are somehow in such straits that they’re going to have to stop even the projects currently underway, which would be extraordinary, though perhaps not without precedent given the “Super Power” debacle. Still, I don’t know why they wouldn’t have waited a few months until after the openings of the buildings currently well along, to announce that all the rest were supposed to be done “simultaneously.”
Any further delays would also put them in trouble in the UK, where less lenient authorities have for several years been making rumblings about possibly starting condemnation procedures against the historic buildings left derelict and decaying. It’s all rather strange – but if it weren’t it wouldn’t be Scientology.
That’s what I would think as well. I guess we will find out soon enough. If he really means to do it the other way, we may not see another Grand Opening in our life times.
We definitely will not see another grand opening. Think about Harare (and they HAVE a building), St Etienne, Nuoro, Edmonton, Oslo and plenty of others. Not going to happen any time soon…
And that’s a good thing!
Oh, and Columbus is also in the pipeline, so that makes 4 in the US that seem to be, or were, on track to open this fall – which could even happen simultaneously, perhaps with only a simulcast presence by Miscavige, beamed from some secure location. However it ends, it’s long seemed that the “ideal” program might stall when it came to the smallest and worst failing orgs, which are least able to raise a significant amount of the money necessary for a lavishly renovated facility.
Also in the US, they’re heading for trouble over some of the long-moldering historic buildings they bought over a decade ago. Philadelphia, and I think at least one or two others, have been cited by authorities in the past for dereliction, with rumblings about serious action over their abandonment. Plus cities also stopped waiving taxes since the properties weren’t actually being used for religious purposes, so the strugging local orgs have been stuck with annual tax bills in the ballpark of $50,000 from I remember seeing when I looked up property records.
What a mess – that’s Scientology!
Any of the French orgs really. I don’t believe they have even attempted to buy a building in France, due to fear of consequences of the never-ending criminal cases in instruction there. There is still a whole host of European orgs who have never had building purchases announced. Either this is a way to punt the whole Ideal Org evolution into some far off imagined future; or this strategy will be altered when it doesn’t work.
They. Ought one in Paris. Will be interesting to see how that goes…
Paris rings a bell, but a search doesn’t turn up any information.
Also, after a long drawn-out effort they recently bought a modern building in Edinburgh that had already been renovated, and thus presumably would not take much work for them to move in to.
Who knows that they’re thinking – but then again, as the saying goes, maybe they’re not really thinking.
I suppose they could “simultaneously” open the 4 almost complete US facilities this fall and maybe a couple of the European ones, and then say that the rest are really going to all be done simultaneously – revising and re-defining things is part of their basic playbook.
Ortega did a piece about the building they bought in Paris (it’s the 2nd story): https://tonyortega.org/2019/04/19/coming-may-9-silvertail-books-publishes-chris-owens-ron-the-war-hero/
Thanks, Mike. So they spent 33 million euros to buy what looks like a relatively new building in a prime location – one more than 50% larger than the average “ideal” facility.
But while it was reported just a couple of months ago, it appears that the purchase actually took place covertly, though shell companies, at least as far back as 2017 – perhaps Scientology thought they could insulate it from possible seizure if ownership was opaque enough. And then it’s presumably part of the old “ideal” plan; plus they reportedly had grand renovation plans including a large auditorium, so it’s far from being ready to move in to.
I did search before posting, and couldn’t come up with Tony’s piece. In hopes of redeeming myself, given that link I dug a bit deeper, including into the original Libération article (cited, but not linked) – which quotes one Mike Rinder:
“En France, ses responsables avancent régulièrement le chiffre de 40 000 adeptes. Selon un ancien cadre qui les a quittés au début des années 2010, ils seraient à peine 400.” (basically, they claim 40,000 members, but an executive who left in 2010 says its’s only 400)
Saint-Denis : les scientologues lancent le siège, les élus résistent
https://www.liberation.fr/france/2019/04/18/saint-denis-les-scientologues-lancent-le-siege-les-elus-resistent_1722247
There’s also a brief piece from another source, in English:
The Church of Scientology settles in Saint-Denis: “Everyone is a little helpless”
https://www.tellerreport.com/news/–the-church-of-scientology-settles-in-saint-denis–%22everyone-is-a-little-helpless%22-.HyGJycv9N.html
It appears that the building they purchased at 270 Ave du Président Wilson in Saint-Denis is a former Samsung office, though I can’t find much more about it.
p.s. That’s not actually one of the Mike Rinder quotes from the Libération article, though this is:
«L’objectif est de convaincre les donateurs que la scientologie s’étend partout dans le monde, décrypte Mike Rinder. (“The goal is to convince donors that Scientology is spreading around the world”)
You appear to be very fluent in French, Mike! 🙂
I hope some of this detail about orgs and missions is of interest, I find it sometimes insightful as to what’s going on.
Paris seems likely to be left to molder as one of the older lot of building purchases, but I’m curious to see if the newly purchased and already-modernized Edinburgh facility is treated any differently or just gets lumped in with the rest.
To me it looks like a way to consolidate resources (money) without overtly saying “we are pulling everything together into a single war-chest”.
Money is a hell of a lot easier to move than a building.
According to the Australian Government Fair Work Ombudsman, that “disclaimer” isn’t worth squat. From their web page https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/unpaid-work/unpaid-work#volunteering
“A volunteer is someone who does work for the main purpose of benefitting someone else, such as a church, sporting club, government school, charity or community organisation. Volunteers are not employees and don’t have to be paid. As with work experience and internship arrangements, all relevant factors must be considered to determine whether a person is a genuine volunteer or whether, in fact, an employment relationship exists even though the worker is called a ‘volunteer’.
Key characteristics of a genuine volunteering arrangement include:
the parties did not intend to create a legally binding employment relationship
the volunteer is under no obligation to attend the workplace or perform work
the volunteer doesn’t expect to be paid for their work.
The more formalised that volunteer work arrangements become (for instance if the volunteer is expected to work according to a regular roster) the greater the possibility that an employment relationship will be found. It is less likely that an employment relationship will be found to exist where the volunteer work is undertaken for selfless purposes or for furthering a particular belief in the not-for-profit sector.”
Everything about the “Staff” contract screams Employer/Employee relationship. Especially with the “freeloader debt” implying the person on “Staff” received some type of benefit that must be reimbursed if they leave.
In the ‘good old days’ an auditor was held out as the hero of the $cien world. It took a long time for everyone to notice that with 30 auditors at each mOrg, no one got to bill for more than a few hours each week. Well, when enough auditors left and the other picked up their students, another batch auditors ‘graduated’ and back to the tiny pay check the auditors went.
The scam was always meant to include massive turnover. Who, after hearing the truth by word of mouth got involved in $cientology after say, 1962?
How often does any mOrg make new auditors these days? And forget that fake holiday, Auditor’s Day. That is just more bullshit hype. $cientology makes more money by training Auditors then by employing them.
What ever came of the rumblings about staff starting to get a guaranteed minimum pay amount, apparently connected to the “you can have it all” recruitment campaign that seemed aimed at members of family age, in particular?
I’d also like to know if Scientology is now having to pay minimum wage in Quebec, and perhaps all of Canada. Apparently, and all too typically, the settlement of the labor action there was sealed.
The claim about “total freedom” is glaring, Orwellian propaganda. Looking around, realistically, the only thing Scientology might possibly provide is occasional cases of freedom from a phobia or psychosomatic illness; what’s most obvious is that everyone is chained to the system, and many are no more free of their human limits than average, or even somewhat worse off.
“Scientology is an applied religious philosophy and offers total freedom.”
http://www.skeptictank.org/rpf.gif
Former ‘volunteer’ Hy Levi (RIP): “Money! It was all about money!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgaX-7fTIJw
“The truth is, being on staff is a miserable existence for most. High stress. No real accomplishment. Impoverishment. What’s not to like?”.
When I read something like this, I’m so very glad that I got out. Freedom never tasted so good! And, of course, when I left, I grabbed my board and went surfing!
Scientology teaches you NOTHING!
For Class XII surfers only
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMxE8LkfeXU
And I am that Class XII Surfer!
Old Surfer Dude,
Being on staff whether in a Class IV org or Sea Org truly sucks. When I went free (blew from the SO) I experienced real freedom. No more stat-push Thursdays, No more crazy orders and all-hands projects. And I could go surfing again. The true EP (end phenomena) in Scientology is realizing when you’ve had enough and decide to leave.
Good on you, Peter!
Today started good, took a little side turn with an MS flair up, but at the end of the day I will still take that over any day in the life of a scientoligist cult member. My gosh who in their right mind signs up to be a slave? There’s just something so very wrong with that. There are no good days there. It’s all an illusion. Heaven help them.
Everything about Scientology is wrong!
Hey, what about Xenu?!
He’s got the flu.
One of the funniest responses ever on this blog!
Scribe & myself are certainly trying! Comedy is a good thing.
Despite what Ron said about Jerkers and Degrooders.
NO pay but we’ll give you freedom, which translates to we’ll audit you to freedom. Well tell that to the poor Freewinds Exec, the “face of the Freedinds” who had been an exec there for 10 years and got NO auditing and NO training, NO nothing but heartache.
True that Mike!
When in the SO in the 70s and 80s pay was $17 a week. You know, you were there. All we got was a dorm room and daily meals. The $17/week didn’t go far of course. I recall having to pay $5 a week to the Estates Org to have the air conditioner in the room turned on!! Toiletries, cigarettes, clothing, a meal out or a movie and the cost of soap and laundry machine use routinely consumed it all. I was so broke when I left my mom had to wire me money to fund my journey. I truly believe the despicably low pay was to keep us all from leaving, or even thinking about it. Well that and 10s of thousands in
“freeloaders debt” too. I know of others since who could never have made it out without parent’s financial help.
Despicable cult.
Whew! Despicable cult indeed!
A hell designed by one as evil as Satan himself, Hubtard.
With all the info now out in the open, only those criminally minded would promote Hubtard and his insanity.
This bogus statement about staff being a volunteer position reminded me of an experience I had when I was serving on my local Volunteer Fire Dept. We were doing a training drill at a defunct rat’s nest of an abandoned fuel depot. The captain uttered this caution; “if there’s ever a fire here, remember what the word volunteer means”.
Only a fool or complete idiot will come along and insist that those reading these posters and contracts have a ‘MU’ on word volunteer. As always, in scientology, it’s a one-way street for them, leading to money or exploitation or both.
To paraphrase Dave’s BFF: “Somebody asked me once, ‘Have you ever met any Scientology staff?’ (laughter). You know, maybe one day we’ll read about them in the history books!”
When I was in Miami in the 1980’s I did get involved with a staff member. I could not believe the situation she was in and I began to wonder about it. She was from an upper middle class family from the North. She was working in the Miami Org sometimes more than sixty hours a week. She supported herself as a cocktail waitress when she could get out of the org. As I got more curious, I investigated the backgrounds of the other staff members. Most of them were high school grads with major issues about middle class life. Not having access to the really good jobs, they were sort of looking at Scientology as an alternative. The Miami org recruited a guy off the street. His first paycheck was .67 cents for a week of work so I was told. Obviously he quit on that day.
I’d be surprised if any staff outside LA and Flag sell 100 hours of auditing a week. I’d be surprised if the local org delivered 100 hours of auditing in a MONTH. Between them all. Whether they even have 100 distinct public walk through the door in a month seems steep. There’s no way they are going to pay staff when the roof’s leaking and they can’t even pay to fix that. Never having been on staff, that seems obvious to me.
I don’t believe these people sign up expecting to be paid well, as Ron said. I think they join because they are desperate to move up the bridge to nowhere, and can’t afford it, so they believe the lies that they are going to get to OT this way. (So why don’t the elderly staff around you have ANY meaningful training…? Why aren’t they moving up?)
Agreed…How many staff and SO have even made it to ‘clear’? Very few. I am wondering if there is a career Sea Orger out there who is OT VIII. I am sure that they have recruited some OT VIIIs to join SO or Staff AFTER they have reached the pinnacle of the ‘bridge’…but how many of those who have been in the SO for most of their lives have attained OT VIII? Does anyone have a statistic or guess? I am guessing none.
The solution to going up the Bridge for our staff was to run out the contract, leave staff, get a job and pay for it. This was a consistent process. You did staff to contribute, but you had no allusions about getting up the Bridge.
Practically any one that joins becomes a slave.
And the legal claim just shows you that the only thing ‘management’ is interested in is in protecting their interests and earnings…nothing else.
In a nutshell it is just a criminal cult/organization, nothing else.
I wrote a billion years contract twice.
The purpose in life is to make the whole world to a big smiley.
The internet sees all and knows all. You can’t get away from it. Scientology will die off at some point. It’s just a matter of time. And WE have all the time in the world.
Hitler made it in 15 years or so at the power. Hubbard made it 35 years or so. His executerr still goes on because he’s a dwarf. People h.ave sympathy
After a couple of pretty useful toastmasters or Dale Carnegy type drills also referred to as com course the assault on your freedom begins.
You are not free to study: Misunderstood doing you in all the time.
your reactive mind those prenatal find them! EP: Clear. I am just making this stuff up!
Them nasty space cooties! Exorcise at least 400.000 of them(at your expense of say $200.000(50 cents per cootie)then you can be declared cootie free too.
OT VIII: Those past lives we told you you had? You just made them up sucker.
OT VIII ep: Bankrupt, old but no retirement, want to leave but can’t, estranged from friends and family, no up to date skills,
Solution: Next time Lil’Davey says hip hip I shout hurrah louder!
You think I am gonna admit I was conned.No I was right since it says on this diploma I have no service facsimiles(self-righteous mechanisms)
After reading for years about Tiny Boots declaring “Ideal” this and “Ideal” that, on and on and on, I think that the only logical next step is for Slappy to “take responsibility” and declare himself The Ideal Asshole.
There, I said it!
Well said Bognition! Well said.
He is a unique specie known as Hollywood Homo Erectus.
I had a Hollywood Homo Erectus once. They painted my face and put me in a movie.
Scribe, he’s not Erectus anything, which is why he never slept with his wife but once a year.
And he still did it wrong!
You provide a stiff argument.
I had a stiff back once. But nothing like a stiff one. Except…
Stiff but flexible.
Don’t be too hard on yourself.