Hubbard churned out thousands of writings — books, magazine articles, policy letters, technical bulletins etc.
I have often noted that if something Hubbard said is inconvenient to the current circumstance, you can probably find something else he said that is contradictory and will suit the current need.
There are a few writings of Hubbard that were pure self-promotional propaganda. His statement: “the work was free, keep it so” comes to mind, ha ha ha. NOTHING is free in scientology.
But perhaps the most blatant of all is his essay “What is Greatness?” It is used by scientology regularly to present Hubbard the “humanitarian” with his pronouncement of himself as a kind, forgiving saint-like person who is above mere human reactions.
Here are some quotes from it:
The hardest task one can have is to continue to love one’s fellows despite all reasons he should not.
And the true sign of sanity and greatness is to so continue.
For the one who can achieve this, there is abundant hope. For those who cannot, there is only sorrow, hatred and despair, and these are not the things of which greatness or sanity or happiness are made.
To do one’s task without becoming furious at others who seek to prevent one is a mark of greatness—and sanity. And only then can one be happy.
Seeking to achieve any single desirable quality in life is a noble thing. The one most difficult and most necessary to achieve is to love one’s fellows despite all invitations to do otherwise.
Some of us are subject to those pressures and still go on doing our jobs. Others have long since succumbed and rave and torture and strut like the demented souls they are.
One must act, one must preserve order and decency, but one need not hate or seek vengeance.
Never use what is done to one as a basis for hatred. Never desire revenge.
Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.
Contrast these noble sounding statements — proclaiming he embodies them “some of us are subject to those pressures and still go on doing our jobs” with other Hubbard pronouncements (and there are many more of these contained in numerous articles):
People attack Scientology; I never forget it, always even the score.
People attack auditors, or staff, or organisations, or me. I never forget until the slate is clear.
Fair Game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued, lied to or destroyed.
“…those who try to make life hard for us are AT ONCE at risk.”
The only way to defend anything is to ATTACK…
…cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.
…always find or manufacture enough threat against them to cause them to sue for peace. Peace is bought with an exchange of advantage, so make the advantage and then settle. Don’t ever defend. Always attack.
A. COUNTER ATTACK TO OBTAIN THE REMOVAL OF THE PERSON with a product of DISMISSED ATTACKER.
B. If on test, A is not feasible, SURVEY TO FIND WHAT THE PERSON CONSIDERS VALUABLE AND USE IT FOR RESTRAINT.
…discover what the person really is defending and threaten it effectively.
Harass these persons in any possible way.
Any Sea Org member contacting any of them is to use Auditing Process R2-45. [.45 caliber bullet to the head]
…We must ourselves fight on the basis of total attrition of the enemy. So never get reasonable about him. Just go all the way in and obliterate him.
There was a lot more Mr. Hyde in L. Ron Hubbard than Dr. Jekyll. His kinder, gentler aspect was only evident when it served some other purpose
Let’s give credit where credit is due. L. Ron Hubbard was one of the greatest cult leaders of all time.
I know that Mike Rinder, like myself has read the book The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout.
I think her remarks on both sociopaths and narcissists are insightful and appropriate for describing the mind and character of Lafayette Ronald Hubbard. I think her description of a narcissist is appropriate.
Here are several of her quotes from that book:
Quotes from the book, The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout, PhD
October 8, 2019 by alaughingsoul Leave a comment
“Sociopathy is the inability to process emotional experience, including love and caring, except when such experience can be calculated as a coldly intellectual task.”
“To admit that some people literally have no conscience is not technically the same as saying that some human beings are evil, but it is disturbingly close. And good people want very much not to believe in the personification of evil.”
“If, instead, you find yourself often pitying someone who consistently hurts you or other people, and who actively campaigns for your sympathy, the chances are close to 100 percent that you are dealing with a sociopath.”
“Sociopaths have no regard whatsoever for the social contract, but they do know how to use it to their advantage. And all in all, I am sure that if the devil existed, he would want us to feel very sorry for him.”
“Rather, the best clue is, of all things, the pity play. The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as one might imagine, at our fearfulness. It is, perversely, an appeal to our sympathy. ”
“And sociopaths are noted especially for their shallowness of emotion, the hollow and transient nature of any affectionate feelings they may claim to have, a certain breathtaking callousness. They have no trace of empathy and no genuine interest in bonding emotionally with a mate. Once the surface charm is scraped off, their marriages are loveless, one-sided, and almost always short-term. If a marriage partner has any value to the sociopath, it is because the partner is viewed as a possession, one that the sociopath may feel angry to lose, but never sad or accountable.”
“If all you had ever felt toward another person were the cold wish to “win,” how would you understand the meaning of love, of friendship, of caring? You would not understand. You would simply go on dominating, and denying, and feeling superior. Perhaps you would experience a little emptiness sometimes, a remote sense of dissatisfaction, but that is all.”
“As a counterpoint to sociopathy, the condition of narcissism is particularly interesting and instructive. Narcissism is, in a metaphorical sense, one half of what sociopathy is. Even clinical narcissists are able to feel most emotions are strongly as anyone else does, from guilt to sadness to desperate love and passion. The half that is missing is the crucial ability to understand what other people are feeling. Narcissism is a failure not of conscience but of empathy, which is the capacity to perceive emotions in others and so react to them appropriately. The poor narcissist cannot see past his own nose, emotionally speaking, and as with the Pillsbury Doughboy, any input from the outside will spring back as if nothing had happened. Unlike sociopaths, narcissists often are in psychological pain, and may sometimes seek psychotherapy. When a narcissist looks for help, one of the underlying issues is usually that, unbeknownst to him, he is alienating his relationships on account of his lack of empathy with others, and is feeling confused, abandoned, and lonely. He misses the people he loves, and is ill-equipped to get them back. Sociopaths, in contrast, do not care about other people, and so do not miss them when they are alienated or gone, except as one might regret the absence of a useful appliance that one has somehow lost.”
“One must act, one must preserve order and decency, but one need not hate or seek vengeance.
Never use what is done to one as a basis for hatred. Never desire revenge.
Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.”
Tell that to Paulette Cooper.
But Mike, don’t you understand? There’s no dichotomy between LRH’s words in “What IS Greatness” and his actual handlings of those he considered enemies. None whatsoever! Sure, he evened the score! Always! But, while ordering all the sordid, underhanded, dirty tricks in his OSA revenge arsenal done so as to get even with, shudder into silence and outright destroy his enemies, still, he never stopped LOVING them!
Hubbard is as noble and holy as a Saint, if that Saint was a narcissistic sociopath who liked to abuse and exploit people.
Beautiful article. He was more of a natural born Mr. Hyde, trying to transform himself into an apparent Dr. Jekyll but never succeeding, until the end.
Excellent summary.
This reminds me of hypnotism where conflicting commands are used. I have recently had the thought that confusion is caused by conflicting datums.
Mike,
It is great that you are making Lron’s writings public.
His actual words are the best weapons we can use against the cult.
It worked for me.
Be well, my friend.
Dennis
And don’t forget he created the most ethical group on the planet. Maybe one day we’ll find out what planet he’s referring to, sure as hell isn’t this one.
I have seen a lot of Scientologists and ex Scientologists who knew Hubbard while he lived who he in my opinion flattered so he could use them. I believe he truly lacked compassion, empathy, and basic human decency.
In his history we find his desire to enslave humanity as expressed clearly in his affirmations (private self hypnosis commands) which are available free online.
Additionally in his private letters we find him bragging about finding a way to rape women without their knowledge, in his letter to Forest Ackerman for one example.
There is significant evidence that Hubbard was a rapist, drug addict, and alcoholic. He certainly was a thief and conman.
Additionally we have extremely strong evidence that Hubbard was extraordinarily cruel, ruthless, merciless and even sadistic.
He abused his power and had people included children humiliated in public and physically tortured.
He also developed a technology to covertly confuse people and leave them psychological and emotional wrecks in his thrall, effectively ruining them, which he understood but frankly didn’t care about. He just wanted to dominate others and if they lost their families, sanity, health, wealth and very lives and minds then that was a sacrifice that Hubbard was all too willing to make.
In the literature on human predators there is the rare category of monsters that almost constantly are doing acts of extreme evil. Carl Panzram, noted for committing around twenty murders and over a thousand acts of sodomy against boys and men comes to mind. His motto was “Rob them all, rape them all, kill them all!”
He expressed a wish that the whole world had one throat, so that he could kill everyone at once!
Hubbard in a private letter noted that he had either a great love or great hate for humanity! It is demonstrated by his private letters, affirmations, and rare admissions in Scientology doctrine, often taped lectures that he despised humanity and wanted to degrade and dominate others.
I can’t emphasize enough that he made it clear that he understood he was confusing people and harming them mentally to control them, while pretending to be a benevolent messiah.
Yup, a true anti-social personality. Oh, the irony…
Exactly! He projected his own traits on the entire human race!
But but but Mockingbird!
Sure, he did ALL this nasty stuff to people in retaliation for their real or imagined threats or slights but at the same time, he never stopped loving them 🙂
Yes, the Tilden Twat graced us with us uplifting, eternity-salvaging grift and fuckery, ramen!
💲
Well, I guess he never stopped because he never started!
Funny 🙂 But actually, lately I’ve begun to ponder the possibility that Hubbard was schizophrenic – not in the delusionional sense but in having two distinctly opposite personalities. I mean, his writings, policies, etc. about caring for people and helping people are so wonderful and compassionate, helpful and good, and then, there are the bitter, furious, vengeful, merciless writings and policies coming from the same person…I don’t get . Perhaps “schizophrenic” is not the right term for someone who has two distinctly opposite personalities in the same body…? Of course, I have only LRH’s writings to go on – I didn’t Know him personally, never met him.
Every possibility he was bi polar or manic. People with bi polar are wonderful one minute seeing the world with loving eyes and nothing is of fault and next minute can turn bitter and see the world with different coloured glasses. I guess we will never know but my gut feeling is that the kind and loving messages he put out was just a charade to gain trust from people who he would later use for his personal benefit. He often didn’t practice what he preached which suggests that he didn’t buy what he was selling.
On more pressing matters, I’m jumping on the Swans bandwagon (who I’m sure Mike will be supporting today) all Australians will know what I’m talking about so let’s hear a COMMON SOUTH MELBOURNE!!!!!
Thanks, Xenos. I’m not that knowledgeable about bi polar disorder or manic disorder. Obviously we all have our moods, our sunny days and our gloomy days. But it just blows my mind how ONE individual can have within himself the capabilities of caring deeply about people and dealing with some people with the true intention of helping them, understanding them, not judging them ever, allieviating their sufferings, opening new avenues of awareness for them, etc., etc., and at the same time, the capabilities of systematically and ruthlessly destroying other people…and with these 180 degree opposite capabilities themselves capable of being turned on and off, like two faucets…its hard for me to grasp. But then, that’s because, frankly, I WAS helped by his tech. As a public (never staff) it WAS delivered to me correctly (or in such a way, I should say) that it benefited me a good deal. While at the same time, there are others here whose lives were completely ruined for a while by OTHER tech from the SAME person…and I don’t for a minute doubt that this, and, further, I am in total solidarity with them for the cruel injustice they have suffered, simply for speaking out…well, I guess you get the point.
Perhaps I’m trying to find some excuse, some major fundamental excuse for these dichotomies both operative in the person that was LRH. And perhaps, in my struggling to find some mental illness excuse to NOT accept that someone could be so utterly and completely deceptive and inherently and actively evil, perhaps I’m probably just a fool – its possible. I’ve always been something of a fool, actually.
Well, I have looked at his actions, his claims, his private letters and writings to some degree including the Skipper Letter, and The Ackerman letter and several others. I consider these along with his affirmations (private self hypnosis commands he likely used on himself thousands of times) essential to understanding Hubbard.
Many excerpts from Scientology doctrine in my opinion show that he intentionally used hypnosis and psychological techniques to confuse, degrade, and mentally harm people to mentally enslave them, while knowing full well that he would be causing tremendous damage to his victims emotionally and psychologically, often for decades or life.
Numerous models such as the malignant narcissist and Traumatic Narcissism by Daniel Shaw as well as The Solipsistic Reality by Robert Jay Lifton are thought provoking and worth considering. I also have looked at the model for a sociopath and narcissist by Martha Stout from her back The Sociopath Next Door.
I personally have accepted ideas from several of these and ones examined in A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance by Leon Festinger.
My personal opinion is that Hubbard fit a description called a malignant narcissist or vulnerable narcissist.
I have written on this at length at my blog Mockingbird’s Nest, blog on Scientology.
To give a brief description there is a model that describes a mind that is split or fractured. We have one part that is a false self aka outer self or facade. It’s a creation that is (seen by the person as being) perfect, godlike, flawless, brilliant, competent, tough, without guilt or anything negative. It’s a being that no one should doubt or contradict or not trust or obey.
It’s a perfect being that only plays two roles ever, hero or if failing and unable to hide the failure a blameless victim.
The other part that is hidden is the inner self. This is a self image and not reality either, a different delusion. Whether from abuse, neglect, sexual assault, (often as a child) genetics or a combination or other causes some rare individuals end up with the idea that they are worthless, useless, not worthy of love or mercy or compassion ever and that they have no hope for recovery or improvement.
This inner self is seen as atrophied, meaning because of circumstances it never developed emotional maturity and is incapable of being mature and forming mature relationships, it’s seen as petulant, belligerent, with no empathy or compassion for others but having profound sensitivity to slights or any lack of recognition or admiration from others. It’s seen as failing to use self reflection for improvement or growth as an individual and also failing to empathize with others or to love others in mature relationships.
This model describes the perfect self as presented to the outside world as much as possible and preferred to knowing that the person is actually not (in their own opinion) this idealized opposite to the inner self.
Lifton describes the person as trying to will their lies into reality and accepting them as reality. Lifton also recognizes another portion that knows the lies as lies while acting to hide them and avoid the consequences of them being false and the consequences of the lies being false in truth.
I think Hubbard had no good part, no portion that actually loved other people. His writings show he knew he was harming and lying to people, his actions confirmed this.
I invite anyone who’s interested to check out Mockingbird’s Nest blog on Scientology and I have a blog archive by topic to look up any topic one desires.
Below is a link to the blog archive by topic at Mockingbird’s Nest blog on Scientology
https://mbnest.blogspot.com/2020/07/blog-archive-by-topic.html
Mockingbird, thank you. What you’ve written is a lot around which my limited mental mitts must wrap. I’d rather go to your blog and get my feet wet there before plunging in with the references you’ve recommended. It is important to me to understand, and I will pursue this. It is difficult for me. But I won’t give up. Thank you again for caring enough to help me.
You are certainly welcome to read everything that I have available, whatever is interesting to you or is helpful is there for exactly that reason.
I try to write for everyone but my main and first audience is cult members and ex members, particularly Scientologists and ex Scientologists who have similar experiences and issues to my own.
I go through a lot of effort to make clear and easily understood content that references sources and lists citations so that people can pursue their own education and recovery with ease.
You are welcome to ask me anything you like. I can refer you to many posts and references that have helped others to untangle themselves from Hubbard’s web of lies.
If I do not know about something I can always try to find out and write about it.
Great article Mike.
Reminded me of when Hubbard was told his son had committed suicide his response was; “What is that asshole doing, trying to ruin me?”
Definitely no kindness, gentleness, compassion, etc. etc. etc. Told me a heck of a lot about him when I heard that.