An interesting thing here from some people who call themselves “Community Preparedness Group Int. Inc.” Can’t find this with a google search.
It is my supposition that scientology tends to attract people who are conspiracy theorist/anti-vaxxers/New World Order types because these views fall in well with the Hubbard anti-government, anti-medical, anti-pscyhiatric, anti-communist, anti-UN, anti-everything not scientology world view.
And within scientology people are indoctrinated into Hubbard’s way of thinking, so the chorus of agreement continues to grow within the bubble.
I should not be surprised, I guess, given Hubbard’s extreme views. He built his empire like a fascist dictator — his authoritarian pronouncements were the ONLY acceptable views, and anyone who questioned or opposed them was to be eliminated. While offering PRey platitudes to make himself look good, kind, empathetic and loving, his actions were anything but. He called for police and justice systems to be replaced with his own version. He abhorred the idea of “rewarding downstats” — social safety nets were for DB’s. He railed against taxation and government. He didn’t like or trust the medical field. He was homophobic. Banks and bankers are all sharks. Tax agencies are blood suckers. All in all, a very unlikable person once the veneer of his PR persona was dissolved.
No wonder there are so many unhinged people in the bubble.
David Sanders is ex-SO crew at Flag. He seems very mixed up. Why is he organizing people to grow vegetables and learn to operate ham radios instead of implementing the REAL solution: LRH tech? What about the Way to Happiness? Volunteer Ministers? These guys seem to be hedging their bets. Perhaps they realize they are not having ANY effect at all on society, so it’s time to bail on plan A and switch over to something more practical.
Who knows what goes on in the heads of these people. It is interesting to watch though.
There is a lecture where Hubbard talks specifically about creating a retreat to survive the possible apocalypse and he recommends what to do and how to survive and create a new civilization. This was quite the rage I think in the late 70s and early 80s. That one lecture created the survivalist mentality within the Scientology community. Does anyone remember the name of the lecture? So it’s been there for awhile. It was so popular that the OSA part of the organization started to clamp down on it.
BK, there’s more than one (to me) obscure lecture reference; it’s his many references to the cabal behind ALL the attacks on scn, the dozen or so who are also heads of their countries’ psych organizations, etc. I don’t care enough about it to search out specific references. Others can do better than I, anyway.
For sure he made up the big conspiracy in the sky. OT III. And yes he had the whole Illuminati banker theory. Ron’s Journals. As with all his research he took some truth and used it to control his flock.
Is Scientology willing to spend eight figures to replace the Freewinds?
https://cruiseship.homestead.com/cruiseships.html
There are acceptable ships there for <$7,000,000 otherless. VERY low 7 figures. But no; DM won't spring for that unless it benefits him in some way.
otherles, one of those is “Blt. 1953, rebuilt 2005” – 15 years older than the Freewinds, showing that aging ships can indeed be kept in service.
I find the Freewinds listed as 134.16 m (440 ft 2 in) in length with a capacity of 540 passengers – which already seems far bigger than they need. The largest couple of recent events I’ve seen photos from showed just upwards of 100 people on the ship, and other “conventions” seem to be more in the range of 30 to 50, with smaller groups for OTVIII courses which Scientology watchers figure amount to around 200 total per year.
As I’ve said before, I could imagine Scientology getting a slightly larger “ideal” ship to claim as “expansion” when it was really cover for some downsizing and consolidation, such as if they moved more of the OT levels onto the ship, and then had AOLA and Flag providing yet more of what had previously been done at local orgs (a trend that’s been happening for a long time) such as OTIII and maybe even “going clear.” Come to think of it, the eventual re-opening of local orgs could provide them an excuse to re-organize all sorts of things, including perhaps using supposed security concernces after the civil unrest to claim that it is too dangerous to have “confidential” materials for training stored at local orgs.
Peacemaker, trying to guess Dwarfenführer’s idea of “ideal” boat is fun. My guess is that you can’t go wrong if you imagine the biggest, most lavish floating cathedral to a tiny little dictator’s ‘vision’. I suspect it woukd be latge enough to accommodate ALL currently-active scns. Fleece-winds is ALMOST big enough, it seems.
” I suspect it [the new ship] would be large enough to accommodate ALL currently-active scns. ”
If that is what is needed just get a nice sized lifeboat…
https://www.marineinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/lowering-lifeboat.png
Sure it is a strategy. The concept of granting beingness is well used. Any idea is most of the time welcomed but then turned into what hubbald said.
The new person express an idea and then they will say ‘look, you see he said the same in this issue …’
It is said to create empathy and make him to feel being in the right place.
The cult is build to be a multifaceted trap. Each face has its own indipendent way to attract the preed and own entrance.
Hmm, I’m surprised vats for bulk quantities of Kool-Aid aren’t included on his list.
That would be too obvious.
WAYC, the vats will first be purchased as super-sized food-prep caldrons. Only when he is trapped will they be re-purposed for the Flavor-aide.
A new requirement for the ideal tub is that it be nuclear-powered, and have stowage enough to carry a lifetime- suppply(his) of whatever hooch he guzzles.
I’m thinking these types of activities are done only for church status to ensure access to their next OT level.
And FSM commissions of course.
“David Sanders is ex-SO crew at Flag. He seems very mixed up. Why is he organizing people to grow vegetables and learn to operate ham radios…”
You can use the vegetables to power the ham radios when the lights go out and the DC8’s (although by now Xenu should have upgraded them to at least DC9 technology) appear in the sky to dump a whole new load of his people then blow them up.
This!
People underestimate the power of vegetables, but LRH didn’t. I am the living proof!
One of the best posts on this blog, Mike. You seem to be getting a real handle on this movement. When I entered in 1972, I was fresh out of the army after a tour in Korea. Hubbard’s anti-Viet Nam War statements gave me a different civilian perspective. As a member of the hippie generation and the baby boomers, I felt right at home in the free love environment at the mission and the orgs.
Personally , I tend to think that Scientology will one day end just like “Heaven’s Gate”. Before OT VIII, everyone was talking about how OT IX, would be done out of body because that is what Hubbard did. We were all thinking about dropping our bodies during the OT IX sessions. This is where I think Scientology will go. Someone like the old Captain from Europe will dream up out of body processes. About 10% of the base will do it. The rest will quit the movement.
I can sympathize with the preppers. In my youthful impressionable days folks were building backyard fall-out shelters for World War Three.
In my opinion the tendency to believe in the whacky side is just part of Hubbard’s clever con strategy.
1. You’re trying to sell something that doesn’t work. Rather than give up like a sensible person and start a basket-weaving cooperative or join Amway you –
2. Figure out a whole system of ways to convince people that it really does work. Part of that is the need to explain failures by –
3. Blaming your failures on external forces. The government. The FBI, CIA, FDA etc. Or the AMA, APA, anybody who suggests you may not be clicking on all two-and-a-half cylinders. A vitally important part of the barrage of propaganda that pours out of Scientology is the idea that there is something fundamentally flawed about all these august institutions. To make this effort really work you –
4. Have to undermine the credibility of every potential enemy of Scientology. And everybody is a potential enemy. The bunker mentality. Ron and his loyal officer crew against the forces of evil. Blah Blah Blah.
Unfortunately this makes it necessary to find conspiracies, cabals, corruption and cracks in every façade. Remember the endless crap show that was the old “Freedom Magazine”? Drug experiments by the military, CIA thought control programs, the “Golden Triangle” around Viet Nam financing the Cold War with drug sales, endless explanations for the assassination of JFK. Today they spend more time on former members, a little closer to home. Same idea though, you and me against the world.
I had a friend that would listen to Art Bell every night, making cassette recordings. When he’d hear something “really good” he’d pass it on to David Miscavige. Another friend recorded the alien autopsy broadcast when it came out, so Dave could have his own personal copy. It is rumored that some of Dave’s favorite books were the “Rule by Secrecy” and “Alien Agenda” conspiracy theory extravaganzas by the late Jim Marrs.
All very well to keep an open mind, but not so open that the winds of space are roaring around in there.
When you come across a belief or idea that challenges your world view, how do you respond?
A well-balanced self-aware individual can consider new ideas. They will gather more facts, consult with others, try to get truly educated about it. If they find their cherished former ideas are wrong, they can change.
In the bunker, incoming contrary ideas are treated just like incoming bullets or arrows. If any information gathering goes on it is the OSA kind – who is the person with this idea? Where does he live? Has he ever tweeted anything that can be taken the wrong way? Does he have any vulnerable pets?
Getting out of Scientology doesn’t immediately get you out of the bunker. Intellectually lazy but easier to maintain, the bunker mentality makes the world seem more dangerous but also makes it much easier to understand.
Makes a lot of sense.
Bruce, I enjoyed this post very much. It contains some of the most compelling logic I’ve yet seen that describes the workings of this scam. To summarize what I believe you said:
“If you develop something and discover it does not work, instead of working to create something that DOES work, it is so much easier and more profitable to develop a system that takes advantage of people and tricks them into believing the bogus system does in fact work.”
If I understand correctly, that is a wonderful summary of most of the worst aspects of this scam and it clearly explains the logic that supports it. I want to applaud you. That is a wonderful summary that explains things to most everyone still in the bubble. That description was not easy to distill from the scam and I want to applaud you for explaining it in such a way that most anyone can understand. Please let me know if I misunderstood anything you said. Otherwise, it seems to me to be an excellent description of how the world’s ultimate con man put together this get-rich system that defrauds most anyone he can get his hooks into.
Well said Bruce!
Wynski, You said it all in just a few words. I must learn to make shorter posts.
Great post, Bruce.
I suspect this is yet another $cientology front group. I did a quick check in the Florida ‘SunBiz’ business entity search and the IRS Exempt Organization database. It looks like whatever CPG is, it started in 2017 and got 501(c)3 status in 2018:
From Florida’s ‘SUNBIZ’ Business Search:
Detail by Entity Name
Florida Not For Profit Corporation
COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS GROUP INTERNATIONAL INC
Filing Information
Document Number: N17000006985
FEI/EIN Number: 82-2169631
Date Filed: 07/06/2017
State: FL
Status: ACTIVE
Principal Address:
1850 BELLEMEADE DRIVE
CLEARWATER, FL 33755
Mailing Address:
1850 BELLEMEADE DRIVE
CLEARWATER, FL 33755
Registered Agent Name & Address:
LAROSE, DAVE
1850 BELLEMEADE DRIVE
CLEARWATER, FL 33755
Officer/Director Detail Name & Address
Title ED
SANDERS, DAVID
3051 Diamond Head Drive E
CLEARWATER, FL 33761
Title SEC
SANDERS, MARCY
3051 Diamond Head Drive E
CLEARWATER, FL 33761
Title TREA
LAROSE, DAVE
1850 BELLEMEADE DRIVE
CLEARWATER, FL 33755
From the IRS Exempt Organizaton Database:
EIN: 822169631
NAME: COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS GROUP INTERNATIONAL INC
ADDRESS: 1850 BELLEMEADE DR
CITY: CLEARWATER
STATE: FL
ZIP: 33755-2201
RULING: 201803
I noticed that AOLA has been hosting a Disaster Preparedness Fair for a couple of years, and a search also showed them involved in past years in a Hollywood Community Preparedness Fair and Workshops, though all of those seemed to be fairly mainstream events with government and emergency services organizations participating. I was thinking I’d seen them involved in what sounded a bit more like a “prepper”-ish event, but it could have just been those – though a few of the vendors listed seemed to target more than just typical common-sense earthquake preparation.
The more mainstream aspect fits with efforts like the VMs’ attempts to get good PR and to co-opt or “safepoint” legitimate disaster assistance and humanitarian groups. The apocalyptic aspect fits with Scientology’s tendency to play the “merchant of chaos” itself and claim that the world is falling apart, epitomize by Hubbard’s old claim that the planet only had about 5 years left unless something was done.
It’s interesting how Scientology, once appealing to hippies of the “free love” generation, has drifted more towards conservatism and even the alt-right, and of course sexual oppression – though that is arguably just the group over time being brought into greater conformance with Hubbard’s thoughts, perspectives, and ideology. I think part of what happened during Scientology’s heyday was that the orgs and missions filled up with idealistic and enthusiastic young people infused with the zeitgiest of the era, and a vision of what Scientology could be that was not necessarily quite in alignment with what Hubbard wanted – eventually addressed with policies such as KSW that enforced orthodoxy.
It makes sense that Scientology would align itself with current trends of disaster prediction and survivalism, pseudo-science and conspiracy theorizing. Some of that is to be expected as natural given Scientology’s current demographic, and but it may also be in part a deliberate attempt to find allies and possible recruits.
It may also pose dangers to CofS orthodoxy and its control hierarchy, just as did the enthusiasms of an earlier era. Scientology wants its members focused on their particular space opera apocalypse, not on the MEST world; and on buying pallets of pamphlets, not of food stocks.
Naw, in my life all the prepper types I’ve met were red necks and wouldn’t come within 1,000 miles of scamology or anything that isn’t Christian based. At LEAST ~85 out of 100 people I’ve known in Scamology have been from the liberal, commune, hippie types. I’ve met 2nd gen ones that are not as liberal as their parents. But the scamology public mainstay to this day came out of the Boomer/hippie demographic.
That being said the dichotomy you mention is truly funny and shows, like you said, that they are losing faith in the “tek”.
O/T. Church of Scientology National Affairs Office joins letter supporting the PEACE Act, H.R. 4359, The Police Exercising Absolute Care with Everyone Act of 2019.
https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/PEACE-Act-Org-sign-on-letter-Final.pdf
My ESMB Redux post:
https://exscn2.net/threads/position-papers-letters-and-petitions-signed-by-the-church-of-scientology-national-affairs-office.151/post-41058
/
I am not sure how to respond to this one. In one aspect, I am leaning towards the conspiracy theorist paradigm myself. Although, we don’t call ourselves conspiracy theorists, but things like ancient astronaut theorists, paranormal researchers, and ufo enthusiasts. Conspiracy theorists to me is like calling a members of the latter day saints a mormon. Regardless, lumping in conspiracy theorists with Scientologists is a wrong generalization.
Scientologists are cultists centered around a Cult of Personality – L Ron Hubbard. They are idol worshipers in a sense, a phenomena rooted in a charismatic leader combined with cult-like worship of a deity-incarnate. Yes, most Scientologists don’t even realize this fact, but it is more of group-worship of a single person and His works. It is much a religious group similar to Christians worshiping Christ or Muslims worshiping Muhammad.
I used to call this theory of ‘attracting people of a like-mind’ as Theta-Wave Resonance when I was a Scientologist. Something I created myself (blasphemy if you were in and said this), but it explains why people are attracted. I would more likely say that this group attracts Intelligent-minded people, traps them, destroys that part of them that is a skeptic (due to needing to perform the Paradigm Shift to hubbard-centric thought), and then that lack of skepticism is what allows the conspiracy theorists/prepper lifestyle in afterwards. I have wholly embraced my conspiratorial side after leaving, noting that I have learned to manifest my skeptic to invalidate most of the truly outlandish theories. While in, I still retained much of my skeptic nature up until near the end of my stint.
Speaking of conspiratorial ideas: Why isn’t the defund police movement being used to get rid of the injustice going on at the LA/Hollywood PD in regards to publicly putting up Scientology propaganda on state property and openly going after the reckless crew at big blue for their lightshow?
“…..It is my supposition that scientology tends to attract people who are conspiracy theorist/anti-vaxxers/New World Order types because these views fall in well with the Hubbard anti-government, anti-medical, anti-pscyhiatric, anti-communist, anti-UN, anti-everything not scientology world view……”
This supposition has been true since Dianetics days, and it is unchanged the whole history of this Dianetics and Scientology movement.
“Fads and Fallacies….” by Martin Gardner is a hugely important book, that people ought buy and give fellow ex Scientologists for Christmas presents.
Scientology has attracted a certain type of person, from day one, to now.
The earliest media critical articles on Dianetics pegged the followers as many of them being of the type you supposed above, or similar, to the zeitgeist when LRH started it all.
– Chuck Beatty
ex 1975-2003
Who has time and space to grow vegetables, apart from those on gardening duty for RPF?
There have been a few programs on TV about recent preppers, and they all have common flaws. How do you check your stashes for viability, especially if you are paranoid about other people finding your stashes? How do you decide when to bug out? How do you decide when to return? What will you do between going and coming back? Why not become a farmer now?
This pandemic has been a test – what events were you prepping for? How long did you think you could survive off-grid? With how many other people, and whom?
Sure, grow your organic vegetables if you can – gardening can be very therapeutic and eating your own produce is rewarding. But don’t delude yourself you are preparing for the end of days.
grisianfarce , When I was a kid we had acres of land. We had a 2 acre garden next to the horse corrals. It just takes a little work on the weekend to get it going and occasional weeding thereafter until you pick the stuff. If you fly over the USA at night MOST of it devoid of human habitation. It is EASY to have land and a house and still be within commute distance of work. I think you need to go out and learn more about your environment.
Yeah, sure going from this https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aAdmrPQlcwM/maxresdefault.jpg to that would be interesting, though I guess “Community Preparedness Group Int. Inc.” are talking to the typical white middle class Scientology family who already have a yard with space for growing.
It would be simple grisian,. We just followed instructions on the Burpee seed packets. You think just because they are poor and non-white they are not as smart as we were? Wow, just WOW!
Thank you making me check my white middle class privilege membership card. It usually gets me out of trouble. I was referring to Community Preparedness Group Int. Inc’s cross over with Scientology in America which is so very white.
English grammar says otherwise. Reread your 1st sentence in response to how we made a garden and you’ll see it wasn’t comparing Scamology’s prep group to white America. You showed a pic of a colored ghetto. NOT white middle class area.
I was being flippant and sarcastic about the typical active Scientologist trying to hold down a job and attend courses and have hours and hours of auditing. You say it’s “EASY to have land and a house and still be within commute distance of work”, while I contend it is not easy or else we’d see more people doing it. Have you done it?
I love that even troubled city Detroit is showing a way ahead with urban agriculture https://urbanutopias.net/2019/07/25/detroit-agriculture/
People don’t have to leave the city to grow food when the growing can come to the city.
Of COURSE I’ve done it. In the late 90’s I bought a 4 bd home + pool with 5 acres outside a LARGE city for $100,000. How hard is to commute from outside the ‘burbs? MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of Americans do it everyday. Owning a house with some land in those areas is CHEAPER than a house with no land in a city area. Planting a garden on the weekends is SIMPLE. Are you an adult? Do you live in the USA? How could you NOT know these basic truths? Are you just trolling?
Acres of land, a 2 acre garden next to the horse corrals, hmmm. Home grown produce for dinner; horseback riding every day. Add in the likelihood of a number of dogs, cats and other critters. Sounds like heaven. What a great way to grow up, Wyn!
Yes, it was. We didn’t have much money but growing up in the country was SO much better than a concrete jungle. We did collect exotic pets from the wilderness. Whether possums, snakes, or the occasional injured bird of prey. We liked to take care of anything living when we were children.
Critters! All kinds of critters! I grew up in the suburbs and took in some strays for rehab but just dogs, cats, and the occasional injured pidgeon. YOU had the life!
Ya, kids love to raise animals. We had it good. Streams to fish and swim in. We used to get our horses to pull us across small lakes. ( one holds onto the their tail while they swim.)
Glad my Dad decided that the city was no place to grow up.
Wow! That’s brave. I used to ride every Sunday (lessons, English saddle, my father thought I should learn) and did a little jumping but I’m not sure I’d be ok on horseback while the horse is swimming and I’m holding its tail…It’d have to be a small lake, for sure. A VERY small lake. And shallow 🙂
Regarding today’s story, there could be an issue of nature or nurture or both.
Personally, I have no doubt that Scientology attracts conspiracy theorist/anti-vaxxers/New World Order types.
But it could be the case that Scientology takes otherwise normal people and turns them into conspiracy theorist/anti-vaxxers/New World Order types. Enough Hubbard “Tech,” actually believed, would turn many people into conspiracy theorists.
I suspect both happens. That it attracts conspiracy theorist/anti-vaxxers/New World Order types, and takes otherwise normal people and turns them into conspiracy theorist/anti-vaxxers/New World Order types.
Since few Scientologists these days join as adults, a lot of the membership is Second Gen and didn’t get to have a “normal” upbringing. Hence they’ve been brought up with a pack of conspiracy theories as presumed truth. Is a 30 year old grownup who is not a conspiracy theorist and who converts to Scientology more likely than not to end up as a conspiracy theorist? Hard question to answer, but it’s possible. Is a 30 year old conspiracy theorist more likely to join Scientology than one who isn’t? Possibly. But the truth is that there are nearly no 30 year olds these days who join Scientology at all. Almost nobody joins Scientology any more who wasn’t born into the thing.
Good points Weather. 30 years ago 30 year olds joining the cult were all but non-existent. I can safely say that going back 40 years ago 30 year olds joining were as rare as unicorns. THAT data is from US wide survey s of new scamologists (those first taking a major service in an org.
If you’re anti-science, anti-medicine, anti-press, etc., what’s left? Naturally, they get taken in by all this stuff. And man, do these folks love Trump. They think he’s some sort of selfless crusader for freedom and justice.
And getting involved in politics IS an admission that scientology is NOT the biggest game in town, not that they have even the slightest self-awareness needed to realize that.
A “selfless crusader for freedom and justice”? That’s nothing.
Some of my relatives believe he was sent by God and Jesus Christ to lead us out of our cultural darkness and depravity into the light of the lamb… or into the light of something, I forget what. Salvation – the Light of Salvation. And Obama and Hillary are minions of the Devil… that’s incorrect; Obama is the minion – one of them. The Devil has many minions and Obama’s one of them. Hillary isn’t, though. HRC is NOT a minion of the Devil. She IS the Devil. Hillary is Satan.
You think I’m making this up, don’t you? I hope you’re having a quick laugh 🙂 Because I am. I mean, I HAVE to laugh. What other choice do I have? This is what I’m related to. This is my flesh and blood. Can you imagine all of us at dinner? Me, listening to this sort of thing and keeping a straight face? Can you imagine this? Neither can I. But I digress. Thank you for letting me vent off topic. Thank you for reading. Back to our regularly scheduled program.
O/T. Nation of Islam Brother Derrick Muhammad on the Supreme Wisdom of the Nation of Islam and the Supreme Technology of Scientology.
FWIW. I think people will find Brother Derrick Muhammad’s graphic to be interesting. Quite the juxtaposition.
My tweet:
https://twitter.com/ISNOINews/status/1270526173488046086
My ESMB Redux post:
https://exscn2.net/threads/members-of-the-nation-of-islam-are-practicing-the-religion-of-scientology.55/post-40969
Brother Derrick Muhammad’s full Facebook post;
https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3169995883117612&id=100003216943395
/
Pat Clouden is certainly a one eyed $cientology supporter 🥴
Some people are against authority.
Unless they’re the authority..
Almost the ENTIRE scamology membership when it was at its height, consisted of leftists who were against authority, thought those in power were out to get them, had ENDLESS conspiracy theories they spouted and at one point in their lives didn’t trust anyone over 30. 😉
Wynski, how do you think Scientology’s membership shifted from tending towards one side of the ideological spectrum then, to the other today? You may have read my thoughts on that, but you have a lot more insider perspective so I’d be interest to hear your take.
It didn’t shift. The mainstay of scientology today is still the hippies that joined in the 60’s and 70’s. Just look at the pics of who is at org events, boomers who were hippies. Same people. When I see the lists of names from the OT committees that Mike Posts by far most of them are the same hippy Boomers that were in when I was around.
Wow, someone’s finally taking responsibility for the community. It won’t be long before the rest of the country gets behind this movement. To be standard, they’ll need a seven (or is it nine?) division Org board for the influx of people volunteering and statistics to measure all the ham radios sold.
Getting a Ham radio license is easy these days. You don’t have to demonstrate proficiency in Morse Code. All you need to do is write your name and you pretty much have that license.
Now, where’s the dehydrated food? You can’t be a prepper without a basement full of MREs.
Perhaps you should send them a hat write-up and a carton of pet evaporated milk to get them off on the right foot. 😉
Zee Moo, preppers (or anyone with any brains) wouldn’t stock MREs for long term survival food. MREs are not dehydrated. (how the F would soldiers in the middle of a battle area use them if they were?) MREs only have a life of ~3 years. Intelligent people who stock up for disasters (like people living on the Gulf Coast) use something like mountainhouse.com. They last >40 years and per serving are FAR less expensive than short lived MREs.
I still have about a dozen MRE’s left from Vietnam that are packed away with all my other military stuff. I could help you out with them. Believe me that a dozen will last a long time especially after you eat the first one.