Jeffrey Augustine has been doing a wonderful job of documenting scientology’s insane efforts to co-opt various women’s rights’ organizations and prominent figures to try to bring pressure on A&E not to pursue another season of Scientology and the Aftermath.
This is Jeffrey’s latest blog post:
Read the entire post and his earlier coverage for the full picture. I have nothing to add to his comprehensive and detailed dissection of this sham.
But I will say this. Taryn was born into the Sea Org. It is all she has ever known. She has been instilled with no other values in her life than the “think” of scientology — the “wogs” are ignorant fools that need to be used any way possible to forward the aims of scientology; anyone who is critical of scientology is an enemy hiding vicious crimes; all decisions are made on the basis of the greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics (with the third dynamic — scientology — being the one that benefits ALL other dynamics) etc etc.
I came across an interesting Freedom magazine piece written by L. Ron Hubbard where he is quoting an article about brainwashing that he found particularly insightful.
You can find the full screed published in the “Tech Volumes” (if you are no longer a scientologist — in true Farenheit 451 style, the Tech and Policy volumes have been sent to the Golden Age of Tech incinerators if you are a bubble-dweller). It is dated 11 March 1969:
“…it is not necessary to break and remold the personality of the young. All that is necessary is to mold it the way you want it in the first place. Appeal to their search for meaning, appeal to their desire for conformity, appeal to their egotism and especially appeal to their sense of idealism and you can covert these qualities into any convictions you program. You can make the youth of America the tools of their own enslavement.”
Let that sink in vis-a-vis scientology and the Sea Org.
Ann Davis says
I wish that for you too Mike. That your kids will soon see the light. I believe that it will happen soon as well. I want to see that reunion on Aftermath more than anything! Don’t lose hope my friend.
Clio says
Suppressive Person Declare: L. Ron Hubbard
Your only terminal is yourself. Deal with it.
Aquamarine says
Taryn is not going to get A & E to fire her father. I think Miscavige is just applying the LRH datum, “The Wrong Thing To Do Is Nothing”. He has to do SOMETHING. Per Hubbard, he can’t do NOTHING. But what he’s doing is not going to work and ultimately its going to shed even MORE light on what LRH wrote about the place of women and their “place” in society, and also what he said about abortions and how horrible they are. All this “scripture” is going to fly in the face of what is already claimed about the Sea Org forcing its female members to abort their babies. A PR Clusterfuck if there ever could be one! But nevertheless, COB can’t do nuthin’, he gotta do sumpthin’ so he’s probably throwing cash around to these @MeToo groups to get their attention. Last but not least, aside from the other worms that will come out of this can, these @MeToo ladies will all be treated to the recording of what REALLY happened in that parking lot that day, how Mike was surrounded and screamed and cursed at…this will all come out. Miscavige might also be trying to deflect the bad publicity that Scn is getting because of Danny Masterson. Killing 2 birds with one stone, as it were, from his viewpoint. But it isn’t going to work and its only going to heap more fuel on the fire. And then Miscavige will blame Taryn and whoever else in OSA thunk up this latest fiasco, just like he assuredly blamed the Squirrel Busters for not “making it go right”. My 2.
Rod M says
Thanks again Mike and Leah, I’m glad hulu has the first two seasons because I don’t pay for cable service just internet and hulu. Thank you A&E even if you throw-up the scio disclaimers, it just shows DM doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
Mat Pesch says
My first thought was this op using Taryn was a new low for Scientology. Then I stepped back and considered its long list of crimes and abuses. Here are just a few:
Responsible for pressuring young girls to get over 100 abortions.
Holding individuals against their will.
Framing individuals for crimes they did not commit so as to get them jailed.
Beatings and torture.
Driving individuals to have mental breakdowns and then treating them inhumanly.
Selling things they can’t deliver or don’t have, like OT 9 and 10.
Holding and pressuring individuals until they sign over their inheritance or life savings.
Intentionally breaking up marriages.
Breaking up thousands of families with their disconnection policy.
Having a long history of protecting rapists and child molesters.
Having a long history of violating child labor laws.
Intentionally ruining someone’s reputation by spreading false information.
Abuse of the justice system to cover its crimes.
Blackmail.
Killing of pets as a form of intimidation.
No, this isn’t a new low. It’s just further proof of what Scientology is and the fact that they have not and can not change. Bring on Season 3 of “Scientology And The Aftermath”. The world needs to be warned.
Mary Kahn says
Great post.
Marie guerin says
Sad and necessary list ??
Aquamarine says
Agreed, Matt. There’s no new low. Its the same low.
BKmole says
Just saw the LRH quote. He brainwashed his followers right under their noses.
Clio says
Good rule of thumb: Trust Scientology as far as you can spit in a strong headwind.
Ammo Alamo says
Recently Claire Headley made a wise and pertinant comment. She said that she would not easily let certain family members have close contact with her children. even if they left the cult. The danger is real: it will take awhile before former hardcore members stop treating children as small adults with lifetimes of experience; stop teaching them everything is their fault, no matter if it is obviously not; stop failing to provide good healthcare, quit denying the value of a normal education;, and scores of other dangers, including putting a lying con man on a pedestal as the ruler of one’s life.
My point is, Mike now he has young children with his wife, and the whole family should be protected from Scientology beliefs. It would be too cruel if older offspring re-connected with Mike for the hidden purpose of introducing his younger children to the cult.
p.s., as Scientology continues to act bad and worse, I find it harder and harder to write ‘Scientology’, ‘the cherch’, ‘the organizaion’, or even ‘Sea
Org’, because one four letter word describes Hubbards operation best: cult.
Another ex so says
Im sorry that you are going through this Mike. Your a very brave man for using this example. Sometimes the bravest amongst us and the people that cause the biggest changes suffer the most. Just know that you and leah are heroes to many of us and have changed this whole twisted and perverse landscape.
Joe Pendleton says
Yeah … Katie Holmes saw where the path was leading for her daughter … and when she did, she smartly decided to get OFF that road and save her little girl from that possible future …
TrevAnon says
Run Taryn, run
J. Swift says
Mike, thank you for bringing more attention to this issue. It is disgraceful for the Church of Scientology to attempt to exploit women’s groups that support rape and sexual harassment victims. That David Miscavige would use women’s groups in a cynical Fair Game attack upon you, Leah Remini, and A&E’s show Scientology and the Aftermath shows just how powerful the program is in exposing Scientology.
Taryn Teutsch has tried to inject herself and her false narrative into the #MeToo movement. This OSA op is being documented by myself and others. The evidence is all there: The fake story, the fake Twitter and Facebook followers, and the photos of Taryn next to Gretchen Carlson and other prominent women. Gretchen Carlson’s response was to ask how she could get her photo removed from Taryn’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Gretchen Carlson saw right through this.
Scientology critics are contacting the other distinguished women with whom Taryn has had herself photographed. We are letting these people and groups know they are being used by Scientology. Taryn and Scientology will continue to be held to account by the critics for their cynical actions.
Mary Kahn says
Thank you Jeffrey for all of what you do to expose this horrible “church.”
jim says
So Jeffery,
The minute a cult shill, including the demented midget, goes public with pictures of some celebrity or public official that the shill rubbed up against :: We instantly destroy the shill’s attempt at safe-pointing with proof and docs to that official that scientology will harm anyone they touch.
We can rinse and bleach as long as it takes.
Moving Forward says
So very, very sad for you Mike. I am sure though that deep down in your daughters heart she knows that she is being used. She is still young & when Misgavige has finished using her there is time for her to reach out to you & she will have stable support to re-build her life.
Newcomer says
I think anyone with friends and family still in knows the depths that the cult is willing to go to in preserving the management (spelled dedication) of it’s members. The real issue is somewhat less obvious. Is your family member one of the insiders of the cult which is doing the managing of others or are they being managed by the ‘upper management’?
If they are in the latter group, I think the chances of them leaving are very slim.
Yo Dave,
Lock down the hatches good buddy. Season three is coming down like a hammer. You my friend are the nail in this scenario.
Ya better stiffen the disipline and gird the loins Dr. Wingnut.
Kronomex says
Scientology TV: Hear those sounds of silence folks? Even the crickets have died.
JVB says
Hah!
Dee Findlay says
Oh so sad and true to his values. “make the youth of America the tools of their own enslavement”. So sorry for those still enslaved. I’ll hang onto hope for the future… freedom.
Mary Kahn says
I find one of the tools that OSA and this church use to accomplish their members becoming “tools of their own enslavement” is to get them to commit the crimes for them – not only this campaign that is the issue here (There is NO WAY Taryn and her mother are doing this on their own.) but also all the many, many times the church has trotted out a family members and/or friends to lie about someone speaking out or exposing this vile church. It really solidifies those members’ own enslavement.
Cat W. says
I’m so sorry, Mike.
When I look at her eyes in the various photos of her playing this latest game, she strikes me as someone who has indeed convinced herself of something she knows firsthand to be false. That requires an extra boost of double-think. She’s managed it for now, but a time may come when that boost wears out and the real pain pokes through. My hope for you both that she is able to reach out to you then, and you are able to be there for her.
Aquamarine says
First, i watched her talk without the sound. Its something I do sometimes. Anyway, this is subjective, very subjective, but watching her, observing her expressions while not hearing her words, what came across to me was, in an adult female body, an angry girl of about 10, near tears. But that’s just me.
Cat W. says
That makes sense, emotionally, under the facade. I didn’t watch any video — I find it too upsetting. I just meant the still photos I’ve seen — the quality in her eyes, as if she’s possessed by something.
jim says
Reading JSwift’s article it occurred to me that Taryn is being used in the same way Joy Villa has been, and will soon crash in flames when her handlers/DM push the envelope too far. That might just get Taryn to have a religious experience , one that includes the realization that she has been pawned because of her relation with one Mike Rinder (daddy) and that her handlers/DM will suck her dry for their agenda. Escape girl, now!
Aquamarine says
They’re all being used. The problem is that they’ve been steeped, many of them, from infancy into believing that Scientology is Man’s Only Hope, and that anything they do to protect or further the cult (read: David Miscavige) is the correct course of action, no matter how horrific, no matter who it hurts or destroys, even if its their own parents, siblings or children. The problem is that from Day One they have been taught that man is a spiritual being who picks up a different body each lifetime. Your father and mother are incidental to this lifetime. Ditto your children, any family, and loved ones. Incidental and disposable, “for the greatest good”.
THAT is what they’ve been learning since toddler-hood. David Miscavige did not all of a sudden rip the children from their parents’ arms because they, the parents, disagreed, defied. That may make for beautiful and moving poetry but that’s not how it happened. From Day One these kids have been trained up to one day turn on ANYONE who voices criticism of the cult. Anyone. No exceptions. The time to worry and weep
for them was way back when they were little, growing up in the cult bubble, being mentally filled up every day with the “data” they could and would have to apply in the event they encountered any disagreement in their area. “Handle or disconnect”. And LRH is ALWAYS right. Scientology is ALWAYS right. And David Miscavige IS Scientology. So anyone who criticizes or disagrees is ALWAYS wrong. This is what they’ve been learning, all their lives, these young ones, from the time they could walk. Devastating, but hardly surprising, that one day they have the opportunity to use this “data”, and do so.
The Buddhists believe in the soul inhabiting many bodies, lifetime after lifetime. No disconnection policy, though. I don’t see any reason why this concept can’t be believed without the cruelty and heartlessness of the Disconnection policy, like the Buddhists. Just saying.
jim says
Aquamarine,
Thanks for that in-depth description of what does happen. You mentioned ‘handle or disconnect’ which reminded me of earlier days when the tech was widely trained and used. There were few disconnections back then because scientologists had the tech and data to handle and not get ‘PTS’. Lack of training currently means the cult only has disconnection as their tool to keep the deluded sheep purely deluded.
The Buddhists have it right. Each lifetime is more experience.
Aquamarine says
Thanks Jim. “Handling” would be a breeze if it were only “MUs” about the honest intentions and actions of the Church of Scientology. The problem is that there can’t be any handlings now because CO$ is lying and defrauding and so forth, and, far from having MUs the people speaking out know and understand only too WELL. So there can’t be any “handlings” anymore because CO$’s hands are not only dirty but filthy. So the Church lies some more and forces Disconnection. Very sad.
SadStateofAffairs says
And if the women Tara is using ever learned of what LRH really thought about women….ref: “de-frigidizing” letter, SOS on a woman’s true place, etc. etc.
mwesten says
#positioning #tech #fail
“Positioning takes advantage of a fact that one can compare the thing he is trying to get the other person to understand with desirable or undesirable objects. Desirable objects are now more commonly used in advertising. Undesirable objects are more commonly used in propaganda. By comparing this unfamiliar thing or the thing he wants to sell to another desirable object or by comparing something he wants people to detest to an undesirable thing, he can achieve a rapid communication and comparison.”
HCO PL 30 January 1979, POSITIONING, PHILOSOPHIC THEORY
http://suppressiveperson.org/1979/01/30/hcopl-positioning-philosophic-theory/
Mary Kahn says
Thanks.
Wynski says
Scary as all hell. Hubtard was evil to the core.
Peggy L says
How pitiful that that annoying little pissant can’t even fight his own battles. I suppose it might be some consolation to you Mike that he is that frightened of you.
WhatAreYourCrimes says
Agreed. So much cowardice contained in such a tiny body.
Razz says
So true. Nothing but a coward that uses people until there is nothing left. Aftermath is certainly scaring him.
jim says
WhatAreYourCrimes/Razz,
Like some Arab fighters who put women and children in front of themselves? The COB Demented Midget is sooooo brave: NOT!
Cindy says
“…it is not necessary to break and remold the personality of the young. All that is necessary is to mold it the way you want it in the first place. Appeal to their search for meaning, appeal to their desire for conformity, appeal to their egotism and especially appeal to their sense of idealism and you can covert these qualities into any convictions you program. You can make the youth of America the tools of their own enslavement.” LRH. Reading what LRH wrote above made my blood run cold. This explains how they were able to turn my kids against me while at the same time recruit them forever into the SO and staff. Scarey it is.
smorbie says
I wish the agree button worked, so I could just second it. I’m thankful that Mike is out and he’s there for his children when (I’m calling it) they blow.
WhatAreYourCrimes says
I said this a few days ago: when it all falls apart for Taryn, when she realizes that scientology has used her, chewed her up, and spit her out…
At that moment when she feels utterly hopeless and afraid, there will be one person standing there to help her. And that person is NOT the fucking sociopath Miscavige.
I look forward to seeing the reunion on Aftermath.
To Jeff Augustine… Well done. Everyone needs a friend like you. You are an absolute saint. It almost brings me to tears how you have stood up for a friend.
As for scientology’s shameless and embarrassing attempt to abuse the MeToo movement…
Miscavige may have inadvertently given Aftermath another Emmy. How could he not foresee the possible trouble that now comes his way? Everyone sees through the feeble attempt to latch on to the Me Too movement for the cynical aims of attacking scientology critics. And he can’t blame OSA because we all know he personally approved this weak attack on Mike Rinder, his nemesis and his threat to power when Mike Rinder was still in.
Micromanagement is a bitch when it comes back to bite. Miscavige is running out of heads to slap and necks to choke. Does he understand the concept of blowback? What did the conman LRH have to say about that?
In the age of the internet and social media, scientologists are slowly waking up to the fact the Wogs are smarter than scientologists, wiser than scientologists, and have far greater numbers than scientologists. Who is the REAL homo novis? It sure in hell is not any scientologist, going by their clumsy and block-headed attempts at handling any perceived attack. There might have been a few capable people back in the day, but Miscavige has run them all out because of his silly fears and sick paranoia.
Kitty says
Love this comment 🙂 Well done/excellent !
David Bates says
That statement from Hubbard brings back painful memories for me, but not in scientology. Drafted in 1968 by selective service I arrived at boot camp . Talk about being torn down. Basic army technique is to break you down completely and rebuild you their way . To follow orders without hesitation. Took over 45 years to forget that time spent in Vietnam, but it can be done Hopefully Mike your daughter will wake up and get out of that place. Nobody deserves to be treated like that Just know that parts will remain with her for years even after she gets out I still hate fireworks as it takes me back to that time in my nightmares after hearing them. Be patient even though it is hard .
Gflded says
Thank you for your service. I have a family member who will still not speak of his time in Vietnam…just a few funny stories here and there. ❤
Ammo Alamo says
I read somewhere that it take an average of 13 years for a former scientologist to fully leave the cult behind, except for incidentals; but if disconnection is involved, no telling what amount of time a person needs to recover. To hear about your remnants of Vietnam experiences after so many years is sad, but very common amongst those who go to war, at least according to the experts and historians I have read. Even in the ‘good war’ of WW II, my dad , who was in continuous combat from the Bulge through Germany’s surrender, was affected.
I hope Taryn recovers, I know it is possible. I try not to speak bad of those in, but some are so wonky it’s hard not to. Taryn is not that wonky yet, but she is pushing it hard, despite the excuse that directives come from Miscavige. I hope she remembers that her dad was a pillar of Scientology at one time; back then she would never have uttered a negative word about him in public, never. Sure, he made some serious life changes by leaving Scientology, but those are the things she is failing to see or admit to herself.
Come on, Taryn. People are pulling for you to see the world as it really is, not the sad, decrepit fake happiness that is Scientology.
Mike, thanks for all you do. I hope things work out for Taryn. They have to, they just have to.
Newcomer says
I have two close friends that date back to high school days. I had lunch with one just last Thursday. They have spent a lifetime dealing with the choices they made back in the day and doing what they felt was the right thing to do (spelled .. were told by the gov’t and their training).
Both elected to be door gunners on Huey choppers in order to shorten their stint in Vietnam. I think the life expectancy for that post was 15 minutes. They both came home but carry the scars to this day. The toughest part was in them thinking they were doing the right thing and then being ridiculed when they returned home.
When I watched my daughter join the SO at age 16, I did have considerations about that being appropriate for me as a parent. It was not. I should have stood my ground and faced the music right then and their. Yes, it likely would have turned out the same as regards my being labeled and disconnected from …… but, the chances would have been infinitely better that my daughter would not have been allowed into the CMO where she got hammered down by the best in the cult. My take away …. don’t delay the hard decisions as they will only get harder to make.
We all have to deal with the results of our decisions. Being among friends and bloggers to share is part of the healing experience. Thanks for listening to me over the years.
Yo Dave,
I will never rest until You and Your cult is gone. That is my pledge to you this fine day. You, good buddy, are toast!
xenu's son says
David is right about himself being a genius.
Scientology TV took $100 million out of sheeple’s pockets. But look at the impact!.
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%203-m&q=scientology%20tv
Old Surfer Dude says
Whoa, Xenu’s son! Those stats have bottomed out! I’m not sure how they keep functioning.
Regraded Being says
Donations
Old Surfer Dude says
Massive donations. From brainwashed members. BTW, Hi pal! Hope all is well with you and your family.
OhioBuckeye says
Interesting tidbit re: how Scientology TV survives and where they get their money.
Early this morning, I happened to watch an episode on the station about ‘Bridge Publications’. About halfway in, this scientology infomercial turned into an “infomercial within an infomercial ” for Xerox and HP printing equipment and innovations. Stunningly, Mike Feldman, XEROX Executive VP and President of North American Operations makes a personal appearance in this video, as did a SoCal Regional Director for Xerox. Although the graphics on either appearance did not give their names, only titles, I was able to cross reference the Xerox corporate leadership on their website and indeed confirmed Feldman’s appearance.
Now, to me, this begs the question “Who paid who?”. I spent 26 years in the document management business as a finance source for leasing this equipment. I know that users of this kind of printing equipment were VERY particular about including their names as a ‘source’ customer reference for our advertising and promotion of said equipment and doc management services. This was especially true of non-profits.
So, did Xerox ( HP and others appearing in the video) pay Bridge Publications to be featured in the church’s promotional video? It was made quite obvious that Bridge would not be “disseminating” globally, if not for this great equipment. If Bridge or the CoS were paid by the equipment manufacturers so they could promote their product, is it reasonable to question the 501C3 status of Bridge Publications, as they are listed as a non-profit corporation by the California Sect. of State website?
I guess the same question could be asked in the reverse. If the church paid them for their appearance, then how is it also not a business transaction? And does Xerox know who they are dealing with?
WhatAreYourCrimes says
Hey scientologists, nice Google trend graph there for scientology tv.
Proud of that, are we?
It looks like the last blips on a dying patient’s flatlining electrocardiogram.
Way to make the needle float Miscavige!
Clio says
Curious? We didn’t think so.
Peabody says
The $100 million was a bad investment as all his other bright ideas. I would think that the whales would give up once they realize that their donations are doing nothing for Scientology and everything for the little shit.
WAYC says
He must think the whales are dumber than him. I am pretty sure a few have woken up and more will do so.
Ms. B. Haven says
“…it is not necessary to break and remold the personality of the young. All that is necessary is to mold it the way you want it in the first place. Appeal to their search for meaning, appeal to their desire for conformity, appeal to their egotism and especially appeal to their sense of idealism and you can covert these qualities into any convictions you program. You can make the youth of America the tools of their own enslavement.”
Sounds like a foolproof formula to me!
Terina says
Mike, I know everything you’re doing is to help your children and you are there for them when they finally make that call. I really hope it’s soon. A person can only take so much bullshit before they’re repulsed by the very thought or sight of any more.
You already know you have a strong supportive following. We’re all hoping and praying for you and your children.
Larry Siegel says
How an organization can refer to itself as ethical when it is capable of maneuvers such as this is mindboggling. That is some pretty sick stuff, even by CoS standards.
Old Surfer Dude says
Well, you can call it an organization, but, really it’s a cult. A vicious, family destroying, school infiltrating, toxic, militant, CULT. With absolutely no redeeming value. None.
I Yawnalot says
Their complete demise could be likened to a ‘redeeming feature.’
Scientology is the acne of the soul, always a good thing to have gone.
Newcomer says
Not just ethical Larry but “THE MOST ETHICAL GROUP ON THE PLANET” !!!!!!!!!!!!
Yo Dave,
You lie!
Alcoboy says
Mike, that’s awful! It fucking pisses me off that the Toxic Dwarf would use your daughter like that! I am so glad I no longer am involved with this shit! I will always hope for you that Taryn comes to her senses and recants. My dream is that you get a phone call and it’s Taryn telling you that she just blew the Sea Org and that she’s in such and such a location and would you please come get her? In fact, I wish I could be there to see your reunion.
Thanks for everything and don’t give up the fight!
Jere Lull (come August, 38 years recovering) says
I SECOND THAT DREAM, adding Mike’s son as well. Mike deserves the day that his kids finally say “You were right, Dad.”
Even better would be to hear them tell their side of the story on “Aftermath”. (Well, we can dream, can’t we?)
Alcoboy says
Yes, Jere, we can dream. And the nice thing about dreams is that sometimes they do come true.
Which is what I hope for in this case.
Aquamarine says
They don’t call him “Dad”. They call him “Mike”. Another cult thing. The family is not real, it is a “posutlated” group. Thetans are thetans; none of us are truly related. I suspect this was a convenient way for LRH to excuse having been estranged from his own parents who disapproved of him heartily in the end.
Old Surfer Dude says
I second that, Alcoboy.
Mike, we all want your kids to see the light. And we will never give up. Never!
Peggy L says
I wish the same for you too Mike. I hope that light shines on them sooner rather than later, but just hope that it does happen.
I Yawnalot says
Good post Alcoboy, I agree.