This came in as a comment on the last post by one of our Special Correspondents. I felt it deserved more attention than that and so am putting it up as its own post. Enjoy. Mike Rinder
In Scientology management there is an old saying “You get what you push”. This is meant as a cautionary reminder that if you start pushing hard for things that are not the main line of making auditors and clears, then you do indeed end up with what you push- and not the auditors and clears that in the long haul make Scientology worth something.
For many years now David Miscavige has pushed money. And that is what they have – MONEY in all caps.
David Miscavige has convinced them that it is possible to buy good PR, buy expanding churches, buy interested new public. But you absolutely cannot buy those things- heaven knows DM has been trying hard enough.
They hired the most famous Crisis PR company in the world and fat good its done them. David Miscavige was finally humiliated into spending some money on broad ads but no one actually comes in for a service. The truth is that you can buy cars, houses and buildings but you absolutely cannot buy good PR or new parishioners.
Push Money, Push Money, PUSH Money- in the end that’s what you have – lots and lots of money. But meantime there is terrible PR. Meantime literally thousands of previously faithful Scientologists have had their clear status taken away and not gotten it back (so Scientology has far fewer Clears now than 15 years ago). Meantime Scientology churches are shrinking and shrinking all over the world. Meantime Scientology missions are closing their doors. But the MONEY rolls on.
In other words – you get what you push- LOTS OF MONEY, NO SCIENTOLOGY. There is also a sad fact that it is easier to get a man to donate $100 worth of food to the local food bank than it is to get that same man to come to the food bank and hand out cans to hungry people for 3 hours. Same applies to Scientology. It is FAR easier to get some guy to donate a money than it is to get that same guy to come hand out booklets to drug addicts in some needle park.
So David Miscavige has been pushing EASY WAY, EASY WAY, EASY WAY for years and years now. As a result the group of Scientologists is now mainly made up of people who are focused on their ordinary jobs with absolutely no time or real drive to personally better the world around them. So the parishioners of Scientology are not interested in PERSONALLY solving crime or fixing illiteracy. They are way too busy being accountants and lawyers and house painters and paying down their credit cards.
So for the Church staff you have MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, but no Scientology. And in the field, the flock so to speak, they are also EARN MORE MONEY, EARN MORE MONEY and also not doing Scientology.
The good of Scientology comes from DOING the practical techniques. Talking to people who are sick, working with people who have literacy problems. DOING it creates good PR and interests people.
This MONEY program is the eradication of everything that good and positive about Scientology. And the public repute of the religion and numbers of new people inquiring show it. I have been asking and asking for information on Churches around the world. I have never received a candid photo of a full academy.
The churches of Scientology are emptying out. But any Scientologist who stands up and says “to hell with donating, I am spending my time with illiterate children and so should you” is going to get shot.
But the fact is that until a good number of Scientologists have stood up and sacrificed themselves on the altar of personal integrity, the MONEY MONEY MONEY push will go on. Only a clear and obvious statement from a significant number of Scientologists will change the course of the religion. My message here is that if you are a Scientologist and you are reading this blog, you need to start thinking about how much you are willing to personally sacrifice to change the downward plunge in Scientology’s reputation and numbers.
This has been a very interesting interaction to follow. It’s pretty obvious that “Look, don’t listen” has LONG gone by the wayside. Obviously all the “smart, active Scientologists” (at least those who THINK they are) who are still out there and are still clinging to their misguided beliefs that they are on the right side of the equation and “we all know its just Black PR on the Internet, anyway” philosophy ARE going to have a rude awakening someday and the sooner the better.
As far as the Demented Maniac, I can’t help but compare him to Hitler and his charismatic take-over of Germany, complete with cutting communication lines, burning books he didn’t agree with, killing off all the radicals, free thinkers, and the rich (after stealing their wealth) and the Jews, Gypsies, etc. What difference is there between that situation and the current scene with China, North Korea, radical Islamic countries and what Miscavige is doing? People aren’t allowed to search the Internet or even have full access in many cases in those countries. Scientologists are forbidden to research the “black PR” on the Internet or read any unapproved books or they risk great censure including sec checks, rollbacks, harassment by MAAs, threat of losing family, business associates and friends. No one is allowed to have an opinion other than the accepted one as defined by Miscavige. The fact is that everyone who still believes that he is “doing great things for Scientology” have their heads up their butts and obviously prefer THAT view to what’s actually going on in the real world shows how really messed up Scientology has become. I, for one, am looking forward to the day when we can all quote Martin Luther King: Free at last, free at last, praise The Lord we’re free at last!
Hi Bonnie — welcome! Thanks for your comment.
Mike said, “David Miscavige has convinced them t(RCS staff and public) that it is possible to buy good PR, buy expanding Churches, buy interested public”.
I have a question: Does the Cathedral of Notre Dame attract new public to Catholicism? I don’t think it does. For whatever reasons people have for being Catholics, I don’t think the fact that the Church of Rome has vast real estate holdings and that many of their churches contain priceless works of gorgeous art, and that many of their churches are themselves works of priceless art – I don’t think that the aesthetics and wealth inherent in all this catapult people to adopt the Catholic faith. Now, the Church of Rome has many, many humanitarian and betterment programs. They feed people, they care for the elderly, sick, the homeless, the orphaned – on and on, all over the planet, they do it all. Now, I could see getting new converts that way to some limited extent, but not many. I think most Catholics are Catholic because their parents were, or, they are marrying a Catholic spouse.
I have used the Catholic religion purely to illustrate my own opinion that I do not believe that people can be depended upon to convert to a religion via 1) MEST, or 2) being helped by a social betterment program.,
I mean how many people have you ever heard say, “I became a Catholic (Protestant, Muslim, Jew etc) because they have vast real estate holdings and, man, their churches are just amazing!”
What is the percentage of starving, homeless, ill, drug addicted, etc. etc. people who adopt the religion of the group who fed, housed, cured them? Not many, I’d bet. I’d bet they accepted the help very gratefully and then continued on with their own faith.
So what does make people convert to a new religion, as a choice, on a self-determined basis and not because of a 2D and/or family connection?
In my opinion, it would be the experience of a difference in their thoughts and feelings. Something really changes for that person, something positive and wanted happens, some change for the better occurs, some sort of relief is experienced, he or she is happier in some way, less bothered about something, some ability gained or re-gained , etc., and this positive change is attributed directly o the practice of the new religion or philosophy, which is then taken up and practiced, to hold onto the win, and possibly to get more of the same.
If the RCS really intended for Scientology to expand I believe they would do surveys on this. Personally, I don’t believe that anywhere near the majority of people are searching for a new religion per se, but its quite obvious that the majority of people are searching for ways to solve their living problems.
Sad Sheeple, Wallowing Whales, and others in the RCS, can’t YOU figure this out? I’m not that smart, trust me!
Although DM makes me ill – he is little more than a thug wearing a suit – I wouldn’t underestimate anyone who has managed to gain power and then hold on to it for almost 30 years. While this is giving DM far too much credit, he reminds me of Salvatore Riina, one of the most important mafia bosses put on trial in Italy (see “Maxi Trial”) who is now serving life in prison. Riina is a tiny man and controlled a group of mobsters for ages. His height is matched by a very high voice, yet unlike DM he does not artificially deepen his voice to appear more thuggish. Riina had basically no education (like DM), and according to an informant is “unbelievably ignorant, but he had an intuition and intelligence and was difficult to fathom … very hard to predict.” In many ways I imagine this matches DM (whom I’ve never, and will never, meet).
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that while it is a fact that DM is uneducated, he is also unpredictable and might be a little smarter than many give him credit for. From the things I’ve read, it is clear to me that DM *does not* “believe in the tech” and doesn’t practice Scientology at all. I doubt he ever gets audited, or gives auditing. He’s not a Scientologist and is far closer to being a mobster.
I think that DM has an escape strategy. I think that he looks down on the Scientologists/Sheeple around him and is constantly amazed that people “buy his shit.” No doubt he gets figures and updates about the state of the Church of Scientology and knows that it’s straight down and vertical. It’s going straight to shit, and even he knows it. The CoS has been unable to lure any high profile actors to the Church, so even the most gullible people on the planet have wised up. This must worry DM.
The Ideal Org strategy is great because it means his coffers are enlarged with property. By now, their real estate portfolio must be quite impressive. IANAL, but if the local parishioners who paid for the property passed it on to another entity, I am guessing there is probably a way for the property to end up where DM’s grubby little fingers can find them.
Does anyone else think DM has an exit strategy? And can he extricate himself from the situation if the heat becomes too much? Can he step down, like the Catholic Pope, claiming it is the “right time to pass the torch?” Or would that open him up to prosecution not from without, but from within?
Sorry I rambled so much, but I’m interested how the readers of this blog think that Church of Scientology end game will play out. And I have no doubt that the end game has already begun.
Back in 2004 I had enough of dozen’s of weekly calls from various Scientology arms … always for money … one thing or the other. I had enough of it and at the time decided I don’t Scientology so bad that I need to stick up with never-ending harassment and threat to my financial well-being. And I totally disconnected … changed phones, address … shaking 500lbs of annual SCN junk mail, and got all Scientologists off my lines.
I threw everything out … my future bridge … it was no longer viable nor worth it, and went on with regular life as I had before Scientology, and forgot all about it until 2010 when I saw the Indies starting up. Went from Clear to OT V since. In the years preceding 2004 I knew of approx. 1 dozen people who had done the very same thing disconnecting from all the Regerama and I took my cue from that.
And it’s only gotten worse since. I’m reasonably sure the money-frenzy is the prime force driving their publics away continuously contracting the church until one day it’s simply gone. And I think the church management knows that and has engaged in last straw efforts to rake in all they can while it lasts. One would think, despite all the press exposure they’d get the message and their ethics in, but it seems their tactics are getting merely more specious to get at your pocketbook. Reging (inevitable bankruptcy) now is being pawned off as being “Fun”. So sad … so out of valence.
They’ll keep collecting until no one is left to the point of effectively having destroyed Scientology. Since only money/assets will be all that remains, it’ll be turned into a property holdings management company. Since they also hold the trademarks, the public practice of Scientology may become prohibited unless of course the money is right.
Once Scientology had a purpose-based goal and a dream to come true one day, now just a sub-standard product on a shelf with financial stipulations and hooks.
Great post Mike.
All dictators, since the dawn of man, have operated in the very same fashion: Join the movement after seeing the huge potential of stealing the vault, pretend to be totally onside and convince one and all that you are the *best* adherent to the movement and then do everything you can to make yourself noticed. Then you start taking out any possible opponents to your plans by accusing them of being traitors and spreading false rumors about them. Once they are gone you make your move and take over. It’s quite easy to do actually. All you have to do is be suppressive. Now once you are in you make fantastic speeches to the masses and convince them that without you the whole thing would be gone to hell. If you can’t write your own speech then you hire someone who can write them. Meantime you remove any and all Officers left standing who have any potential at all of causing you any trouble. And you remove them publically with complete violence so others can see what happens to those who “cross him”. Now you own the movement and you are the king and the vault is yours.
The easiest movements to take over are the ones who trust and love their fellow man. These pigeons can be hoodwinked all too easy. I suspect DM actually has an empty spot in his klinker because taking over Scientology was way too easy. I think he actually feels a little bad because he took over a movement that trusted him. I think he has a little tiny bit of remorse on this.
Was LRH responsible for this as some point out? I am not going to sit in judgment of anyone. All I know is that the fact that someone used an AR-15 to kill children in Connecticut doesn’t mean that AR-15’s are bad. I own one and it hasn’t killed any children. Scientology is the same. It can be used for good or it can be used for bad. It all depends on who is using it for what reason. Only 2.5 percent of us will use it for bad. We missed the one who is using it to make money. Shame, shame. Now what we have to do is stop pointing fingers and blaming and start doing something about the situation and turn it around.
ML Tom
Your report and observations are very insightful and they ring very true to me; however your
last suggestion:
“My message here is that if you are a Scientologist and you are reading this blog, you need to start thinking about how much you are willing to personally sacrifice to change the downward plunge in Scientology’s reputation and numbers.”
My answer to you is:
I will sacrifice nothing. I have gone through enough shit and wasted most of my life, because most Scientologists cannot confront TRUTH without becoming overwhelmed by it or by the religious spin imparted to the subject by LRH and the greedy criminals that created and maintain this priesthood.
I’m supporting Mike, Marty, Steve, Luis, Karen and any other actual OTs who are helping bring the cult down.
I can’t care less for the Church’s repute, Scientology’s general public perception or anybody religious imposed goal, as it is not my goal in life to push Scientology beyond its proper use as a tool, and ONLY a tool to help regular folks, which by now has proven to be a complete failure at that.
So no messianic or salvation goals are needed here, let life take its course and we will end up with the workable parts of Scientology, and let the rest of the insanity perish on its own.
„My message here is that if you are a Scientologist and you are reading this blog, you need to start thinking about how much you are willing to personally sacrifice to change the downward plunge in Scientology’s reputation and numbers.“
My honest answer: My willingness to sacrifice = Zero.
I have seen and experienced the time 1982 to 1983 when this regime had been willing to throw out every one not agreeing to their new policy. Actually around 60% had been thrown out in one year. Publics and staff. If one stands up he is out. This regime does not care how many people they have. Their purpose is to destroy Scientology. And it is almost done. Their admin scale has the goal that Scientology no longer exists on this planet. Every programme or action alignes with this goal. In case you stand up and say something against this admin scale you are part of it. Stats: „number of Scientologists out“. The obvious thing is that they are after money and money oriented. Maybe they are. But their real product is a destroyed Scientology.
I think they followed the plan to simply forbid Scientology. But then Scientology would go underground and not be controllable. Thus they had to find a better way to stop it. I think their strategy is quite good. They did a good job.
Schorsch,
I’d like to say you’re completely wrong, that no one is out to destroy Scientology, and yet … I can’t. My wife and I have often looked at what has actually taken place and what we see is an extremely efficient dismantling of Scientology from the inside out. Get rid of the “old timers,” those auditors who trained under LRH or close to the zone of competence that he created. Change the Technology – alter Floating Needles to the point of insanity. Invalidate Clears and OTs, eliminate Primary Rundown and start redoing every step of one’s Bridge, until the PCs are driven mad. Yep, an better plan could not have been drawn up by any outside source. If I were a Conspiracy Theorist, and who isn’t at least some of the time, I’d say DM was bought and paid for and has done a remarkable job of taking the subject out. Sigh. I almost long for the old days, when there was still doubt in my mind about what was happening. Back then, I thought we were always, a good eval or correction away from setting things right. Today, I just don’t see it as being that easy any more. Possible … I’m still holding on to the idea that we can salvage some of what remains in the RCS and build out from there – certainly would be more efficient. We’ll see.
I recently read an article about post-war Germany, shortly after WW II ended. There was a lot of interest of those entering Germany for the Nuremberg trials, to find out if the German civilians were aware of the concentration camps, so they asked them. Apparently they asked hundreds, if not more from all parts of Germany. People that lived within walking distance, in some cases, of those camps that were executing Jews and other prisoners. According to this article, the civilians assured those asking the questions, that they knew nothing, nothing at all. They were as surprised as everyone else, that such atrocities were being committed.
And yet, how could they not know? Trains and trucks were bringing thousands of prisoners in each month. Activities were going on 24/7, food, material and services must have been shipped into these camps every day to sustain them, but no one saw anything. When I read this article, I got a little glimpse of what appears to be happening with Scientologists still in the RCS. There are signs and indications everywhere, that are being ignored. There are empty classrooms that they are visiting. There are rumors floating, always, that staff are leaving, people being unhappy and no one able to make it financially in the Orgs.
There are millions and tens of millions being spent, but Churches still must pay rent or still owe money or don’t have enough to renovate their premises. There are friends and acquaintances who are disconnecting from loved ones, because they are SPs, but yet, Disconnection doesn’t exist as a Church policy.
It’s like the ashes falling from the skies over small towns & cities in Germany and the civilians were thinking, what? That there were forest fires somewhere? That a volcano, somewhere in the Pacific was erupting?
The level of not-isness that is being enforced by those seeing nothing within the RCS is staggering and frightening, really. It’s the non-confront of evil. Whistling past the graveyard.
Why has, being wrong about someone or something, taken on such great importance to people, and must be avoided at all costs? We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all said yes and wished we hadn’t. We’ve married the wrong people, recognized our mistakes and made it right. Yet, some people cannot admit their Church is spiraling into the abyss. That outpoints, ringing down from on high are actually there and destroying a beautiful subject.
It’s obvious some would rather spend millions$ then admit they didn’t see that the emperor was buck naked! Wow, who would have thought that not admitting “we’re wrong,” would come at such a high cost.
As someone who has been in Scientology for 4+ decades I would like to offer this: I don’t disagree with the general premise of this post, in fact I agree wholeheartedly, but I feel it misses something fundamental. Some of the comments allude to, but also miss, this vital component:
Ron’s vision was always based upon the individual – Clear one person at a time.
When Scientology was at its peak, when people were standing in course rooms because there were not enough chairs (I remember Pasadena, Boston and LA Org in the early 70’s and Saint Hill before that) there were NO public service campaigns, there were no groups blessed by the “Church” to handle the illiterate or the druggies.
There were simply people who came in, got on to a course like the HQS, and were turned into AUDITORS.
These people were given tools, put through their paces the hard way and then turned loose onto the world. If they never did another thing in the CoS, at least they were now HATTED. And these people took that information and never forgot what they learned. And thus sanity spread.
One. Person. At. A. Time.
That this vision, this workable and successful grassroots movement has been aberated and turned into a money machine is without a doubt disgusting. It’s sickening and gross.
But make no mistake. Scientology was never about “sacrifice” or “what have you done lately” or any other standard which we think we should be kowtowing to.
Scientology has always been about making auditors and clearing people.
One. Person. At. A. Time.
Thanks for the reminder. I was beginning to feel unimportant. There’s the old story about the guy asking a king for a dowry, asking for one grain of rice for the first square on a chessboard, two for the second square, four for the third, and so on, each successive square twice the previous.. The king laughed at such a modest request …. The time factor is important, of course, but if each managed to contact two people in one year, and so on for 64 years, well, you run out of people and have to start counting dogs and cats and goldfish as people. This is, after all, how bacteria evolved into orchids and dinosaurs and veggies and wooly mammoths and parrots and humans and dogs and cats and goldfish. I think the moral of the story is that when one starts thinking an individual is somehow unimportant, or that one is too little and too unimportant to have an effect, one starts losing much more than one might begin to imagine.
Thank you! Your hammer struck the nail dead on.
Great post Natasha. I am intensely interested in this time period (early 70s), and what you mention aligns with other data I have. If there ever was a “Golden Age” of Scn, that was it.
From what I can see there were many things which destroyed affluence. By the time LRH departs and DM grabs the reins Scn was pretty much broken. DM’s “vision” of Scn ver 2.0 is much different than LRH’s. It started with the IRS win. Scn was going mainstream, so it had to look and act like other mainstream religions. Enter “social betterment” programs, front and center. It’s all part of the show, with DM as the Master of Ceremonies. Scn no longer needs to produce real spiritual freedom, it just needs to “act” like it does.
All of this is based on a lie – Scn is not mainstream, quite the opposite. RCS does not really care about druggies, or the other broken pieces (unless there’s a buck in it). By shifting the focus away from the individual towards social betterment programs for “the peoples of Earth”, delivery of real Scn one-on-one becomes less of a priority.
RCS does not make Scnists anymore. If they manage to recruit a new member, that person is a “consumer”, someone who likes The Show, where participation equates to “donating”, not training to become an auditor.
180 degrees from what was happening in the early 70s.
This song is SO apropos here!
…
Won’t find me practising what I’m preaching
won’t find me making no sacrifice
but I can get you a pocketful of miracles
if you promise to be good, try to be nice
God will take good care of you
just do as I say, don’t do as I do
I’m counting my blessings,
I’ve found true happiness
cos I’m getting richer, day by day
you can find me in the phone book,
just call my toll free number
you can do it anyway you want
just do it right away
There’ll be no doubt in your mind
you’ll believe everything I’m saying
if wanna get closer to him
get on your knees and start paying
…
Jesus He Knows Me
Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Mike Rutherford
http://www.risa.co.uk/sla/song.php?songid=16831
“First consider a group which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. It is the ‘exchange’ condition of robbers, tax men, governments and other criminal elements.”. LRH
I say, “First consider a man which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. It is the ‘exchange’ condition of robbers, tax men, governments and other criminal elements.”.
“First consider a man which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. ”
“First consider a man which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. ”
“First consider a man which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. ”
Ain’t that the truth!
La La La..I’m making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who’s criminal wise. Then I’m going to send it to every email addy, in town. I’m sending it to U.S.A. I’m sending it Prague. I’m sending it to Italy, Israel and Chicag – O! You’d better watch out, be able to count, you don’t have to cry cause a crim came by. Rip off reports are coming to town!
Well, if you really wanted to turn the Co$ around, a rather large bunch of you would have to go pay a visit to Hemet and take ove the place, make the little dwarf sign his resignation and hand over control. Just takes enough someones with enough balls to climb the fence and jump on the bully to make the neighborhood safe again.
” My message here is that if you are a Scientologist and you are reading this blog, you need to start thinking about how much you are willing to personally sacrifice to change the downward plunge Scientology’s reputation and numbers.”
Yes you may be right. But problem is I really don’t want to sacrifice anything personally to change the downward plunge of a Church. And I’m surely not the only one having that frame of mind on this point.
Like a Phoenix, Scientology will be reborn in a form such as everyone can get free, it already started and nobody has any power to stop it. The truth prevail even hindered behind DM carnival, obliterated behind Found raising barbecques or whatever else. The very existence of that Church is due to that truth of the tech and its application. The seed of the tech has been planted on Earth by means of a Church. If the Church fail on its duty it will probably be easier to make that seed grow unimpeded by the Carnival. Lets just starts to audit and train here and there or simply using that Tech in everyday life. It will spead all over anyway.
This goes back even to the early days of RTC. RTC’s main stat is Advanced Tech VSD, in other words, the VSD for OT levels delivered at Flag, Freewinds and AOs. So, the concentrate on the top of the Bridge. They COULD have had a more sensible stat such as Number of Books Sold or Div 6 Services and that would have ensured that the PL Planetary Dissemination was being pushed from RTC on down. But NOOOOOOOOO! They took the easy way out. It is much easier to hound 6 or 7 orgs for stats than 150-some orgs for stats that will make the entire Scn network flourish. It has been like that for more than 30 years now. Pathetic.
That is such a great point Dan.
“Meantime literally thousands of previously faithful Scientologists have had their clear status taken away and not gotten it back (so Scientology has far fewer Clears now than 15 years ago).”
CoS can revoke all the members certificates they want. The fact remains that if the tech actually works, certificate or not, they are still clear.
Thoughtful, thorough and accurate viewpoints like this is what I remember attracting me to Scientology. It wasn’t a namby pamby rah rah status that attracted me, it was the OT’s who could see and reason beyond the everyday world, and the promise of OT. Where have they all gone? Many thankfully are here with us now. Too many are locked up or in hiding, or they are dead. That is end game of Miscavology. Money for nothing – remember that song?
I still don’t understand why no massive movement to take back the Church has happened. DM is not super human. Instead of leaving the Church, today’s Scientologists should fight to save it. If all the top executives worked together there is no reason they could not take control, put a real board of directors and elect someone to lead. Why must it be fantasy to believe Scienologists who are still in could accomplish this.
It would be true, every word of LRH would not have to be treated as gospel. (Most policy letters). The Church’s management structure would have to be restructured.
The bigger questions. Is the Church worth saving. Does the world need Scientology? Is the reputation tarnished beyond repair?
CPG
You clearly have no idea what you talking about. 🙂
I asked questions.. how does that mean I have no idea what I am talking about.. Your response didn’t answer a single one of them, just felt rude.
I don’t know any of the answers to what I wrote.. that’s why I asked the questions..
CPG
Every one of the questions are answered on this site and on Marty’s. Sorry if you haven’t been reading these.
Doesn’t seem like it and yes it is.
BuffMan your question is basically a fair one and I have asked the same myself. In the end I failed to get it answered so I answered for myself. I finally came to the conclusion that a great many people became emotional, mental and spiritual road kill upon recognizing what had taken place. There are a lot of broken pieces in the Scientology game scattered all about. Imagine having true spiritual freedom dangled before your eyes only to have it yanked back again. So its betrayal just like LRH warned about.
The fix? It may take some time (but not much) for the Independent field to revive the purpose and when the broken feel they may be able to trust again Scientology will be revived and take off at high speed and what we are living through now will just be a very ugly chapter left for the history writers.
I don’t believe Scientology is anywhere near done and I don’t believe LRH is done here either. I’m quite sure he going to take what happened here quite personally.
It just isn’t that easy to pack up the game of going free and try to bury it-It won’t stay buried!
Buff Man,
You asked why all the top executives don’t work together to take control, put a real board of directors and elect someone to lead? Since DM took on positions of power he has effectively removed, offloaded, nullified or destroyed any executive worth his or her salt. He effectively moved MSH off the lines. He prevented any family member from having a say. He has run a campaign/program to destroy the Int execs (Norman Starkey, Marc Yager, Guillaume Leserve, Ray Mitthoff, Mark Ingber, Greg Wilhere, and the list goes on) and this continues to this day. I witnessed and was part of that scene at the Int base for 13 years. I spoke to someone on the weekend who has recent knowledge of the current scene on the base, and in her words, the “executives” (all of whom have been off post for more than 10 years now) are broken straws. They are shadows of their former selves. They have been crushed mentally, emotionally and spiritually. They are in a prison, to this day, called the Hole, and even if we showed up with a bus at the door — they would not get on board to escape. They are beaten and below apathy. Expecting them to rise from the ashes would be like waiting for rain in the Central desert of Australia.
Even if you had DM blow (to Bulgravia with his pockets lined) or sent to jail — the only persons left are the young brain washed enforcers (we have called them DM Bots) and they are incapable of thinking for themselves or seeing that what has been occurring has no resemblance to the original aims of Scientology, and is actually a reversal and destructive use of the body of work.
LRH policy, is supposed to be fluid — supposed to be used and adjusted as needed, based on the management tools he provided. That has not been done — or where it has been done — it has been done destructively.
Does that mean we should all throw our hands in the air in apathy? Certainly not! You can read my latest article on this on iScientology blog, entitled The Little Secret. Is the Church worth saving? If you mean the structure and existing SP group called Corporate Scientology? No. It is not. It is dead.
But is the body of work, and the application of standard LRH tech worth saving? Unquestionably yes. The world does need Scientology. And Scientology actually has the tech to correct itself — IF USED.
Thank you Lana for answering BufloMan’s question, also known as First Policy and also known as granting beingness and importance to someone who was brushed off as an annoyance or naive nuisance. Sets guy it’s not like I don’t understand how it could be that you would respond like that but for crying out loud a little ARC and granting a little beingness is what reflects the philosophy of Scn. This isn’t an exclusive club where those who don’t instantly measure up are tossed aside or pushed out the door. THAT is not Scn my friend. If BufloMan was here to stir up trouble that would have become apparent soon enough and it’s only those types who IMHO need to be shut down like that.
The fact is that I myself a veteran staff member who dedicated myself 100% to the Aims of Scn took quite a while to get over my own anger at those up at Int who I not only trusted would do exactly what BufloMan postulated above but per policy were duty bound to do. That anger came loooooong after my incredulity, shock and denial that they “couldn’t” stop cob. As naive as that question he asked sounded please be in the ready with a better answer than the one you gave. It’s going to be some of the first questions asked by those breaking away from the squirrel group that cob’s cofs is today. It’s a VERY logical and appropriate question to ask and is THE bridge that all will need to cross to get to the other side of looking, evaluating and deciding for themselves what is true.
BufloMan I started with the Truth Rundown series; http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/rathbun.shtml (copy/paste the url) to begin to answer your question. Then there is this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOv0LtzXlx4 . Listening to the top echelon blowing the whistle beginning in ’09 is what began the answer for me to your intelligent question.
So tread lighter please because you never know how much a good answer to that very question can help another and others and pave the way for future departures of good people from the lair of cob’s mob.
VERY WELL SAID LANA!
I guess DM’s ideal scene is: broke and in debt five diamond super humanitarians, with hyper gluteus maximus meritorious IAS status; who need to re-do objectives and Clear and are too busy making more money to look around for themselves, in order to contribute for SP building and Library donations.
Great post. On the subject of money, many public and staff have come to justify the IAS fundraising by affectionately calling it the “warchest”. I wonder what warchest functions the IAS serves, in any real sense. I know the Sea Org Orgs paid the financial expense of the defending against the Reed Slatkin lawsuits. No IAS funds helped fight that legal battle. Does anyone really think IAS money is being used to hire PIs and lawyers? That would be a funny charitable expense. Mike, in your experience, are there any real expenditures from the IAS other than the pseudo-dissem projects and the real estate projects? Does IAS money actually fund the harassment work? Or do the Orgs actually bear the burden of funding harassment while the IAS keeps SAYING they need more funds to “fight the SPs” while just depositing the money to earn interest?
Thank you and is not a matter of sacrifice, you correctly stated the truth, it is a matter of DOING. I am auditing pcs and there are many Independent Scientologists that are actively using LRH Tech and many who have spoken about the unbelievable damage this SP has caused; but Scientology is not going to end if we keep DOING and using Scientology, and that is a truth.
And just to clarify the note on this not being a sacrifice; there is no better joy than to see another being change and win because someone else used LRH tech-being this one ethics-tech or admin- to improve his life and/or condition.
Very on-point, and pertinent. What I STILL don’t really get, is WHY? What, really, is the point of having billions in the bank? Yes, great photo ops at Idle Org openings, yes, it funds endless amounts of harassment and buys off the noisiest detractors sometimes, but even in Dave’s shrinking world it must be obvious that he is on borrowed time, which is fast running out. He sees the stats, he knows Scientology is shrinking, has in fact become a laughing stock around the world, so WHAT does he think all that money is ultimately going to achieve? Of course you can’t make sense of insanity, I’m not trying to assign a shred of sanity to Miscavige’s universe – but in his “thinking” what is going to be the positive goal achieved at the end?
Ever heard of a miser?
Martin, I have this question, too.
I suspect the answer is rather sad. David is trying again and again to attain some state of elation, some rush of happiness, that he once felt when he achieved an early financial win. Suddenly he was successful. Not just a punk dropout kid but SOMEBODY, a roll of cash in his pocket, a drink in his hand, maybe a babe on his arm. It’ll never be as good as that again, but he’ll die trying to get back there.
If DM is an SP then his goal is to stop good works. He’s terrified that any success of good people will destroy him. We call it “crazy”… however, his ultimate goal is to destroy Scientology. And he’s doing a fine job of it. He IS the definition of SP.
The weird thing to watch is why so many dedicated, smart people are still being sucked into the abyss along with him…. i.e., the guys still unwilling to obnose. The ones unwilling to read these things on the internet and see the truth for themselves. It’s truly fascinating. The Titanic is going down… and the musicians are still playing and the bartenders are still serving, balancing their trays of drinks on the listing deck. The chambermaids are scrambling to get the beds made and sop up the water that’s submerging the lower decks. They are crying for others to come help them…and blaming those who see the truth of causing the ship to go down in the first place. What is the old saying, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
Martin the reason you may not get it is because you are a reasonable man trying to understand
a mad mind. It will never become clear. We are witnesses to living death working hard at his trade.
So that he can siphon off the interest that the church is making from these funds and blow to Brazil when the timing is right?
Martin, a few articles back I asked Mike these same questions and his answer to me was that, yes, its impossible to make sense out of insanity, but also, and very key, that that the Dwarf’s power and prestige depend on the perception that Scientology is expanding because of his leadership. This perception of expansion is being caused by the continual acquisition of new buildings as well as the PR about all of the humanitarian activities that are profoundly effecting and salvaging the planet via the IAS. I’m paraphrasing Mike rather badly but the gist is that these programs are his props which create the illusion (delusion) of expansion of the religion along with the profoundly good effects on the planet being created via programs funded by the IAS. In my ack of his answer was my cog that what is also being communicated is the illusion of an Affluence Formula being done – you know, these programs, Ideal Org, IAS, etc., are so-so-so successful that the cause of the affluence is to be strengthened (which would be, of course, more-more-more money for these programs, more and better fundraising, etc.
I would say that’s a pretty good paraphrase Aqua.
I sort of repeated this in response to a comment from John P yesterday.
There are so many lies attached to the subject matter of Scientology it becomes an annoyance just to discuss what is good about it and what is evil
. It’s far easier to bury it for saftey’s sake and let the good parts you long for find their way into grass roots practice and they’ll survive as much as people want them. Hopefully the evil mixed into all of it will stay buried!
Great article.
” My message here is that if you are a Scientologist and you are reading this blog, you need to start thinking about how much you are willing to personally sacrifice to change the downward plunge Scientology’s reputation and numbers.”
That last line of yours hits between the eyes!
By pushing square footage, the manchild gets relatively low value commercial real estate way way away form lots of people and business traffic.
WELL SAID!!!
Absolutely true and well written.
They may have money but it is drying up, hence the frenzy to make more money and so less Scientology is delivered and more money needed. This spin will go on until we’ll be surprised by an inevitable sudden crash. It’s bound to happen yet when it does we’ll all be in awe.
This is precisely why we, at Dror Center, left the CoS. We flowed them hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for nothing in return.
True, we don’t go out volunteering to help illiterate kids but we do deliver decent, unadulterated Scientology. Standard auditing and training to great results. And as a result there is a steady flow of people joining us.
Biggest obstacle we face is as described by Ron in “How Help Became Betrayal.” The public’s been hurt so bad by DM and his stooges they have lost hope it works. This compounded by their threats and lies.
So we must continue to serve loyally and dedicatedly. Our perseverence and ARC cannot but win.
I can’t think of any group of people more obsessed with trying to make money, on an everyday basis, than Scientologists. And then they are ripe for ripoffs that are usually advertised “Make Money For Your Bridge!” They have guys like Michael Duff advertising seminars to musicians “How to Go OT VIII!” implying that he did it as a musician, when in reality his wife has a high-paying gig as a soap opera actress who paid for it all. It’s all false stats and BS.
How very apt a picture Mike! Mustdamage started out with the world right there in his hands. The picture now shows a CO$ figure (?)pushing it away to a freefall of irretrievability. Of course, that was the plan all along, wasn’t it? —Squeeze every last dime out of it’s suckered mind-controlled adherents, then throw the remains into the sea. What a thoroughly disgusting charade posing under the charade as a “church.” There is no punishment for the perp. (DM) capable of balancing the amount of destruction, loss and pain he has caused to so many for so long. Yet he WILL suffer the consequences of his awaiting Karma.. Sleep well, davey!
This is the article I liked the most Mike. I had many cogs reading it.
“MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MORE MONEY.”
-L. Ron Hubbard, HCOPL 9 March 1972
That’s true Kevin but he also said this: “First consider a group which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. It is the ‘exchange’ condition of robbers, tax men, governments and other criminal elements.”. He made it very clear in many places that organizations should make tons of money by delivering excellent auditing and training. He bangs that in over and over. He is from the old school-work hard and get paid well. He would go off like an atom bomb if he knew about all the donation where no course or auditing is given in return. In fact there are still people around who were on his lines when he did go off like an atom bomb over the Safe Environment Fund- a dono’s campaign for legal fees. He shut it down hard and fast and the dispaches and telexes from that time are probably kept under lock and key by DM because LRH made it darned clear that Scientology does not take money from it parishioners and give nothing in return. I am not of the school that things L Ron Hubbard is some kind of perfect super-human, but I am darned sure that the written works he left behind do not excuse DM’s brand of creepy Tele-Evangalist financial rape.
Words matter, especially from those in positions of power and leadership. The current IRS scandal involving tax exempt 501(c)(4) groups is a possible case in point. It has been reported that in a speech two years ago, President Obama stated that tax exempt 501(c)(4) groups were “Enemies of Democracy.” The IRS was all but given it’s marching orders by their chief executive (Obama). A half dozen senators followed with similar comments. Look what has followed, date coincident. Was LRH so naive that he didn’t think at some point some robot might assume power and follow his words literally? If so, Ron needed to go back and review some of those “whole track history books” he referenced in LRH ED 339R. Blaming DM is cliche. If not DM, someone else would have come along and abused power using LRH’s own words.
The source of the problem is Source.
You’re right about “someone else would have come along”, but that’s the nature of man. And blaming “Source” for the nature of man is also the nature of man.
Kevin I just want to say you are right. As far as I can see no one can see or confront the problem. I agree with you. And as far as the “sanity spread out”. ??????????????????????????????????
Please.
I totally agree with you. Hubbard created a lot of suppressive policies. This created tyranny in the organization. DM is just following orders. It doesn’t matter if he changed this or that. This midget made things worse. I spoke with a friend who was a Scientologist in the 70’s and he said it was oppressive back then, but he commented that his generation made it more fun to be there.
Another problem with figuring out who to blame is that LRH is not around anymore. Would he sort it out if he were still around? No one can answer that question. Whatever he did right, whatever he did wrong it is up to the people who are still around to guide the course of Scientology and it is up to the people still around to put in the required push and shove to see that Scientology gets smoothed out and becomes something valuable for the world. DM certainly is culpable to a very large degree. But LRH laid down the rails that finally led Scientology to it’s current crisis. The real point is- what are thems that are still around and kicking going to do about it? Watch it burn? Step in and try set it right? Rebuild afresh? I think these are better and more important questions. How committed are you? What are you willing to do? Some of us have family left behind that we will never see again. This provides extra motivation. In fact I would bet that the most motivated and active are people who have family left inside the “walls” of disconnection. Many people left friends behind when they walked away and others just want to see Scientology’s good side come forth. Still others could not care less about what good Scientology has to offer and just the abuses to stop. Everyone has a different level of commitment. But every single person who has any level of commitment should be doing SOMETHING. I donated to Mike’s expenses and sent in some posting material. Lets focus not on who is to blame, but rather where does the road out of this mess need to go and what are we going to do to build it.
Alex V — excellent point!
For some reason many people view LRH as source and as source of all the problems the RCS is having. It’s simply not true, because viewing it as such, does not open the door to correcting Scientology or Scientologists in present time. Did he make mistakes, yes he did. He set a number of administrative policies in motion that kept organizations fixed in time and not evolving. One for me was, The Proportionate Pay Plan, that allowed organizations to binge and purge continuously over the years. Organizations that could sustain 10 full time staff, would balloon up to 30 or 40, to meet the requirements of some program or push or game. Then would eventually dwindle down to a handful, with no capacity to deliver auditing or auditors.
But it’s not all on the old man. It’s on all of us; we’re here, he’s not.
It’s not about “blame”. It’s about assigning responsibility correctly. DM has much responsible for the current scene but ultimately the “buck” has to stop with Source. I very much give LRH credit where credit is due but it would be robotic to then ignore where he missed the boat. And he often missed the boat on policy. It’s empirical that he did. Ron’s policies were often marvelous and amazingly insightful but just as often Ron’s policy were contradictory and too general thus opening the door to abuse. The fact is, good or bad, Ron put a lot of emphasis on money. The “Money” policy is just one example. Money is spread over the org board. The major stats of Div 2 (GI), 3 (Collections), 4 (VSD), 5 (GI/Staff) & 7 (C/Bs, Reserves) include money. And yes, I agree that Ron emphasized exchange but it is pretty ironic that IMHO 98% of staff during the entire history of Scientology have never come close to making a living wage.
How boring ! Out of context Quote. It’s about Treasury policies.
LRH emphasized money over and over and over again. Anyone who disputes that has their head in the sand. Ron either didn’t give a rat’s ass that 98% of Cl V staff lived like paupers or he was very out of touch with what it was like to be a Cl V staff member. LRH once wrote, “Life is best experienced with empty pockets”. Perhaps, however while LRH didn’t live a particularly extravagant lifestyle from all reports, he certainly had his share of toys and plenty of money in his pockets. I doubt he ever had to work two or three moonlight jobs just to buy diapers and put food on the table. Look, I didn’t join staff to get rich but it would have been nice to come somewhere near the a living wage. The irony is that IMHO Scientology would have been far, far more successful organizationally if Missions & Orgs were required to pay a minimum wage instead of the absurdity of the proportional pay plan and the “open door” hiring policy. And staff contracts? What a frickin’ scam. What was he thinking?