Topic: Religion
It’s a Cult Cult Cult Cult Cult Cult Cult Cult Cult Cult Cult Why is the British government shutting down the opponents of Scientology?by RS Davis
(Libertarian)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
My friends over at Anonymoushave waged a world-wide effort to let people know exactly what's up with the "Church" of Scientology. If you recall, I wrote a Freedom File about them awhile back, where they had posted this YouTube video, throwing down the gauntlet:
Now, if you don't have speakers or something, here is the transcript of what they said:
Hello, Scientology. We are Anonymous.
Over the years, we have been watching you. Your campaigns of misinformation; suppression of dissent; your litigious nature, all of these things have caught our eye. With the leakage of your latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of your malign influence over those who trust you, who call you leader, has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided that your organization should be destroyed. For the good of your followers, for the good of mankind, for the laughs, we shall expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form. We acknowledge you as a serious opponent, and we are prepared for a long, long campaign. You will not prevail forever against the angry masses of the body politic. Your methods, hypocrisy, and the artlessness of your organization have sounded its death knell.
You cannot hide; we are everywhere.
We cannot die; we are forever. We're getting bigger every day, and solely by the force of our ideas, malicious and hostile as they often are. If you want another name for your opponent, then call us Legion, for we are many.
Yet for all that we are not as monstrous as you are; still our methods are a parallel to your own. Doubtless you will use the Anon's actions as an example of the persecution you have so long warned your followers would come; this is acceptable. In fact, it is encouraged. We are your SPs.
Gradually as we merge our pulse with that of your "Church", the suppression of your followers will become increasingly difficult to maintain. Believers will wake, and see that salvation has no price. They will know that the stress, the frustration that they feel is not something that may be blamed upon Anonymous. No, they will see that it stems from a source far closer to each. Yes, we are SPs. But the sum of suppression we could ever muster is eclipsed by that of the RTC.
Knowledge is free.
We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
WE DO NOT FORGET.
Pretty wild, right? You can see these heroes standing outside Scientology Centers all over the world, wearing masks to hide their identities. The most popular mask for them seems to be the Guy Fawkes mask (above, right), as popularized by the movie V: For Vendetta.
They stand resolute, passing out information about what kind of organization this group has, which they call a "church" when freedom of religion suits their needs and a "philosophy" when they want to convince a religious person that there is no conflict.
But really, they are just a cult and a scam, and they will do anythingit takes to silence anyone with a voice who points out that not only is the emperor wearing no clothes, but that he's a dirtbag grifter to boot.
They call people who are critical of Scientology "suppressive persons," and they have a code for dealing with them that was laid out by their founder, a failed science fiction writer named L Ron Hubbard, who said, "If attacked on some vulnerable point by anyone or anything or any organization, always find or manufacture enough threat against them to cause them to sue for peace."
The homes, property, places and abodes of persons who have been active in attempting to: suppress Scientology or Scientologists are all beyond any protection of Scientology Ethics, unless absolved by later Ethics or an amnesty ... this Policy Letter extends to suppressive non-Scientology wives and husbands and parents, or other family members or hostile groups or even close friends...
...May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.
Now, they supposedly ended the practice of Fair Game back in 1968, but they really only ended the practice of calling it Fair Game. As mediocre author and exceptional flim-flam manHubbard put it, "The practice of declaring people FAIR GAME will cease. FAIR GAME may not appear on any Ethics Order. It causes bad public relations. This P/L does not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of an SP." [emphasis mine]
The Cult Awareness Network (CAN), who used tohelp tens of thousands ofconcerned family members and cult victimsa year for twenty years, repeatedly calledthem out for being a cult. In fact, the head of CAN, Cynthia Kissler, describedScientology to Time Magazine as "quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen. No cult extracts more money from its members."
Litigious is right. Between 1991 and 1996, The Church of Scientology sued CAN more than 50 times, bankrupted them, and bought them. Said Kissler at the time, "People are going to believe they're going to talk to an organization that's going to help and understand them in their time of crisis, and in fact, it could be a pipeline of information directly to the group they're most afraid of."
If that doesn't send a chill up your spine, check your pulse - you're probably dead.
Anonymous has teamed up with Operation Clambake to have these rallies all over the world. If you'd like to see some pictures from these events, click here. (I'd definitely recommend checking out that whole site, because they have some of the most exhaustive research into the nefarious activities of this horrible cult.)
At the UK rally on May 10th, Scientology got some help from an unlikely source - theBritish government. The Guardian UK reports:
The incident happened during a protest against the Church of Scientology on May 10. Demonstrators from the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous, who were outside the church's 23m headquarters near St Paul's cathedral, were banned by police from describing Scientology as a cult by police because it was "abusive and insulting".
Writing on an anti-Scientology website, the teenager facing court said: "I brought a sign to the May 10th protest that said: 'Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.'
"'Within five minutes of arriving I was told by a member of the police that I was not allowed to use that word, and that the final decision would be made by the inspector."
A policewoman later read him section five of the Public Order Act and "strongly advised" him to remove the sign. The section prohibits signs which have representations or words which are threatening, abusive or insulting.
The teenager refused to back down, quoting a 1984 high court ruling from Mr Justice Latey, in which he described the Church of Scientology as a "cult" which was "corrupt, sinister and dangerous".
After the exchange, a policewoman handed him a court summons and removed his sign.
Wow. What's the best ally for a cult that wants to shut you up? A government with disdain for free expression. Or maybe they just like getting their palms greased:
The City of London police came under fire two years ago when it emerged that more than 20 officers, ranging from constable to chief superintendent, had accepted gifts worth thousands of pounds from the Church of Scientology.
The views expressed in this
article are those of RS Davis only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. RS Davis is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2008-05-22 14:44:02
Scientology aside, I do have to correct one statement you made. L. Ron Hubbard was far from unsuccessfeul as a science fiction writer. To the contrary he successfully sold hundreds of fictional stories to magazines and book publishers throughout his career. In fact, it was his success as a writer of fiction that set up his audience for his success with Dianetics and Scientology.
While not as successful as, say, Robert Heinlein who was considered the dean of science fiction at that time (and still is by many today), he certainly had a successful career as a science fiction writer. Wikipedia has an article which lists many of his fictional works.
Hubbard wasn't my cup of tea as a writer of fiction, but it's completely wrong to say that he was unsuccessful in that genre.
Well, he was moderately successful, if you take out Dianetics. And Dianetics wasn't the success that they say. From the Time article I quoted in the article:
BOOK PUBLISHING. Scientology mischiefmaking has even moved to the book industry. Since 1985 at least a dozen Hubbard books, printed by a church company, have made best-seller lists. They range from a 5,000-page sci-fi decology (Black Genesis, The Enemy Within, An Alien Affair) to the 40-year-old Dianetics. In 1988 the trade publication Publishers Weekly awarded the dead author a plaque commemorating the appearance of Dianetics on its best-seller list for 100 consecutive weeks.
Critics pan most of Hubbard's books as unreadable, while defectors claim that church insiders are sometimes the real authors. Even so, Scientology has sent out armies of its followers to buy the group's books at such major chains as B. Dalton's and Waldenbooks to sustain the illusion of a best-selling author. A former Dalton's manager says that some books arrived in his store with the chain's price stickers already on them, suggesting that copies are being recycled. Scientology claims that sales of Hubbard books now top 90 million worldwide. The scheme, set up to gain converts and credibility, is coupled with a radio and TV advertising campaign virtually un- paralleled in the book industry.
Think about this: masks, anonymity, something to hate.... recruiting new members.... Anonymous is a cult.
The purpose of Anonymous was pretty clearly stated when they hacked into Fox News:
“We are the face of chaos… We ruin the lives of other people simply because we can … Hundreds die in a plane crash. We laugh. The nation mourns over school shooting, we laugh. We’re the embodiment of humanity with no remorse, no caring, no love, or no sense of morality.”
It's about time the cult of Scientology is brought to justice. It is an insidious cult that strips the critical thinking skills of good people. Hopefully Anonymous will be the entity to bring Scientology to its knees.
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Knowledge is free. 
If that doesn't send a chill up your spine, check your pulse - you're probably dead.