LOL…never saw this before. Thanks!

I grew up about three blocks from the big Scientology complex on Fountain
Ave., so I’ve seen this robot army since I was a kid, when they took over the
old hospital complex and turned it into a freaky temple of Weird. (It’s
especially weird at night, when they light that enormous blue SCIENTOLOGY sign
on the top that makes the whole building look like a block of ice. Seriously,
it reminds of nothing so much as the Overlook Hotel from Stephen King’s
“The Shining”.) I’ve watched as they slowly took over the whole
neighborhood, filling the houses with their minions and buying out all the
businesses. (New York George, your pastrami sandwiches and chocolate egg creams
are sorely missed!)

In the 80’s, my (ex-)husband worked for a couple of Scientologists (he
didn’t know they were when they hired him) and one day he was asked to go to
the complex to drop off some papers. He asked me if I wanted to come along, and
I said, “Are you kidding? HELL YEAH.” Oh boy, was it ever creepy.
First of all, these people have security guards badgering people ON THE STREET.
A public street, which they certainly do not own, yet there they are, as if it
were a feudal kingdom. We went into the main building, and while my husband did
his thing with the papers, I got to look around the waiting area. There was a
TV showing Lord L.Ron in a suit with that ridiculous pseudo-Navy braided thing
over his chest, desultorily nattering about something or other – it sounded
like pure insane babbling to my untrained ears, of course. What impressed me
was how utterly dispirited and drained and sick he looked. (Later on, the
sci-fi author Norman Spinrad, who had known Hubbard back in his salad days,
told me about how weird it was to watch him go insane the way he did.) The
other thing was WEIRDED ME OUT was The Office – a precise replica of Hubbard’s
private office, roped off with red velvet, with the door ajar so the faithful
could peek in and worship the Sacred Diorama. Apparently there is one of these
in every Scientology center on Earth. THAT was seriously freaky. We had some
fun later on breaking the experience down and trying to decide what was
strangest and most unsettling about the whole thing. OY.

Cher,
Thank you for sharing your insight and expertise.
I will definitely read the book you recommend. Thanks.

HoleDNE: Thank you for reminding us that while it’s difficult to make tough life choices it’s not impossible to do the right thing for ourselves and loved ones. I love your words so much.

From past experience, I know that fear is a powerful emotion and it can immobilize our ability to make critical decisions and keep us trapped in a hell of our own choosing. Each day in fear is a day wasted wondering and agonizing about how afraid we are to leave.

Realizing that I was more afraid to stay than leave was a revelation for me. ( not in scientology but an equally dangerous situation) It took awhile, but I finally saw that my future would continue in misery and only get worse if I stayed and this stark reality terrified me and lit a fire in my soul which overpowered my fear of leaving and I reached out for help. Strangers who helped me soon became friends and I live and breath today because of them, God, my family and spouse of over 20 years.

As for friends and family, and all those we care about, they all do matter and no church, organization, government or any other human being has the right to suggest otherwise by policy, influence, fear tactics or physical intimidation. We all deserve to be loved!

Remember that, in Waco, the govt. had a valid arrest warrant for a serious crime (child abuse) and was nonetheless shot at and looked stupid. Yes, that is exactly the worry here. Sea Org members have been coached on how to lie to law enforcement and will say what Shelly said. Many people will say “but it’s a religion!” and not understand. Better to just target Davey for income tax evasion, but that creates a new problem: where is Davey?

Let’s not talk about Hubbard because he was just a human being like any of us with flaws. But we can certainly talk about good and bad policies, or consistencies and inconsistencies in the philosophy of Scientology.

The moment one goes guessing into the intentions of another person, there is no positive outcome. It is a waste of time. But it is certainly valuable to take apart the philosophy, technology and policies of Scientology, because one learn from it what to do and what not to do.

Love it!

Aaargh! I just checked the date on my ticket on my email and you are right. For some weird reason it ended up in my calender on the 15th. I have a ticket for the 21st (whew!). It has really really been one of those days…..

15th? First night it’s at the NYC Fringe is the afternoon of the 20th.