To answer your question now! – I think we are all guessing that the reason there noone on the flyovers is because there are not many people left. 10-20 years ago there would be many more.

To a degree. I try to not overvalue my own experience because I could do that too. By approaching it from several subjects and seeing how social psychology and academics who study totalitarian groups and totalism look at such groups I can see perspectives I might have missed on my own.

I also see language as guiding, framing and limiting thought. By studying different subjects that are relevant I can have the opportunity to think in the concepts and terms that each subject introduces. John Stuart Mill said language is the light of the mind. It makes critical thinking possible.

It’s hard to think of things you have no terms for and natural to think in the terms you have. Hubbard in particular used language to construct a world of shadows and with a reversal of truth and fiction he meant to confuse people, to heighten anxiety and stress. He felt if he could do this thoroughly enough then through his use of Orwellian reversals and alterations to language make Scientology self perpetuating in the cult member then he could enslave the victim until death.

I think overcoming his limits in language and critical thinking requires embracing language to specifically counter his deceptions and critical thinking tools to overcome the reduction in independent thinking Scientology encourages.

And it is, to many (but not all) aspects.

Being an outsider I proceed from the general to the particular. You, having has experience of the CofS work to understand it the other way around.

I am not familiar with his work. I tend to see all work on totalitarian groups and abusive relationships as relevant to Scientology.

Yep..I know.. So happy you are here! Woo Hoo..

Lol. I get so confused when I see this other Beth commenting on here! I think, “Did I post that comment? I don’t remember that!” Then it comes back to me…I’m Whoever on here!

There was a spread about them in a Co$ magazine that Tony showed (last year?) so the members do know about them, maybe not where they are though.

From a sociological perspective, you can understand the role playing as a socially constructed presentation of self.

A maverick Sociologist called Goffman had some interesting ideas in this regard, especially relating to what he called ‘total institutions’ – of which the CofS is a very special case.

I was born in 1958 and remember the mid 70’s when everyone was reading “I’m OK, Your OK” and a new interest in “Dianetics” popped up. I read both but neither one told me anything I didn’t already know. I guess I was not really searching for anything. I was just enjoying life.

I knew who LRH was – a fiction author my brother read; and because we traveled with my Dad to several countries, I knew who Crowley was – a very evil man who was run out of Italy, but I didn’t know how close he was to LRH. We grew up in a diverse family of Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians and went to Catholic schools. My sister in law is from China and is Buddhist, my husband is Hispanic and some of my life long best friends are Jewish. Several members of my family have been in the military – Marines and Air Force. I consider myself to be a very open minded and non judgmental person, BUT this scares me.

This religion (I’m calling it that only to make a point) is dangerous because these people really BELIEVE LRH’s fiction (even though he didn’t believe it and told them so (L. Ron Hubbard – ‘I’m just kidding you mostly’ (1952)). He has dressed them up in uniforms resembling the military for his own private army (probably because he was such a failure at his own military career and needs to compensate for it) and is training them on techniques used to remove yourself from a torturous situation if your captured as a military POW (at least that is what I took away from the video of Stacy Brooks and Jessie Prince showing us what the TRs were all about). It’s one thing if a person joins the military knowing they are being trained for war, but it’s quite another when someone joins an organization for a good cause and spiritual growth only to get blindsided with anagram speaking, vulgar, insulting, financially draining, non empathetic, screaming in your face, selfish ASSHOLES. The icing on the cake is LRH’s view on children – to leave a 4 year old locked in a dark, wet anchor chain hole crying, is nothing but a Sadist, but I think its worse for the other adults to just stand there like zombies and let the MFkr get away with it. I’m sorry but, they’ve joined what I call a CULT.

It’s dangerous because they are so secretive and not the “great prize at the end” secret, I mean OT VIII = Survive? WTF is that all about? They spend millions to learn we need to survive??? I’ve looked at the drone videos, which are great by the way, and the properties all look so beautiful and peaceful, but there are hundreds of horror stories about what is taking place behind closed doors down there. And to keep the Dogma that secret, well the government should be all over that one. And the most secretive of all is the COB David Miscavige is a Hitler is the making, maybe worse Hitler and Jim Jones combined, because he has multi billionaires backing him up. He can’t loose the tax exemption or the billionaires will loose the tax deduction. I think that would be disastrous for all Scientologists.

There is a lot more I’ve seen but I guess I’ve gone on long enough. I want to thank you for putting this site together and giving persons like me a place to learn about it and vent. I looked at their website, but honestly, no one is that happy. It’s just a come on, an act, a sales pitch and they sound stupid, silly and childish – then I started seeing they “worship” LRH. Well, I couldn’t get off the site quick enough. What is really being done about this group and the abuses they commit?