One thing Scientology counts on is that if you puff up your local police, politicians, and public advocates with enough praise, they will gladly pose for photos and accept small trophies and other trinkets.
It’s one of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s key strategies that he called “safepointing,” and we’ve documented it pretty heavily here at the Bunker, especially with the help of Rod Keller.
In one recent example, Scientology front group maven Mary Shuttleworth gave a “Human Rights Hero Award” from the group she created, Youth for Human Rights, at a recent event that took place at the United Nations. And the result? A photo of recipient Rev. Travis Ellis, a Washington DC pastor, smiling with his new tchotchke. Mission accomplished.
Scientology pulls off this maneuver practically every day, and as we’ve pointed out again and again, the people being gladhanded never seem to catch on that what’s really going on is Scientology’s scheme to create relationships so that it will be less likely for the government to dig into what’s really going on back at the compound.
Well, today, we have a counterexample.
Today, we are saluting an activist in Orange County, California who did what so few others seem to do, and who actually bothered to do his homework before accepting an award from a Scientology front group.
R. Josh Collins is a Christian advocate for the homeless who says he speaks at a lot of city council meetings, and one of the people he got to know there was another activist by the name of Dr. Patricia Adelekan.
Adelekan runs a few different organizations, including something she calls “Youth-on-the-Move Education International” and the “International Educators Hall of Fame.” Both apparently hand out a lot of awards.
Out of the blue, Collins says, he received a message from Adelekan telling him that he was one of about ten people who had been chosen to receive a new award that Youth-on-the-Move was putting out, called “The Nelson Mandela Spirit Awards.”
“She said it was for my work in the community. They sent me a letter, and I thought maybe this is a good thing,” Collins tells us. “Other activists I know were also named as winners.”
The awards were handed out this past weekend, but as the date approached, Collins says he became suspicious. He noticed, for example, that the ceremony was taking place at the Church of Scientology Ideal Org in Santa Ana. Also, the announcement by Adelekan, which Collins shared at his Facebook page, explained that the awards were “sponsored by Youth-on-the-Move, Inc. with support from United for Human Rights.”
Collins did some searching online, and realized that United for Human Rights was a Scientology front. And a friend sent him a Scientology press release showing Adelekan heaping praise on Hubbard at a 2016 grand opening of a new “Ideal” Scientology “mission” in Lake Forest, California.
“Read his many books and articles, open yourself up and discover a fascinating and mighty new world that aims to help every man, woman and child on earth!” she said at the event (see photo above).
Also — and this really threw us for a loop — Adelekan was a supporter of one of the craziest Scientologist political candidacies we ever saw. Back in 2016, a Scientologist named Clay Bock ran for city council in Garden Grove, California, and one of his chief supporters was Patricia Adelekan…
Well, not only was Bock a Scientologist, but he had been heavily involved in Scientology’s most unhinged front group, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, and once we brought that up here at the Bunker, brave Paulien Lombard went to a city council meeting and publicly announced that she and Bock, when she was in the church, had both worked together as Scientology spies! Oh, that was something else, it really was. Bock didn’t get elected, we’re relieved to say.
Collins didn’t know about the Clay Bock connection (we told him about that later), but he had seen enough about Adelekan’s ties to Scientology to be horrified. He sent a link to an ABC 20/20 program featuring Leah Remini to the other award recipients, and he let Adelekan know that he wasn’t interested in attending the ceremony or accepting the award.
Only one of the other award recipients announced that she also was not planning to go, a woman who didn’t explain her reasons for not going. “But after I put out my message about it being connected to Scientology, she told me privately that she was staying away for the same reason,” Collins says. He thinks a couple of others might have decided not to participate as well. But photos show that the event did come off on Sunday, and some people did accept their awards from Adelekan.
We hope you realize just how perfect it is that one of the people Adelekan chose to receive a Nelson Mandela Spirit Award was none other than former Scientology spy and failed political candidate Clay Bock.
Seriously.
We asked Collins if he ever heard back from Adelekan after he notified her that he wasn’t interested in one of her awards.
“Patricia never responded,” he says. We also left a message for her, hoping she might explain the origin of the awards and why Scientology was involved with them. We’ll let you know if she gets back to us.
“It’s such hypocrisy,” Collins says about a Scientology front, United for Human Rights, handing out awards in the name of Nelson Mandela. And he’s concerned that some of the other recipients didn’t back out, even after he sent them his message. “I sent them the information, but they didn’t want to back out. I think some of them understood it was evil, but they went anyway,” he says.
A pretty plaque and a free meal is just too tempting for some do-gooders to turn down, apparently.
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Bonus items from our tipsters
Meanwhile, in Canada…
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!
We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.
Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!
Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!
Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] 50 years ago today, Scientology was banned in the UK — Here’s why it was a bad move
[TWO years ago] The Rathbuns hire a lawyer, and Ray Jeffrey answers questions about his legal salvo
[THREE years ago] Why does Scientology have no sense of humor? Because seriousness is a sacrament
[FOUR years ago] A video response to Scientology’s crass celebrities, Jenna and Bodhi Elfman
[FIVE years ago] Garcia federal fraud lawsuit survives another challenge by Scientology
[SIX years ago] Scientologists Warned about Facebook “Entheta” After Leah Remini’s Departure
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Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 5,518 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 1,647 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,151 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 1,671 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 691 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 582 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 3,889 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 1,757 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,531 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,305 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,651 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,217 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,136 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,304 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 2,885 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,146 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,185 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 1,897 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,423 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,512 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,652 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,972 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 7,828 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,947 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,302 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,605 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 1,711 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,113 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,985 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,568 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,063 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,317 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,426 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 25, 2019 at 07:00
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