Bruce Hines: Scientology has always protected abusers and always will

[While we have a day off from deliberations at the Danny Masterson retrial, we have this treat to tide us over, the latest vivid narrative from Bruce Hines.]

I wrote the following about three years ago. I have been doubtful that it would be of interest to most people. It concerns events that happened almost 40 years ago in a relatively small and insignificant corner of the Scientology world. More recently, however, in light of the criminal case against Danny Masterson, it seems more relevant.

I had been in Copenhagen for over three months. My training there was complete. I was a new staff member in a Scientology “mission” in Heilbronn, Germany, and had been sent to Denmark to take courses to learn my job. In the international network of Scientology, missions had the lowest status. That means that the types of training and auditing (an unusual one-on-one practice) that a mission could sell were limited. In Copenhagen was the most senior organization in continental Europe. Only there were many of the highest levels of Scientology available. My boss in Germany had decided I should go there to get the information I would need to perform the duties of my post. The subject matter of Scientology is extraordinarily complicated and there was more for me to learn than I might with a few days of on-the-job training or with the courses that were available in the mission.

It was mid-summer in 1975. The weather was beautiful. I had quite enjoyed being in Copenhagen. It had been decided that I would travel by train from there to southern Germany. At that time, there were only two other members of the mission, Werner and Doris, a married couple. They had already gone to South Tyrol, in the Alps of northern Italy, where they were offering “holiday courses.” Accompanying them was their 3-year-old son, Christopher. I went first to Stuttgart, where I spent the night at a friend’s place, and from there, the next morning, took another train to a nearby town. There, I met a woman named Herta, whom I had met a couple of years earlier when I was taking introductory Scientology courses in Stuttgart. She had agreed to drive me the rest of the way to South Tyrol. I didn’t know her very well.

Herta was, I’m guessing, in her early thirties. She was a school teacher. Her demeanor was pleasant and somewhat reserved. I would have said that she was a bit conservative socially, maybe even somewhat schoolmarmish. I hadn’t seen her for several months. When I met her at the train station, the first, very obvious, thing about her was that she was pregnant. This caught me by surprise. I knew that she wasn’t married.

We got into her Citroën and set off on the drive to South Tyrol. It was one of those small Citroëns, popular in those years, with rounded fronts and backs, kind of like a VW Beetle, and about the same size. Our destination was a tiny village named Kapron, high in the Alps. It was in northern Italy, and just a kilometer or two from the Austrian border. It was approximately a five-hour trip, through the states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in Germany, through Austria over two mountain passes, and into Italy. We chatted some along the way, but were mostly quiet.

We arrived in the late afternoon. We were staying in a house owned by that couple, for whom I had worked less than two weeks before going to Copenhagen. I think they were able to buy that house, a year or two earlier, because Doris’s parents were to some degree wealthy. Werner did not have money of his own. The village had ten or twelve houses situated close to each other. Most of the residents were dairy farmers. The lush, green alpine valleys were perfect for cows to graze in during the warm months. In the winter, when there was a lot of snow, the cows lived in barns, subsisting on hay cut from the surrounding pastures. One of the odd things, at least for me as an outsider, was that the barns were part of the houses. The cows lived on the ground floor and the people lived on a floor above.

It was explained to me that this was an efficient way to heat the buildings for humans and bovines alike. The house we stayed in had an empty barn, a small one, below our living quarters, which consisted of a living/dining room, a small kitchen, one bathroom, and one bedroom on the lower level, and three bedrooms upstairs. It was very rustic. The only heating for the whole house was a fireplace enclosed in a stone structure, accessible from the living room and from the kitchen. All cooking was done on a cast iron, wood- fired, stove. I was put in the bedroom on the lower level. Herta, I believe, was staying in a nearby inn, which is where the people who were traveling there to take a course were also staying.

Those staying in the house were the mission staff, a babysitter for Christopher, and some people from Stuttgart who were there to help give the courses. I came to realize that Werner was the father of Herta’s baby. I don’t remember how I found that out. It had to do with the fact that Doris, who was usually very easy to get along with, was acting pissed off or sullen much of the time. It is totally beyond me why Herta traveled there to take a course under those circumstances. Some months after that, Doris gave birth to their second son, Nikolai, and I’m pretty sure that she was also pregnant at the time.

Werner was a brazen philanderer. I did not know that at the time, though others did. As time went on, this became increasingly clear to me. There was certainly no remorse on his part that he had gotten Herta pregnant.

Life went on for the following couple of days without incident. We were involved in various activities, like gathering wood for fires, building fires for cooking, shopping for food for everyone, delivering Scientology introductory courses, cleaning, driving to the inn where the course room was, and the like. Then we got word that two people would be arriving from the Mission Office Worldwide. They were coming to investigate some reports that they had received about our mission and especially about Werner. This was a big deal.

The Scientology organization internationally is, and was at that time, elaborate. There are different types of local groups, with each type authorized to offer certain services, arranged in hierarchical networks. In 1975 the world headquarters was on a ship that sailed around to various ports in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. Prior to the ship taking on that role in about 1967 or ‘68, the international center was at Saint Hill in England. The central control points for Scientology missions, as distinct from “orgs,” “advanced orgs,” and management groups for various continents, had remained in England at that time. Each mission was supposed to send weekly reports to this office with various statistics, such as the amount of income, then number of new people, and aspects of delivery (like the number of people taking a course that week, the number of hours of auditing delivered, and such). Additionally, each mission was supposed to send 10 percent of their income to the worldwide office. If someone observed that a mission was not following the prescribed policies, or was acting unethically, the observer was obligated to send in written reports to more senior Scientology officials, including the Mission Office Worldwide.

I was just learning about the many and varied rules and policies that governed the behavior of individuals, missions, orgs, and staff members in the world of Scientology. In later years, as I became more and more involved, I learned a lot about such things. That mission where I had joined staff just a few months earlier was violating many of those policies. And Werner already had a reputation in Europe of being a flouter of rules, to such an extent that when the central authority received reports about Werner’s mission, they sent investigators all the way to the Italian Alps to check into things.

On that trip, there were a few people working for the Heinzels in one capacity or another, and maybe fifteen or twenty public Scientologists who had traveled from Germany to enjoy a holiday while taking a short course. We were all interviewed by the two people who had come to try to get more information about whatever had been reported. I didn’t have much to say. I was new and had not yet experienced the crazy stuff that went on in that family. I was not sure about Werner being the father of Herta’s baby, though I was starting to have my suspicions, and said nothing about that.

A married man, who held an official position in Scientology, having an affair with another woman was considered a serious offense. In the highest levels of the command structure, where all staff members are in the “Sea Organization,” a person caught doing that would have been sent to a “rehabilitation” camp or possibly excommunicated. Likely, there were also financial irregularities that had been reported, as Werner played loose with money.

Evidently no one else had anything negative to say either. The investigators were there for a day and then they were gone. Werner said they found that everyone was having a positive experience. Neither Werner nor Doris nor Herta must have said anything about the affair. I have wondered what had been reported that warranted this visit, and whether they asked about any specific transgressions. Those people acting on behalf of the Mission Office Worldwide should have dug deeper. A couple of years later Werner was kicked out of Scientology. But for a time life went on as though everything was fine.

Later, I learned of other things about that Scientology group, and about Werner specifically, that in retrospect are shocking.

The following spring, in 1976, a family had come to South Tyrol to take a holiday course and to receive some Scientology auditing. In that family was a daughter who was 12 or 13 years old. That family abruptly departed one day. It turned out that Werner had gotten her alone, talked nicely to her, and kissed her. He was trying to seduce her. Fortunately she somehow got away and spoke up about it. I don’t know if Werner ever had to face the consequences of this despicable act.

Another time when we were in South Tyrol, Werner was talking to me and another guy named Paul late one night in the main room of the old farmhouse where we were living. This would have been a couple of months after the investigators had visited. In essence, he was bragging about his sexual exploits. In doing so, he was describing how a particular concept in the teachings of Scientology applied to his conquest of women.

I will try to briefly explain this concept, which is one that all people who get to know Scientology learn about early on, and then study in more detail if they progress to higher levels.

The concept is referred to as the “emotional tone scale.” The idea is that emotions can be considered to lie on a graded scale. The positions on this scale correspond to states of being or “tones.” The higher on the scale, the better. Supposedly a person moves up and down this scale as they go through life, and they pass through or experience the corresponding emotions as they do so. So, for example, apathy is considered to be a low tone and cheerfulness a high tone. But one can’t just jump from apathy to cheerfulness. One would have to pass through intervening emotions on the scale, even if briefly. Some of the main ones, going from low to high, are apathy, grief, fear, covert hostility, anger, antagonism, boredom, mild interest, strong interest, and cheerfulness. The ones from boredom and above are considered to be positive emotions, meaning that they promote survival, and the ones below boredom are negative, leading the person towards death. “Up tone” and “down tone” are common expressions used to describe a person’s mood.

I’ll add here that I no longer believe in this construct. I don’t think emotions fall on such a scale, nor that one moves through emotions in a set sequence. Such a concept is contrary to what I have experienced and observed. Also, emotions aren’t positive or negative – they are responses to events that happen in life. However, Scientologists think this emotional tone scale is true because the founder said so. Anyway, back to the evening in South Tyrol with Werner. He was describing to us that when he was in the process of seducing a woman, a phase would often occur where she became sad or fearful or angry or antagonistic towards him. That meant, he explained, that she was coming up tone. She had to pass through the negative emotions in order to reach the positive area of the scale. Werner felt that he then had to persist in his advances to get her through the lower emotions and into higher ones. Then she would be amenable to having sex, according to his twisted thinking.

Werner had completed “OT levels” (which supposedly meant that he had attained higher states of being), was a trained auditor (had done the “Saint Hill Special Briefing Course” in Copenhagen), and was the leader of a Scientology mission. There were very few people with that status in the German-speaking area in those years. He was a big strong guy with a quick temper and an ability to be very charming. I felt that because of his training and “case level,” he had much more knowledge and awareness than me. I tended to buy his bullshit.

I have learned a lot since then. I have been able to shed years of conditioning and indoctrination that I experienced in Scientology. I believe that I can view things more realistically and rationally. Though I am embarrassed to admit it, I now realize that in reality the women in those situations were resisting and, in one fashion or another, were saying no. And, in fact, Werner was repeatedly overpowering those poor women and committing rape. And, because he was to some degree an “opinion leader” and a senior Scientologist in that area, he was able to get away with it.

— Bruce Hines

 
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Technology Cocktail

“The intention or goal of this process is to bring the preclear’s body further under control and to insure that he does “precisely” what you tell him to do, and it is a basic step for getting his thinkingness under your command as well. By showing the preclear you can control his body, you are actually inviting him to control it and to take some responsibility for it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1958

 
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.

 
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney

 
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Source Code

“This is probably how the ancient magician enchanted things. Possibly princes have turned into deer in the forest. If you took a period in the magic universe when thetans were still capable of mocking up their own bodies, and you pulled some shocking stunt on the person and sandwiched them in that ‘You are now a deer,’ why, he’d cease to mock up the prince and start mocking up a deer, don’t you see? And he would be an enchanted deer. That would be how enchantments were accomplished. I mean, the mechanism of enchantment is no cruder than that.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 24, 1962

Avast, Ye Mateys

“FISH AND SAUSAGES: There’s a native street off the main drag where fresh grilled fish, and a kind of hot dog and other bits cost about 10 cents apiece or less. Cokes can be gotten nearby. Don’t shoot the prices up. Interesting area.” — The Commodore, May 24, 1970

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Overheard in the FreeZone

“What the hell is this MEST universe composed of, anyway? I watch the History Channel, H2 specifically, a lot and they’ve said things which made me wonder. Even astronauts experimented and found out if they go up in space time slows down and they age less faster, but this makes sense since they are a lot further away from the gravity of this solar system, or planet, and also there are less particles in that manner traveling through space, as such, which is all that’s causing ‘time’ anyway. After listening to the old man I am totally left speechless, which is an understatement of his abilities and I’m positive there is no other being which is as elevated as him at least as far as inventing the tech goes, and my reality is that he invented it long ago in outer space because I also had a clear memory flash in my mind of a woman auditing me with an E-Meter in outer space, which looked exactly like the ones used in Scientology 8 or 9 years before I found it. I’m sure he is gone throughout the universe bringing the tech to as many beings as he can, and this is what he’s continuing to do – freeing beings is one of his most favorite games. In my reality he only came to us 2,500 years ago as Buddha because the planet was so primitive still that that’s all that would’ve been accepted or real to them, or able for them to preserve. He says on the PDC or First American ACC that the only difference between us and him is that he never agreed to be a slave – sorry – but that’s all that it is! This makes sense because if one gives in to excruciating pain, they can then become enslaved and entrapped.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1997: Grady Ward, Keith Henson and attorneys for Dennis Erlich deposed Scientology head David Miscavige this week. Scientology fabricated the story of a bomb threat to upset Grady and Keith’s schedule, delaying their deposition until the next day. The deposition was held at a secret location to allow Scientology to keep high security around Miscavige. Keith Henson described his time spent near Palm Springs. Details of the deposition itself will not be available for 30 days. “Early in the morning I was opped for the first time this year by two hang up calls to my room at 5:30. Never did get back to sleep. About 7:30 I went down to join Grady. Not knowing what to expect after the various confused rumors of the previous evening, Grady and I headed for the Palm Springs airport. About 8:40 Mike Rinder and an older cult zombie showed up. Rinder handed us the following court order: ‘On May 19, 1997, at approximately 4:20 p.m., counsel for Plaintiff RTC made an emergency ex parte application by telephone for a protective order respecting the deposition of David Miscavige, scheduled to commence May 20, 1997 at 9:00 a.m. RTC further requested that Defendants Ward and Henson be excluded from the portion of the deposition conducted by Defendant Erlich’s counsel due to concerns regarding the safety of Mr. Miscavige. RTC requested that the deposition resume on May 21, 1997, for separate deposition by Defendants Ward and Henson. RTC’s concern for the safety of Mr. Miscavige arises from certain recent internet postings by Defendant Henson perceived by RTC as threats against Mr. Miscavige, and alleged conversations between Defendants Henson and Ward overheard by an employee of Southwest Airlines at the San Jose Airport at approximately 1:00 p.m. today.'”

 
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Random Howdy

“There are no shortage of folks here who enjoy a serious discourse, and there are those like myself who love satire, snark, and the absurd. That’s what makes this place so special. You need to be able to appreciate both to truly get the whole groovy effect of this place. And there’s a difference between respecting people and respecting their ‘beliefs’.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Mistrial declared November 30. Retrial scheduled, jury selection begins March 29. Next pretrial hearing: Feb 16.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing Feb 13.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next status conference Feb 13.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing November 17 to argue the arbitration motions, awaiting ruling.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: March 15, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through February 7.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

 
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SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. 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 a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Yes, Narconon IS Scientology, and we have video that settles the matter
[TWO years ago] How the Scientology drama in Danny Masterson’s prelim appeared to a former Sea Org official
[THREE years ago] VIDEO: Proof Scientology still promotes Hubbard’s bizarre ideas about evolution
[FOUR years ago] How Scientology created its own prison for children who chafed at lifetime service
[FIVE years ago] When rabid Scientologists got into a fistfight with US marshals to protect L. Ron Hubbard
[SIX years ago] Believe it or not, a second season of Reza Aslan’s ‘Believer’ is coming
[SEVEN years ago] As Scientology sinks, does Tom Cruise really have to go down with the ship?
[EIGHT years ago] Paulette Cooper has a surprise for Scientology and the residents of a certain Florida town
[NINE years ago] When Scientologists sell each other Scientology: ‘I’m me for the first time in trillions of years’
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s Enforcer Has a New Book: Will This Be The One We’re Waiting For?

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 24, 2023 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone