Mike Rinder takes on Scientology’s uneven ‘Disconnection’ rules

Former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder has a disturbing story at his blog today that helps illustrate just how upside down Scientology’s system of “ethics” is.

In order to maintain control, Scientology encourages its members to snitch on each other, even asking children to turn in their parents if they express any doubts about the church. Families are ripped apart when members are instructed to “disconnect” from a parent or child or sibling who has run afoul of church management.

And that extends to online communities as well, where Scientologists are trained to be vigilant about cutting off all ties from a “suppressive person” — someone excommunicated or otherwise judged a threat to the church.

However, Rinder writes today, if Scientology is so vigilant about kicking out unwanted members and shunning them online, why is a sexual predator getting an exception to that rule?

Rinder has all the background on a man named Jasja Barendsen, a Scientologist who is coming out of prison after serving four years for sexual assault on a child. And yet Scientology has enforced no disconnection against Barendsen or his family.

Why? Well, as Rinder points out, some Scientologists are more equal than others, and are allowed to skate by the rules — even if it involves a convicted sexual predator.

Give Rinder’s story a read and let us know what you think.

 
——————–

Casey Kasem’s final dedication supplied by Scientology

Casey Kasem’s children held a private memorial service for him on Saturday, and a few news outlets wrote about it, noting that selections from the famous deejay’s American Top 40 show were played as a fitting testament.

Also mentioned, generally without comment, was that Kerri Kasem had a man named David Campbell perform some kind of musical tribute at the service.

What those stories didn’t mention is that Campbell is the Scientologist father of musician Beck.

Nice job, Kerri!

 
——————–

Chris Shelton asks a question we usually avoid

We tend to stay away from the question of whether Scientology is a cult because that word is so impossible to define. But Chris does a great job here showing how Scientology’s methods of control shut down dissent.

 

 
——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on June 25, 2014 at 09:10

E-mail your tips and story ideas to tonyo94@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. Here at the Bunker we try to have a post up every morning at 7 AM Eastern (Noon GMT), and on some days we post an afternoon story at around 2 PM. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS (We read Scientology’s founding text) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

UP THE BRIDGE (Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN (Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING (Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer