Derek Bloch: Why is Scientology keeping a dying mother away from her son?

We first wrote about Derek Bloch’s story of being victimized by Scientology homophobia back in 2012. He’s continued to be a favorite of ours here in the Underground Bunker, and he’s written on Scientology’s toxic ‘disconnection’ policy for us numerous times. Recently he received some devastating news, and we asked him to tell us how he was coping with it.

My mother’s name is Theresa Norene (Pehl) Bloch. She was born September 17, 1961. Her late mother, Linda, passed in 2002 from leukemia. Her father’s name is Bill. He is around 80 years old and incredibly healthy. He makes delicious wine at his home in Texas from all kinds of different fruits. One of my best memories from when I was a child is eating Peepaw’s homemade peach ice cream as a kid.

Peepaw hasn’t heard from Theresa in years, since he told her he was back in touch with me. Theresa has three wonderful sisters who have been incredibly supportive of me as I sorted my life out amid the fallout of leaving Scientology, but who haven’t seen my mother in decades. She has loads of nieces and nephews (and grand-nieces and nephews) who haven’t seen her in decades. Last I knew, Theresa was living with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Azusa, CA.

She and my father run a private accounting firm with a fellow Scientologist. Her other son is in the Sea Org. My mom and dad had known each other since elementary school. They finally started dating in high school before getting married. I was the first born in 1986 followed by my sister in 1989. We both experienced life without Scientology — a benefit my brother born in 1994 never had.

 
Until I started going to school my mom was stay-at-home. She would train and groom dogs from our house. We had two standard poodles named Riley and Tony. During the 90s, she worked with my dad at his family’s accounting firm in Tyler, TX on Vine St. Occasionally, I would stay there with them during the busy season of January through April. There was a delicious pizzeria across the street called Bruno’s. To this day, I have never had pizza as good as the pizza there. I remember the hideous green carpet and the smell of stale cigarettes from when my dad’s mom used to smoke inside. I remember playing Math Blaster while my parents worked in the other room. My dad’s brother owned a VHS rental store next door to us. We used to watch screeners all the time at home courtesy of my uncle.

In my early years, we spent a lot of time with my extended family at their homes in Smith County, Texas. Until Scientology got to my parents. Scientology changed everything about our lives. My parents were quickly recruited as they were convinced to use “Management Tech” in their business by a WISE Consultant. Soon we stopped seeing her family as much because they had discovered the Time’s article “Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power” and started asking questions of my parents.

My mom’s mom, Linda, offered to take my sister and me from her before we were all lost to the cult.

 
When I was a kid, my mother seemed to exhibit what I would call now obsessive tendencies. She used to smoke before I was conceived, so maybe that addiction transferred to other things like cleaning and organizing. I can remember phases where she would buy organizers and planners or where she would non-stop clean the house for days in a row.

I don’t want to be an armchair psychologist, so I don’t want to say “she had this or that illness.” This is just to say she took to Scientology quickly because of its rigid rules and rituals. Like many people, I believe it brought a sense of order to her life that she appreciated.

As I got older, I realized there were parts of myself I had to hide from my parents. Among them were the fact that I was gay, the fact that I didn’t agree with their racist rhetoric and when I was an adult, that Scientology was fucking stupid and ruined our lives. Having to hide myself definitely meant that our relationship wasn’t as close as it could have been.

There were many times I had unusually candid conversations with her where I feel like I got to see what a warm, caring person she could have been if not for Scientology training all of us to be emotionless and uncaring.

I first heard my mom was sick months ago. Thankfully, there are people in Scientology who are willing to leak information to us outsiders. More recently, I heard that she is likely terminally ill with colon cancer. Based on information from multiple sources that corroborate each other, I can say that this information is not a stretch of the imagination. Everything points to the fact that if she hasn’t died already, the people around her seem to believe she will soon.

 
I grieved the death of my family in 2012 when they disowned me for the fact that I am gay and that I despise Scientology. I left the Sea Org in 2004 after being kicked out because another male teen and I fell in love. My parents were merciless when I came back. Without even asking me what I had been through or what the Sea Org was like, my mother asked me how she was supposed to trust me with my little brother now — since in Scientology’s insane worldview child molesters and gays are synonymous.

When I was in the Sea Org, I experienced years of abusive treatment, sleep deprivation, threats, false imprisonment, and deprivation of all of my civil liberties. My parents’ complicity in the abuse made it all the more difficult for me. I was angry, but I knew that if I let my anger guide me I would make mistakes. All of the resentment (maybe even hatred) I felt, I ended up repressing it deep down inside the depths of my subconscious. I used it as fuel to drive my struggle for financial independence, but I managed to keep it from consuming me.

That resentment made it hard to look my mother in the face for years. I can remember the loving person she was before Scientology. She was imperfect but she did seem to truly love us kids. When I looked at her after my Sea Org experience, all I wanted was my mother back. That loving mother faded year after year after year that we were in
Scientology. I used to think to myself while lying in bed at night, “How can I be so angry at the woman who loved and raised me?” I struggled with those feelings for eight years after the Sea Org. When I did finally discover a site for Ex-Scientologists, I reached out for help. The Church of Scientology used that cry for help to track me down like some kind of fugitive and turn my family against me.

I spend weeks grieving the loss of my family. I didn’t know if I’d ever see them again. Worse, I didn’t know if I even wanted to see them again. Worse still, I realized that the mother that lived in my head was not the same as my real mother. I realized how much of her behavior I had excused and forgiven. I realized that this disconnection meant that for two decades her love for me was always conditional. I saw my friends’ parents who still loved their children even though they were convicted felons. I saw mothers who gave their kids second, third and fourth chances even after those kids had stolen from them to support a drug habit.

 
When I first heard that my mother was dying, I started to call hospitals and hospices around the city to see if I could find her. I asked some friends to for help. I have some potential phone numbers but what if I call and my sister or father answers? They would know my phone number and stop me from calling her. I messaged my sister on Instagram after a moment of desperation. She never responded. I cried a little bit, knowing that the next time I hear about my mom she’s probably going to be gone already. Then I got angry because none of them have made any attempt to contact me. I spent 26 years of my life with them and there’s not a cell in their body that feels like I deserve to say bye to the woman who created me. Then I realized that I’ve already grieved for her, back in 2012 when my whole world was shattered.

I grieved again more recently when I attempted to get in touch a few years ago with her with the help of a TV studio. She refused to hug me or say she loved me. I’ve cried so many tears already, I’m not sure if there are any left.

The last bit of hope that’s being shattered today is hope for reconciliation. I had hoped my dad would be the one to die first so his iron-fisted hold over my mother would loosen. Life never works that way though, does it. For some reason the people that the world would be better off without always live the longest. That hope was never that strong to begin with. Losing it doesn’t hurt as much.

Even after everything, I still love you mom. I just wish you could hear it from me.

— Derek Bloch

 
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Bonus items from our tipsters

Stacy Francis is at it again. Here’s the video.

 
Another one through the Wall of Fire…

 
And another one. This planet will be cleared in no time!

 
A five-year staff contract probably does feel like eternity.

 
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Source Code

“The president of a law school had been employed to obtain this warrant and the Chief Federal United States Marshal, I think they have a sort of a feeling like they’re still western marshals or something. They go around with big guns hanging on them and so forth. The only trouble is they normally pick people off Skid Row to have these jobs, and it’s rather incongruous, you see. And this fellow, he was utterly mad-dogging because he was sure that I had just beaten up two of his marshals. Actually, I hadn’t beaten up a marshal. I had taken the gun away from one and told him how to use it and put it back in his holster, because I thought he would get into trouble. I explained it to him. I said, ‘You’ll get in trouble waving that about and so forth; and this is the hammer, and this is the trigger.’ And he handed it over to me, and I said, ‘These are the butt plates, and there’s the ammunition,’ and so forth, and slid the cartridges out of the chamber and told him to put them in his pocket, and put the gun back. Nobody was picking on him, and it was all all right, and he did it. You think I’m kidding you, but he did it. ” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 26, 1961

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Only a few have made it to class VIII, yet many allege they made it! By themselves! In the Freezone! Imagine that! If it is hard work with course supervisors, a CS, word Clearers, false data stripping and a whole org behind you! I cannot imagine it in the FZ! No, those are just cons!”

 
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Random Howdy

“You’re the bees knees, i-Betty. You’re the one.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay Spina, Medicare fraud: Sentencing is set for July 6 in White Plains, NY
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial set for October 7 in Los Angeles

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments set for July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Hearing on motion for reconsideration set for August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: July 8 (plaintiff attorneys pro hac vice), August 31-Sept 1 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Oral arguments were heard on March 11 in Jacksonville
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Amended complaint filed.

 
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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] Scientology destroyed her family, but this former Sea Org worker has a surprise ending
[TWO years ago] VIDEO: ‘Chicago Fire’ star Christian Stolte’s tribute to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s sneaky strategy: Suck up to police departments through ‘Drug-Free’ campaigns
[FOUR years ago] David Miscavige gets ribbon-happy in Florida: It’s the Scientology social media review!
[FIVE years ago] Jefferson Hawkins on how Scientology closes minds — a new podcast
[SIX years ago] Scientology has a new recruitment video to get you to sign up for a billion years!
[SEVEN years ago] JUSTICE KENNEDY DENIES SCIENTOLOGY REQUEST FOR STAY IN FORCED-ABORTION CASE
[EIGHT years ago] Luka Magnotta’s Scientology Screed: “I Wished Every Night That Tom Cruise Would Adopt Me”

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 26, 2020 at 07:00

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