I find this cult very weird and fascinating. I've never seen a religion go through this much trouble to torment its defectors. It looks almost more like an organized crime syndicate than any other religion in the US. [video=youtube;JM2SanSKk9c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM2SanSKk9c[/video] [video=youtube;itqePJgLjwE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itqePJgLjwE[/video] [video=youtube;mF4dZHy1JAc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF4dZHy1JAc[/video] Their official website Freedom Magazine has entire articles dedicated to slandering people who spoke out against the Church in the HBO documentary "Going Clear" http://www.freedommag.org/going-clear/white-papers/marty-rathbun.html Allegedly Scientologists even plotted the assassination of 2 defectors back in the 1970s; but nothing was ever proven on this (an ex-member however testified under oath that she witnessed the assassinations being plotted). Sometime during late 1977, according to an affidavit given by Margery Wakefield, a secret meeting was held at the Guardian's Office where two murders were planned. The first of which was of a young man who had defected from Scientology and had been recaptured, and the second was an assassination of Paulette in which they were planning to shoot her dead. It is unknown whether or not these plans were attempted.[13] Pretty creepy stuff...
hopefully none of their Church's ever go on a convert or kill campaign, they are still the new kids on the block though .
By relying on Marty Rathbun as one of its principal sources for its Church of Scientology film “Going Clear,” produced by Lawrence Wright and Alex Gibney, HBO has created a recipe for disaster. Rathbun is an admitted liar, as well as a self-confessed suborner of perjury and obstructer of justice. Moreover, he is a self-proclaimed leader of an admittedly failed “independent” experiment who at one point had delusions of seizing control of the Church. Yeah, I also find them fascinating. You can see from their link that they engage in serious ad hominem attacks against those who leave their beloved organisation ("squirrels," I guess they're called). They, like Westboro, show how depraved a cult or a church can be. The scariest thought for me is these people having political power. Their tyranny would certainly rival that of Catholic Rome during its heyday.
I like this South Park video, funny as heck, I have to admit, about all I know about Scientology I learned from this video, so I guess not much...... http://www.boreme.com/posting.php?id=11090 .
Ack! They've invaded Switzerland! http://www.freedommag.org/issue/201506-net-freedom/scientology-news/in-the-middle.html
Apparently there's a lawsuit which has been underway by Monique Rathbun (wife of Marty Rathbun, a high ranking offical who left the church) - she claims the church has relentlessly harassed her and spied on her - the court case is pretty fascinating to watch: [video=youtube;5jVyUFa2ZAc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVyUFa2ZAc[/video]
It'd be interesting to hear what the Scientologists in the videos are actually trying to say. I don't believe it to be anything I'd consider very far, nor do I think it will justify the picketing, but if all they're doing is discuss the legal details of where they're allowed to be and be snarky to one another, I didn't really need videos for it.
It would be kind of unnerving to have these goons hanging around your place, though, don't you think? Also, anyone who's been in that cult is going to have a different perspective on the matter than we outsiders do, and may therefore be more nervous about it all, especially right after "squirreling" when they're going to be at their most nervous and uncertain about their circumstances going forward. I'd wager such former members tend to be conditioned into thinking the Scientologists are more powerful and dangerous than they actually are. It can't be easy to escape a cult like that! The English guy's shaky hand is certainly a tell. He really was on edge about the situation, apparently quite afraid of what those people might do when confronted. Those American Scientologists were kind of imposing, too. The shades were a nice touch..
Many years ago I made the mistake of getting involved with this mindless cult. Thankfully I had enough sense to get out of it. Sadly, many do not realize what a crazed profit making and tax evading organization it is.
