Re: Life Inside Scientology: Physical Abuse, Psychological Torture (All about celebrities)

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Re: Life Inside Scientology: Physical Abuse, Psychological Torture

Posted on: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 02:50:06 +0000 (UTC)

On Mar 7, 5:25=A0pm, Twitchell wrote:
> http://gawker.com/5487629/life-inside-scientology-physical-abuse-psyc...
>
> The New York Times has a lengthy, front-page story about Scientology toda=
y and
> while it doesn't break much new ground=97many of the more salacious tales=
first
> appeared in The St. Petersburg Times over the past year=97it's worth read=
ing.
>
> First and foremost, Scientology is nuts, and reading about its nutty, abu=
sive
> cultishness never ceases to be fascinating. Laurie Goodstein's article fo=
cuses
> on Christie King and Chris Collbran, second-generation Scientologists rai=
sed in
> the church. As s they joined Sea Org, the church's bizarre pseudo-nav=
y, and
> signed the requisite billion-year contract "in keeping with the church's =
belief
> that Scientologists are immortal." Later, they became disillusioned by th=
e
> abuses they witnessed, which included:
>
> Sea Org officers hitting and otherwise abusing subordinates, including te=
enage
> minors
>
> Working 16-hour days for $17/week
>
> Christie's parents spending so much money on Scientology, they couldn't a=
fford
> to attend her wedding at Manhattan's Scientology Center
>
> Leaders lying about church membership to fool Sea Org staff into believin=
g they
> were saving the world
>
> When Chris had doubts about Sea Org, the churchigned him to menial la=
bor
> halfway around the world and blocked Christie's attempts to contact him f=
or
> three months
>
> Sea Org complaints not attributed to the Collbrans include:
> Physical beat-downs at the hands of church chairman David Miscavige
> Pressure to get abortions against their will (Sea Org members may not hav=
e
> children)
>
> Some members gave up to $1M to the church
>
> Getting out was even worse. Since the church had the Collbrans' passports=
in its
> possession=97and since their family and loved ones were still part of the
> church=97they had to endure a slate of further abuse:
>
> Sign false confessions about their private lives
>
> Pay the church $10,000 they "owed for courses and counseling"
>
> Become estranged from their loved ones, who, according to church doctrine=
, had
> to cut them off when they left
>
> Christie hid an intentionally pregnancy until it was too late to abort,
> specifically to expedite her exit from Sea Org
>
> The second reason this story matters is that it confirms and lends creden=
ce to
> earlier reports about Scientologists, primarily from The St. Petersburg T=
imes.
> Scientology leaders and some prominent members deny stories like the Coll=
brans'.
> (Even Sea Org members say the "average Scientology member, known in the c=
hurch
> as a public" wouldn't know about most of these abuses.) The Village Voice=
's Tony
> Ortega notes that this is good for ex-Scientologists trying to raise awar=
eness
> of their cause:
>
> But mostly, it's the St. Pete Times that wins here. With only a few weeks=
until
> the 2009 Pulitzers are announced, it's hard not to see the timing of Good=
stein's
> piece as anything but accidental: the New York Times has just sent a clea=
r
> endorsement of a Pulitzer for last year's blockbuster series by the St. P=
ete
> Times.
>
> more =A0http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/us/07scientology.html

It's so hard for me to understand why people don't get it that they
are in way over their head. If someone pulled those tricks on me or
most people I know, they would get a very unpleasant response in
return. I know it has to do with brainwashing and/or control + desire
to "fit in", and maybe the reason I can't understand is that I have
not had those experiences.

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