Bait & Hook, the Recruitment

by Kerry Fouché


From: "Kerry Fouché" <khf@rmi.net>
Subject: BAIT&HOOK[de-lurking]part 2 (long)
Date: 18 Nov 1998 00:00:00 GMT
Message-ID: <36528DE9.CE47FB1B@rmi.net>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology

Bait & Hook, the Recruitment.


I was vulnerable. I grew up in a family surrounded by books. My dad was
an avid reader on just about everything. I was encouraged to read from
early childhood, and spent a lot of time reading since I spent a lot of
time "grounded" due to getting into a lot of mischief. In my teens I got
into reading books on psychology (e.g. I'm OK, you're OK), hypnotism,
science fiction, channeling (The Seth books), Carlos Casteneda, the
paranormal and supernatural, not to mention Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.
Then there was the recreational drug use: pot, speed and LSD. A
motorcycle crash at 17, my senior year in high school, crushing two
vertebrae, practically severing my nose from my face,  paralyzed from
the waist down for a few weeks, an eight hour surgery, addicted to
narcotics (the withdrawals occurred in the hospital) and 3 months in a
full body cast with nothing to do but read more alternative books.
Fortunately, I had enough credits to graduate, top 10% of my
class-"honors with distinction"-no less. Soon suffered from depression
from the whole traumatic experience and especially from the permanent
nerve damage remaining, resulting in a "drop-foot". Then I got into some
PCP which precipitated a psychotic break, and spent five days in a psych
ward quite delusional. Decided it wasn't a good time to go to college,
even though I was already enrolled with a major in psychology. It wasn't
a good year. For the next three years I was a mess. Finally got a job
with Proctor & Gamble, doing fairly well, but a year later had a big
blow-out with my dad, got very pissed off and hurt, flipped out, stole
some money from him, and took off to Florida, where I was promptly
arrested and put in jail awaiting extradition back to Cincinnati. I had
time to realize a few things: my life had suffered ever since I started
fooling around with drugs and so decided I was finished with drugs, and
I realized it was nobodies fault but my own that I was in jail, and it
was time to get my act together, time to grow up. It was then that I
read Dianetics: the modern Science of Mental Health. Like I said, I was
vulnerable.

Wow! I discovered I was full of engrams. I could think of plenty of
moments of pain and unconsciousness. At last, the solution to why my
life had been so f*cked up. I had hope now- I was going to get Clear,
and everything would be all right.

I was completely lacking any skills regarding critical thinking. I was
young(21),  naive, and very trusting, and furthermore  Dianetics was a
work of non-fiction. Hubbard had done all this research, and there were
"Clears" out there. I'd be able to throw my glasses away! I could have
perfect recall of everything that had ever occurred in my life! I wasn't
ever going to be sick again!  I wouldn't get so emotionally out of
control any more! Increase my IQ! I'd be able to go to college and do
great! (And maybe, dare I even think it, my nerve damage could be fixed,
and the pain in my back could be made to go away...surely I'd received
some  big ole engrams during the crash and operation....)

I was extradited back to Cincinnati. While awaiting trial I wrote
Scientology a letter expressing my interest. Mark Shreffler, from the
Cincinnati Mission came to visit me. He was a very friendly and likable
guy.

I went to trial, my father testified that my problem was drugs and so I
was given "treatment in lieu of conviction", and sent to a halfway
house. Contacted the Mission.

Now understand that I figured I'd be able to hook up with somebody else
who had read the Dianetics book, and we'd audit each other. I had no
clue what I was in for.

I was immediately regged[by regged I mean that I was engaged in
communication to find my weaknesses and vulnerabilities which were then
exploited] for paid auditing to go Clear. My attempts to understand why
I couldn't just do the book stuff with somebody else-LIKE THE BOOK
TALKED ABOUT-were met with disdain. I was handled. I didn't stand a
chance against the regg's coercively persuasive skills. Now, in a daze,
I was escorted into a car with the registrar to go to people I knew to
ask them to lend me the money to go Clear. One of the more embarrassing
moments in my life. Nobody lent the money. I'm sure they could see that
the reg was hustling me. In retrospect, the reg was an unfriendly,
unsmiling, pushy SOB.

It was a bad experience. But it didn't detract from my belief in the
Dianetics book, and my desire to be Clear of my engrams. You see, I
wanted to believe, and I trusted.

Now, Mark Shreffler, who had befriended me earlier, handled me on this
bad experience, and let me know that I could take a $10.00 communication
course as the first step in my auditor training. I could do it the
"co-audit" way as suggested in the Dianetics book.Well, that was more
like it. Little did I know that the hook was already being set. I guess
the final setting of the hook was Scientology's appeal to my idealistic
nature via the lofty 'Aims of Scientology'; the creed of the church,(
both of which were stenciled on a wall, in the "chapel" area), and the
oft repeated 'If it's not true for you, it's not true'. I was disarmed
just like that. Analytical mind bypassed, with an appeal to my emotions
and goodwill. I trusted. Incidentally, I just accessed Scientology's web
site where the 'aims' and 'creed' are posted and re-read them for the
first time in probably 15 years, and I can say without a shadow of a
doubt, that in my experience, Scientology actively violates every point
made. Basically Scientology is the opposite of the stated aims and
creed, but they are VERY good PR.

I did the comm course. In other words, I let my self be put into a
semi-hypnotic state where more Scientological implants could more easily
be inserted. I experienced dissociative states from the 'training
routines', experiences which were re-defined as the fact that I was
'winning' and 'getting into present time'. Wow, I thought, it must be
working. I was induced to look up words that I'd been using all my life,
because I couldn't regurgitate a definition fast enough.Wow, I thought,
they're even helping me to get more literate. No, It was just some early
conditioning to get me used to the idea that anything I encountered in
my studies that was, in fact, incomprehensible  was due to MY mis- or
un-defined words. In spite of Hubbards atrocious, at times
unintelligible and convoluted writing style. Just another way of
diminishing your own cognitive abilities, so that you could be a better
Scientologist. Another brick in the wall.

I didn't have any money for any other courses or auditing, so I was sold
a Volunteer Ministers Handbook, advised I was a Field Staff Member, and
basically told to come back when I had some money or a new recruit. The
phone calls and the promotional materials never stopped however. And I
still wanted to be Clear. I was hooked.

 I didn't have much of anything to do with Scientology over the next 10
months. I Got my act together. A non Scientology friend helped me get a
job cooking at a restaurant, got a car, got an apartment with a friend
from work, I was dating a real sharp young lady, patched up everything
with my dad, had quit doing drugs, had moved up into management training
at the restaurant,  would be able to start college soon, and generally
doing well in life. But the thought of going 'Clear' was an itch that
needed scratching. I had been successfully implanted. I came back for
more.

Sometime in the fall of 1978, right around when Scientology was in the
news due to some raid, I went back over to the Mission to see about
taking another course. There was a new reg, who was nice and friendly,
who assured me I'd been 'handled' improperly by the previous reg, got me
to understand that I needed to get training right away: I was doing
good, and if I didn't do something right away, my life would get worse,
etc., etc. .When I asked about Scientology being in the news, I was
given the paranoid rant about the evil psychs using the IRS and the FDA
against poor ole Scientology. I bought it. And then because I had a cold
or something I was given a 'PTS handling'  You see, Scientology covertly
practices medicine by diagnosing someone who gets sick or has an
accident as being connected to a Supressive person. Too bad. That was
the final setting of the hook. With the 'Potential Trouble
Source/Suppressive person' information I began looking at people
through a very peculiar filter and, quite unfortunately for me, I would
also  read about an erroneous 'explanation' for  why I
'roller-coastered' in life: 'Suppresive People' [In reality, I had an
un-diagnosed condition, now called 'Seasonal Affective Disorder'
sometimes known as the 'winter blues'. I wouldn't  get properly
diagnosed and treated (bright light in the winter) for another almost 20
years, because of the diatribe against psychologists and psychiatrists
which, once successfully implanted in my mind kept me from  even
considering  seeing a shrink or psychologist for many years to come.]

So now I understood why I had ups and downs. Now I understood that there
were SP's out there....and PTS's, and my father was probably
Suppressive...and basically I better beware of anybody not doing
Scientology....the world was a dangerous place....I bought the HQS
course(Hubbard Qualified Scientologist) and got on course. I needed to
go clear.

My mom died not long after starting this course.October of 1978.
Friends, co-workers, people I hadn't seen in years, all came to the
funeral. It was sad. My new friends at Scientology didn't come, not that
I noticed at the time. The registrar instead sold me 'Have You Lived
before this Life ', a book on reincarnation. How compassionate. And soon
after this, during this time of loss in my life I would be coerced into
dropping my plans for college and quitting my new management position at
the restaurant. The Executive Director and his wife the Deputy Executive
Director (who was also the registrar) wanted to go play a bigger
game-they wanted to join the Sea Org-Scientology's elite paramilitary
organization. I was to be the D/ED's replacement. Once again, the
cleverly executed persuasive techniques were brought to bear, my
'buttons' were pushed, appeals to 'the greater good' were made, etc.
etc..
I  quit my job, forsook my college plans, and joined up as a full-time
staff member. It wasn't about me going clear anymore, I was going to
help 'Clear the Planet'! What greater purpose could there be than to
help 'Ron' in his grandiose plans? I was a true believer.

I was betrayed.

For me, 20 years later, I 've come to understand what Dianetics and
Scientology IS, as opposed to what one is led to believe. I believe it
to be the outgrowth or alter-ego of a loveless megalamaniacal
sociopathic manic-depressive pathologically-lying paranoid schizophrenic
con man who created  a vehicle to enslave people for his own black-
magic inspired purposes of self-aggrandizement, dominion over others,
and greed. Welcome to L. Ron Hubbards world: Scientology: a cancer of
the mind & soul.

Respectfully, Kerry Fouché


_________________________________________________________________
Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases think for yourself.

                                                      Doris Lessing



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