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