Xenu.ca

Picketing Scientology

Vancouver

March 12 & 13/99
Martin Hunt

March 12 & 13, 1999 - Martin Hunt

Vancouver org picketed Friday and Saturday March 12 & 13 by Gerry Armstong and myself. Highlights:

After the second day of pickets, we noticed a college just 50 feet from the Vancouver Scientology org; when we went inside to check it out, I came across a sidewalk sandwichboard which mentioned a "communication course" as one of the offerings; this set off alarm bells for me, but when I talked to the receptionist who noticed us wandering about inside, she was very critical of Scientology, and commended us on picketing them. I gave her a flier to read over; hopefully she'll pass on what she knows to any students in this college, which turns out to be a small ESL establishment.

I went on to visit the Simon Fraser University downtown campus, the huge new Vancouver Library and a bookstore to leave leaflets in certain books by one sci-fi/pulp (*not* SF) writer.

The pickets went very well; Gerry and I argued for a couple hours. Gerry's position was that money is the root of all evil, and my argument was that overpopulation is what's going to do us in, along with consequent environmental destruction. We couldn't find any middle ground, so there's little hope that the ars critics will ever learn to "just get along". :-)

Now back to your regularly scheduled flames.

***

My picket flyer, printed on 17" paper, double-sided, folded four times:

What is Scientology?

"In addition to violating and abusing its own members' civil rights, the organization over the years with its "fair game" doctrine has harassed and abused those persons not in the church whom it perceives as enemies." - Judge Breckenridge, Los Angeles Superior Court.

Scientology is a cult created by an American author, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, in the early 1950s. His most well-publicized book is Dianetics, a muddle of pseudoscience and bombast that claims to be able to create supermen. After the failure of Dianetics to achieve any kind of scientific credibility, Hubbard went on to start a new pseudoscience, dubbed Scientology, which survives today in the form of the "church" of Scientology.

Scientology is a bizarre mix of science-fiction and psychotherapy which raises the wild claims of Dianetics to a new height. The core of Scientology's beliefs lie in the Operating Thetan level three materials, which is a treasured - and expensive - goal of the cult's quack "auditing" psychological therapy. OT III, as it is abbreviated to, consists of removing souls of murdered space aliens ("body thetans") from the mark's body implanted there 95,000,000 years ago by an evil galactic prince named Xenu. It is a good money-maker for the cult, as it costs over $100,000 US dollars to complete the level, and there are more beyond it up to the exalted state of "Operating Thetan level 8", all involving the removal of space aliens infesting the body.

Scientology's beliefs are harmless enough, and they're welcome to believe in them. But Scientology's beliefs are not the real issue with this cult. What has made Scientology so infamous in the media and on the internet is their policy, as set down in precise Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letters by Hubbard himself. This policy instructs Scientologists to mercilessly attack anyone who would dare to criticize the cult, and to use the law to sue and harass anyone brave enough to do so. True to this policy, the cult engages in thousands of lawsuits, the majority of them frivolous.

But Scientology's policy does not stop at barratrous lawsuits against perceived enemies. Further policy declares that people who speak out about Scientology or oppose it in any way are to be declared "Fair Game," and may be not merely harassed, but destroyed by cult members without consequences from Scientology, and with its full knowledge and protection:

"A truly Suppressive Person or group has no rights of any kind and actions taken against them are not punishable." - L. Ron Hubbard in HCOPL 1 March 1965 _HCO Ethics, Suppressive Acts, Suppression of Scientology and Scientologists, The Fair Game Law_

"An enemy...may be injured by any means or tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed." - L. Ron Hubbard in HCOPL 18 Oct 1967.

Scientology claims that they cancelled the notorious Fair Game law, but in fact it is still in force today, and was cancelled in name only, just for public relations purposes:

"FAIR GAME may not appear on any Ethics Order. It causes bad public relations. This P/L does not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of an SP." - HCOPL 21 Oct. 1968: "Cancellation of Fair Game."

The way Scientology carries out this policy to destroy its critics is multifaceted. Internet critics can expect to have private investigators going through their trash and revealing their secrets; their banks may be contacted; their families may be harassed; they may be placed under surveillance; their place of work may be contacted in an effort to get them fired; libel (called "Dead Agenting" in the cult's lingo) may be spread about them in an effort to discredit or humiliate them, and they may expect a wide range of similar attacks depending on how much Scientology management, in the person of David Miscavige, Hubbard's protege and the current cult leader, dislikes them.

Unfortunately, Scientology's attacks go beyond these crude attempts to strong-arm its critics into silence. There are cases where Scientology has locked up people it deemed a threat to itself. In at least one case, this isolation, used in an effort to contain a public relations flap, resulted in a death - Lisa McPherson, as reported in the print media and discussed on various television shows. Scientology has also presented itself as no friend to free speech, taking on Time Magazine itself with a multi-million dollar lawsuit over a cover story entitled The Cult of Greed and Power. Scientology is well-known in the mainstream media for its libel chill tactics, but it has gone further than lawsuits, with outright attacks on journalists, investigation into their private lives, digging up dirt on them, and more. Scientology has also taken this war against its own history onto the internet, where it has shut down numerous webpages, cancelled posts, sued writers, and launched massive Usenet spam attacks in an effort to silence its critics who speak out about Scientology's current abuses or talk about the kind of man L. Ron Hubbard really was on the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology.

The critics have a very strong case to present against Scientology based on FBI reports, various government commissions, court documents, numerous books and articles discussing the cult and its activities, as well as Scientology management's own words. Scientology answers this mountain of information by labelling its critics "religious bigots" and other derogatory names such as "suppressive persons" and "degraded beings." Of course, this goes far beyond the question of "religious bigotry." Scientology has committed crimes - crimes for which many Scientologists have been sent to jail, including the cult founder's wife and many top executives. Indeed, the cult founder himself was a wanted man in the last years of his life, and the current cult management has shown no sign of improving matters, as a recent criminal indictment in Clearwater, Florida over the suspicious death of Lisa McPherson proves. Scientology's critics tend to come from diverse areas of society and number in their ranks Christians, Jews, atheists, ex-Scientologists, skeptics, sociologists, free speech advocates, civil libertarians, and many others - most of whom have nothing to say against religion or belief, but are alarmed at Scientology's repressive and criminal actions.

Of all of these diverse groups, one of the most interesting to listen to are the former members of the cult. Scientology dismisses these as failures and apostates, but the facts are, as always, more complex. People have left Scientology more often than they have joined the movement, and for a variety of reasons. Life inside the cult is restrictive and harsh, with long hours, little pay, heavy punishments, little time for sleep or recreation, limited access to family, and the application of the notorious policy of "disconnection," in which family ties are severed by the cult in order to keep a tighter hold over its members. Disconnection results in parents being cut off from children, siblings from each other, and friends being separated. This policy is vigorously applied when one side of the relationship loses affection for Scientology by learning a little about the organization or its leaders.

For those interested in learning more about Scientology, numerous resources are available. For those with the patience for Usenet news, the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology is populated with critics, ex-members, and current members - this last group religiously exploiting their talents at applying Fair Game and Dead Agenting policy in an effort to silence all opposing voices. The newsgroup is currently being attacked with spam and forgeries of what people have written in an attempt to shut them up and stop them telling the truth. A visit to the library may reveal a selection of good reading about Scientology, unless a member of the cult has been ordered to remove or destroy the books. Look for any book about Scientology not authored by L. Ron Hubbard or the occasional Scientology-hired author for the critical viewpoint. Reading Hubbard himself is also often quite revealing for insight into this man's deranged thinking patterns, greed, and paranoia. Good critical analyses include:

A visit to the media archives of the library will prove rewarding, as Scientology has received the attention of thousands of articles since its inception, and currently enjoys several new articles per day, globally. For people in the often heartbreaking position of having a family member, friend or loved-one in the cult, another class of books is also recommended. The best in this regard are:

Further information may be found on the world wide web. A few good webpages to visit include:

http://scientologysucks.lron.com
http://www.xenu.net/
http://www.entheta.net/
http://www.factnet.org/
http://www.modemac.com/cos/

Finally, if you have any more questions about Scientology or you would like to learn more, you can send email to: martinh@islandnet.com, or write to: Martin Hunt, 203-1116 Queens Ave., Victoria, BC, V8T-1M9 phone: (250-380-2025).

"Scientology is a ruthless, destructive, and vindictive organization." - James Randi.

***

Gerry's flyer:

SCIENTOLOGY PICKET

This weekend, as Scientologists celebrate the birthday of cult founder L. Ron Hubbard, critics of the cult's abusive and fraudulent practices will be picketing Scientology organizations around the world.

In a landmark 1984 decision against Hubbard and Scientology, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge, Jr. stated:

"In addition to violating and abusing its own members civil rights, the organization over the years with its "Fair Game" doctrine has harassed and abused those persons not in the Church whom it perceives as enemies. The organization clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid, and this bizarre combination seems to be a reflection of its founder [L. Ron Hubbard]. The evidence portrays a man who has been virtually a pathological liar when it comes to his history, background and achievements. The writings and documents in evidence additionally reflect his egoism, greed, avarice, lust for power, and vindictiveness and aggressiveness against persons perceived by him to be disloyal or hostile."
(Scientology v. Gerald Armstrong, Case No. C 420153)

This decision was affirmed by the California Court of Appeal in 1991. (Scientology v. Armstrong, 232 Cal.App. 3d 1060, 283 Cal.Rptr. 917)

Hubbard spelled out his Fair Game philosophy for treatment of his organization's "enemies."

"ENEMY - ... Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist...may be tricked, sued, or lied to or destroyed." (Hubbard Scientology Policy Letter October 18, 1967)

People of good will around the world are picketing Scientology to protest its Fair Game doctrine, its false promises, its fraudulent practices, and its financial, psychological, physical and civil rights abuses.

We call on Scientologists of good will to demand that their leaders tell the truth about L. Ron Hubbard, tell the truth about attacks on people with legitimate criticisms of organization abuses, and tell the truth about Fair Game. If Scientology's leaders will not tell the truth about these matters, we call on Scientologists to refuse their leadership.

We call on Scientology's leaders to communicate openly and civilly about Fair Game, about fraud and about organization abuses, so that these unwholesome and dangerous practices can be peacefully ended forever.

***

Picket signs were the same as last year; can be seen at:

http://www.islandnet.com/~martinh/picket/picket.htm

Gerry took the pictures this year; I'll web them at the URL above when he gets them developed.

Happy birthday, Ron, you dead bastard!