Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.
And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God: for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.-- A Psalm of David to the Chief Musician
Due to recent public antics by Scientology celebrity Tom Cruise, critics the world over have again come to the conclusion that, with this one last display of incomprehensibility, the cult of Scientology is due to implode at any minute. This conclusion, pronounced with such finality, would be more credible if it had not happened so often over the years. But wouldn't it be something if Scientologists starting leaving their course rooms in droves every time a celebrity Scientologist jumped a couch, got married again or brought another unsuspecting person into the cult? Suppose this time, despite having survived the numerous lawsuits and bad publicity over the decades, Scientology really is on the verge of collapse. Will the world also be rid of the harmful policies and practices of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, the actions of a anti-intellectual segment against mainstream society?
In exposing the Con of Scientology, Lermanet has had time to reflect upon exactly what this con is. Two elements of Scientology are 1) church and 2) intelligence agency. In the likely event Scientology does not collapse during the next several minutes, you are cordially invited to read how an organization that has been loosely described as a Nazi UFO brainwashing cult has culminated the last fifty years of its existence by turning its worst enemies into stepping stones or even valuable allies in its fight for acceptance in society.
Psychiatry, the IRS and other US agencies, critics associated with CAN, FACTNet, LMT or with any popularly recognizable anti-Scientology group, all have weaknesses which cult management can, have been and will continue to exploit in the years to come, barring recognition of the tactics by which this is done. The key to stopping exploitation does not lie in the unreachable goal of stopping the multi-national conglomerate with legal rights to "Scientology," but in popular recognition of its tactics.
Anyone who openly expresses a desire to recognize Scientology is provided by the cult with all the material they would need to come to the conclusion that Scientology is primarily a church, and that the intelligence agency performs only background functions. After all, in order for a con to work, it needs to have attractive elements. According to Scientology founder Hubbard, however, a Scientologist is not a member of a "church," but any person who applies Scientology. This includes not only those who wear Scientology's crossed-out crosses and call themselves "reverend," but also the information gatherers and distributors who employ Hubbard's Orwellian propaganda and security policies.
One difficulty is distinguishing Hubbard's intelligence procedures from, shall we say, the intelligence procedures of the Federal Republic of Germany, or of former East Germany's Ministry for State Security (Stasi). Although there are basic differences, the three generally fulfill the functions of the old-time state ministries of propaganda and security. Governments take actions that affect the citizenry, we are affected, various information agencies explain to us why this is happening. If the explanations seem to fit, we are satisfied. This is generally true, whether in a democracy or in a dictatorship.
By necessity, intelligence agencies may occasionally exceed the bounds not only of decency, religion, and academics, but even of respect for civil rights. These agencies justify these excesses in official capacity by one thing - survival of the parent organization.
Naturally every organization needs to survive and to perform intelligence-gathering functions. The difference, then, lies in the degree to which the organization relies on relevance and reality, as opposed to fabricated myths on demand. There is no black-and-white answer. It's an ever-shifting matrix, but of the sort that respected people normally take pains to steer clear of.
Miscomprehension inhibits Recognition of Tactics
Miscomprehension can be used to avoid recognition of unethical tactics. Naturally, miscomprehension can arise from sources both crass and refined. Here is an example of miscomprehension of the refined sort:
If an individual publicly states he is categorically against something, the public will automatically assume that he is for the opposite.
To give an example of the above, when Hubbard wrote that Scientology undoes "brainwashing," the automatic conclusion is that Scientology encourages personal freedom. Yet the reverse could not be more true. The entire gist of Scientology is that the individual exists for the purpose of sustaining the organization, not the other way around.
Along the same lines, if people are against Scientology, the automatic assumption is that they are against Hubbard's tactics to exploit the weaknesses of opponents. This is not something that can be placed on automatic. It needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis. In certain notorious cases, the reverse could not be more true. Three ponderous histories of this sort published by Lermanet include those of German writer Renate Hartwig, American publisher Willis Carto and American retired investment banker Robert Minton, all well-known opponents of Scientology.
Renate Hartwig is the most popular and most thoroughly anti-Scientology writer in Germany. Basically every anti-Scientologist since Hartwig has followed her unparalleled example in fighting the cult. Because Hartwig criticizes the German government as being ineffective, however, she has been under attack since the early 1990s not only by Scientology but by official German critics. Hartwig is not amused, and presently supports the position, shared by Scientology, that the German Interior agencies are an overblown bureaucracy. She has an impressive case for undue government meddling, and includes in it personal knowledge and her own experiences. Like Carto was backed by Scientology against the IRS and Minton was backed by Scientology against a double-dealing lawyer, Hartwig is backed by Scientology against the German intelligence agencies.
Much of the material on Willis Carto is already webbed. Just assemble the A.R.S. responses to the release of his pages from November 2004 to see a few typically Scientologist responses from bona fide A.R.S. critics detracting from a fellow anti-Scientologist, including statements like "you are an idiot beyond redemption," "It's no longer possible to defend this nutcase." Although these statements seem trivial, they unfairly and unnecessarily affirm Hubbard's image of critics in general.
The German connection to "Revisionism,"a portion of which Carto supports, is covered in the annual German Interior surveillance reports. This is related to Scientology in Scientology's Holohoax.
Robert Minton is the most recent example of these three. Of course the German connection would be Martin Ottmann's bogus complaint (not webbed on Lermanet) about alleged money-laundering, in complete agreement with Scientology's past allegations. In a similarly misguided manner, U. Caberta leaked a translation of her German court case to A.R.S. for the apparent purpose of lessening public respect for Minton. (see http://www.lermannet.com/cisar/usa/minton.htm#030611
To make sure this does not turn into a German-bashing session, it's important to note that outside of the small minority of German anti-Scientologists who post to Usenet, Germans are genuinely concerned both about R. Minton & S. Brooks, victims of both the cult and its critics, and their welfare.
In a not-so-ironic twist, Caberta is presently not the director of Hamburg's "Work Force Scientology," an Interior Office position she has held for over 12 years, because she herself is running for office on the P.D.S. ticket. The P.D.S. (communist) party is under surveillance by German Interior Offices for past terrorist activity in Germany. The official accounts stress that Caberta's dismissal was done with her consent -- as if she had a choice in the matter -- and that reinstatement of her anti-Scientology post is an option. A likely product of her agency's work is the public smear campaign against "Sir Henry Randmark", a con man who was guilty of inviting a Scientologist recruiter to the US consulate. If not for that transgression, he would probably still, albeit fraudulently, be enjoying the high life in Hamburg, Germany. Was this a blow for or against Scientology? For or against the anti-social technology of L. Ron Hubbard?
After reading the above accounts, perhaps the reader will reconsider whether Scientology practice is expanding or imploding, and whether this is happening in spite of or with the aid of its critics.
Just as the components of the US government, CAN, the LMT and other groups were broken down and pitted against each other, groups of Internet critics have been and are currently subject to a similar unbeatable mixture, pressure and aggravation both from the cult and from within their own ranks. This strategy has worked in the past, and could work into the future.
In this regard, Lermanet is not out to destroy cowards, but to cultivate respect for those brave enough to speak up.
A reminder for those who tend to believe they are fighting the righteous battle of Good against Evil in the fight against Scientology. If Scientologists take what you have and use it to their own advantage, they gain a toehold on reality. If you take what the Scientologists have and use it to your own advantage, you have become what you are fighting.
Stop playing games about life and start living at Lermanet.Com