Monday, April 23, 2007

SCIENTOLOGY – A DANGEROUS, DANGEROUS CULT


News that the cult of Scientology has set up shop on the campus of Virginia Tech is making my blood run cold.

Anyone who has known me for a long time (my sister, some of my closer friends) know how disturbing I find any reference to this cult, because of my personal experiences with the cult and with some of its adherents during the 18 years I lived in Los Angeles.

My first encounter with the cult of Scientology came during the early 80s when I was working for a musician (we’ll call him “Bob”) as his personal assistant. Bob told me a blood chilling story one day while we were taking a break.

It seems Bob was taking a stroll down Hollywood Boulevard one day and, on a whim, dropped into a storefront that was offering “Free IQ Tests” (this was a classic Scientology ploy in those days which may or may not continue). About a week later, my friend received a telephone call reporting his “very high” IQ results and further discussing things he had in no way disclosed to them: his income, his savings accounts, properties owned, and so forth. Bob immediately consulted an attorney and served them with a court order requiring that all information obtained by them be eradicated from their records. Possessing a suspicious nature, I have often wondered if this was done.

Some time after I worked for “Bob”, a friend of mine and I decided to try to start a little cottage-industry p.r. firm and the first book we were asked to promote was a book about the romantic relationship between Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. We put a lot of effort into that project, got some decent press for the authors who then refused to pay us one cent of the money we billed them. We later learned that they were Scientologists when they told us that because we were NOT, they were under no obligation to deal ethically with us. Being neophytes in those days, and completely unable to afford an attorney (we had never heard of Small Claims Court), we had to let the matter drop. Bitter lesson, indeed. I decided then and there to never trust another Scientologist, if that was their m.o. Over the balance of the time I lived in L.A., every single encounter I ever had with any adherent of Scientology was unpleasant for me or harmful to me.

If you Google “Scientology – Deaths” you will obtain a lot of links to various sites where the deaths of people receiving “medical” treatment at various Scientology centers have led to deaths. Explore these links and make up your own mind.

It is my absolute belief that Scientology is NOT a religion, but rather a cult – and a dangerous one at that. The administration of VT should run their asses off campus NOW and insist that they stay off. There’s been enough death on that campus already thanks to lunatics like this. And yes, I include Cruise, Travolta, Preston, Remini, Jenna Elfman, Kirstie Alley, Mimi Rogers (the 1st Mrs. Tom Cruise), Anne Archer, Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, Chick Corea, Isaac Hayes, Greta Van Susteren (I knew there was a reason I didn’t like that woman) among the dangerous lunatics, along with the many other adherents of this cult which can be found here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"..they were under no obligation to deal ethically with us."

That sounds familiar.

One of the creepiest moments of my life was as a teenager, I was babysitting for the neighbor's kid when their Cousin from Hell showed up at 10pm (I had been told he was coming.) He spent the next four hours doing his best to convert me.

Still creeps me out...

Gayle Miller said...

Frightening cult, indeed!