The Awful Truth About Scientologyby Another Hired Stranger
The Realist
October 1973 (Number 97-B)
Although many people have had some brief acquaintance with Scientology, very few have gotten into the subject far enough to find out what it is really all about. It is a subject which doesn't easily lend itself to study. The courses are many and tend to become quite expensive, not only in terms of money, but also in terms of time and commitment.
Even though the first course is free, and a $500 Dianetics course is offered free to professional ministers and psychologists, the main purpose of these courses is to gain converts who will invest further faith and money in Scientology. The fact that these courses are free is often used for publicity purposes to answer the frequent criticism that Scientology is attempting to capitalize on its claimed monopoly on spiritual freedom. But since a person can easily spend over $25,000 on services, it is obvious they are not giving away much in proportion to what they expect in return.
The extent of financial investment a person has to make tends to make one more and more committed in favor of the subject, since the more one invests, the more reason one has not to admit that the investments were questionable. The cost becomes an important instrument in the person's conversion, since it involves them personally and emotionally with the subject and its claims. The nature of this involvement is not one which is conducive to critical scholarship, but rather one of hope, faith and belief.
For those who do not have the large amounts of money to pay for their services outright, one can get these services through working for a Scientology organization, but since there is no financial commitment the personal commitments are that much greater. To get any substantial amount of services, the person must contract himself to the organization for 2 1/2 or 5 years minimum, during which time he becomes a virtual serf to the organization, working a minimum 10-hour day, six days a week, for between $15 and $25 per week.
His energy and attention become totally monopolized, and he must not only convince himself that his decision is worth it, but others as well, since each member shelters and supports the others in their beliefs, so any manifestation of doubt is considered subversion, and treated as such.
No Scientology staff member would dare to complain about the working conditions, since he knows full well that to do so brings down the official wrath of the organization on him, which not only endangers what he believes is his only chance for spiritual salvation, but loses him all his friends as well.
Further, he is obliged to report on the "nattering" of others so that each person acts as informant on the rest. Since this type of group pressure is extended to support other beliefs, such as the beneficial results of services, or the competence of Scientology management, each person is subtly influenced to pattern his thinking and behavior toward conformity with group standards. And these, of course, are models of enthusiastic compliance, and "duplication" their word for unquestioned acceptance, a particularly esteemed "ability" in study.
The thing which is so disturbing is the completely systematic way in which Scientology seeks to estrange its members from all standards of judgement except its own. Scientology has its own system of ethics: anything which advances Scientology or Scientologists is *good*, and anything which impedes them is *bad*.
A person's function and identity are defined in terms of his "hat" -- a portfolio listing out the precise way in which that person is expected to *contribute* to Scientology. Each person is given a statistic to *measure* his contribution for which he must feel guilty and "make amends" if it is not kept constantly rising.
Sanity and insanity are defined in terms of organizational utility, and on and on until the person will not believe anything unless it is published by founder L. Ron Hubbard.
The dynamics of the group are carefully engineered by policy to keep the individuals subordinate to the whole process. The process consists of isolating individuals, subjecting them to indoctrination, and encouraging them to persuade themselves by participating in the isolation and indoctrination of others. The process is repeated in cycles as the person become progressively more isolated from the rest of the world and more and more indoctrinated.
The Scientology policy on Public Relations is careful to stress that one should pick on people who are already feeling a little alienated. The PR officer is cautioned against addressing groups, since groups offer solidarity to their members. In the dissemination procedure one is directed to search for another individual's sense of "ruin" and, once found, one is instructed to offer Scientology as a definite solution for it, regardless of how extravagant and absurd a promise it might seem.
Public lecture personnel are told that their beginning lecture should stress the turmoil and horrors of the modern world. It should stress the conflict and pain of it all, and offer Scientology as "the road to Total Freedom."
If the person buys a book as a result of any of this, his name is entered on the mailing list, and is counted as "one of the many people who are joining the world's fastest growing religion." From there he is treated according to a set of well known policies until he either shows up at the organization, or moves without leaving a forwarding address. In fact, he will be hounded till his dying day with high pressure letters and brochures.
The high pressure is intentional and is considered necessary in all phases of dealing with the "raw public" or "wogs" as they are called, because, as every Scientologist is taught, a person without the benefit of the wisdom of Scientology is too aberrated to choose for himself, and so must have his choices made for him.
This type of handling (called "8C") is specifically prescribed for handling the unconscious and the psychotic, or other cases "where reason cannot be consulted." This turns out to be a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy on two counts. On one, those who do not simply walk away or discard these communications automatically select themselves out as the most curious and unwary; and on the other, it serves to validate the low opinion of Scientologists on the unenlightened and hostile state of Non- Scientologists in general.
Hubbard insists on this policy, going even so far as to warn all Scientologists that anyone who suggests that the promo be toned down is probably a "Suppressive Person" -- a person so deranged that he works toward the destruction of Scientology.
The organization's own statistics show that less than 1% respond to these bulk mailings, a percentage so low that the method would be discarded by any other advertising firm. But mere advertising is not Hubbard's aim, or else he would not rely on these tons of cheaply printed mailers and would advertise in reputable magazines. It is a self selection and screening process, shrewdly devised.
Once the person does show up at the organization to join or submit himself for training or "processing" he must be examined to see if he is a potential Troublesome Source. The explicit policy on this is that a person may not be accepted for processing (therapy) if he is doing so just to see if Scientology works, nor if he is a reporter, or someone who is attempting to judge Scientology on some sort of objective basis, nor if he has close emotional ties with someone who is antagonistic to Scientology.
In effect, no one may be accepted unless he already believes that Scientology is going to work, and has few social forces acting in his environment to convince him otherwise.
Since Scientology works by faith and social engineering, it is necessary that these policies exist. By the time the person shows up he has already undergone a great deal of mental preparation as to what to expect and what is expected of him.
Hubbard's books, which seem like paraphrases of psychological and sociological researches of the time they were written, are couched in obscure and esoteric language. This gives the impression that Scientology is off by itself in a field which has never been researched, and of which Scientology has exclusive knowledge.
As part of the person's education, of the supposed structure of the mind, he also learns what ailments it is supposed to be prone to, and consequently what symptoms to manifest. (This is especially chronic among the oldtimers who, every time a new piece of technology is issued, start having different symptoms.)
For example, illnesses were fashionable in the summer of 1969, being replaced by headaches and feelings of wanting to leave in early 1970. Since feelings of wanting to leave are equated with psychosis currently, there has been a marked tapering off of that particular symptom.
Also, the person is given literature which speaks in a new language into which he is not initiated. Through exposure to people in the organization he becomes aware that he is to some degree an outsider. He is shown a chart of levels and statuses and more or less sold on the idea that the road to acceptance lies in progress up the levels. There is a big show over the announcing, awarding the certificates, and applauding each gain in status which becomes progressively more elaborate at each step up the line.
Since it is a High Crime in Scientology to invalidate the status of "Clear," everyone is held in check from telling or repeating anything which might damage the glitter of that status. Consequently, newcomers quickly learn to covet and stand in awe of the statuses of which everyone speaks so respectfully.
From testimonials and pictures the person learns that he is supposed to emerge from his auditing session smiling and "happy." He knows that he is expected to write a testimonial about how much "bigger and cleaner and better" and "how more god damned decent" he feels, because he has carefully been taught, and continues to be taught by requiring him to go through the exact same procedure at every minor success.
So, armed with the fact that the person has already been educated into what symptoms he is supposed to have, what is supposed to happen to those symptoms, how he is supposed to act and feel when he finishes his session, and given that the person *wants* these results not only for relief from his personal condition, but for acceptance into a group, then whatever techniques are employed in the auditing session can hardly fail.
But the session has its own persuasive techniques, not the least of which is that it costs at least $30 per hour. The person has rather strong incentive to reach the required result, and quickly. There are other more subtle devices, some of which are legitimately therapeutic, but they are managed in such a way as to validate and increase the person's emotional dependence on Scientology.
For example, there is what is known in medicine as the Placebo Effect. For some reason about 70% of all medical complaints are psychosomatic in origin and can experience some degree of relief, provided that the patient has faith in the "healer" and the "treatment." There will always be a certain number who will get better simply because someone took an interest in them; and a certain number will get better on their own.
Looking up words in the dictionary can do a lot to clarify one's thinking, and spotting a few fallacies can make one feel positively enlightened -- for a while. But all these techniques simply serve to strengthen the person's faith and thereby aid the process of gathering all the emotional attachments he has made in the past and shift them over to Scientology. The procedure is set up in a series of grades, each with its own certificate and status value.
Grade I as it is advertised is supposed to enable a person to get to the root of his problems and make them vanish. However, by this time a person has already "solved" a great many of his life's problems by virtue of his joining Scientology. It has already altered his relationship to everyone he ever knew, so those problems which he has at this point are those which affect his membership in Scientology.
They consist of criteria and antagonisms which he has formed in the past and which still affect him in his current role. He is asked such questions as, "What would have to happen for you to know that Scientology works?" -- in order to get him to inspect, and hopefully discard, these criteria; "What is the problem?" leads him down a chain of events to some decision he made in the past which is responsible for his major psychological barrier to full acceptance of Scientology.
Grade II consists of getting the person to confess all the hidden past deeds for which he is feeling guilty. As long as a person is feeling guilty, he is still judging himself by standards belonging to some other group. Once he confesses, he can discharge his guilt, and along with it, the value system of the other group which demands it.
One is led from this experience to believe that one is finally released from *all* guilt and anxiety, but in fact one unknowingly commits himself to the Scientology value system in such a way that one will thereafter feel guilty and anxious for having offended any one of *its* group values. This susceptibility to guilt is used to manipulate the person further, in ways which I shall discuss later.
Since what is considered valuable will be sought after, goals and values are very connected subject matter. Grade III seeks to uncover crisis points in a person's life when the person ended up choosing or siding with a goal that was to some degree contrary to Scientology. This gives the person a sensation of greater freedom of choice over his own life, which indeed he has. But the choices one is given are whether or not to discard goals which are contrary to Scientology, hardly a choice at all considering that the person is already committed to choosing in favor of Scientology.
The rest of the levels continue in a similar vein, solidifying identification with Scientology so that any slight against it becomes personal, and removing the psychological barriers which tend to prevent the person from acting as an unquestioning instrument of the group.
The person is promised results which are "beyond his wildest dreams!" The literature and tapes refer back to times in the distant past, previous to this lifetime, when we were all masters of the universe, and offer Scientology as the "road back." The person is encouraged to fantasize, to imagine himself with extraordinary powers, and to feed the hope that the next level will get him substantially closer to his dreams.
The whole of Scientology is justified by the single claim that *it works*. But "working" as used here is a rather vague word, and conveniently so. Such advertised results as "The ability to make problems vanish" are likewise vague. What does it mean? Can the person solve his problems on just a snap inspection, or does he merely push them out of his consciousness to "make them vanish."
It suggests, that once attained, a person could sit down and rid himself of all his problems, but it is quite obvious that this is not the case. The person still has problems, and if he should complain of them, he is directed to more auditing. If the person had the ability to solve problems, why would he need further auditing?
The state of "Clear" was once defined as, "The ability to be at cause over mental matter, energy, space and time," but when Hubbard came out with the "OT Levels" above Clear it became obvious that Clears were not totally in control of their own minds, so he added "as pertains to survival of self."
In short, a Clear is a person who can think about his own survival. So who then, in this world, is *not* Clear? As it turns out, it is only those persons whom Scientology allows to believe that they are Clear, who are so. The concept is vague enough to permit this, since most people are to some degree aware that they are "cause over" their own minds.
Given the thoroughly vague results that it advertises, the faith in the procedure which it deliberately cultivates, the wild hopes that it encourages, the group support, the gullible frame of mind of the participants, and the fact that they are financially or morally committed, Scientology could not help *but* "work." Christian Science, the miracle of Lourdes, and Voodoo also work in the same way.
In May of 1970, Hubbard came out with a policy called CUTATIVES in which he complained:
In the period up to 1966 we were plagued by an occasional obsessiveness to ADD to any process or policy. Additives made things unworkable. After 1966 when I left the post of Executive Director WW, a new condition set in. Checksheets, processes, intensives, grades began to be CUT DOWN.
In 1970 a survey I have just completed has shown that this effect was so complete that the following had been broadly accomplished:
A. Training no longer included enough Scientology materials to make an effective Scientology auditor in many places.
B. Grades had been shortened from 50 hours 0 to IV to 2 1/2 minutes.
C. The End Phenomena of grades and processes were discarded.
The end result has been:
1. Few skilled auditors.
2. Shrunken and struggling Scn orgs.
3. A field that is disappointed in results -- for they think they have had grades and haven't.
However, during this five year period people were charged as much as before even though they were getting less and less. What was commonly happening was that people would buy 25 hours at $650 and be brushed off in between 20 minutes and 3 hours. What is *so* interesting is that *all* these people signed attestations that they achieved all the abilities and results pertaining to their grade, and wrote glowing testimonials to boot. The reason that "orgs" were shrunken and struggling is that these processes can easily be stretched over 150 hours and that the organizations were losing a potential $3,250 per customer.
At any rate, there were five years worth of people who were given only a fraction of what they were paying for. According to long standing policy at that time, a person who achieved his result under the amount of time he had purchased could have the credit applied to something else. Hubbard, in a briefing tape at that period, estimated the undelivered services as totalling in the millions of dollars.
But instead of informing the people they had some credit coming, Hubbard chose to launch a campaign to sell "*Expanded* Grades." These "expanded" grades were what people should have been receiving all along. People were told that they had received "quickie" grades, but that in order to get their Expanded ones, they had to sign up (and pay again) for the hours it would take.
In a directive, Hubbard told that those who complained of not getting credit for their unused hours should be answered by saying, "But you shouldn't have attested!" -- laying the entire blame on them. Partly these people *were* to blame for being so status hungry and self-deceiving as to readily attest, but they were also subject to pressure, and were told, or encouraged to believe, that their particular problem would be handled by the *next* level.
No one was completely honest either way in this, but regardless, they were still owed credit, because they were sold "Grades Intensives" consisting of 25 hours each, and the hours were only partly delivered. The public, not having access to the policies to prove their case, were in no position to argue, so they had to pay.
This same pattern was repeated about half a year later when "Power Processing" was discovered to have been routinely goofed. The remedy, which essentially consisted of running the old processes a bit longer to achieve the desired result, was sold as a *NEW* thing. Power can only be bought in 50 hour packages ($1,000 per) and it seldom takes longer than 10 hours to complete. Instead of letting people use their credit to get the auditing that they paid for, they were led to believe that they already got it, and had to buy something new. Hubbard states his attitude on this:
To claim a pc 'lost time' in auditing because of an error in choosing processes or having to reflatten one, is highly fallacious. Sometimes a pc throws us a curve with a rough case, bad between session behavior, roughing up auditors ... It is natural that goofs occur on such cases.
We are selling hours of auditing and what that is is for us to judge. We are selling actual salvage from Death itself.
Rebate. How silly. The person was lucky we were around at all and took an interest. We don't *have* to do anything for anybody. Remember that. We can lose interest in certain people, too, you know.
(HCO PL 23 May 65)
You see, it's all the customer's fault, because he is a "rough case" (someone who isn't easily pleased), or because he is "bad" between sessions, whatever that means. And if a person is openly critical of his poor handling, it only goes to prove what a rotten guy he is for "roughing up" the poor tender feelings of his saviors.
The fact that Hubbard could have been fooled for *five years* about the results of processing -- considering that he routinely and thoroughly supervised the auditing in whatever organization he was in -- is amazing. His claim that "We are selling actual salvage from Death itself" seems quite far fetched, since *how would he ever know* that people were being saved from death, when he couldn't tell if people were getting their full gains when looking right at both the auditing records and the people they belonged to in the course of his every day work!
Quite obviously Hubbard's perceptions are very much affected by money. When the money is rolling in, he sees nothing but gains, but when money gets slow, he sees errors everywhere, and comes up with something new to buy to remedy it.
The idea that Scientology is God's gift to mankind is quite common among Scientologists. In the Spring of 1971 a group of officers in the Sea Organization decided to distinguish themselves by becoming especially aggressive in getting people to pay money in advance for services. Their technique eventually became known as "Crush Sell." It consisted of ruthlessly browbeating potential customers into liquidating all their assets and paying the cash over to Scientology.
A Scientologist would be assigned to a person who was known to have some money. He would stick with him, phoning him four or more times a day, and even helping him sell his home, his car or stocks, while making him feel that he was committing the worst possible crime by clinging to mere possessions when spiritual freedom was so close at hand.
They raked in several hundred thousand dollars, and it was suggested that they teach the local organization personnel how to do it. So, one of their number made a tape on which he described the proper frame of mind as being absolutely certain that getting the person to pay was the only thing that mattered, no matter what the means, because the end was the person's salvation.
For an example, he told how he squeezed an old lady's knuckles until she signed a check. There were other tapes made, one of which described how a young lady was locked in a room with three gangsterish looking guys, complete with black shirts and white ties, until she parted with $10,000. People would be visited late at night, and the visitors would stay and stay till they were given a check.
As long as the money was coming in, Hubbard looked the other way. His personal aides were skeptical from the very first and advised him of gross irregularities, but he promoted all the major personnel involved, and heaped them with honors till no one dared say anything against them. After 6 months the area had been wrung dry, the income declined and it was then time to take a look.
The officers were hauled before a Scientology tribunal and found guilty of vast and serious breaches of policy for which they were stripped of rank and sent to a remote organization to salvage it. But this move was merely to satisfy public rancor against them. In hardly a year, their sentence was cancelled and they are back in good graces, eager to do another service for Hubbard.
The disturbing thing to contemplate is what services this group and others like it would be willing to render for the glory of Scientology. Would they stop at just extortion? Would they be able to justify a murder on the grounds that the person they did not see eye to eye with was a "Suppressive Person" -- that is, less than human? Who knows?
In Scientology there is what is known as THE FAIR GAME LAW.
A Suppressive person becomes "fair game."
By FAIR GAME is meant, may not be further protected by the codes and disciplines of Scientology or the rights of a Scientologist ... they cannot be granted the rights and beingness ordinarily accorded rational beings and so place themselves beyond any consideration for their feelings or well being. The homes, property, places and abodes of persons who have been active in attempting to suppress Scientology or Scientologists are all beyond any protection of Scientology Ethics.
(HCO PL 25 Dec 65)
In effect, the person may be lied to, cheated, or destroyed with complete impunity as far as Scientology is concerned. One becomes a Suppressive Person by committing a Suppressive Act.
Suppressive acts are defined as actions or omissions undertaken to knowingly suppress, reduce or impede Scientology or Scientologists.
Notice that this is conveniently broad and vague enough to include any act, regardless of severity, that may seem to besmirch the name of Scientology.
Such Acts include public disavowal of Scientology or Scientologists ... public statements against Scientology ... voting for legislation directed toward the Suppression of Scientology ... bringing civil suit against any Scientology organization or Scientologist including for non-payment of bills ... demanding the return of any or all fees paid for standard training or processing actually received or received in part but still available ... writing anti-Scientology letters to the press or giving anti-Scientology evidence to the press ... continued membership in a divergent group; continued adherence to a person or group pronounced a Suppressive Person or Group ... sexual or sexually perverted conduct contrary to the well being or good state of mind of a Scientologist in good standing ...
Many people are under the impression that this policy was cancelled in 1968, but in fact, only the practice of *declaring* people FAIR GAME was abandoned, because "It causes bad public relations." The policy did not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of such persons.
The extent that Scientology intends to prosecute its detractors can be borne out by the fact that it has a branch called The Guardian's Office for the express purpose of handling troublesome elements in the environment. It has an Intelligence section which sends private investigators into groups which are either hostile to Scientology, or are potential competitors. The investigators are supposed to gather information the group's individual members and see "that the results get adequate legal action and publicity."
The mechanism employed is very straightforward. We never use the data to threaten to expose. We simply collect it and expose.
(HCO PL 17 Feb 66)
If the person is an ex-Scientologist, or Suppressive Person (the two being the same), there is no policy preventing his auditing records from being used against him. These folders contain a great deal of personal information, some of which can be highly embarrassing. It is conceivable that minor crimes, psychiatric histories, drug use, or details of the person's sex life could be presented to his employer to discredit him.
Such systematic harassment is generally impractical against the rather large number of people that either drop out, or are kicked out of Scientology. Generally such tactics are reserved for the especially vociferous, or those that attempt to form groups.
The office routinely sues newspapers who print stories that make Scientology appear in a bad light. Another concern is the suppression of books which might be critical of Scientology, by putting pressure on the publisher. Also, they circulate pamphlets and conduct letter writing campaigns to members in government to incur bad feelings against their rivals.
What is so odd about the Scientology method of defense, and much of their public relations policy, is that they never confront or answer any charge brought against Scientology, no matter how true it is. They simply accuse the person, or attempt to discredit *him*. If the question is, "Is it true that Scientology has 20 million dollars in Swiss Francs deposited in Zurich?" -- it is true -- the answer is apt to be something like, "Why are you in favor of psychiatric Death Camps?"
"Turnabout is fair play" is a quote from their public relations policy. The object is to always attack the "enemy" on his ground, never on yours. Anyone who unduly resists conversion, usually the parents of a recent convert, or anyone who is simply in the way, like a naturally antagonistic TV interviewer, is viewed to some extent as an enemy.
Scientology is viewed as man's last chance for salvation, the only decent and effective movement trying desperately to win freedom and sanity for mankind. The technology of Scientology is the single ultimate solution to all the world's problems. And anyone who says differently, in their opinion, has got to be crazy, so they do not listen to anyone but themselves.
Scientology is fond of touting that it stands for "Total Freedom." It attacks its enemies on the grounds that since they stand for freedom, anyone who opposes them opposes freedom. But whatever "Total Freedom" means (Anarchy?), in a somewhat lesser known policy letter Hubbard states that since Scientology can bring about "Total Freedom" it also has the right to demand "total discipline."
Scientology may very well be working for a world without war (what group nowadays says that they are working *for* war?), for justice and sanity, but Scientology is also working for a world in which justice and sanity are defined to suit their own interests. For example, in the uppermost organization within Scientology, if a person merely *says* he is unhappy and wants to leave, he *must* be dismissed as a psychotic, and out the door in 24 hours. As he leaves, a document is published which declares him in a condition of Treason (a Traitor), excommunicates him from Scientology, calls him a freeloader, and generally spreads around any information handy that might discredit him.
All Scientologists are thereafter forbidden to talk to him, or he to them; and he is charged in full for any services he might have taken, the time *he* spent working for *them* not being taken into account. Clearly, "sanity" is the measure of how enthusiastically a person allows himself to be used for the advancement of Scientology, and "justice" has come to mean the squashing down and shutting up of anyone who is of no further use to the organization.
The question arises as to what would happen if Scientology were to become government subsidized, or political powers disintegrated to an extent that Scientology could shake off local restraints and engage in direct violence. To what lengths would they go to impose their system on others, and how would they handle dissidents? Perhaps, even more importantly, it should be asked what are they doing to bring the point closer to when they are in domination?
The main focus of this effort is an attempt to attack and discredit what they view as their chief competitors, namely, the National Association of Mental Health, and Psychiatric organizations. One of their main points of contention is that a person can be locked up and deprived of civil rights on simply the opinion of two psychiatrists that the person might be a menace to himself or to society. They have been digging into cases to find instances of abuse, where the psychiatrists were bribed, and a person was committed and subsequently brutalized with electroshock or lobotomy. In this sense they are doing everyone a real service by pointing out the depersonalization that exists in psychiatric institutions.
But Scientology is not doing this good deed out of the goodness of its heart, no matter what their public relations material might lead one to believe. The fact is that Psychiatrists are the only ones in this society whose opinion is legally trusted as to whether a person is sane or not. Their opinion rests on the belief of the public that they are the experts in this matter. If Scientology can dredge up and publish enough information to discredit this belief, Scientologists hope that they can get themselves certified as experts in this regard.
Once Scientology is the recognized expert on who is sane or insane, they will be able to legally dispose of people that appear to be threatening to them. Further they can get themselves appointed to advisory boards in government agencies and have a decisive voice in deciding policy. Governments could be gotten to appropriate large sums of money for "research" or Scientologists could be invited in on some big population control project.
According to one tape, the Guardian's Office in South Africa helped the South African government quell the Mau Mau uprisings by advising them to arrest the apparent ring leaders in the riots. After arrest these people were strapped to a table and electrodes were taped to their feet and connected to a Scientology "E meter". The E meter is an ohm meter which is one of the components of a polygraph. The prisoners were interrogated against their will when they would not confess freely.
Letters of the alphabet were called out and the meter reactions observed until they had the names and addresses of the real ringleaders of the uprising. These people were arrested and similarly interrogated until the true perpetrators were discovered. They, as the story goes, by that time had left the country.
But the interesting thing about this example is that it shows that the "Church" of Scientology, which professes in its Creed, "That all men of whatever race, colour or creed were created with equal rights ..." is perfectly willing to assist the racist government of South Africa in keeping the blacks in an inferior status. So one wonders if the Scientologist who gets into power would behave any more scrupulously than this.
It is also part of the Creed of the Church "That all men have inalienable rights to think freely, to talk freely, to write freely their own opinions and to counter or utter or write upon the opinions of others." But as I have pointed out, free speech is not advocated in cases where it does not serve the interests of Scientology. People are excommunicated, defamed and sued for their statements.
This willingness to compromise their ideals leaves them in the very dangerous position of becoming the unwitting tool of some fascistic government which could easily capitalize on their eagerness to "get in good" with the local government. No doubt, there would be no objection among Scientologists if some government suddenly turned over all its mental hospitals to Scientology. And, I am sure, they would be glad to certify anyone who opposed the local regime as being insane.
But so far there haven't been any governments so desperate or incautious to make such a move. For one thing, they could never be sure that Scientology couldn't withdraw it support if it appeared in its interest to do so. For another, it is very difficult to tell what Scientology's real interests are.
The inner core of Scientology is The Sea Organization. It has roughly 2,000 members, which is about equal to the number of members in the other Scientology organizations combined. It is called the Sea Org for short, and it is the most militant, secretive and arrogant of all the Scientology organizations. It is the organization "three feet behind the head of Scientology." That is, it runs the show. It has military ranks corresponding to the Navy, and Hubbard is "The Commodore," the absolute head of the whole thing. (He's supposed to be retired from Scientology and living in seclusion.)
In many ways it looks like a James Bond operation -- without the guns. In fact they do look upon themselves as being sort of "Man from Uncle" types, fighting against "SMERSH" as they are fond of calling the National Association of Mental Health.
The headquarters of the Sea Org, and hence, for all of Scientology, is aboard the Yacht Apollo, whose location is supposed to remain secret. It is called "Flag." It can only be reached by Scientologists through a secret outpost in Madrid. From there one is directed to any one of the following ports: Agadir, Safi (the sardine capital of the world), Casablanca, Tangier (all in Morocco), Maderia, in the Canaries, and Lisbon and Setubal, Portugal.
Generally, it only stays in one port for a few weeks at a time and then moves on. The Apollo is over 350 feet long and can carry 300 persons easily, 400 somewhat less easily. It operates under the cover name of Operation Transport Corporation, Ltd., of Panama, and tells the port authorities that it is a traveling management consultant school.
Very strict precautions are taken to ensure that no scrap of paper is left lying around that might hint that the ship was connected with Scientology. Even the garbage is shredded. The penalty for spilling the cover is an immediate assignment of Treason, so they tend to watch it rather closely. When shore persons come aboard, the whole ship's crew is briefed as to what to say and the ship is stripped of any tokens of Scientology.
The central hub of Flag is the CIC, which is a term borrowed from military jargon, which stands for "Command Information Center." It is a large room filled with graphs, files, and maps, complete with pins and colored arrows. It is from this room that all the information from the various Scientology organizations is compiled and decided upon. When the "clean ship" drill is sounded, all these maps can be flipped over, and the boards against the walls can be turned around to make the room look like a very innocent looking office space.
The way in which the Sea Org runs the rest of Scientology is through a command network which has bases on each of the continental areas. Formerly the Continental Liaison Offices oversaw part of this management, but currently they only relay information to and from Flag. When an emergency arises, and this channel is too slow, Flag will send out a mission, a team of personnel to carry out some task which is usually confidential in nature. If they are too short on personnel, they may send the Mission Orders to the Continental Office and have the mission personnel briefed and "fired" from there.
Originally the missions were designed "to get in Ethics." Someone would arrive from Flag dressed up like an SS officer, complete with German accent, declare a dozen or so people in Treason, and keep the entire organization's staff up day and night washing walls. He would generally leave everyone in such a state of shock, that no one dared so much as breathe, out of terror that he might come back. While most of the missions still carry some flavor of this "old glory" generally they are much more routine and dull tasks. They are still kept strictly confidential as a measure to keep from advertising the failures that necessitate such drastic intervention, and also, to preserve an aura of mystique.
A person is lured into the Sea Organization primarily on its mystique and elitist reputation, but also heavily on the fact that members can get their training and processing there as quickly as they can, without charge. All one has to do is sign the following contract.
I, ____________, DO HEREBY AGREE to enter into employment with the SEA ORGANIZATION and, being of sound mind, do fully realize and agree to abide by its purpose ... and, fully and without reservation, subscribe to the discipline, mores and conditions of this group and pledge to abide by them.
THEREFORE, I CONTRACT MYSELF TO THE SEA ORGANIZATION FOR THE NEXT BILLION YEARS.
(FO232)
Notice that this contract in no way commits *them* to anything. As long as one respects (or fears) their authority, one is owned by them body and soul.
No one gets to see the contract until he is already committed to sign it and ready to sign, the contract itself being a confidential Flag Order. As soon as the contract is signed, the person is not given time to think about regretting his choice. He is immediately packed off to a remote base, usually on a ship operating off the coast of the continental area. There he is completely cut off from the outside world and he is put to work and indoctrinated into becoming a Sea Org member.
The new recruit works seven days a week, up to 12 hours a day, including compulsory study time, and may receive 6 to 12 hours of liberty a week, from there on out. He is paid $10 per week, and up till recently, he was fed on $8.20 per week.
Housing in the Sea Org has always been chronically substandard, partly due to habits of close living acquired on the ships, but mostly because the Sea Org *will not spend* more than about $15 per month per member, and no Sea Org member has the right to complain about it. In Copenhagen, overcrowding was so bad that the personnel stationed in one organization there had to dismantle their beds each day and hide them so they wouldn't be discovered in the event of a surprise inspection by the local housing authorities.
The same had to be done in the Los Angeles area, where one of the chief sources of complaints was from the public being audited in staff quarters which were variously described as "squalid" and "filthy."
The atmosphere of the Sea Org is one of furious coping and "making do." Most of this is blamed on the insufficient training of the staff, which to a large extent is true, but there are more basic economic reasons which prevent the staff from ever getting trained. Their economic policy is very straightforward. It is simply a matter of getting the maximum return for the minimum investment.
Rather than buying a typewriter, letters are written by hand. For lack of a few hundred dollar piece of addressing equipment, the whole staff has to stay up till 2 a.m. three nights a month to prepare a mailing. Rather than renting power tools, a whole ship's company may have to chip paint by hand. And rather than buying a restaurant type stove, meals for 100 have to be prepared on a light 4-burner kitchen stove, in pots and pans bought out of the food money.
It is quite common for a Sea Org member to have to buy his own pens and paper if he has an office job, and such things as shoes, clothing, and transportation, all of which are supposed to be provided, seldom are. Consequently, there are continual emergencies which result in dismissals and demotions, and a new person has to either be recruited or transferred over from some other area. In either case, the person is untrained.
Six months is the longest one usually spends on any given post, especially in its lower echelons, where personnel are promoted as they acquire expertise, or are sent out on missions, or get kicked out or leave. No one is left in a position long enough to feel absolutely secure in it, and always there is the pervading fear that one might be demoted to the deck force, or dismissed for some trivial offence. In addition, there are rapid and drastic changes in policy which are either originated or approved by Hubbard and add significantly to the turmoil.
In 1969 Hubbard published a Base Order (8) which declared that the Pacific branch of the Sea Org had been financially extravagant and wasteful and he severely cut back the amount of money that they could spend to less than half of what it cost for basic necessities such as rent and staff salaries. Further, he ordered that the area be put totally in order, the staff housed and uniformed and pressing debts paid.
As might be expected, none of his orders were carried out and the organizations could barely feed themselves and have enough left over to pay the electric and postage bills. No one even dared to think that it might have been Hubbard's policy that was responsible for the disaster. To even suggest it would have been Treason, so all sorts of people were blamed, transferred or dismissed none of which remedied the situation, but only made it worse.
At least once a year there is a major change in the command setup, each of which is the ultimate solution to some previous failure. In addition there are many minor changes. For example, in 1971 the post of Public Registrar was moved back and forth between Division II and VI so many times that most people lost count.
In addition to this there is a constant stream of projects and programs being issued by Hubbard and his Aides. Each one is a major affair requiring personnel which don't exist to do a job for which money will not be allocated.
No excuses of lack of personnel or financial approval are tolerated. Anyone who is prone to such complaints is told that he is just covering up for his incompetence, and he may be charged for "Making seniors wrong" a sort of misdemeanor in Scientology. Likewise lack of training is no excuse. "Everyone is expected to be able to do any job at any time."
If a project fails or a person's statistic declines, it is his fault *no matter what*. If a person's statistic is letters received or letters sent and there is a postal strike, if he wants to save his neck he might have to cough up his own money to send telegrams or make phone calls.
Questioning the system is taboo, so one does not even think about it. In any Scientology organization, and especially in the Sea Org, it will not be out of place to see any number of unusual solutions, or personal sacrifices to get the basic necessities done. Working till 3 a.m. in the morning is very common, and the loan of a car, if one owns one, is expected "to keep the stats up."
The discipline varies along with this from mild to very severe, depending on the mood of the times. During periods of economic depression tempers run short and everyone looks pretty treasonish to everyone else. A critical remark can easily be interpreted as a mutiny, and there are, of course, witch hunts to find the "suppressive person" who is causing the downfall of the organization.
And there are *purges* ordered from time to time. In 1969 there was one to get rid of anyone who had ever taken LSD, and another one in 1971 to get rid of anyone who had received electric shock treatment, or was ever treated by a psychiatrist. This latter criterion was even being stretched to include people who had ever *talked* to a psychiatrist or psychologist. Of course, "psychotics" are purged whenever they are found.
Discipline revolves around what is known as "The Conditions Formulae" in the Scientology "justice" system. If a person's statistic declines too much, or if he does something which impresses his senior as showing personal "uselessness," or he doesn't appear to be performing any function for the organization, he may be assigned a condition of "Non Existence." Anyone can assign a person below him in the organization a condition, provided he shows "reason" for it. What passes for "reason," again, depends on the mood of the times. Conditions can also be assigned to whole organizations or departments.
A person, portion or ship in Non Existence has no rights whatsoever.
In actual practice any person is allowed some sleep and at least a few minutes eating time and drinking water in any condition.
A ship, portion or person in Non Existence is also subject to reduction of ration allowance, curtailment of Purchase Orders and withdrawal of uniforms.
There are lower conditions than Non Existence, such as "Liability." In this condition all the above penalties apply, and in addition the person's pay is suspended and he is fined. He can be required to work at hard labor (usually non stop for about 24 hours), and after which he must take a petition around asking to be let back into the group. He must wear a dirty grey rag tied around his arm to signify his condition. A person may be assigned Liability for any number of vague charges, such as reporting late, or "looking stupid."
Below Liability is the condition of "Doubt" in which all the above penalties apply, with the addition that no one may speak to him, and that he may be required to work 48 hours before being *upgraded* to Liability. A person may be assigned Doubt if he fails to turn in a required report, or if it is discovered that there is an error in the one he submitted.
Doubt is just what the name implies, so any time a Scientologist waivers from total conviction, the condition is applicable. Naturally, Doubt is only assigned when it is expressed, which has at times been in the process of therapeutic counselling when the person was not guarding his comments.
"Enemy" is below Doubt, yet above Treason. In 1968 a person who was assigned Enemy aboard Flag would be locked in the chain locker, a small, damp, uncomfortable compartment which is used to store the anchor chain. They would be fed on bread and water until they had complied with the Enemy formula, which is, "Find out who you really are." The practice was continued and spread to other Sea Org bases, where people were locked in rooms and basements, or chained to immovable objects.
A written confession was also required of all the harmful acts that one had committed in his lifetime, which often had to be redone again and again, to get the person "to tell all." In one extreme case a person was locked up for 27 days. Needless to say, he wrote a success story on the experience when he got out.
(For those of you who have not read 1984 by George Orwell, there is a scene at the very end where the main character, after going through a long ordeal of interrogations, brainwashing, and beatings, becomes reconstituted as a person; all the torture is behind him, and as he sits on a desolate park bench, he reflects that he *loves* Big Brother.)
In 1970 the practice of confining people was abolished, but hardly a year later the practice was applied to "psychotics" who, of course, had to be restrained, and could be "under the medical authority of the Captain."
There was also another practice called "Overboards" where for some slight goof the person would be thrown over the side of the ship and left to paddle around in the waste pouring from the ship until he had completed repeating some humiliating statement, or singing The Best Things in Life are Free.
The practice spread to the other bases, but since they did not have the ocean nearby they improvised a firing squad, which lined offenders up against a garage wall and shot them with a fire hose. Of course this became done to excess and finally had to be abolished to keep from endangering relations with the community. But Overboards were revived for special cases in 1971, and there is no guarantee that they will not be used again extensively.
If a single Sea Org member could compile enough information to see the whole pattern of affairs in the Sea Org, he would realize that he was up against a hopeless situation. The emergency situations continue year in and year out, not because so much incompetence causes them, but that essential money which could solve them is diverted instead to a Swiss bank in Zurich.
The hundreds of projects which go uncomplied with are only necessary because the main problem is never handled at its source. They are a screen behind which Hubbard and his Aides can say, "Of course you're having trouble, *you* didn't comply with our order to ..."
The harsh "justice" measures are also screens. They permit an opportunity to take out the frustrations one builds up in handling an impossible situation. They allow a group to get their hands on someone that is allegedly responsible for their condition. But all this confusion and internal friction is, above all, absorbing. It keeps a person from effectively thinking about anything else.
When a person's world is constructed of fear of being named the culprit in some disaster (which is only more likely if one is not highly involved in his work), and has every occurrence neatly explained for him, -- i.e., "The reason you only got 9 cents this week is because Josie Schwartz is a Suppressive and she used to work in Treasury -- but you needn't worry about that, because we got rid of her. See, she's in Treason and debarred from Scientology forever. Doesn't that make you feel better?" -- he is very likely to agree simply to keep the finger from coming back and pointing at him.
Mainly, however, he is just too busy to demand a better answer, and usually he is so tied to his task that he can not check matters out on his own. Since no excuse is admissible the person is always open to accusation unless his area is flawless. But under the economically deprived circumstances there is hardly anyone that has such an area, so no one gets very nosey outside his area, except the Ethics Officer, whose job it is to roam around the organization and "catch suppressives."
There is a document which mentions the political objectives of the Sea Org. It says, the political objective of the Sea Org is to "audit out the 4th Dynamic Engram." This is Scientology terminology which roughly translates that they want to get mankind (the 4th Dynamic) in a position where they are in sufficient control over it that they can get rid of (audit out) insanity as Scientology chooses to define it.
As I mentioned before, this is vague enough to mean anything, but the intention is clear that they intend to work toward some kind of control over the human race. How much of this is real and how much is just put out by Hubbard to con his higher executives, I do not know. Perhaps Hubbard sincerely has these ambitions, but the fact that he chooses to fatten his bank account instead of using it on his forces tends to cast doubt on this. But, on the other hand, he may just be saving up for the right moment.
Either way, his means are highly questionable. Even though Scientology professes religious ideals, they are seriously contradicted in practice. Scientology *is* a profit-making organization. The individuals that work in their organizations have no more rights than slaves, especially in the Sea Org. Scientology respects no nation, and refers to any established power as "the alleged government." It is arrogant and high handed beyond belief, and its technology works no better than ordinary medicine. The fact that it exists at all is a sad testament to the spiritual poverty of our age, in which people can become so alienated and starved for purpose that they will attach themselves to such a cause.
Despite all that I have mentioned about how harsh Scientology is with its critics, it really cannot afford to persecute everyone who disagrees with it. Such treatment is reserved for those who seriously threaten to damage business. The attrition rate is so high that there are more declared "suppressives" running around than all their staff members combined.
Just as they will not "save" you if you walk into one of their organizations without any money, they will not persecute you unless you appear to be an impediment to the money flowing in. If you've been treated badly by them, you have a right to speak your opinion. It is an inalienable right according to their own Church Creed! And besides, persecutions cost money.
