Abuse is Not Spiritual

Scientology

The word conjures up images of space aliens, volcanoes and Xenu.

It is so easy to get caught up in the absurd and inane that surrounds this cult.

Focusing on words like “Beingness” and “Meat Bodies”, laughing at the idea of hundreds of little aliens inhabiting our bodies and shaking our heads at the incredulous claims of “Super Powers” it’s easy to get lost in the chaos on the surface and miss something so much darker, deeper and insidious.

Perhaps that’s what Scientology wants. For all of us to focus on the science fiction silliness and the laughter.

Deflection is, after all, one of Scientology’s weapons of choice. It is their barbed wire fence, protecting the real issues from too much scrutiny.

Laughter is a great defense mechanism.

As I write this, somewhere in a Scientology building a child is being given massive, unregulated doses of vitamins and preparing to spend long hours in a steaming sauna.

There is no supervision, no licensing or anything else in place to protect this child from the potential harm such mega doses of vitamins and minerals may cause. That there is the potential for organ damage or even death is overlooked as unimportant.

Somewhere in a Scientology building there are children being treated as free labor. Removed from the care of their parents and treated as adults in small bodies they are at the mercy of adults who can abuse and molest with no repercussions. These children are taught that if something bad happens to them, it is their fault. They have no one to protect them or to speak for them.

In Scientology groups all over there are people who desperately need therapy and treatment for depression, anxiety and/or other mental illnesses. They are denied the help they need, denigrated for being “low tone” and “down stat”. They are trapped in a vicious cycle of fear, despair and verbal abuse.

There have already been suicides. How many right now are feeling that life would be better without them and their “crimes”? How many are being made to feel guilty for their feelings and emotions?

Right now, out there, a Scientologist is looking desperately at their bank statement and wondering how they will make their next rent or mortgage payment because they just gave Scientology the last few dollars they had as a “donation”.

On Gold Base there are a pair of double wide trailers sitting behind massive metal fences topped by razor wire. Behind barred windows and a guarded door are kept dozens of people being punished for imagined crimes. Here people are pitted against one another, made to abuse and assault one another, made to live in horrid conditions and undergo humiliation, degradation and fear. All this while being programmed to believe that they deserve this treatment. Even an 80 year old man who is trotted out like a puppet to perform on command then returned to his prison.

There are people who are missing that haven’t been seen in years. Where are they? Why does no one care enough to find them?

While we focus on the space aliens and the e-meters and laugh at the thought of Xenu, it is easy to forget, or at least overlook the true darkness of Scientology. The abuses it perpetrates against it’s members and others.

The destruction of friendships and families. The stalking and harassment. The emotional and psychological manipulation of people’s minds. The physical, mental, sexual and spiritual abuse committed on members who have been weakened by threats, fear and self doubt.

When people came forward and revealed they were molested by priests there was, rightfully, an outcry against these horrible actions. The perpetrators were made public, the cover up revealed and, however slowly, the law stepped in and handed out justice to the victims.

Warren Jeffs sits in prison for the rest of his life for molesting the children in his so-called “religion”.

When people like Saina and Miriam begged for justice they got nothing. When Danny Masterson committed rape, his folder filled with evidence just…disappeared. When there are pictures on social media showing children being made to endure the Purification Rundown no one steps in and protects them.

When voice after voice speaks of the myriad of abuses perpetrated by Scientology and David Miscavige an echoing silence is all the answer one receives.

Why is it that such horrendous abuse is ignored? Religion is no cover for crime. It is no shield for abuse.

Can a man charged with Domestic Violence plead his religious status and be cleared of beating his wife?

When did religion become a defense and protection against crime? Why prosecute Warren Jeffs but leave Scientology alone?

Are not the first hand accounts of eye witnesses to beatings, assaults, abuse of teens and children enough for someone in a position of power to step in and do the right thing? Is not the charge that there are people who attempt to leave Gold Base who are caught, stopped and refused the right to leave enough for someone to step in and help?

We cannot and must not forget the real reason we fight against Scientology.

Those within it’s control can often no longer make the decisions they need to make for their own health and safety. Call it a form of Stockholm Syndrome, call it brainwashing, call it fear but these people can not speak for themselves in a healthy and informed way. Someone needs to be a voice for those whose free will is handicapped by abuse and manipulation.

There is no difference between a man beating another man on the street and David Miscavige beating one of his associates. Assault is a crime no matter what religion one practices.

Molesting a child is a crime no matter what one’s beliefs are.

It is way past time for those higher up in our judicial system to step in and launch an investigation as to why certain law enforcement agencies are seen partying with Scientology, working side by side passing out Scientology propaganda, accepting “donations” and even promoting Scientology with informational kiosks in their foyer while at the same time evidence in a major crime involving a member goes missing.

Scientology must not be protected anymore.

Abuse is still abuse no matter what faith one ascribes to. The time for action is now.

Until law enforcement does what is necessary, we need to keep these abuses in the forefront of everyone’s minds. It needs to be shouted from the rooftops and addressed noisily and consistently.

Forcing anyone to clean a bathroom floor with their tongue is not a matter of spirituality. Beating someone, making them run to exhaustion, sleep on the floor, eat from discarded scraps and keeping people locked up against their wills is not religion.

That people feel the need to escape speaks to the atmosphere they are living in. Marc Headley fled on his motorcycle only to be run off the road by Scientologists determined to bring him back.

Valerie Haney escaped in the trunk of a car with only her purse.

As Mike Rinder has said: “the difference between a religion and a cult is what happens when you try and leave.”

Forcing people against their will to live a life of incarceration fueled by fear, loss and violence is not spiritual.

It is abuse and it needs to be stopped.