Leaving Scientology, Lies and Revealing the Truth

Mike Rinder once said, “You can tell the difference between a cult and a religion when you try and leave it.”

A topic on Quora was recently brought to my attention and I felt it was important to address it. I found it an excellent example of exactly how Scientologists operate when attempting to Fair Game another.

Scientology tries to portray itself as an innocent, benign entity and it is crucial for everyone, especially Never Ins to learn to see through their smoke and mirror maneuvering.

In this instance a Scientologist attempts to portray Marc Headley as a liar telling a “paranoid fairy tale”.

This blog post will illustrate not only how the truth is twisted and bypassed but also exactly who the real liar is.

The question asked was “How easy is it to leave the Church of Scientology?”

A response by one Mark DeCoursey was typical Scientological PR spin.

“No problem at all. Just leave.

As with all religions, people come, people go. The number of public people vastly outnumbers the staff, and the staff are not armed. There are no walls, no fences, no problem.

The pretense that Scientology stops people from leaving is a paranoid’s fairy tale. Marc Headley called the police as he rode away on his motorcycle claiming he was being chased by other staff members. The police arrived and concluded their report with the words, “This case will be closed unfounded. CASE STATUS: CLOSED/UNF.” Headley apparently does not know that means there was no foundation for the report. No problem. Case closed.

When Headley took the case to court, the court reviewed all the evidence and dismissed the case. Headley appealed, and the appeals court said there was “no evidence.” 9th Circ. Junks Ex-Scientologists’ Forced-Labor Claims – Law360

But Headley is not discouraged: He still tries to sell book with that silly story, and to market himself for interviews.

The reason for those inventions may not be immediately obvious. Headley was suing to make money from the church. It failed. Leah Remini and others who repeat the story try to turn it into cash, but the network has now closed down Remini’s show—indicating it was not as popular and rewarding as Remini thought it would be. Maybe she can run it on community cable.

The cops said it best: The complaint is unfounded.”

The everyday public Scientologist can just stop participating in the courses.

Marc Headley was not a public Scientologist.

He was a SeaOrg member and for them attempting to leave is nigh on impossible unless one plans and executes an escape.

It’s important for Never Ins to understand first that there is a difference between the average Scientology parishioner and a member of the SeaOrg. Secondly, members play fast and loose with truth when they make their feeble attempts to instruct the public.

It is common practice for COS to carefully edit or even outright change facts to fit their own narrative, Never Ins would do well to always do their own research when confronted by any explanation originating from a Scientologist.

The first statement DeCoursey makes, “The number of public people vastly outnumbers the staff, and the staff are not armed” is the beginning of the twisted spin.

Note he says “public people”.

Given the dwindling membership one takes the phrase “vastly outnumbers” with a large dose of salt, however what is pertinent is the fact that he is talking about the laity (public, non religious) members. This distinction is important as no lay Scientologist is going to find themselves on Gold Base near Hemet, California.

During the years Headley was stationed here, this location was kept secret from even other SeaOrg members. Amy Scobee explains in her book that rather than being told she was to be sent there it was referred to as going “over the rainbow”.

As for the staff not being armed, that too is a game of semantics.

When those in positions of power over others wield threats like swords and guilt inducing verbal abuse like a whip the damage caused may as well be physical. Emotional and spiritual abuse is every bit a weapon, ignoring its impact is disingenuous at best.

Psychological control is a most effective way of ensuring there is no need for physical armaments.

“There are no walls, no fences, no problem.”

Gold Base, or as it is more officially named, International Base, is visibly surrounded by razor wire topped fencing. There are motion lights and detectors ready to sound the minute any inmate gets too close. Guard booths defend the few exits and are staffed with security armed with video recorders, walkie talkies, cell phones and instant access to vehicles.

Those living within the compound are bereft of any personal privacy. Letters and phone calls are monitored while anyone needing to leave for any reason must not only obtain permission, but must also be escorted.

This is the life Marc Headley was subjected to during his time in Scientology. He was not a public parishioner.

Headley lived under the iron fist and insane chaos of David Miscavige where no one simply walked away.

Now to the meat of DeCoursey’s statement; “The pretense that Scientology stops people from leaving is a paranoid’s fairy tale. Marc Headley called the police as he rode away on his motorcycle claiming he was being chased by other staff members. The police arrived and concluded their report with the words, “This case will be closed unfounded. CASE STATUS: CLOSED/UNF.” Headley apparently does not know that means there was no foundation for the report. No problem. Case closed.”

What Marc DeCoursey is conveniently leaving out are several extremely pertinent facts that, once known, completely change the understanding of what actually occurred that day on the highway outside of Hemet.

Scientology defenders are adept at this skewing of information in order to force it to fit their narrative. Their self imposed blindness makes it easy for them to sidestep facts in favor of malicious subterfuge. In this same way, the people behind the vicious attack on Mike Rinder blatantly ignore hard evidence found on police reports, EMT reports and even the reality found in their own orthopedic surgeon’s letter in favor of fiction designed to destroy an innocent man’s reputation and career.

For COS false truths are modus operandi and nothing stated can be taken at face value.

DeCoursey claims that Marc Headley “called the police as he rode away on his motorcycle”.

According to Deputy Lenton, the first officer on scene, in his report, File #D05004022, page 2 “[Redacted] asked if we had stopped Headley for not wearing a helmet and I told her no. I explained to [Redacted] that he was trying to leave Golden Era and some of the Golden Era security guards were attempting to stop him with force. [Redacted] denied that occurred and stated everyone was free to leave the property. [Redacted] then asked if Headley had told Detective Clark and I that he wasn’t free to leave. I advised her that a PASSERBY had called the police after WITNESSING THE INCIDENT.”

Unless DeCoursey is calling Deputy Lenton a liar, this statement is very clear.

Because DeCoursey references this document in his answer on Quora showing he is fully aware of it, this means that, without a doubt, Marc DeCoursey is purposefully misrepresenting the facts in order to make himself look correct while painting Headley as a villain.

In January 2005 when Marc Headley was attempting to leave and found himself embroiled in a desperate chase and attack by COS security guards there were actually three officers involved. The first, Corporal Williams was the one initially contacted to respond to “a passerby reported that 4×4 truck and a motorcycle were stopped in the intersection, and several males were fighting.”

As Corporal Williams was too far to reach the scene in a timely manner, he requested that Deputy Lenton and Deputy Clark respond in his stead.

Corporal Williams is shown to have been dispatched because of a phone call from a passerby. This fact is repeated by the two responding officers and Deputy Lenton explains this to the female Scientologist who drives up and presumes to insert herself into the officer’s investigation. Whoever this woman was, she felt quite qualified to question Deputy Lenton as he was carrying out his duties.

To this point in the police report there is not only hard, irrefutable proof that Marc Headley did not call the police, but also that DeCoursey’s assertion that all one need do is walk away unchallenged and unhindered is also bogus. Headley, according to the deputies was being followed by and ended up involved in a physical altercation with several male security guards from Gold Base. Further, there was also a woman involved in the situation attempting to ascertain what Headley was revealing to the officers. These were not the only members of COS trying to rein in Marc Headley and hinder his leaving. Further in the report it notes that Deputy Clark decided to escort Headley to his destination.

After the men left the area Lenton writes “A short time later Deputy Clark informed me a small vehicle was following his patrol unit and he was concerned for his and Headley’s safety…I contacted the driver who identified himself as [Redacted] with his California drives (sic) license. I also recognized [Redacted] as an employee of Golden Era.”

The deputy warns this man that he was walking on thin ice and would find himself charged with Obstructing. The man drove away but not before attempting to get information about Headley out of Lenton, “[Redacted] then asked me to tell him exactly what Headley had told me and Deputy Clark”.

Deputy Clark’s report also proves that at no time did Headley tell any fairy tales claiming he was being chased. Clark clearly states that Marc Headley told the officer that he was just leaving Gold Base to visit his sick father and that the security guards were trying to “persuade” him not to go. If anything Headley minimized the situation, making no accusations or dramatic claims at all.

DeCoursey’s final smug comment that the case was closed and unfounded is one giant lie of omission.

The fact is that the choice of whether or not to pursue the case by filing charges was Marc Headley’s. Lenton’s report clearly lists a crime of “False Imprisonment” on his form, which shows that there was enough evidence to have made an initial arrest had Headley chosen to press the issue.

What DeCoursey blithely omits in his attempt to make Headley look bad is the fact that the only reason the deputies closed the case as unfounded was because “Headley said he was not injured and did not want to make a report, reference the incident. This case will be closed unfounded.”

Had Marc Headley chosen to make a report the case would have gone forward to the next level, it is only because he did not that it ended in this manner.

As for the reference to the Headley’s court case, that is a separate, much more complex issue than what happened on that January day in 2005. It does not say anything to validate DeCoursey’s claim that one can simply walk away from Scientology. Based upon the vast amount of dishonesty found in his comments, one would do well to dismiss his further attempts to blacken Headley’s character.

Marc DeCoursey’s lies in order to damage another man’s reputation are just par for the course where Scientology is concerned.

Danny Masterson keeps silent in the face of someone acting on his behalf, viciously poisoning a family’s beloved pet.

Cathy Bernardini continues to fabricate fantastic tales against her ex husband, Mike Rinder, accusing him of domestic violence in spite of irrefutable proof to the contrary.

OSA continues to malign, libel and slander all those who have escaped from the clutches of their cult, using any means necessary to bolster their extravagant lies.

This is Scientology.

Where those who have dedicated themselves to its “religious order” the SeaOrg, can never simply walk away, but rather are made to run a deadly obstacle course of psychological intimidation and emotional violation through unrelenting punishment and sec checks that can last for years before he or she can be free. This is not something anyone would wish to undergo so the only real option is to plan and execute an escape. Even then, one faces being followed, stalked and harassed. Cell phones are tracked, airlines and bus stations staked out, tickets somehow searched for the runaway’s name. In the end the escapee is disconnected from all those he knows and loves, this loss more wounding than any other insidious tactic Hubbard or Miscavige ever created.

No, there is no easy way out of Scientology for SeaOrg members.

Marc DeCoursey intended to slam Headley, to make him look bad. In this, as in all the other Fair Game attacks perpetrated by COS, the opposite is true.

DeCoursey, through his lies and misdirection is the one who appears malicious and dishonorable.

Marc Headley on the other hand showed strength and courage in the face of overwhelming, frightening odds. Even as he was leaving everything he ever knew and loved behind him, was riding for his life as guards chased and attacked him, he did not have his tormentors arrested. He didn’t reveal the depth of their violent actions against him.

Scientology is the paranoid teller of fairy tales, but they keep forgetting that in every fairy tale, evil is vanquished by good.

Their time is coming.