Dear Thad,
After Leah Remini included your Twitter handle on her list of Scientology accounts you have found it necessary to respond with offended indignation.
The question here is WHY are so many people so hostile towards Scientology? Your organization refuses to even consider the possibility that there may be some “issues” needing to be addressed and changed.
Thad, you want everyone to believe that Scientologists are normal, everyday people like everyone else.
Normal, everyday people are flawed.
We are as capable of bad as of good.
Your insistence that there is no difference between COS and anyone else falls flat when at the same time the group denies any wrongdoing of any kind.
Right now the Catholic Church is rightly facing criticism and yes, hate, because of their mishandling of sexual abuse by priests.
Further, our hierarchy in Rome is embroiled in financial scandal, the teaching of heresy that is threatening schism within our Church and actively protecting corrupt Priests, Bishops and Cardinals.
The difference between you and me is that I can publicly say that my Church is guilty of egregious wrongdoing and is in serious need of change.
I can call out Pope Francis for causing division and, to use a Scientology term, “Squirrelling” our doctrine without fear that some Bishop or Cardinal will create a website filled with ugly accusations.
I do not fear that my Priest will reveal anything that I have confessed during the Sacrament of Penance. Nor will he steal my trash or hire a private investigator to follow me and my family.
Thad, if you were to look, you would find numerous Catholic groups like Church Militant staffed solely by Catholics yet who have the faith and courage to expose the sin and corruption ongoing within our religion.
There is nothing wrong with exposing such things. Ripping off the veil and letting sin and wrongdoing see the Sun is the first step to healing, growth and a better community.
You cannot dispute that Scientology has labeled itself “The most ethical religion on the planet”. As such Scientology created the yardstick by which the world judges it. Becoming outraged and defensive when the world then holds you to that responsibility is both counterintuitive and counterproductive.
Thad, you are in fact being treated like every other religion.
To hear Scientology tell it, the organization has never done anything wrong in its history. COS is the most lily white, saintly and pure group on the planet.
You cannot reasonably expect non members to accept that Scientology is no different from anyone else then also expect belief in such perfection. It is impossible.
It would go far better if COS would simply be humble enough to say “Yes, we have done things in the past that were terribly wrong and we continue to make mistakes.” If this preceded your insistence that “We are just like everyone else” it would then be relatable and acceptable.
Scientology certainly does this often enough in justifying their practices.
Pointing to shunning by the Amish or Excommunication in Catholicism in the defense of Disconnection is just one example.
In for a penny, in for a pound as the saying goes.
Despite documentation that policies like Fair Game and Disconnection exist, Scientology insists that no such actions are real.
We all know that LRH wrote the policies. Just as he wrote the TR for how to effectively tell a lie, how to mislead journalists, how to create good PR by aligning with legitimate groups or causes and other less than ethical instruction.
Why not just admit to your own history and your Source’s teachings and then go from there?
If you want to be a religion “just like everyone else” then BE human and fallible like everyone else.
One might proffer that in reality Scientology is perhaps better understood than is comfortable. Thus the defensive lashing out.
Are revelations of wrongdoing by victims of priests, imams, pastors or ministers attacks?
Why are they so labeled when applied to Scientology?
Thad, this may be frightening, uncomfortable and hard to accept but Scientology is imperfect and as prone to abuse as anyone else.
Your creation of idyllic familial bliss appears more a head-in-the-sand denial of reality when one considers how many broken families suffer from disconnection. Extolling the wonders of your children’s accomplishments rips the heart from parents who have not held their children for years because they are labeled Suppressive for not towing the line. (For the record Catholics do not shun or spurn family or friends in the event of Excommunication.)
Promoting medically, scientifically proven dangerous formula for infants is going to induce anger.
Consider this; while there are multiple, unbiased documented research studies all leading to the conclusion that barley water formula can cause failure to thrive and malnutrition in babies, you cannot produce a single document proving that LRH actually did any research that the mixture is safe.
You claim that Scientology is “deliberately misrepresented” yet there is no offered evidentiary backing to your claim.
How is Scientology deliberately misrepresented?
Obviously you are referring primarily to Leah Remini and Mike Rinder. In doing so you are denying the experiences shared by hundreds (if not thousands) of former members throughout the years who lived their truth in COS.
Are all of those people lying? Is there a historical, global conspiracy throughout decades by former members, many who have never even met each other for no other reason than to induce non members to hate Scientology?
While Scientology has categorically denied any and all of the statements made either by Rinder, Remini or their guests on The Aftermath, there has never been a single shred of proof to contradict that hasn’t come from Scientology, itself.
Case in point:
The claim: Scientology deliberately lies to fair game others.
Scientology denies this is true.
The Reality:
Did he?
According to the Australian Court; “As Chih-Jen Yeh lay bleeding and unconscious on the driveway, the teenager again demanded to see the staff member who’d promised to help him restore the data. The standoff continued until police arrived and told the teenager to drop the knife. He was arrested and later charged with murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.”
Rather than shouting “vicious religious hatred and propaganda, incited by A&E and the Leah Remini/Mike Rinder series,” he is actually quoted as yelling in Mandarin, “I’ll give you two minutes to find him otherwise I’ll kill everyone else here.”
Thad, is this a vicious hate attack against Scientology?
Unpack this one event using simple logic.
- Karen Pouw in her capacity as Scientology spokesperson wrote a clearly untrue statement.
- The reason for this statement was to create the belief that Leah Remini and Mike Rinder were responsible for “inciting” this tragedy.
- Australian Courts have provided documented facts surrounding this event that irrefutably dispute Pouw’s claim.
- Scientology continues to allege Rinder and Remini’s complicity in this murder.
Defend this.
Deny it if you will, the question remains; is this the action of a religion?
If you say “I like my Church” without also acknowledging behaviour such as this then you cannot be offended by public disgust.
As long as websites such as whoismikerinder, whoisleahremini, Whois… exist your insistence that Scientology is normal is going to be met with resistance. As long as your “religion” insists upon publicly making claims against those who want to address the toxicity and abuse that are patently, provably untrue and you defend it there will be backlash.
L. Ron Hubbard set the bar by which Scientology is to be measured.
Not us.
To be the most ethical, superior and only hope for Mankind is to take upon yourself the responsibility of those rôles. So important to recognize that power and responsibility.
Stop whining that the world hates Scientology. It’s tantamount to juvenile “they’re picking on me for no reason!”
No one is attacking you or Scientology.
We are simply attempting to hold you to the superiority and moral preeminence you, as a group, espouse.
L. Ron Hubbard made this bed. Don’t act outraged and surprised when you are expected to lie in it.
Confront And Shatter 
So Thad the dad is taking his currently precious daughter out to gymnastics. I am presuming that she is a minor and still living at home. What happens Thad, when your darling angel grows up, figures out that Scientology is NOT perfect and decides to leave / marry someone who is NOT from the church? What is gonna happen then Thad? What are YOU GONNA DO when someone comes to you and says: chose? I vote we catch up with Thad in about 15 years to see how this is all working out in 2037 – that is – if his ‘church’ can survive that much longer in the real world for that long.
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Well said,Stefani – brava!
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Thank you for your kind support!
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“So many times, especially for poorly-understood or deliberately-misrepresented groups like my own, the only power wielded is that more inflammatory headlines get more clicks.”
It’s true: “Inflammatory headlines get more clicks.” For example, Jeffrey Epstein created a plethora of “inflammatory headlines” followed by billions of clicks. So does this mean that the focus should be on the effect–the press/clicks–instead of the cause, Epstein’s longstanding pattern of actions? That there should have been no reporting on Epstein for fear of the clicks it may result in?
Perhaps, Epstein and scientology should both ponder how their actions have created these consequences? It’s too late for Epstein; he’s dead. It may well be too late for scientology as well; the “church” is rapidly expiring. But it’s not too late for Thad to open his eyes and save at least his children from a world of hurt.
There are those who advocate with a straight face that even something as heinous as pedophilia is “poorly understood”, even “deliberately misrepresented.” As a proud and protective grandparent, I readily admit that I don’t understand what possesses pedophiles. I would likely “misrepresent” them if I tried. Still, their actions speak for themselves. And it’s those actions, not their “misunderstood” motives, that we hold them accountable for!
If scientology is “poorly understood” and consequently “misrepresented” it’s worth remembering that most of what we know about this cultish organization has come to us courtesy of whistleblowers, leaked documents and investigative journalism. All of this in the face of the group’s obstructionism. Of course, hubbard’s often unhinged writings haven’t helped.
You can’t have it both ways: Enforce secrecy, provide bait and switch “religion” to only those who pay exorbitantly along the way, offer zero accountability and transparency and then cry mightily when you’re found out. Even so, other mysterious organizations fail to produce the headlines and public revulsion that scientology does. Secrecy doesn’t seem to be sufficient to create such backlash. But anti-social, cruel, vindictive, even illegal activities will in fact turn the public against your organization. As well they should!
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Thad can’t “defend”, he can only “attack”, per Hublard’s sacred scriptures. He can’t squarely address the issues, much less explain or justify the documented cases of fair game and forced abortions or the numerous slander websites that the “church” posts on the internet.
Dear Thad, an allegedly ethical and accomplished communicator, can’t answer simple questions or stop himself from lying and exaggerating and repeating tired propaganda.
He is a shining example of the scientological definition of stupidity: ” unknownness of time, place, form, and event.” In regular ol’ English, he’s an ignorant, disingenuous cult bot.
Thanks for another sober, logical takedown of this domestic terrorist corporation.
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Well Said Stef! All we ever see is scientologists attacking and playing the victim. Never have I ever seen a scientologist admit that perhaps, there could be some fault in their “religion” and the comparison between the Catholic faith and scientology was right on track.
They deny, they attack, the negate the feelings of anyone ever hurt by their cruel, aggressive actions while claiming to be the most ethical religion on the planet.
I cannot even imagine, willingly being part of any organisation that puts so much time and energy into lying and hatred and I certainly cannot trust the words of anyone that would defend such an organisation.
Please, keep doing what you do.
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Thank you Sera! ❤️
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I remember early on in my Scientology adventure/shit show, being asked to ‘handle’ an upset parishioner’s wife. The church had a good hold on this local doctor, but his wife was digging in her heels with, gasp, logic, and questions.
They liked his donations and gung-ho cheerleaderism. Plus he was a Doctor. And that looks great. “See, a medical doctor is down with our scriptural bullshit.”
Anyway, the local Scientology outpost’s big problem, was that the doctor’s wife was pro-choice and she’d just read LRH slamming abortion and anyone who’d consider it. The Course Supervisor shoved her and her irate cognitive dissonance on me. Why I don’t know. Hmm, maybe because I was a proper Ronbot? Anyway, I tried out the tired, “it was a different time and ideas were different then. I’m sure in today’s enlightened world he wouldn’t write that.” She wasn’t biting. So I pulled out the L Ron Hubbard Code of Honor and how you keep your own counsel, choose your own decisions, etc. She stared at me. I stared back. Time passed. She looked away.
I’d won that battle. But Scientology lost the war. Months later she told her husband she would not continue. He ended up in Ethics. Ugg. He stayed around for months afterward, but got “busier.” I have to wonder if they suggested he disconnect from the mother of his two wonderful children. Mere speculation on my part.
The doctor drifted away from Scientology in spite of no doubt multiple Hill Tens, avoid-a-flap 26-point programs, and threats to all staff who touched his ‘situation’ and failed to sort it out. I bet that was one ugly battlefield and a hill a few staff died on.
I applaud the doctor’s wife’s strength in defying the, swallow LRH’s statements whole, even if they puncture your esophagus on the way down, standard procedure inside the bubble.
Her willingness to question L Ron’s words, when everyone else on board justified why it was acceptable for him to say all the hateful stuff he said, and formulate controlling policies that broke people’s backs, was a bright burning light in a ‘cherch’ of darkness.
Either Thad hasn’t read some of L Ron Hubbard’s unhinged, racist, homophobic, etc words, or he’s learned that it’s easier to attack the truthtellers (Leah and Mike) and get some of that sweet love-bombing the cherch gives out to its volunteer ministers.
Steph, truth bombs trump love bombs. You did an incredible truth bombing of Thad with that letter. It belongs on the suggested reading list for on-the-fence Scientologists. I hope there is such a thing. You’re a star in the firmament of truth-telling crusaders.
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Lili, I like hearing about former members’ experiences, although I am sorry you got conned. I’m so glad you are out and thinking for yourself and I sincerely hope you are not suffering the pain of disconnection for your strength. Thank you both for your kind support and equally kind words. They mean a lot as I navigate this incredible path.
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Stefani, thanks for your good wishes. I lost my best friends. Well, all my Scientology friends. I lost all my Scientology customers in my business. However, most of the sales were the mercy-type sale, where I marked a wedding set down and took twenty-four post-dated checks type thing. The institutional poverty of the rank and file Scientologists is a heart-breaking thing to see close up.
The loss of friendships saddened, then angered me.
When I went out and found new friends, it was like a cloudy day turned sunny. I learned how delightful, funny, and insightful real friendship can be. Friendship with a Scientologist is like walking a tightrope. If you tell some truth, you might get a Knowledge Report written-up on you, “for your own good.” Or the registrar might put your number on auto-dial and grind you down, till you donate. Because your friend revealed in their last Gang-bang Registrar-fest that you’d had a good month business-wise and were a hot prospect.
Scientology is your best friend, and you are just a particle in the machine.
Luckily my family is still together and gives me great joy. Luckily my new circle of friends brings me much happiness.
A friend had planned a trip with family to the Southwest. She’s in her seventies and said, if they won’t go, I’ll go alone. They couldn’t go with her due to a stupid family fight. She said I’m going alone. I impulsively said I’ll go with you. And I did. That would never have happened in Scientology. A) because they wouldn’t be able to afford it, B) their debt load would be such that missing the days of income would be an emergency, C) their eternal freedom would be a higher priority than seeing a pretty canyon, and D) the greatest good for the greatest dynamics would suggest that it was a selfish whim to go off like that. Probably an Ethics offence if it violated their agreement with themselves to keep their nose to the grindstone. Another thing that could happen is the cherch pushing their nosy, no-boundaries snout into her family business. She’d end up spending months in Ethics going over why her family didn’t choose to go with her on the planned trip. Then their would be various assignments of Ethics programs. Sides would be chosen. This ordeal would drive a nail in the coffin of happy family activities. Oh, and add money to the coffers of the cherch as some of the family members would need auditing to ‘sort out’ their ‘situation.’
We had a lovely time on our trip, did spontaneous things daily, had funny talks, and took awesome pictures.
Whims are frowned upon in Scientology. They veer off the plan of how you will get your sales or productivity stats up this week. And therefore be able to donate next year when you pay off your Visa bill. You’ll still have those six other credit card debts, but hey you can make it go right. Right?
In other words, life is good and I celebrate each day, free of the Cult of Scientology.
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