Right now, the big news is war in Georgia, or for those with skewed priorities, who’s won what at the Bejing Olympics. I’ll leave these issues to the pros and focus on a different contest. This one’s not for land or gold, but the hearts and minds of the local populace. The much-maligned Church of Scientology, which was founded by the science-fiction author L.Ron Hubbard in 1952, has come under sustained attack from the internet-based group Anonymous, whose members have taken the war to the streets.
I don’t subscribe to a religion, but for years I’ve been intrigued by the psychology of those who do. Sometimes it amazes me; at other times it frightens me. These feelings become more intense wherever fringe groups are involved, be they new-age Raelians or ultra-conservative Wahabis. I have a very strong objection to those that charge money for membership, such as the Scientologists or the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (more commonly referred to as Mormons). If L.Ron Hubbard or Joseph Smith were truly as great as they claimed, and thought they could do so much for the world, wouldn’t they feel the moral need to share their wisdom free of charge?
The truth, of course, is different. If you go for a walk around Sydney, you’ll see Mormon missionaries, and if you give them the chance, they’ll ask you to join their sect. They’ll say it’s the best thing in the world, but they won’t tell you how much it costs. If you watch daytime TV, you’ll see their faith being advertised. Religion’s being marketed like soft drinks or designer clothing. The line between the sacred and profane has practically disappeared.
Scientology is often described as a religion for the rich. Its adherents have to pay increasing sums to advance through its ranks. Some of its most scathing critiques come from wealthy ex-members, who found the benefits they gained were not equal to the costs. Some people also accuse the church of brainwashing and abusing its members, citing cases where adherents have suffered breakdowns or killed themselves.
I’m no Scientology fan, and I learned about Anonymous when I read about it on another website (All Things Daniel Haggard) which can be accessed from my blog. The writer gave a thorough and not uncritical account of Anonymous, which prompted some interesting replies. Most of them were mature and thoughtful, hardly the work of mere internet pranksters, and my respect for Anonymous grew.
I’d already spoken to my share of Scientologists. My younger brother lived with one, and I had a long talk to him about psychiatry and medication. He believed both were built on deceit and gave me some magazines to read. They contained the sort of allegations I’d heard directed at his church - psychiatry bleeds its victims dry, fails to solve their real problems, isolates and brainwashes them, and even drives them to suicide. None of this is completely unfounded - I’ve met my share of lousy shrinks - but I didn’t sign my life away. A few months later my brother moved out. He was sick of his flatmate offering his faith as a universal cure.
It’s easy to understand his claims. My brother’s flatmate used to take drugs, and apparently the church got him clean. It’s hard to say if this was a good thing - cynics would say he’d only swapped one costly habit for another. Scientologists, Mormons and similar groups prey on the lonely and vulnerable. This happened to someone I truly loved, but I won’t go into details here.
Many share my sentiments, but unlike the groups they oppose, they are poorly organised. In some ways I was pleased to hear that Anonymous was doing something, though I didn’t place much faith in its claims. It’s meant to be a grassroots movement without leadership or hierarchy, but experience has shown such groups self-organise or disappear. It already has organisers, informants, missionaries who seek new converts and demagogues who inspire the old, though its more numerous rank and file are there to have fun and/or socialise. There’s no formal rank or leadership, but a couple of my friends have joined, and I can see the beginnings of both. It’s a fascinating process to watch, and not long ago, I put on a mask and went to a demonstration - not just to show support for the group, but also to observe its methods.
Anonymous was picketing a Scientology convention. The organisers were expecting this, and had changed location in advance, but Anonymous remained informed. Its members used familiar tactics - they formed up outside the venue, many wearing Guy Fawkes masks, and handed out leaflets to passers-by. They set up banners and waved placards. Drivers were encouraged to “HONK IF YOU OPPOSE SCIENTOLOGY,” which inspired a loud response, and people entering the venue were heckled through a megaphone - though some might not have been Scientologists. Those who were seemed unaffected - all the protesters got for their efforts were a couple of calls to “take off the masks” and a few obscene gestures.
Despite my friends’ enthusiasm, I wasn’t there for very long and left feeling disillusioned. The convention went ahead, of course, but none of the protesters aimed to stop it - they were there to attract attention and gain support for their cause. I still think it’s a worthy one, but I’m not sure they’re approaching it in a very responsible way. Promoting public awareness is one thing; crude attacks are quite another. If the Scientologists feel they are being persecuted, it will make them band together more strongly. When a group of masked figures attacks their faith, some might start to question it - but the majority will not. Too often, such tactics only serve to strengthen their targets’ religious convictions.
Many people are drawn to cults because they feel isolated. They don’t really care about alien warlords or the lost tribes of Israel; they want a sense of self-worth and belonging. If they think Scientology can provide this, they’ll join regardless of the cost, as money means less than a new social group, spiritual guidance and life satisfaction. Once they’re in, they’ll constantly be told that theirs is the only path to salvation, and relatives, friends or associates who attack the church will be estranged. If they’re handled clumsily, attempts to pull someone away from a cult will make them cling to it more strongly - as I have personally learned. It was a horrible experience - besides losing a beautiful girl I still love to an ugly organisation I loathe, I had to reassess my world view. From a broader perspective, this came at a time when religious extremism was on the rise - a trend that is continuing. Can we honestly say that rational thought is overcoming superstition?
I feel that Anonymous is attacking the symptoms, but not the disease. In many ways it could be said that we live in a spiritually bankrupt age - we idolise human celebrities, claim status through material wealth, and judge people on appearances more than personalities. Morality used to be clearly defined, but now it is under a two-pronged attack from mindless hedonism on one hand and postmodern sophistry on the other. It’s hardly surprising that some people turn to organised religion, which offers firm values in this life and promises rewards in the next. It’s a case of sacrificing freedom for a measure of security. My own life has been less than perfect, and I know the mindset all too well.
It’s natural for some people to want certainty in life, but there are better, saner alternatives to cults that charge money for membership while claiming they alone are right. Here are some humble suggestions from someone who doesn’t pretend to have all the answers: if you want to find inner peace, consider researching a milder faith, or seek it through creative pursuits like music, art or literature. And if you want to bring down the groups who prey on the weak and vulnerable, deprive them of the people they seek. If there’s someone in your life who’s lonely, hurt or downtrodden, put some time aside for them and assure them they’re worthwhile. It might involve far more work than wearing a mask to demonstrations, but I think it’s more effective - and in the long run, more rewarding.
JF, 2008
WARNING!!! SCIENTOLOGY’S RONBOTS KILL
WARNING!!! SCIENTOLOGY’S RONBOTS DIVIDE AND DESTROY LOVE AND HOMES
Power Comes From Knowledge of The Enemy
Ronbot is a pejorative term for some or all fanatical followers of Scientology. The term is a pun on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s first name and the word robot.
The term Ronbot is meant to express the habit of Scientologists of being so programmed with the “Tech” that they can’t express their own viewpoints on life, because that has been suppressed and prohibited of them from doing so.
The fanatical Ronbot never doubts any thing he is told by staff, never investigates, never thinks beyond what he is told, never seeks to know more than he is permitted to know, never refuses to turn on his family, never reads what he is told not to read, never refuses to hurt the feelings of his family, never refuses to kill the love he had for his family, never refuses to go to your neighbors to spread lies about you, never doubts PTS or SP data, never seeks other ways to heal any symptom, never wonders why he is so fanatical and why? Never wonders why he hates SPs, never refuses to hurt, damage or harm an SP, never doubts he is superior to us, never refuses to obey his masters on staff, etc.
The fanatical Ronbots that guard the military bases and navy of Scientology are ordered to kill or shoot at any SP or ordinary intruder that comes near or invades their ships or bases, even if it is their own parents who go there to get them out. He is so robotic that the killing of his own parent will not produce the same mental effect that it would produce in us – if we killed our own father or mother, whose only crime was the hurt of disconnection ordered by the Anti-God cult.
Ex-scientologists view a fanatical anti-god Ronbot as a brainwashed Robot, since he can’t ever leave the Tech and express his own view points.
His reading material, his TV viewing and his interpersonal relationships and what he says and the way he talks, are closely monitored by other Ronbot Staff. If they discover that he went out with or talked with an SP and read material from Anti-cult websites, he is in deep trouble and must now face an ethics review.
He in fact does not have his own viewpoints, but just thinks so. His mind is so flooded with the Tech that to speak to, associate with, date or love a person who is classed as an SP is instant insanity (drastic down-tone slide) and he will be classed by the Anti-God Cult as a “risk” or PTS.
Remember this fact—that all true fanatical Ronbots have a weak mind and spirit, no matter their IQ or years of word clearing. They are actually very willing to be a slave of the Tech without question.
In the CULT OF SCIENTOLOGY YOU HAVE NO CONSTITUTION RIGHTS SUCH AS FREE SPEECH – you are told what to think, do and say. Your actions, your friends your relations, your books, and everything else you can think about is RESTRICTED to their approval.
In the CULT OF SCIENTOLOGY YOU HAVE NO CONSTITUTION RIGHTS OR CIVIL RIGHTS SUCH AS THE RIGHT TO MEDICAL CARE OF YOUR OWN CHOOSING — IF YOU ARE SICK IN ANY WAY. YOU ARE PROHIBITED BECAUSE YOU ARE CLASSED AS A PTS PERSON AND AS SUCH, YOU HAVE NO FREEDOMS.
YOU ARE NOT A FREE MAN OR WOMAN,ABLE to do as you please at home, read what you please at home, your home TV set has a little censorship lock on it placed there by the cult to keep you inline.
Even your thoughts and innermost secrets are investigated and if they are considered wrong or un-approved by your ETHICS OFFICER you are taken (scammed) for more money.
The fanatical Ronbot was told that “suppression is illness and illness is suppression”, therefore he thinks that all illnesses come only from suppression or a PTS condition.
Remember that Ronbots are told that “all illnesses to a greater or lesser degree are due to only a PTS condition”. Any illness or symptom makes a fanatical Ronbot turn on anyone he was near in the past 72 hours. He is programmed to believe that his Mother or Father now is a Monster called a“SP” or “Suppressive Person.
He is never given the facts on “symptom re-stimulations”. He is never told about it being a physiological reaction, he is never told that all symptoms and illnesses are physiological reactions and that some symptoms can be re-stimulated by stress and arguments. And those symptoms are never the same for all; because every one has different deficiencies and different levels of toxins in their body that will always bring out a different symptom each time he is argued with.
Remember this one fact that Scientology rejects—“symptoms are not illnesses!” But Ronbots are never taught the true causes of real illnesses, and are trained to despise their parents when they get a symptom of a real illness. Symptoms can be re-stimulated by many real causes of illnesses even by stress—which in the cult is accepted by the brain-washed ronbots as “suppression”.
Scientology NEVER teaches Ronbots that symptoms are really physiological reactions of all life on Earth.
A physiological reaction is an effect of some cause. The real causes of all illnesses produce the symptom.
They use this brain-washing about symptoms, in order to control them and make them hate whoever opposes the cult.
In his weak fanatical brain-washed mind, he can’t ever accept that legal and illegal drugs, chemicals, parasites, toxins, toxic plants, mutated foods, Nuked (irradiated) Foods, or poisonous animals or insects, poisons, viruses or bacteria or over acidity etc., are the only and true causes of illnesses in the world. His mind rejects these well known facts as SP propaganda.
When he faces you in the street—he can’t see you, he can only see what is programmed into his brain-washed head. To him, you are the SP monster who is no better than his SP father or SP mother he turned his back on and now hates and/or distrusts.
He is not free to think for himself–therefore he is a ronbot.
It is senseless to argue or fight with a Ronbot—he needs de-programming—he needs to be told he is a Robot and that he can’t pull the plug and reset his brain. Do not confront, argue or fight a Ronbot the old way – just pity him and dare him to talk with you about how Physiological Reactions are connected to study tech.
Dare him to have a friendly conversation with you—the more of a Ronbot he is – the more he will be afraid to go to ethics for daring to talk with an SP.
The fact that is easily proved is that he is really SCARED to have a friendly conversation with you – to him you are a suppressive person – to him you are a MONSTER – the kind of monster his cowardly mind could not face in his nightmares.
The Anti-God cult will threaten any person with total exposure of all their confessed sins and secrets, if you dare leave, EXPOSE or confront them. That is the weapon that controls ALL CELEBRITIES, PROFESSIONALS AND COWARDS. The weak have given up their soul and now find that their confessions of their own sins and deep dark secrets — will be made public knowledge.
In every confrontation with Ronbots, the programming that he has received will force him to ask for your crimes and sins and secrets. He sincerely believes that you are against the Cult, ONLY because you have committed horrible crimes, called by them: sins of omission and commission.
He expects you to be up-set, so just explain to him that he has sins and secrets too and that you would like to know his first, since he brought up the issue first. But don’t ask to hear them as a threat or condition to talk with him—if he refuses to give you his own sins and secrets—let it pass as long as he is willing to talk with you. Just get him to talk!!! Admit you have some sins, but dare to talk about his!!!
Warning!!! The Ronbot is trained to illegally set-you up as per SP policy and fair game rules and be able to call for the police to get you arrested. If he attacks you or looks like he will, turn your back and let him attack you when your back is turned. Put your hands in your pockets and never let them out. If you are going up against them, have the incident filmed and documented. He will viciously insult you and scream at you and even bump and push you with his stomach or chest to make you lose control and get arrested. When he bumps you – just fall down and call for the police, because he has just assaulted you and caused you to fall and hurt yourself. Fact is – that if your stomach pushed a cop, you would be arrested, right? Well, commercially – it is an assault!!! Do not argue with or insult a Ronbot, talk with him in a polite way even if he disgusts you. Arguments are commercial Controversies and make you lose the game. Get him to identify who he is and find out if he has property (House) or a website. He if is connected to any website that libels your actual name on it—he just made you rich. If he assaults you and you can prove it –he also made you very rich. Read the Uniform Commercial Code, commercial laws or common law remedies, Commercial Affidavit of Truth Method, notary acceptor and look up sovereignty UCC or anti-corruption websites to learn how to counter-attack them and take them for all they are worth.
After you study the UCC, hire a Private Investigator to find out who owns or runs the website. Write them thru a Notary third party witness and accept all their attacks on your name for value. That is the way to become a true RONBOTHUNTER. Thru the “Commercial Affidavit of Truth Method” — You can bring your common-law commercial suits against any Ronbot and the Cult itself, who is used by the Cult to harm you. Under the Constitution –You are the Law. You don’t need attorneys or judges or courts to file a UCC lien on them — once you PERFECT your UCC lien.
Know this for a fact. — His brain is not his anymore. He can’t be proactive and dare to talk with a person who he was told is a MONSTER. But if he dares to talk and you only ask questions and never argue with him. He will begin to doubt and you know what happens to him after he is in the Condition of Doubt.
He is as evolved as a snail-or he was one in another life. In this life, he consented to be a mind-slave. Just dare him to read and dare him to talk with any anti-cult person on a friendly basis for at least one hour—dare him to get to know you–by then after that hour he is now a damaged ronbot to the cult—he won’t be trusted and now he is on his way to freedom from control.
For you to defeat the Anti-God “Church” of Scientology you must expose these truths about how Ron discovered Study Technology.
Once you put this NEW DATA into his brain, he is now damaged goods and is no longer a Ronbot, but a suspected PTS person never to be trusted again by the Cult.
To save a RONBOT BRAIN you must deprogram it with NEW DATA.
“KNOW YOURSELF, AND KNOW YOUR ENEMY, AND IN A THOUSAND BATTLES YOU WILL NEVER BE IN PERIL” — SUN-TZU, THE ART OF WAR
Sincerely yours,
Ronbothunter
All Rights Reserved
Copyright Ronbothunter— All Rights Reserved, Without Prejudice UCC 1-308 & 1-103.6 including rights under the UCC and common law remedies. I reserve my right not to be compelled to perform under any contract or commercial agreement that I did not personally sign and enter knowingly, voluntarily and intentionally and especially if I was not given full disclosure. I do not accept the liability of the compelled benefit of any unrevealed contract or commercial agreement.