"Is a new TV series on Scientology disconnection being suppressed?"
Suppressed? By whom? This sounds conspiratorial to me.
Networks do not have to tell anyone what they will or will not air. It is purely a business decision based on a number of factors, one of which is will it make money. Can they sell advertising for it.
Phil: "I don't want to be muzzled by not being able to speak out."
What exactly does that mean? Muzzled by whom? Did he sign an NDA with the network about the show?
Bad mouthing A&E is really a poor idea. He needs to stop only thinking about himself and consider the larger picture.
The title of this thread, and the question asked, were and are mine. I asked the question because it is a reasonable one under the circumstances.
There is no evidence that the TV show in question is on A&E, much less that Phil is "bad mouthing" A&E.
The admonition that Phil "needs to stop only thinking about himself and consider the larger picture" is unwarranted, ludicrous and quite frankly insulting. He is thinking about his family.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike in 1,186 days.
Moreover, Phil is thinking about not only his family, but about ALL disconnected families. Phil has ALWAYS thought not only about himself, and has ALWAYS considered the larger picture. As
Tony Ortega reported after the first Los Angeles Stop Scientology Disconnection Billboard went up:
* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *
But as they were preparing to make the long drive to Florida last week, Phil contacted us with some pretty startling news.
“Emily called,” he told us.
This took place after Emily had written a
harsh letter to the Tampa Bay Times, accusing her parents of being deadbeats who were trying to use their opposition to the church in order to make money. Phil denied those allegations, and Willie
gave us a response to her daughter for us to publish. And then, on Friday, they heard from Emily herself, the first phone call they had received from her in several years.
“I was shocked and happy at the same time. Scientology must be getting way nervous about what we are doing if they’ve gone to this extent. Anyway, she called and was calm at first, starting off with ‘Hi, this is Emily’,” Phil says.
“She said that if we wanted to have a relationship with her and Michael again I’d need to do three things. One was to stop the billboard in Clearwater from going up. The second was to back out of the television series that we’re going to appear in. And three was to never criticize Scientology or them ever again.”
Phil tells us he told his daughter that he was willing to do those things — but only if Scientology canceled its disconnection policy against all families, and not just their own.
“She said this was just between her and me. I told her no…I could never abandon all of those others who are suffering from Scientology’s disconnection,” Phil says. “It went back and forth like that for a while as she got a bit more heated. I tried to calm her down but in the end she hung up on me.
“As much as we love our kids and want them back, how would I be able to face anyone if I was that selfish as to agree to those terms and leave everyone else behind?” he says. “It was so nice to hear Emily’s voice. It’s been a few years. Sadly, it may be a few more at this point.”
We asked Willie for her thoughts, and she sent us this message…
Wow, a surprise call from Emily! It was a bag of mixed emotions for both of us. On the one hand it was so nice to hear from her, and on the other it went exactly as expected. It was one sided. I have watched this type of interaction play out in the past. Attack, do not defend, lay out the demands and expect compliance. It makes me sad for her because I know this is not who she is but what has become expected of her. Her survival in the organization depends on 100 percent compliance.
What Emily does not realize yet is that when Phil said he would agree to all three demands if disconnection was abolished for all, he was attempting not only to make her life better but for all Scientologists. The church has a stake in keeping disconnection alive because it is the greatest control mechanism they have. If only they could understand that this is what is doing them in.
After the call we cried and held on to each other. It is a highly emotional subject. Maybe some day instead of seeing us as the enemy, they will understand we never gave up on them.
* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
Does that sound like someone who is thinking only about himself?