The "Church" of Scientology craves religious recognition.
Even while it is internally violent, highly abusive in conduct , engages is lock down of free speech by "contracts" has mind control programs internally, (prison camps of hard manual labor) ~~ it still demands and desires *ADMIRATION* as a benevolent *Humanitarian* organization.
One of the fraudulent bogus programs it engages in is "Volunteer Ministers" where new money is gouged to ship a few people to a place of catastrophe, to "minister" to the victims.
This video takes a look at this fluff and froth for promotional actions and photo ops.
Another wonderful video, Karen! This time you address a topic that has meaning for a "never-in" like me. One can find out quickly that Scientology's beliefs are strange, that David Miscavige is violent, that they abuse their tax-exempt status...but the ONE thing that probably makes us wogs think "well, look, they're not all bad, they're helping out at disasters" are these photo-op pics of Volunteer Ministers.
Karen explains the phony concept of "Volunteer Ministers" and the approach to actual disasters: get somebody (not the Church) like KAREN to fund the trips of people to the site; then pose for photo ops, like marching down a street in Haiti 3 days after the earthquakes with happy smiles, gold T-shirts, and a banner.
One thing that I suddenly noticed in these photos is that the T-Shirts are never dirty. They are always gleaming and neatly-pressed. Wouldn't people who were helping to dig victims from underneath rubble or, in Indonesia, uncover dead bodies and carry injured survivors to safety, look a little DIRTY? Photo-op mistake, David M! Next time issue filthy, blood-stained T-shirts to the VMS so they can at least pretend to be doing something!
Most of the photos show people bending solicitously over a survivor who is in a state of shock and touching him or her on the shoulder. Is that the famous "touch assist"? I hope they aren't also trying to pump huge doses of niacin down people...
It also made me wonder: if David Miscavige is just a simple eclesiastic with no bureaucratic responsibilties or connections, why isn't he out there WITH the Volunteer Ministers? What is he doing, this self-denying little country spiritual leader, that is more important than saving lives?
Karen also points out that, strangely, David Miscavige is never seen in photos with anyone of importance (except for his homoerotic motorcycle posturing with Tom Cruise and a probably heavily-bribed disgraced former LA sheriff.)
And the "pie" chart of the relationship of Scientology with all other religions...SKREEM! I'd think even Kool-Aid drunk Sea Org members would stop at that one and wonder. And they are improving the education of 43 MILLION children? No wonder those lies zoom by so fast whenever David M. does one of his Nuremberg-Rally-style presentations!
As I said, this Volunteer Minister business is the one part of the Scientology PR that probably warms the hearts of never-ins a bit. Thanks, thanks, Karen, for explaining it. Can someone give the URL of the report of the VM who was shocked at the pretensions?
Betsy


