Kha Khan
Patron Meritorious
Not surprisingly given the fact that this is an ex-Scientologist message board, most of us are ex-Scientologists. Which means at one time we were Scientologists. Almost always official, Church of Scientology (tm) Scientologists. And then we left.
I'm curious as to why we left.
More specifically, I'm curious regarding whether we left because of:
(1) What the Church did to us?
(2) What the Church did to others?
(3) What the Church did to both us and others?
Even more specifically, I'm curious regarding whether any of us left the Church only and solely because of what it was doing to other people.
And perhaps more interestingly (at least to me), did any of us leave the Church only and solely because of what it was doing to other people who did not fall within the category of our loved ones (e.g., spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, etc.).
Did any of us leave because others, excluding our loved ones, were being screwed, harmed, subjected to discrimination etc., despite the fact that we were then happy "winning?"
I ask because I sometimes believe I have read almost every bio and intro on this and other boards, going back to the heyday of ARS. They frequently, but perhaps not always, share a certain pattern. That pattern being, I was interested, happy, winning but then something was done to, or adversely affected, me. Historically, for some it was being at a screwed over Mission in the 1980s. Later, the debacle known as GAT. Bad auditing. Heavy regging. Abuse in the Sea Org. Something done to me. Perhaps, just perhaps, something done to a loved one.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, most traditional religions have taken an adverse view of homosexuality, but most tend to tone it down now, and other religions do not currently teach that gays are 1.1 covertly hostile perverts. I'm not comfortable with this, I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, we say that auditing is a religious practice, but we also say that anyone who has seen a psychiatrist and taken psychiatric medication is an "Illegal PC" and can't participate in this religious practice. I've known some "Illegal PCs" who have found this to be profoundly painful, depressing and invalidating. I'm not comfortable with this form of bigotry and discrimination. I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, we're taught that "psychs" are evil, and indeed historically the sole source of all evil in the world. DM is always ranting about "busting psychs." I think that is wrong. I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, July Smith was declared PTS because her father was critical of Scientology. She was ordered to "handle or disconnect," but for some unknown reason was unable or unwilling to do either. Now she has been declared, and we have been ordered to disconnect from her. I've never been that close to July, but she seemed to be a good enough person and she was really in a tough situation regarding her father. I've also seen parents ordered to disconnect from their children, children ordered to disconnect from their parents. Although it has never effected me, I think the disconnection policy is wrong. I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, the Reg, per policy, just browbeat elderly Ms. Smith to mortgage her home, run up her credit cards, and engage in a scheme where she guaranteed someone else's loan, and that person guaranteed her loans, and now she is bankrupt. But the Org's stats were up. It didn't effect me. (Or, as a staff member, I benefited, even if indirectly.) Still, I think that is wrong. I have to leave.
I ask because I recall the events where DM or someone else would rant about "psychs," and we would stand up and applaud. I recall the ED of LAF in the 90s who was taken off post, and nobody would talk to her. I recall seeing the reg cycles of others and thinking, "This is not going to end well."
Did any of us give a shit, much less leave, until it happened to us?
Just curious.
I'm curious as to why we left.
More specifically, I'm curious regarding whether we left because of:
(1) What the Church did to us?
(2) What the Church did to others?
(3) What the Church did to both us and others?
Even more specifically, I'm curious regarding whether any of us left the Church only and solely because of what it was doing to other people.
And perhaps more interestingly (at least to me), did any of us leave the Church only and solely because of what it was doing to other people who did not fall within the category of our loved ones (e.g., spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, etc.).
Did any of us leave because others, excluding our loved ones, were being screwed, harmed, subjected to discrimination etc., despite the fact that we were then happy "winning?"
I ask because I sometimes believe I have read almost every bio and intro on this and other boards, going back to the heyday of ARS. They frequently, but perhaps not always, share a certain pattern. That pattern being, I was interested, happy, winning but then something was done to, or adversely affected, me. Historically, for some it was being at a screwed over Mission in the 1980s. Later, the debacle known as GAT. Bad auditing. Heavy regging. Abuse in the Sea Org. Something done to me. Perhaps, just perhaps, something done to a loved one.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, most traditional religions have taken an adverse view of homosexuality, but most tend to tone it down now, and other religions do not currently teach that gays are 1.1 covertly hostile perverts. I'm not comfortable with this, I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, we say that auditing is a religious practice, but we also say that anyone who has seen a psychiatrist and taken psychiatric medication is an "Illegal PC" and can't participate in this religious practice. I've known some "Illegal PCs" who have found this to be profoundly painful, depressing and invalidating. I'm not comfortable with this form of bigotry and discrimination. I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, we're taught that "psychs" are evil, and indeed historically the sole source of all evil in the world. DM is always ranting about "busting psychs." I think that is wrong. I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, July Smith was declared PTS because her father was critical of Scientology. She was ordered to "handle or disconnect," but for some unknown reason was unable or unwilling to do either. Now she has been declared, and we have been ordered to disconnect from her. I've never been that close to July, but she seemed to be a good enough person and she was really in a tough situation regarding her father. I've also seen parents ordered to disconnect from their children, children ordered to disconnect from their parents. Although it has never effected me, I think the disconnection policy is wrong. I have to leave.
Was anyone winning, happy, going up the Bridge, but said to oneself, "You know, the Reg, per policy, just browbeat elderly Ms. Smith to mortgage her home, run up her credit cards, and engage in a scheme where she guaranteed someone else's loan, and that person guaranteed her loans, and now she is bankrupt. But the Org's stats were up. It didn't effect me. (Or, as a staff member, I benefited, even if indirectly.) Still, I think that is wrong. I have to leave.
I ask because I recall the events where DM or someone else would rant about "psychs," and we would stand up and applaud. I recall the ED of LAF in the 90s who was taken off post, and nobody would talk to her. I recall seeing the reg cycles of others and thinking, "This is not going to end well."
Did any of us give a shit, much less leave, until it happened to us?
Just curious.