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My short time in Scientology

SanDiegoMember

Howard Dickman
Looking back now I feel that the zenith of Scientology, as an organization, occurred in the 70's. Now that I have made it to the age of 60, I decided to document what life was like as a staff member of a Class IV Org. We were not a Sea Org Org, but we were very close to Los Angeles, where a lot of major Scientology activity occurred.

My story chronicles my time from August 1972 to December 1977. Along the way I spent time on the DPF and the RPF on the Sea Org ship the Excalibur. I have over 132 documents in my article. I have posted never before seen pictures of Quentin and Suzette Hubbard.

This is simply my story as I lived it. If you like, it is posted here - http://scientolipedia.org/info/Howard_Dickman

Thanks;

Howard Dickman
 
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Ogsonofgroo

Crusader
1111111.gif


Hi, so nice you decided to speak out! Would you consider adding your name to 'The big List'? I'll cross-post this to the keeperz @ WWP fwiw.

:cheers:

Hope yer life is going well nao.

edit-derp> you've been here for a while, what prompted you to talk some more?
 

TG1

Angelic Poster
Uh, Howard ... unless you have your ex-wife's explicit permission to publish online that birth photo of your first son, you should seriously rethink including it there.

Really.

I mean it.

TG1
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
Uh, Howard ... unless you have your ex-wife's explicit permission to publish online that birth photo of your first son, you should seriously rethink including it there.

Really.

I mean it.

TG1

Or at least crop it so it's just your son. That's an unflattering pic of your ex-wife.
 

Infinite

Troublesome Internet Fringe Dweller
..

Interesting story, amazing names-dates-locations detail, and, best of all for me, some lovely, delicious DOX. YES PLEASE!!!111!!! - if you do ever find FO3434-1 post it everywhere. Any chance of some more details on the FBI raid and the Bob Moretti story?

At the risk of appearing impertinent, I would point out there's a couple of minor typos but this one just jumped out at me and you might want to fix or clarify it . . .

. . . Seven of our female staff made up our cheerleader section. We won by a score of nine to three. As a prize for loosing, the ED of the Mission, Larry Papike, had to don a flasher suit, gladly offered by our ED, Tom Mallan. Tom issued ED #241 and #242 as a report about the baseball game. Tom had written the cheers for the game, but the girls all decided on one of their own. During half time they all lined up in the infield and performed the cheer. At the very end, each one bent over and uncovered the large letters written on their undergarments - "JUMP ON IT". Eight cheerleaders, each with an individual letter; which is what Marilyn is referring to in ED #242 . . .

. . . perhaps it was the mascot which carried the eighth letter?? I'm being picky, I know, but if I didn't think the story was worthy of a little "tightening up", I wouldn't have said anything. Also, pics of the cheer leader incident or it never happened ; )
 

SanDiegoMember

Howard Dickman
Obviously my story needed/needs a bit more editing. I hurried its release due to the fact that Suzette's picture had already been found by Google search engines.

My ex wife was killed in a motorcycle accident 3 months after our divorce. We remained friends after our divorce and I was the one who had to go to the nurses station and tell them to turn off her life support as no one else in her family could do that awful task.

I decided to include the picture of our sons first 20 minutes of life as it shows a staff member in good standing next to a blown staff member.

I changed the line of my divorce with her as that was not a thoughtful way of putting out that info.

As I was just an RPF member when we were helping with Moretti's campaign I was only able to report the facts as I knew them. I really did not like being there and tried my best to keep from going.

The pictures of our cheerleaders doing that last cheer during a break will not be posted. I just wanted to clear up what Marilyn was referring to in that ED. It was a funny event at the time.

In the next few weeks I will have one more important addition to my story. It's going to take some time to prepare this piece for publication. As I said I hurried the release of my story.

So far on David's site I have built pages for Ships of the Sea Org, which included the US Navy history of the Excalibur, Yvonne's bio, my RPF story and now this. Each one has been well documented so that a balanced view of Scientology may be seen for years to come. While David's site is pro Scientology he has been very willing for me to present the good, the bad and the ugly about the Church.

Thanks for all your comments.
 

dchoiceisalwaysrs

Gold Meritorious Patron
I think that might be in the Celebrity flower bed, just to the front right of the Bone white Ford? IRC Yvonne's office was just inside to the left of that 'inner' corner.

There certainly was some electric Koolaid going around inside that lobby and I was certain around May 74 that Heber had drunk far too much.

Is that close enough?

Yes, but have you got any juicy dirt?
 
I think that might be in the Celebrity flower bed, just to the front right of the Bone white Ford? IRC Yvonne's office was just inside to the left of that 'inner' corner.

There certainly was some electric Koolaid going around inside that lobby and I was certain around May 74 that Heber had drunk far too much.

Is that close enough?

Ummm...No. Have you got some more commendations to compensate?
 

CO2

Patron Meritorious
I decided to include the picture of our sons first 20 minutes of life as it shows a staff member in good standing next to a blown staff member.


As I was just an RPF member when we were helping with Moretti's campaign I was only able to report the facts as I knew them. I really did not like being there and tried my best to keep from going.

.


I thought the picture of your wife and son was amazingly charming.

Not that it's important, but a child of Bob Moretti's worked for my wife. One day we were talking and I mentioned a friend of mine, Geoff Levin, had shared a bed with Linda Ronstadt at a Capitol Records convention. Just sleeping. No hanky lanky. She came back with, a friend of her dad's, Jerry B (then governor of the state, was currently sleeping with Linda.
 

lkwdblds

Crusader
Very interesting story Howard! You've really got all the dates, name, places, Flag Orders, etc totally sorted out. Even though San Diego is only about 100 miles from L.A., I didn't know even one person from the staff of the San Diego Org. One name I did remember was that of the CCLA entertainer who came down to entertain for San Diego and that is Marilyn Ellis. I forgot all about her but she made a big impression on me back in the early 70's. She was quite attractive with blonde hair, blue eyes and she had very curly hair and she was petite and soft spoken. The word "demure" comes to mind when thinking about her. As I recall, she sang ballads and and country music. I don't think the was around CC more than a few months.

As regard your routing out legally, well done on that but I have a question. While it's true that you completed your 5 year contract, you certainly didn't complete your 2 one billion year contracts. Didn't those count for anything when it came to deciding whether you were blowing or routing out per policy?

I agree that the 70's was the period when it looked like Scientology was growing the most rapidly. It had a predictable structure and a concerted effort was always used to apply policy. The maxim, "If it's not written it's not true" was applied then and as you say there were a lot of terrific and well meaning people around as well. The Flag Land Base got started in the 70's and NOTs came into existance in the late 70's. Even Super Power was formulated then. I think COS got larger in the 80's because they were pushing NOTS but along with all the expansion going on, the dismantling of the Mission Network took place and that really knocked out the era of fast growth. Probably that single event did the most to reduce the size and scope of COS and for that reason, SCN greatest growth took place in the 70's and not the 80's.
Lakey
 
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Auditor's Toad

Clear as Mud
<snip> .... the dismantling of the Mission Network took place and that really knocked out the era of fast growth. Probably that single event did the most to reduce the size and scope of COS and for that reason, SCN greatest growth took place in the 70's and not the 80's.
Lakey

No doubt the destruction of the mission network was epicly stupid & stunted the cults growth.

I'd also suggest that little thingie called the internet played an immense role in exposing scn as a money grubbing little cult & making the horror stories ( aka : the Truth ) much more widely known.

Nor, with a straight face, can one deny that anonymous mounted protests that - shall we say - really raised public awareness of that little cult called scn.

Then we have WWP, etc and this fine forum, ESMB

There is no single reason for the fall of scn, except, perhaps, the old boy hisself : L Rob'em Hubturd.

The good part ? Living long enough to be able to watch scn fail...... & fall

Good stuff !
 
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SanDiegoMember

Howard Dickman
Very interesting story Howard! You've really got all the dates, name, places, Flag Orders, etc totally sorted out. Even though San Diego is only about 100 miles from L.A., I didn't know even one person from the staff of the San Diego Org. One name I did remember was that of the CCLA entertainer who came down to entertain for San Diego and that is Marilyn Ellis. I forgot all about her but she made a big impression on me back in the early 70's. She was quite attractive with blonde hair, blue eyes and she had very curly hair and she was petite and soft spoken. The word "demure" comes to mind when thinking about her. As I recall, she sang ballads and and country music. I don't think the was around CC more than a few months.

As regard your routing out legally, well done on that but I have a question. While it's true that you completed your 5 year contract, you certainly didn't complete your 2 one billion year contracts. Didn't those count for anything when it came to deciding whether you were blowing or routing out per policy?

I agree that the 70's was the period when it looked like Scientology was growing the most rapidly. It had a predictable structure and a concerted effort was always used to apply policy. The maxim, "If it's not written it's not true" was applied then and as you say there were a lot of terrific and well meaning people around as well. The Flag Land Base got started in the 70's and NOTs came into existance in the late 70's. Even Super Power was formulated then. I think COS got larger in the 80's because they were pushing NOTS but along with all the expansion going on, the dismantling of the Mission Network took place and that really knocked out the era of fast growth. Probably that single event did the most to reduce the size and scope of COS and for that reason, SCN greatest growth took place in the 70's and not the 80's.
Lakey

Thanks Lakey, I never thought about my Sea Org contracts. I might not be able to sleep now that you have told me I might have blown, what will the neighbors think!

As the Excalibur was a training ship I always assumed that the San Diego Org was billed for my stay there. Of course our ED, Tom Mallan, was good at doing things other ED's could not get away with. Now that I think of it, I don't think any other Class IV Sea Org Org sent anyone to the RPF I was on. Tom sent several of our staff there. As I was San Diego staff when I was on the Excal both times, I wonder if I actually did start my Sea Org contract. If so then I only have 1,999,999,999 years left! Interesting view point, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

If anyone calls me from the Sea Org and wants me I'll just have to tell them I'm over 60 years old now, used up, catch me next lifetime! :)
 
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lkwdblds

Crusader
Thanks Lakey, I never thought about my Sea Org contracts. I might not be able to sleep now that you have told me I might have blown, what will the neighbors think!

As the Excalibur was a training ship I always assumed that the San Diego Org was billed for my stay there. Of course our ED, Tom Mallan, was good at doing things other ED's could not get away with. Now that I think of it, I don't think any other Class IV Sea Org Org sent anyone to the RPF I was on. Tom sent several of our staff there. As I was San Diego staff when I was on the Excal both times, I wonder if I actually did start my Sea Org contract. If so then I only have 1,999,999,999 years left! Interesting view point, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

If anyone calls me from the Sea Org and wants me I'll just have to tell them I'm over 60 years old now, used up, catch me next lifetime! :)

Don't despair about the length of you remaining contract Howard. Don't forget, we were promised 3 weeks annual vacation as S.O. members back in the 70's. With a 2 billion year contract, you are entitled to 2 billion three week vacations! That's 6 billion weeks of vacation which you have coming and if I've done the math correctly that gives you about 115 and 1/3 million years of vacation time. If they call you back in just tell them that you are using up some of your vacation time before you return. That will be real to them; you know the S.O. motto, "revenemjus" which is Latin for "We return." Confidentially, they don't really allow those vacations anymore so taking them in advance, you won't lose anything, in fact, it's probably the only way you will ever get a vacatio!.
Lakey
 

dchoiceisalwaysrs

Gold Meritorious Patron
Ummm...No. Have you got some more commendations to compensate?

I guess I gave the wrong impression. I wasn't trying to commend Heber.

I only met and listened to Heber in a one on one 'conversation' in the lobby of the CC one evening as I was training as a FR.

He was standing there with guitar in hand, and I don't remember any of the details of our conversation except that after a few minutes of mostly him talking I just wanted to get away from this person whose espoused thought patterns seemed utterly confused. I saw the 'seed' of that again decades later when I came across a youtube video with him and Cooley in a BBC? interview. I have learnt that a lot of people like him. So be it. I am just laying the cards on the table as I remember them. It is not like he and I had multiple interactions over any duration. Who knows, maybe he was just practicing a comedy skit on me, it was after all a Celebrity Center.

Anyhow, this is Howard's thread about his time in Scientology in the 70's and I am bit reticent to divert it too much other than to give a snippet of my recollection of the times and characters. :cheers:
....

:omg: now I have Tom Cruise and his infamous viral youtube video as a sequel.....arghhhhhh LOL
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
No doubt the destruction of the mission network was epicly stupid & stunted the cults growth.

I'd also suggest that little thingie called the internet played an immense role in exposing scn as a money grubbing little cult & making the horror stories ( aka : the Truth ) much more widely known.

Nor, with a straight face, can one deny that anonymous mounted protests that - shall we say - really raised public awareness of that little cult called scn.

Then we have WWP, etc and this fine forum, ESMB

There is no single reason for the fall of scn, except, perhaps, the old boy hisself : L Rob'em Hubturd.

The good part ? Living long enough to be able to watch scn fail...... & fall

Good stuff !

Hubbards approach to dealing with critics was to employ his big guns (GO + lawyers) to thoroughly destroy them. This worked well with big targets like newspaper editors and publishers. Didn't work so well with thousands of little critics. A gun which will stop a tiger will not save you from a swarm of hornets.

Or, the Internet critic is like the Shaolin priest in the old "Kung Fu" series: "Listen for him, he cannot be heard; look for him, he cannot be seen; reach for him, he cannot be touched".

"Listen for him, he cannot be heard": On the internet, you can communicate with others without Scn knowing.

"Look for him, he cannot be seen": It's fairly easy for a critic to preserve his anonymity on the internet.

"Reach for him, he cannot be touched": If you do find a critic, he will often be a student with no assets to sue.
 

Cat's Squirrel

Gold Meritorious Patron
Hubbards approach to dealing with critics was to employ his big guns (GO + lawyers) to thoroughly destroy them. This worked well with big targets like newspaper editors and publishers. Didn't work so well with thousands of little critics. A gun which will stop a tiger will not save you from a swarm of hornets.

Or, the Internet critic is like the Shaolin priest in the old "Kung Fu" series: "Listen for him, he cannot be heard; look for him, he cannot be seen; reach for him, he cannot be touched".

"Listen for him, he cannot be heard": On the internet, you can communicate with others without Scn knowing.

"Look for him, he cannot be seen": It's fairly easy for a critic to preserve his anonymity on the internet.

"Reach for him, he cannot be touched": If you do find a critic, he will often be a student with no assets to sue.

That's true, and the other thing is that if your policy is "Always attack, never defend", and your attack then fails, you're left with no defence whatsoever.
 

lkwdblds

Crusader
That's true, and the other thing is that if your policy is "Always attack, never defend", and your attack then fails, you're left with no defence whatsoever.

When Scientology loses. or the outcome is a mixed result, I've noticed that they seem to shift gears with their opponents and offer a cash settlement in exchange for a gag order where the semi victorious opponent is paid to go away and never talk about Scientology again.

Everytime I read about one of these settlements, it brings to mind LRH's Policy Letter, "What Your Fees Buy". In that policy he does mention legal defense but other activities are placed ahead of that on his list. He emphasizes the costs of research and development of the subject as major cost factors. Actually, it turns out that he did not really engage in much research and engaged in very minimal development.

Most research stemmed from looking around in his own case or perhaps Nib's case. Whatever he came up with, was then taken as Gospel or more accurately made into the COS's Gospel. Development consisted of running a few pilot programs on small groups of auditor's, mostly S.O. auditors after the S.O. was born. Today's COS isn't supposed to do any research since Hubbard is supposed to have already completed all the research. Also, COS's land, buildings, and building furnishings are all paid for by their public and then COS takes title and gains further money through selling it's old buildings and renting their new buildings back to those who paid for them in the first place.

The question then arises, if "What Your Fees Buy" was reissued today, what would it say? I see only about 4 things that their fees buy as follows: DM's salary and fringe benefits (such as his jet plane), promotion, translations of materials into more languages and then the largest item by far which is Legal Fees. As for these Legal Fees, they are used to defend but perhaps the larger share of legal fees are used to attack, while another huge amount is set aside for gag orders and payouts.

Another curiousity is that none of these items, withe exception of promotion and translations, have any known stats connected with them. How much is spent in legal fees, how much is spent on defending law suits, how much is spent on originating law suits, how much is spent for settlements and gag orders. My guess is that these are the major activities of COS, these are "What Your Fees Buy" and the irony is that these, the largest expenses in COS, are the only activities in the entire organization which do not have stats connected with them!
Lakey
 
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