Ogsonofgroo
Crusader
Re: Bill Franks posting 2011
It'd be nice to see him doing one of the exit surveys, like EtherCat's or WWP's big list of thse who've spoken out, too.
One important theme in Bill's posting, is his admitted regret he couldn't help change the atmosphere in the movement, during his tenure, and that is an important point.
Scientology will eventually have to evolve to the point where the leaders who ARE on duty at the movement's top ranks, they DO soften and lighten up the totalitarianism in the movement.
It's inevitable, as time goes on, that whoever becomes the next round of leaders of Scientology, they'll have to continue to deal with the Hubbard instilled downsides.
This is a very important posting.
I hope Bill gets interviewed, I'd like to interview him and survey him on what he thinks would best help change the totalitarian "brainwashing" atmosphere which has gotten worse, per all accounts of the top people leaving the top ranks the last decade or two, witness the St. Pete Times interviews and articles, and now the New Yorker magazine article regarding Paul Haggis, since that New Yorker article nicely summarizes the last decade of controversies surrounding Scientology.
It'd be nice to get more recollections out of Bill, and out of the memories of others who lived through the tumultuous late 1970s up through Hubbard's death, where the final setup of Scientology top leadership evolved, and the various top players jockeyed to do their roles. Roles which Hubbard wrote for them to assume. (The transition from the old "Commodore's Staff Aides" and "Flag Bureaux" and "LRH Personal Office" setups, to the Int Headquarters setup with RTC, CMO Int, Exec Strata, and with Author Services Inc taking on some of the old "LRH Pers Office" duties, and additionally how CST evolved and grew based on Hubbard's long term ideas about "preserving" his tech for the LONG future, etc.) The history of Hubbard's final years, spelled out more in detail, with the limitations of the persons who assumed the roles LRH wrote for them, and the braindrain of the late 1970s through the mid part of the 1980s, is important to compare to the following decades of Scientology leadership. As rough and tumble as the late 1970s and up to the mid 1980s was, I'd argue that the leaders displayed more of the "good" aspects of Scientology policy, the then top people displayed more "good" in management tech I'd say, until they each left top management by the early 1980s, one by one.
Bill "mellowed" and bore his responsibilities as ED Int seriously and pretty judiciously, was my impression, when I remember his final time in the Sea Org.
Anyways, this is an important thread, and I hope somehow Bill's views can be made public on related points about his final years in the movement.
Bill ought to also be interviewed by Lawrence Wright, for Lawrence's upcoming book on Scientology.
I'm so glad Bill's had his thoughts posted.
It'd be nice to see him doing one of the exit surveys, like EtherCat's or WWP's big list of thse who've spoken out, too.