Boston - Part 2

[myrklix]

To think I've slept in most of those rooms.

Alone or not?

 

[NoIdea]

Alone or not?

that's between me and HCO.

 

[Boojuum]

SGoodwin (aka "badlose") after 40 years of training finally made it to Estates Manager! I suspect he's much happier at that post than the others he was coerced into. He has a wonderful sense of humor and what most of us didn't know is that he's a very good artist.

 

[NoIdea]

Steve seemed like a good enough guy, but damn, so serious. Never saw him really smile much. Maybe a quick smirk now and again. Interesting that you call out his sense of humor, as it's the opposite that stands out for me. You probably knew him better than I did though.

 

[Boojuum]

Oh yeah, the "serious" nature of Scientology. This, to me, was the death of the COS. I can mostly forgive the lying, the money grubbing, the over-selling, the slave-like conditions and empty promises to turn you into a superior person. When the upper management guys got "serious" and demanded crazy stats with crazy penalties, the whole place fell to shit. In order to survive as a staff member, you HAD to get serious or you'd spend a lot of time doing amends to rid you of your "theetie-wheetie", PTS-to-the-middle-class attitude. Steve, like most of the folks who managed to stay in, was only trying to survive given the parameters of the game.

Perhaps it's a greater sin to pretend that the commitment and game of Scientology isn't "deadly serious". If one smiles and jokes while asking you to forgo a decent career is that better?

 

[myrklix]

<snip>... I can mostly forgive the lying, the money grubbing, the over-selling, the slave-like conditions and empty promises to turn you into a superior person. When the upper management guys got "serious" and demanded crazy stats with crazy penalties, the whole place fell to shit...<snip>

For me this nails the difference between staff (you) and public (me). For me, as a public only, it was all that you are mostly forgiving that drove me away. That's because I never had to endure what you staff members had to. Again, just a comparison I'm making here. I'm grateful I was somehow able to deflect all the high pressure to join staff and even SO.

 

[bambino]

Fizzle Wizzle Bum Crum

 

[Type4_PTS]

@bambino How much do the staff at Boston Org get paid now (on the average)?

 

[Type4_PTS]

For me this nails the difference between staff (you) and public (me). For me, as a public only, it was all that you are mostly forgiving that drove me away.

I don't know that Boojuum's response would be typical of former staff members or not. But for myself, I absolutely do NOT forgive the lying, the money grubbing, the over-selling, the slave-like conditions and empty promises to turn you into a superior person.

The over-selling of Scientology in my view amounts to fraud and should be criminally prosecuted as such.

 

[JackStraw]

I don't know that Boojuum's response would be typical of former staff members or not. But for myself, I absolutely do NOT forgive the lying, the money grubbing, the over-selling, the slave-like conditions and empty promises to turn you into a superior person.

The over-selling of Scientology in my view amounts to fraud and should be criminally prosecuted as such.

I was both (staff & public) and I'm on your side.

Jack

 

[bambino]

@bambino How much do the staff at Boston Org get paid now (on the average)?

$100/week.

 

[Type4_PTS]

$100/week.

That's much better than what I was averaging during the 80's. But still probably it's not so easy to survive in Boston on $100.00/week.

 

[myrklix]

$100/week?!?! How many staff get this much? Also, don't execs get more?
What I'm really curious about is what amount of gross income that is required to support this level of staff pay.
And, is this income resulting primarily from new public or old public & staff re-doing whatever levels & auditing for the nth time?
I'd be surprised to get a full answer but anything would be appreciated.

 

[NoIdea]

In the 80s/90s, $30 a week was ok. $60 was a good week and $100 was like let's go party. So with inflation, yeah, about the same. For scale, an intensive was like $4k back then, full price. But most people would sign up for a training course they'd never actually attend so they could get "pro rate" $2k intensives. Or if you bought a bunch of intensives at once, you'd get a discount. What's the full rate cost of an intensive now?

 

[NoIdea]

$100/week?!?! How many staff get this much? Also, don't execs get more?
What I'm really curious about is what amount of gross income that is required to support this level of staff pay.
And, is this income resulting primarily from new public or old public & staff re-doing whatever levels & auditing for the nth time?
I'd be surprised to get a full answer but anything would be appreciated.

As I recall, staff pay was supposed to be 15% of the gross income, weekly. So if you have say, 20 staff at $100. That's $2k in pay, making the GI around $13k.

Of course, staff pay wasn't always 15%. If there were other more pressing bills and not enough income, we'd get whatever was left over. If anything.

 

[Boojuum]

Checking back in after a breather.

Staff pay in the late 70's early 80's that I experienced were in the 4$ - 10$ range. Occasionally, you'd see a 25$ or even $60 check but you'd starve on staff pay. Some of the execs tried to live on staff pay and they seemed to survive somehow but then again I recall the LRH Comm working as a busboy at TGIF. I'm stunned that you say the orgs are paying $100 a week, but I don't know where the org is or how many are on staff. There were many, many weeks when the pay was less than $3. Frequently, I'd go to the Crossroads Restaurant, share a pizza with my weekly pay and return to the org broke.

I was told that in the early and mid 70's the auditors got $50 a week as long as they got their 50 WDAH in. That must have been in the glory days when the command team Gleason, Light, Sibersky, Easman were there.

Forgiveness: I can pretty much forgive the people who acted horribly. The folks who defrauded us of our lives and incomes and careers and nest eggs acted despicably. I was one of them. The people who were abusive and mendacious had been convinced that "the tech worked" over and over and over. Being caught up in a belief system isn't a crime. Look at the some other religions. I don't forgive the COS. I was tricked by someone who knew a lot more about convincing people into action and servitude than I did. Once someone catches on that it's a con, that person can run his own atonement process without my supervision. I've got my hands full with my own.

 

[NoIdea]

Crossroads was living high. When I was first in the in the early 80's there was a cafeteria kind of place on the corner of Newbury and Mass Ave. You could get a good breakfast there for $2. Ate there many a time after working all night. Later, many meals consisted of a 50 cent tub of macaroni salad from Quality Mart. Oh, and those frozen burritos, you could get 2 for a dollar. Creative non-starvation.

 

[Boojuum]

Crossroads was living high. When I was first in the in the early 80's there was a cafeteria kind of place on the corner of Newbury and Mass Ave. You could get a good breakfast there for $2. Ate there many a time after working all night. Later, many meals consisted of a 50 cent tub of macaroni salad from Quality Mart. Oh, and those frozen burritos, you could get 2 for a dollar. Creative non-starvation.

Being broke, the real scientology staff story. There were around 40 people each on Bsn Day and Fdn. If the average pay was $200 each/wk then you'd need 80X200 or 16000 to cover that. Amazingly, if the other expenses for promo, phone, SO ripoff fees and mortgage were reasonable the place could have thrived. 16000 would have been a low week. But no. LRH had to play his crazy games of enslaving staff in order to rule the world. Crazy money games kept the org staff broke. Needlessly. Nutty promo (or sound systems or movies) that didn't bring anyone in was the order of the day. Silly managers were put in place to oversee the overseeing of the overseers. So much waste. The waste was amplified since one was required to robotically follow lousy policy. We were brain dead to ignore to massive idiocy we lived in every day.

The greatest tech in a million years and we're catering to a dozen public. Me, thinking this would be a good career. Oy.

 

[Enthetan]

Checking back in after a breather.

Staff pay in the late 70's early 80's that I experienced were in the 4$ - 10$ range. Occasionally, you'd see a 25$ or even $60 check but you'd starve on staff pay. Some of the execs tried to live on staff pay and they seemed to survive somehow but then again I recall the LRH Comm working as a busboy at TGIF. I'm stunned that you say the orgs are paying $100 a week, but I don't know where the org is or how many are on staff. There were many, many weeks when the pay was less than $3. Frequently, I'd go to the Crossroads Restaurant, share a pizza with my weekly pay and return to the org broke.

I was told that in the early and mid 70's the auditors got $50 a week as long as they got their 50 WDAH in. That must have been in the glory days when the command team Gleason, Light, Sibersky, Easman were there.

Forgiveness: I can pretty much forgive the people who acted horribly. The folks who defrauded us of our lives and incomes and careers and nest eggs acted despicably. I was one of them. The people who were abusive and mendacious had been convinced that "the tech worked" over and over and over. Being caught up in a belief system isn't a crime. Look at the some other religions. I don't forgive the COS. I was tricked by someone who knew a lot more about convincing people into action and servitude than I did. Once someone catches on that it's a con, that person can run his own atonement process without my supervision. I've got my hands full with my own.

Staff pay around that time was about the same for me. Many weeks, I didn't bother to pick it up. I worked a full time job during the day, and worked foundation evenings and weekends. After a year I was totally burned out, but I was solvent.

 

[myrklix]

I imagine the Boston (Quincy?) org must be booming with new public now that Scn. TV has been on air for a few weeks already. @bambino, when you have a moment to catch your breath, please catch us up. Thanks!