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Scientology in 2012: Mark Bunker and Mike Rinder Give Us a Preview of Enturbulation To Come
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The new year has already started with a bombshell, but we wanted to get a longer view of how 2012 might turn out for Scientology watching. So we asked a couple of far-seeing church observers to give us their thoughts.
We have some fascinating prognostication from Mark Bunker, whose film Knowledge Report should be coming out this year. And from Mike Rinder, the former church spokesman with some thoughts on what sort of a year Scientology leader David Miscavige may experience. (And as a bonus, Bunker sent over the clip you see here of Rinder from the upcoming documentary!)
We asked Bunker for his 2012 plans, and Wise Beard Man was kind enough to send this reply...
I'm so looking forward to people getting a chance to see Knowledge Report. I expect to start showing a rough cut to people in the spring. I'd like to get some feedback from friends before taking it out for some test screenings but the main city I can't wait to show it in is Clearwater. So far online, I've been showing brief snippets from the raw interviews. Just a few minutes ago, I rounded them up and put them on a page at XENU TV.
There you can also see me being introduced to a crowd of independent Scientologists at a Free Zone convention in early December. I can hear the nervousness in my voice. I wasn't quite sure how they would react to me but it went well and I had an interesting time. I have never been audited on an e-meter before so I asked for a sample session which was taped for the movie. It will help me explain what the whole process is like. I've read a few comments from people who seem to think I'm about to attest to clear and soar up the bridge to OT VIII. That's not the case.
I still have filming to do on movie. There are some key interviews left to do. I'm waiting to hear back from David Miscavige. I have my fingers crossed. He hasn't done an on-camera interview since he spoke to Ted Koppel on Nightline back in 1992. I bet he's itching to talk to me. Here's part of what I wrote to him which can now be considered
an open letter:
Full article... http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/01/scientology_in_2.php
Comments
Vistaril 8 hours ago
At its core, Scientology is an on-going organised criminal conspiracy to defraud and has been since the day L Ron Hubbard said he used Dianetics to cure war injuries. Pretty much every thing that it has done since that day has been to protect the fraud from discovery, to silence those who know about it, and to ensure it continues. Accordingly, there are two absolutes when it comes to Scientology: it is never as it first appears to be and it is always worse than you think. This means its very difficult to make an accurate prediction as to what it is up to and what is likely to happen. My predictions are based on two assumptions: that there is indeed an FBI/IRS investigation underway (even though we only have the word of known liars that it is), and, Scientology management is aware that its existing model is no longer sustainable:
- David Miscavige will continue to call the shots in 2012 before eventually disappearing, most likely into a deep, unmarked grave or, if he's lucky, into a country without an extradition treaty with the United States
- several senior executives likely to be facing charges (hi Debbie) are going to begin speaking out in an effort to mitigate their crimes and so as to appear to have only recently found out about the situation and taken action to do something about bringing them to an end
- the existing structure of Scientology will splinter from a centrally-controlled monolith and begin a transition into a franchise operation with management taking a service role providing international and national promotion, government relations, data storage, supply-warehouse, internal and external security, property-management, inter-franchise dispute resolution, and guardianship of the original scriptures, etcetera, leaving the franchises (or "Missions) to get on with "delivery" of "services" to "parishioners"
- there will be a huge PR effort to polish the image of L Ron Hubbard, and to make it clear that Scientology has realised its mistakes, dealt with those few "bad apples" who were responsible, is suitably contrite, and promises to never do it again. Google details of the previous transition from the Guardians Office to Office of Special Affairs for the template
- the public will not be fooled
MarkStark 5 hours ago
If not Hubbard or Miscavige, who is the BEST example of a $cientologist? And why? How can you be "on Source" when the Source was all over the place? The Source wasn't on Source. Who is the best example for a believing cult member?
Tom Cruise? Hy Levy? Marty Rathbun? Mike Rinder? Marty Rathbun's wife Mosey?
I would say Tom Cruise. He's super wealthy, extremely successful, lives in a bubble, doesn't allow SPs near him, and he's not all that bright, and lacks a good education. See his video for the rest of why he is the best example of a $cientologist. He believes he's the only one who can help, and that you are in or you're out. If you are out, well, then you are out of the light for the next trillion years. You are a clueless wog. That's what $cientologists believe.
Tom Cruise is also the BEST example, because he doesn't have to sell $cientology every waking moment, as do Sea Org members.
Cruise also lies naturally, as a consequence of being a $cientologist, unlike Rinder, who was brought up in it, trained and paid to lie professionally, as well as being forced into it by being the spokesliar for the cult.
A $cientologist might say I'm missing the point, that the beauty of $cientology is, that it is what is true for you and helps an individual find that truth. It's more like trying to get up stairs drawn by Escher.
Maybe the REAL $cientologist is the one like Paul Haggis; one who wakes up and gets out. It's the final step on Dave Touretzky's outline for the steps in $cientology. It's the typical path of most people who get involved with it.
Synthia Elizabeth Fagen 5 hours ago in reply to MarkStark
What a great post!
When posting on the Ex-Scientology Message Board, I often try to find images that will adequately express that for which I cannot find the words.
On several occasions I have chosen various Escher pieces. They so aptly convey not only the experience one has while in the organization (though not so obvious then) but they especially communicate (at least for me) how it feels to later find out about the voluminous lies and the very creepy feeling one gets upon realization that one has been on a road to nowhere - a road built only by words, slick promo pieces (like the postcards in the Truman Show) and hypnotic, sleight of hand, magic tricks.
The Scientology experience contains so many layers, of Escher-type-staircase-creepiness, that the ex-Scientologist's mind cannot easily process all of it and thus is the reason, in my opinion, that we see so many still here and talking about it 20, 30, 40+ years later.
It is a mindf@#k of epic proportions.
I can understand the fascination held by many of whom were never steeped in the crazy lore of this wicked illusion. I am forever grateful to those outsiders who, while peering through the masquerade, cared enough about me and others to get us to wake up.
My admiration for Tony Ortega grows every day. Thank you Tony.
Jefferson Hawkins 5 hours ago
Scientology has been collapsing for some years now, however, as long as they keep receiving millions from their hard-core members, they can maintain the illusion of "expansion" by buying up real estate, staging elaborate events, and insisting that they have "millions" of members and "thousands" of organizations. It's an empty shell. They cannot fill up their new "ideal" orgs. They cannot fill their new "Super Power" building in Clearwater. Their local organizations are insolvent, and are relying on bail-outs from their members to pay the monthly bills. When will it collapse? Hard to say, but when it goes, like all "bubbles," it will go fast. Debbie Cook's letter is significant because it targets the only thing that is propping up the cult empire - wealthy members who blindly donate millions.