What's new

Why do staff members accept being abused for so many years?

same here. The joint I was on-staff at did well for a few years, then the shit hit the fan, and I ejected myself and became free (agent I guess). The joint became bat shit crazy and I couldn't take it anymore as I was becoming bat shit crazy trying to make sense of crazy.

That scene was :no: for me.

orgs spit out staff about the same way machine guns spit out spent casings

and then the lone ranger picks up the brass and repacks 'em with cordite and silver slugs and ships 'em off to esmb...
 
I sure it's been said, but some people are physically unable to leave. I remember Jesse Prince's testimonial where you shared that he had been tricked into joining the Sea Org and weeks after realizing it wasn't for him and demanding to leave, he was physically restrained, held captive, and required to do physical labor and attend classes until he was brainwashed into thinking he should stay.

I also remember reading years ago that one of the ways that circus elephants are trained is that they are tied with chains to tiny posts hammered into the ground. A baby elephant, no matter how hard it tries, cannot pull the post out. It grows up remember the frustration of pulling and how useless it was to resist. Eventually, when the elephant grown up, you can tie a multi-ton full grown adult to the same post. At this point, the animal could pull a thousand posts out of the ground if it wanted to, and could probably tear the place apart and escape, but it won't even try because of the conditioning.

I always think of that moment when Lisa McPherson was in the hospital after her public breakdown on the highway, when the doctors in the hospital wanted to help her, and even promised to protect her and keep her overnight, but she made the decision to go with her Scientologist "friends" who promised to take care of her - the exact people she was running from. And they took care of her, all right.

That makes me sad every time, whenever I hear her story, I want her to choose differently every time. Hubbard knew that if he got far enough into a man or woman's mind, Scientology would help them imprison themselves.

awfull nice to see you back XB

how ya been?
 
I feel happy to see this being discussed so openly and freely. I can contrast that with the general attitude about it when I first joined the board. Progress is being made, folks! :thumbsup:

:happydance:
 

DoneDeal

Patron Meritorious
I was never abused while being public or staff.

I just agreed. I wanted to be one of the cool jackasses.

well, once while I was on assignment at clowus....I did have a twelve year old girl, in uniform, demanding me to place expensive phone calls to orgs and get the stats.
She was very demanding.
While I could understand that the correct terminal wasn't even at the org I was calling, she didn't like that answer.
She really did just sit there while I did the calling and she insisted I get the numbers.

Phone calls were expensive back then.
But she didn't have any reality on bill paying or a person's location. Or reality.

Do you guy's even call people "Terminals"? Man, I'm still fucked up. Don't be reasonable and pardon me.
 

Student of Trinity

Silver Meritorious Patron
Terminals are for batteries and buses. Calling people 'terminals' is just window-dressing to make Scientology seem all scientific, except that it probably also helps inhibit human empathy by encouraging Scientologists to view other people as sockets and plugs to be used for their own ends.

Now that I think of it, the 'terminal' terminology might be a good example to give, if you're trying to explain what's bad about Scientology to someone who knows nothing about it. I think most people will get it, just from this example.
 

Gadfly

Crusader
I think it's remarkable how similar that list of reasons for staying compares to those of women trapped in abusive relationships.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battered_person_syndrome

Codependency?

From Wikipedia:

Codependency is defined as a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person is controlled or manipulated by another who is affected with a pathological condition (typically narcissism or drug addiction); and in broader terms, it refers to the dependence on the needs of, or control of, another. It also often involves placing a lower priority on one's own needs, while being excessively preoccupied with the needs of others. Codependency can occur in any type of relationship, including family, work, friendship, and also romantic, peer or community relationships. Codependency may also be characterized by denial, low self-esteem, excessive compliance, or control patterns. Narcissists are considered to be natural magnets for the codependent.

Read more here.

I think that am excellent study could be done comparing the relationship of the Scientologist to Scientology (and Hubbard) with the theories of codependency.
 

Winston Smith

Flunked Scientology
I didn't get abused on staff for decades. I only got abused for a little over 2 years. What saved me was that I loved money more than starving, I noted how none of the so-called abilities which were supposed to come with various levels and clear never seemed to manifest themselves even with the old timers like Mystic. Also, as Arnie Lerma has pointed out, hypnotism works better on highly intelligent subjects, and I am not that. I am however very grounded in common sense. And I am offended by being lied to over and over.
 

Alle G

Patron with Honors
Sec-checks, O/W write up, regging, stats, long hours, KRs, ethics conditions, forbidden books and internet, severe restriction of freedom, asking permission for everything are signs of control and abuse. Scientologists can’t say No to sec checks or even to an auditing question, there are no boundaries. Without boundaries they are extremely vulnerable and easy to control.

I even think that to control someone you need first to disrupt their boundaries.


Some quotes from
http://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/setting-boundaries.htm


What are ‘Personal Boundaries?’
Boundaries define who we are. They establish ‘what is me’ and ‘what isn’t me.’
Personal Boundaries help us create ownership and protection of ourselves. Boundaries are our personal security.
We know that not just anyone can open the front door of our home, walk inside, go to the fridge, grab whatever they want and plonk on our couch. We know that if someone tries to steal our car, it’s illegal. We know people are not allowed to access our bank accounts and use our funds for their purposes, unless we grant consent.
Most people are very aware of boundaries for material objects, yet struggle to realise the importance of implementing emotional, physical, spiritual and mental boundaries for self.


Owning Ourselves
Let’s look at the term – ‘Ownership’...
Our spiritual and self-mastery journey requires ‘owning’ ourselves. This includes owning the responsibility of creating and enforcing our own boundaries. Because (as always) it’s no one else’s job!
If we’re confused about our ownership and perimeters of self, it’s logical to realise others are going to be very confused about where our boundaries do or don’t lie. How can we expect them to honour us? This confusion can create great pain and even devastation, just as having poor perimeters of our homes, cars or bank accounts would.

………………………………………..
How do we know when our boundary door is malfunctioning?
It’s simple. We feel broken, lonely, angry, distressed, victimized, anxious, unsupported, exhausted and empty.

Another article on codependency.
http://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/co-dependency-checklist-how-far-have-you-come/
 
Top