Posted on 02/24/2006 11:05:41 AM PST by Central Scrutiniser
Inside Scientology
Unlocking the complex code of America's most mysterious religion
The faded little downtown area of Clearwater, Florida, has a beauty salon, a pizza parlor and one or two run-down bars, as well as a bunch of withered bungalows and some old storefronts that look as if they haven't seen customers in years. There are few cars and almost no pedestrians. There are, however, buses -- a fleet of gleaming white and blue ones that slowly crawl through town, stopping at regular intervals to discharge a small army of tightly organized, young, almost exclusively white men and women, all clad in uniform preppy attire: khaki, black or navy-blue trousers and crisp white, blue or yellow dress shirts. Some wear pagers on their belts; others carry briefcases. The men have short hair, and the women keep theirs pulled back or tucked under headbands that match their outfits. No one crosses against the light, and everybody calls everybody else "sir" -- even when the "sir" is a woman. They move throughout the center of Clearwater in tight clusters, from corner to corner, building to building.
This regimented mass represents the "Sea Organization," the most dedicated and elite members of the Church of Scientology. For the past thirty years, Scientology has made the city of Clearwater its worldwide spiritual headquarters -- its Mecca, or its Temple Square. There are 8,300 or so Scientologists living and working in Clearwater -- more than in any other city in the world outside of Los Angeles. Scientologists own more than 200 businesses in Clearwater. Members of the church run schools and private tutoring programs, day-care centers and a drug-rehab clinic. They sit on the boards of the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Boy Scouts.
(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
"Actually I found this article to be quite to the point about the negatives of COS. It did print the present the viewpoints of COS, but also very strongly, especially at the end of the article show how scared those who left the cult or criticized the cult are."
True, but they left out glaring omissions like the death of the one girl.. Lisa something.. forgot the last name, I will try and dig up the link and post... or how little if at all they really described what it means to "dead agent" someone. These are major points deep at the heart of the matter.
I cede your point that it was no puff piece, but I still think it was a softball article.
Well Rolling Stone is sued....
Hey Kev, put me back on the space ping list.
Good stuff.
Thanks, if someone doesn't know who the Central Scrutiniser is from music....
Well...
Besides, I'm a dual citizen, I can use either spelling.
Bi-lingual?
Like Elton John?
Yeah, I'm a Catholic, Irish/German/French Canadian. Can't get much more Catholic than that.
I attended K-12 Catholic school, it was great, we did tours of other religion's churches, and we were taught science and evolution and all that. Plus, at the annual festival, you can hoist a beer or two with the priests. Works for me. Except for the molesters, and we got a new bishop now that is cleaning things up.
Ewwwww.
Elton John is a brit, I'm dual with Ireland, much more fun country!
bump
BTW, am I too young or was Ireland almost a third-world country a generation ago? Was that exaggeration when people said that or is Ireland a barely-noticed success story?
Its a great article.
If you go to www.xenutv.com, you can watch all kinds of fun videos. Like the guy trying to crash the $cientology party in the street (public street) who gets accosted by the goons. Its hilarious stuff. He gets hit, one church guy claims he is wounded and has a limp from the fight, but then walks fine a few minutes later and gets called on it.
Good stuff by brave folk exposing these goons.
Sure you can. You can actually be a Catholic rather than Irish, German, French or Canadian. It's not a nationality.
I attended K-12 Catholic school
I'm wondering whether you're lying, they were poor teachers or you didn't pay attention, or you just didn't care then or now.
you can hoist a beer or two with the priests. Works for me.
I don't think it is very well. Perhaps if you actually were a Catholic, you could comment more intelligently on it. Thus far all I see is lame attempts at humor.
Hey, Ireland is the tiger of Europe right now. They dropped a whole slew of government controls and such and lured many high tech companies, including Intel. They have a booming economy. I got the dual citizenship for EU benefits, I can go to any EU country and work without much hassle.
BTW, Intel is opening a big fab in Vietnam, which is great. I went to Vietnam about a year and a half ago and enjoyed it, its one of the most capitalistic places I've ever been.
One of the things I learned by being Catholic is that pretending to be on a high horse and judging other Catholics is pretty stupid.
My parrish has had lots of scandals, many priests that went to jail, and a bishop that kept them in office after arrests. Our bishop killed a guy with his car and ran, he got the boot. We got a good guy in now.
You seem to be a Catholic without a sense of humor, how sad.
BTW, my K-12 Catholic education made College very easy, and I am thankful that my teachers, nuns and priests made us think and allowed us to learn about other religions. We have fun at our parrish, and we can joke about ourselves without feeling threatened.
Odd. My perspective is that Miscavage was the beginning of the end for scientology.
My grandmother came to America in 1920, her mother died (after having 8 kids in 10 years) and her father remarried. She didn't care for her new mom, and she moved with her sister. She married a French Canadian (this kind of thing didn't happen too much in those days) and had kids. Sadly, she is the only one from her family to have kids, and our branch of the family name is dead ended there, but we do have some cousins there.
NW of Galway, in Galway county, on the shores of the largest lake in Ireland. It is a beautiful place, I am planning a trip back there this summer.
Yup. And Cruise ain't no giant...
I don't think you did. That's why I started posting to you.
we can joke about ourselves without feeling threatened.
I'm sorry but "When I go to church, the guy wearing a big dress mumbles a few words and turns wine into blood. " is not my idea of a joke.
I don't feel threatened by you, and I've a healthy sense of humor, but I still object to someone calling themselves Catholic and showing disrespect for what we hold most sacred.
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