Kha Khan
Patron Meritorious
I want to share a theory I've contemplated for awhile. I think the following may be true; I haven't made up my mind.
I think that Hubbard may have been well-intentioned when he wrote Dianetics and started the first Dianetics organization. But I think three or four things happened.
First, I think the success of the book Dianetics surprised even Hubbard. It really was a fad, and quite popular for awhile. It was taken seriously, and he got some of the respect and adoration that he so desperately needed and believed he deserved. But it was a one shot. Lightening in a bottle. Not unlike those one hit wonder singers or rock groups who spend the rest of their lives singing the same song, their one hit, at state fairs. I would love to know what the sales figures for Science of Survival were compared to Dianetics. Perhaps with Dianetics Hubbard avoided being a never was, but thereafter he was certainly on the road to being a has been.
Secondly, I think when Hubbard lost control of the first Dianetics organization (was it the Wichita Foundation?) it really affected him, and really fed into his paranoia. (Just because one person was maybe out to get you doesn't mean that everyone else in the universe is out to get you for the rest of your life.) Never again would he lose control of an organization. Never again would he lose control of his writings, his intellectual property, or the "tech."
Thirdly, and most importantly, I've long believed that he developed (with good reason) a Nietzschean disdain for how pathetically weak his followers were. What disgusting sheep they were. People were "recalling" the act of conception... from the perspective of the sperm or egg? Really? WTF? Dear Friedrich, isn't that someone who is just begging, just begging, to be taken advantage of? To be used, exploited, fleeced and then discarded? Hmmmm, if I can convince them that they are "recalling" the act of conception from the perspective of the sperm or egg, maybe I can convince them that they are infested with... the spirits of invisible space aliens... who were blown up with atomic bombs.... by an evil Lord Xenu. Yeah, that's the ticket. Let's make a game of it. The game being, let's see how much unadulterated bullshit and abuse I can convince people to swallow.
The only crime for a con man (or for some who believe they are intellectually superior) is to fail to take advantage of a mark.
Fourth, and this is related to the third, Hubbard's true nature could not be denied. Pure self-actualization.
In the end, it is like the story of the Scorpion and the Frog. The story is about a scorpion asking a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the scorpion reassures him that if it stung the frog, the frog would sink and the scorpion would drown as well. The frog then agrees; nevertheless, in mid-river, the scorpion stings him, dooming the two of them. When asked why, the scorpion explains, "Hey, you knew I was a scorpion, what did you expect?"
What amazes me is how many times people were stung by the scorpion, but kept coming back for more. And, judging from many posts by Ex (lol) Scientologists here, still are.
I'm curious. Did anyone ever think that if Hubbard hadn't exploited, used and abused you, you would have had to find someone else to do the job?
Has anyone exhibited symptoms of submissiveness or masochism in other aspects of their lives?
I think that Hubbard may have been well-intentioned when he wrote Dianetics and started the first Dianetics organization. But I think three or four things happened.
First, I think the success of the book Dianetics surprised even Hubbard. It really was a fad, and quite popular for awhile. It was taken seriously, and he got some of the respect and adoration that he so desperately needed and believed he deserved. But it was a one shot. Lightening in a bottle. Not unlike those one hit wonder singers or rock groups who spend the rest of their lives singing the same song, their one hit, at state fairs. I would love to know what the sales figures for Science of Survival were compared to Dianetics. Perhaps with Dianetics Hubbard avoided being a never was, but thereafter he was certainly on the road to being a has been.
Secondly, I think when Hubbard lost control of the first Dianetics organization (was it the Wichita Foundation?) it really affected him, and really fed into his paranoia. (Just because one person was maybe out to get you doesn't mean that everyone else in the universe is out to get you for the rest of your life.) Never again would he lose control of an organization. Never again would he lose control of his writings, his intellectual property, or the "tech."
Thirdly, and most importantly, I've long believed that he developed (with good reason) a Nietzschean disdain for how pathetically weak his followers were. What disgusting sheep they were. People were "recalling" the act of conception... from the perspective of the sperm or egg? Really? WTF? Dear Friedrich, isn't that someone who is just begging, just begging, to be taken advantage of? To be used, exploited, fleeced and then discarded? Hmmmm, if I can convince them that they are "recalling" the act of conception from the perspective of the sperm or egg, maybe I can convince them that they are infested with... the spirits of invisible space aliens... who were blown up with atomic bombs.... by an evil Lord Xenu. Yeah, that's the ticket. Let's make a game of it. The game being, let's see how much unadulterated bullshit and abuse I can convince people to swallow.
The only crime for a con man (or for some who believe they are intellectually superior) is to fail to take advantage of a mark.
Fourth, and this is related to the third, Hubbard's true nature could not be denied. Pure self-actualization.
In the end, it is like the story of the Scorpion and the Frog. The story is about a scorpion asking a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the scorpion reassures him that if it stung the frog, the frog would sink and the scorpion would drown as well. The frog then agrees; nevertheless, in mid-river, the scorpion stings him, dooming the two of them. When asked why, the scorpion explains, "Hey, you knew I was a scorpion, what did you expect?"
What amazes me is how many times people were stung by the scorpion, but kept coming back for more. And, judging from many posts by Ex (lol) Scientologists here, still are.
I'm curious. Did anyone ever think that if Hubbard hadn't exploited, used and abused you, you would have had to find someone else to do the job?
Has anyone exhibited symptoms of submissiveness or masochism in other aspects of their lives?