Re: PandaTermint's question on the rights of scientologists to practice their religio
Well, this video doesn't stir me up too much. It's about freedom of choice, which mostly I agree with. But what is freedom of choice worth without freedom of information? So as long as the cult has secret scriptures and secret practices, the freedom of choice isn't useless, it's harmful.
So once all the information is on the table and freely accessible by anyone who's interested, I'll think about freedom of choice. Until then: Meh. Why bother?
Christ on a stick, "secrecy" goes on anywhere.
Freedom of choice refers to an INDIVIDUAL.
There will probably never be "total access to all truthful information". We would have to shut down the intelligence services of every government that hides information and sends out contrived information as a daily function. That will NEVER happen. We would have to shut down the major media outlets, that act to GREATLY distort "accurate information". People get accurate information by LOOKING for it. By WORKING hard at learning to differentiate between truth and lies.
People, as individuals, have the RIGHT to try to gather and know "truth", but there will always be some person or some group trying to sell you lies. THAT is THEIR "freedom". Sad, but true. You can't legislate human decency.
People need to stop being idiots. THAT is the ONLY real answer.
Yes, in the tight restrictive environment of the cult of Scientology, there is NOT "freedom of information", and there is NOT "freedom to look freely". But each person DOES have the freedom to be there or not. Cripes, it kills me that people don't/can't see this. Maybe this is a "liberal" thing? Where the poor extremist left-wingers like to blame everybody else for his or her own dumb choices and results? :confused2:
But, on the WORLD stage, at least in many countries, you DO HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE WHERE TO BE. This will be unpopular for some, but any person who CHOOSES TO STAY IN THE SEA ORG AND SUBMIT THEMSELVES TO THE RPF is making that free choice. Sure, I think Scientology is loony-tunes for having an RPF, but I also think that the person who STAYS THERE and submits his or herself to the RPF is a dummy of major proportions. The person who happily stays on the RPF, imagining oneself to be "addressing my sorry degarded state and tendenies to produce overt products", exists in a SELF-CREATED mental world of
very strange (Scientology-based) ideas. You can't stop people from accepting and believing whatever nonsense he or she desires.
There are TWO things going on here. The scammer, AND the "dupe". As I have said before, it does take a very special kind of stupid to
choose to STAY in the oppressive environment of Scientology.
Choosing to be and stay in an RPF is
far different than being herded into ovens at the force of a gun in a Nazi concentration camp.
Yes, Scientology DOES contain extensive mind control, but YOU have the CHOICE whether to be there and ACCEPT the mind control techniques. Or not.
Accurate information IS AVAILABLE on the Internet. If some Sea Org member wants to place him or herself in a ruthless environment where the Interent is forbidden, well, whose fault is it?
Scientology sucks. It sucks big time. But grown adults have the RIGHT to choose to put themselves into that oppressive environment.
My big day of realization was when, back in about 1984, I said to myself, "why do I allow myself to stay in this crazy environment that places such insane pressures and demands on me"? So, I left the Sea Org. I could see that as long as I stayed "in that environment", that it would always be nuts. But, some stay. Grown adults are free to make that choice. You might not like it, it IS sad what happens to some people, we can continue to expose Hubbard and Scientology (as is OUR free right), but adults have the right to be idiots and morons if they choose (as long as they, as an individual, do not hurt anybody).
I have used this analogy before. If you stand in the way of an oncoming train, and fail to move out of the way, whose fault is it? :confused2:
It is NOT the train's fault. People who are too blind, dumb, or caught up in some crazy mixture of beliefs and "delusional helping of others" make the mistake of not being able to see the train coming.
People, in the end, need to accept where they place themselves, and if you place yourself in a destructive environment, ultimately, it is your fault.
I know that view is too severe for some.
There are MANY dangers in life. Scammers, tricksters, and liars. No government will EVER be able to "outlaw them all", simply because more will just appear. The real solution is for people to get bright and aware enough to spot them when they appear, and to have NOTHING to do with them. Move out of the way of the fast-coming train.
Or, don't. But don't moan, complain and whine about it when the train flattens you or somebody else who CHOSE to remain in that place.
There is no doubt that Scientology takes great advantage of the freedoms guaranteed in "democratic societies". But I would rather have that than the alternative - no freedoms at all.
Lastly, some of us here on ESMB continue to expose various aspects of the scam of Scientology as best we can, and by doing that we can help some "see the train coming as the dangerous train that it is". Then maybe they will step off the tracks (leave Scientology).
Oh my, that's what you consider personal insults?
Fuck off, idiot! 
