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Title: Fighting Scientology: an anarchist perspective Author: Anonymous Date: 2008 Language: en Topics: religion Source: Retrieved on December 21, 2009 from http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20080129200110481
A number of arguments are raised against campaigning against
Scientology, some of which are summed up here (found through Digg).
One common argument against anti-Scientology campaigning is “freedom of
belief.” Under this argument, to campaign against any one religion is de
facto bigotry and should be rejected. This analysis, however, is
extremely superficial. Those Scientologists who do not work within the
Church — the Free Zoners, in other words — have not been the target of
nearly the same amount of attention, in spite of holding nearly
identical beliefs. Why? They do not behave in the same way.
The infamous South Park episode targeting Scientology was both a
blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it exposed the core Scientology
beliefs for what they are — poorly written science fiction with a bit of
pseudopsychology thrown in for good measure. It may be possible that
some people who would otherwise have joined the Church will have seen
this and become skeptical in general. On the other hand, however, it
reduced the problems with Scientology down to it being a scam to make
money by selling people religion — putting things in much more
favourable terms for the church, in that the complaint becomes about
what they believe, rather than what the church has done and continues to
do.
This is not an issue of belief, it is an issue of action. The Church’s
history in this regard is well known, but just as a summary:
who wrote a book critical of the church intended to result in her being
sectioned.
have negative records about individuals and the organisation as a whole
purged from government records.
including regular harassment.
criticism, especially over the Internet.
The Wikipedia article on Scientology controversies gives a fairly good
introduction; sadly it doesn’t even begin to cover the problems caused
by this organisation.
On the realm of actions, another regular complaint against taking action
against the Church is that it is only one such organisation among many.
This does bear noting — pretty much any religious (or non-religious)
organisation of appropriate size or age is going to have its problems.
Why, then, “single out” Scientology?
The first is, quite simply, that it’s easier. Scientology, while it has
a worryingly high profile, has a relatively low number of members. It’s
a young movement that has yet to take serious root. Taking on an
organisation of this type has certain advantages over an older, larger
institution tied in with history and politics and all the complications
they bring.
Secondly, I would argue that the Church of Scientology is, if not
“worse” in some objective sense, markedly different from other
institutions such as the Vatican. While no-one can deny the bloody
legacy of Christendom, it is largely a concept of the past. The more
recent history of the Catholic Church has seen its share of scandal
(such as the child sex abuse controversy) and been rightly met with
condemnation. The greatest condemnation in this was not simply that the
abuse was happening in individual cases (which could, if not be excused,
at least not be used to tar the entirety of the church), but that church
officials higher up were aware of the situation and actively trying to
cover it up. It is this that marks the difference between the odd “bad
apple” and a rotten barrel.
With the Church of Scientology, most, if not all, of the controversies
associated with it have occured on an official level, and thus cannnot
be dismissed as simply a few individual churches here and there going
wrong. Orders for harassment, orders singling out targets, Freakout,
Snow White, the lawsuits that have bankrupted people time and again —
all of these were planned and carries out at the highest levels with
involvement down the chain as appropriate.
Another complaint against targeting the CoS is that by using certain
tactics the attacker is “no better than them.” This is reductionist
idiocy that analyses actions only in terms of the action itself and not
its outcome and should be ignored.
Why, then, should we fight it? There are a few reasons.
Free expression. Much of the information we have about the Church of
Scientology, its beliefs, practices, and internal memoranda (including
the Fair Game policy) comes from documents released anonymously via the
Internet. Some of its members left the church as a result of websites
such as Operation Clambake. In response, the Church of Scientology has
repeatedly attempted to censor the Internet — from an attempt to have a
Scientology discussion group removed from Usenet to their intimidation
of Google to have Operation Clambake removed from results, to the
multiple lawsuits against websites hosting anti-Scientology materials
(see www.chillingeffects.org — search for Scientology). For every step
forward the CoS makes in its attempts at intimidation and censorship, a
precedent is set for the rest of us.
Protection for the vulnerable. Some of the Church’s actions are directly
aimed at people who are vulnerable, specifically Narconon (drug
counseling) and Criminon (criminal rehabilitation). The methods they use
are based on Hubbard’s writings and both organisations are staffed by
Scientologists. Their treatment, however, has no history of
effectiveness and is believed by many to do more harm than good, as well
as acting as a front for recruitment to the church.
They are trying to gain influence. The Church has been trying to get
close to police in London, through giving gifts of large amounts of
money to individual cops and other activities. Similarly they have
attempted to get their materials taught in school, and in some cases
succeeded. Their activities in Clearwater, Florida, known as Project
Normandy, read as the plan of an organisation seeking to completely take
over a town. Their aims, however, are much wider.
They are a sinister destructive cult. This, more than anything else,
needs to be kept clear. The activities of the Church of Scientology from
its inception to the present day have been calculated to sap money and
energy from those who put their faith in it.
This is not a matter of freedom of religion. It is a matter of freedom.
Demonstration 10^(th) February 2008, London.