This week I talk about the recent Reckless Ben videos and how good they are, what is Focus on the Family and is it a cult, Independent Scientology and a lot more. Enjoy!
This week, the questions I answer are:
(1) Firstly thank you for all you do. I have never been and I never will even contemplate joining the COS. Not now or in any of my previous or future lives! Your approach to dealing with exposing the COS for what is really is is somewhat different to others like the Angry Gay Pope and more recently Reckless Ben’s hilarious send up where he infiltrated the church, obtained auditing and actually managed to join the Sea Org. Do you feel that this slapstick approach and direct action is counter-productive and lends credence to COS claims of harassment etc; or does it have a role in the whole expose of the church. To be honest I found you via the Angry Gay Pope.
(2) Have you heard of “Focus on the Family”? I heard a small amount of information on this & I don’t know if you ever heard of the saying sometimes a little information can more harmful then none, so I like to get more information on this. I am wondering if it is a destructive cult?
(3) A few weeks ago, Tony Ortega started featuring a daily quote from the “Freezone,” or Independent Scientologists, on his Underground Bunker site. Do you know where these quotes come from, where the “Freezoners” hang out? Wouldn’t they be less likely to talk freely online if they knew that people are reacting to their remarks with joking & degrading? Also, I know that non-Freezoners are not allowed to discuss the details of their Bridge progress with other Scientologists. Do you feel there is any benefit to these open discussions that indies are able to have? Finally, do you have any idea of how many Freezoners are out there?
(4) I watched the video you did with Katrina Reyes, a former Scientologist who immigrated to the US from Russia while in Scientology. She said Scientology kept up her immigration visa, right through her getting her green card. Since this takes many years, with lawyers’ time and fees as well as government fees, this can cost upwards of $10,000. I know a Freeloaders Debt is only supposed to be for services delivered, but do you think that Scientology might pass along the visa costs as part of the Freeloaders Debt if people leave like Katrina did? Or, do they just write it off as a business expense? I’m curious to know what you think about this.
(5) I’ve watched a good amount of your videos and I’ve been pondering asking this because it can be a sensitive topic. Personally, I am pro-choice. In some of your videos you have discussed that forced abortions have been a part of your personal history (and I’m sorry you had to experience that) and are still occurring in the Sea Org. In this country, there is talk and are attempts at trying to outlaw abortion completely. Scientology appears to have a few localized jurisdictions in their grasp, but do you think ‘the church’ would ever get involved at a national level to keep abortion legal? In the places where abortion has been functionally outlawed, what do Scientologists do in those instances?
(6) When they make a movie about your RPF book, which actors do you want portraying Chris Shelton and David Miscavige?
(7) If Danny Masterson stood on a street corner and shot people, would the LA County DA do anything?
(8) I have noticed that big urban cities have higher rates of homelessness. I live near Seattle, and homelessness is at an all time high. Does this have anything to do with the fact that urban areas are more socially liberal than rural areas?