This week, I really took some time to breakdown the thought process of people who have radically different ideas from the norm and why that is, why Miscavige is running Scientology the way he does, using the BITE model to assess cults and a lot more. Enjoy!
(1) Why is it that some people have such a grave misunderstanding regarding how paper and cloth masks are designed to work? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to explain that these types of masks were designed to keep the wearer from slinging spittle as far as possible without them and not to protect the wearer from becoming infected. Even then most still don’t get it. Is this a big case of cognitive dissonance or are there other factors also at play?
(2) A few weeks ago you were speaking about the state of a mission or an org in Vancouver Canada. You explained that it was totally in the wrong part of town, it was shockingly run down and poorly decorated, more often than not the staff often did not get paid and any self-respecting person would probably not wish to be there let alone go inside and study Scientology.
I then heard you talk about the billions of dollars, yes billions, that David Miscavage has access to so my question is why would he not use a fraction of that enormous wealth to fix this issue which I have heard you mention time and time again about the state of some of these missions.
Again the cynic in me has a really simple answer and that is Miscavage has no interest in the rank and file signing up for Scientology when he can rub shoulders with the powerful rich wealthy donors who from what I believe are almost entirely responsible for the continued wealth Scientology has amassed which is used to purchase real estate, albeit empty real estate.
(3) Your work led me to learning about Steven Hassan’s BITE model. For the benefit of the viewers who are not familiar with it, the BITE model is a list of several dozen practices that are typical of destructive cults. They are divided into four groups, those used to control Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotions (hence, BITE). I’ve been tempted to use the BITE model as a quantitative scorecard. Say, a group that fits 30 criteria of the model is “cultier” than a group that fits 20; a group that fits only 5 is more likely than not to be benign. I’ve seen Owen at Telltale Atheist do something similar. Do you think this is a legitimate use of the model? If so, why so? If not, why not?
(4) Does the hyperbolic optimism about the limits of human achievement create the need for scapegoats to explain when predictions don’t turn out as hoped?
(5) I was wondering if you have looked into the Stanford Prison Experiment and, if so,what do you think about it?
(6) When you were in Minnesota, was the Church of Scientology in their current location (the old Science Museum building)? Seems like a nice building, and as I recall from the museum days, it is pretty big. How many people work there (staff) and about how many Scientologists are there actually in the Twin Cities area? It seems like a waste of space.
(7) Do you think that David Miscavige is a psychopath without the promiscuous sexual behavior and could that be because Hubbard and the Sea Org basically raised him?
(8) What is the best way for us to listen to your podcasts? I was used to watching them on YouTube, but these days I enjoy listening to them on Google Podcast. Am I actually harming your stats for future sponsorships or for ad revenue by doing so?
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