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Critical Q&A #426

This week, I tear into Tom Cruise pretty hard for his fake help post-9/11, a deeper than usual look at the “pre-cult personality” and how that relates to recovery for 2nd gen cult members, what Scientologists think about UFOs and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) What is your opinion on the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project? If by chance you’re unaware of the project, there’s a Wiki page with a synopsis. I feel like Tom Cruise and through him, the CoS, took advantage of 9/11 first responders. To manipulate these heroes into completing the Purification Rundown literally makes my blood boil. As a result, some have joined the CoS and sadly but not unsurprisingly, some have died because they did not seek appropriate medical care. I’m also suspicious of how they were able to obtain just shy of a million dollars of public funding to support this repugnant project. Maybe it’s because I’ve been taken advantage of in many ways throughout my life or that I fight for anyone that is used or manipulated, but this whole thing seems all kinds of wrong. Am I the only one who is bothered by this? I can’t be.

(2) I was listening to your podcast with Apostate Alex and it was stated that second gens take a lot longer to recover from Scientology.  Having also read Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan, I wondered if this could be partially caused by the lack of development of an ‘authentic self’ free of cult influence during childhood and adolescence?  I would imagine it is easier for an adult convert to return to a pre-indoctrination self, but a second gen might lack a coherent non-indoctrinated self to return to once they leave.  As someone with infinitely more experience in this realm, what are your thoughts?

(3) I’ve got a question for you in regards to “the way out is the way through”, I’ve done some research to see who actually came up with this quote and I see that it was Robert Frost. My question is though, how did Scientology incorporate this? Does it mean that you have to go through painful experiences i.e. a punishment either for not getting your stats up or just being a handful in general?, I feel like the spiritual (and in my opinion the right meaning), is to face your problems no matter how big or small and just go through them and therefore learning how to deal with things better in life. Thanks for all that you do to help people learn about the awful (and stolen) practices of Scientology. 

(4) What do Scientologists think of all the latest news of the Whistleblowers telling Congress about the UFO stuff?

(5) One thing I don’t know if I’ve heard discussed is whether a Scientologist ever enters into a relationship with a non-COS person without attempting to recruit them?

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