The weekly show where I answer your questions based on what is left for me in the comments section of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at AskChrisShelton@gmail.com. This week, the questions I answer are:
(1) During my time in Scientology, I saw many “high level” public on the top of the bloody Bridge die of cancer or something like that. It gave me the idea that “cause over life” was just a fake promise. How did you justify or view those deaths as a Sea Org member when you were in?
(2) So much of the punishment that goes on at Int Base is classified as voluntary. I have heard you say that most of the people in the RPF are convinced they need the fixing that they can get only in an RPF setting. This visually makes me believe that Scientology is very good at breaking a human being down into a humiliated mass of guilt. I wonder if you could take us through the specific activities and psychological tropes that a new believer might experience in trying to achieve the respective disciplines of a pre-clear/clear/OT. I heard about the ashtray thing, and the staring at each other routine, but there has got to be some kind of magic bullet they are using to keep people on track. I simply cannot believe that the message is that convincing on its own. There have got to be little blackmails and some extortion going on. In some cases would the use of actual physical restraint be employed to keep someone at an org or public Scientology space? Do these restraint techniques intensify as we get closer to the Gold Base? Is there a hierarchy of abuse capacity respective to the increased atmosphere of Hubbardness? I guess what I mean is this: are the Scientologists more insane as we get closer to the Scientology sun? How much time did you yourself spend in the dreaded “Hole”?
(3) Hi Chris! I live 2 blocks from a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall and not surprisingly, there are a lot of proselytizers in my neighborhood. I can’t always avoid them. Today, I mentioned to one that I did not support their practice of shunning and he argued that they only shun people “for very valid reasons, like adultery.” How do you handle folks like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormon missionaries? (I rarely see Scientologists, unless I happen to be walking directly past the Ideal Org.) I want to be polite, but some of them have a hard time taking no for an answer. We’re obviously not going to change each other’s minds.
(4) Hi Chris. I’m reading your book and it’s very intersting. If someone had the possibility to write an email to a Sea Org member recently in, would it be a good idea? If so, what would be good things to write about to wake him/her up?
(5) Many of your Q&A submissions are about the hypothetical downfall of Mini-Me COB and the collapse of the Church of Scientology. My question is not about the how or when, but rather about the aftermath of The End.
Some context: In the 1840s, self-proclaimed prophet William Miller read his Bible, predicted the end of the world, and gathered together a doomsday cult of believers, many of whom sold all of their earthly belongings. But, like every prophet before and after, Miller was wrong and the world kept spinning, so his cult followers scattered. The interesting tidbit: modern researchers have discovered that a sizeable percentage of his disappointed followers ended up in mental hospitals.
So, when the end arrives, do you think that diehard Scientology loyalists will be able to adjust to the wog world? Or, will a number of them end up in mental hospitals or under close psychiatric care?
(6) I’m very curious how ex-Sea Org members who leave the church are able to handle the debt. It seems as if CoS charges people who have left the Sea Org quite a bit of money, yet, it seems that those members have also been working for next to no money for years. Is there a network of people who are able to retrain and support them back into the workforce?
(7) What do all the do-dads (military term, right) on DM’s uniform signify?
(8) You say that many orgs have had problems paying their rent. So, are the ideal orgs actually pointless? If they own them wouldn’t that mean they provide a rent free/tax free solution in the long run?
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