Heather, since you grew up in a Scn family, how did you learn to write a coherent sentence, let alone a paragraph? You weren't educated in a scieno-school, were you? I was a student at Julia Salmen's (and Sylvia Hare's, until she became persona non grata) Theta Power School and it was probably among the best but even there, minimum standards were pretty low.

Just curious. The second generation of Scientologists as a rule don't generally get much preparation in living skills that are considered pretty basic in wogdom.

Good question. Just a few lucky twists of fate, I think. Even luckier was that my father, who made a good loving as an electronics and aerospace engineer, abandoned us so that he could pursue scientology without the weight of a family holding him back. He rarely sent money and never kept his promise of enrolling me in a private - Scientology - school. When he decided I was becoming too "Woggy" he would dish out the money for a course and let me stay with him for a while. Usually, he was on course all day so I would hang out and observe the kids and Sea Org memebers going about their daily routines (Stacy and Jess come were among "the observed"). I first encountered Stacy Brooks in LA when I was 9 years old. Jess when I was 14. Both were very kind then too...

My mother had been a home-maker before he left. We grew up in impoverished conditions in some of the worst parts of some of the worst cities in the US.

So, I guess the quick answer is that I had a few teachers who cared and a few people came along in my life who were extremely kind to me and others. They'd never heard of Scientology - and so I marveled at how it was that WOGS could be so decent and Scientologists so cruel and irresponsible. (It was one of my first doubts about Scientology, age 8).

I'd seen on TV how WOGS were mortified when kids were neglected, molested and abused. My scientologist friends were woefully uneducated, neglected and hungry. I was always sad about that and wanted something to be done for them.

I paid attention and learned both languages - WOG and Scientology (and even some Spanish due to living in the inner - Los Angeles area) because it had to be that way to get by. The Spanish factor is important because I hung out with really caring, loving Catholic/Mexican families and from them was able to learn how life could be different and what "church" meant to most people. It was completely fascinating to me. The Mexican families I knew were also extremely poor - but so very rich in love, caring, and doing everything needed to protect and help each other. This was foreign in Scientology families.

Heather

Go Back