Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: dennis.l.erlich@support.com
Subject: Law Enforcement Issue
Message-ID: <9507220839.0C62200@support.com>
Organization: L.A. Valley College Public BBS (818)985-7150
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Distribution: world
Date: Sat, 22 Jul 95 08:39:42 -0700
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karisa@chinook.halcyon.com (kari orkney)

>VernS (verns@pinn.net) wrote:
>
>: Well, the last time a law enforcement agency became involved in attacking
what
>:  they believed to be a "major criminal conspiracy" having to do with
religious
>: fanatics, they came under great fire from the public, i.e. Waco.  Damned if
>: you do, damned if you don't.  However, with regards to the last paragraph
>: above, I would have to agree that it is only the posters "guess", and
attaches
>: itself to little or no factual probability.

    If you saw the testimony of that brave young lady the 
    "savior" Koresh raped at age 10 and heard about the 
    "punishment room" used on toddlers, you would know that 
    enforcement of child protection was required by law.  They 
    had to go in and break up the cult.
    
    The execution left much to be desired because the law 
    enforcement officers and above, know little about how cult 
    fanaticism really works.  The '76 raid on the scienos was 
    much smoother and lead to Mary Sue Hubbard and her GO minions
    being imprisoned.
    
    I'm sure that the scienos are doing their utmost best behind 
    the scenes to make FBI, ATF, Treasury and Justice look as bad
    as they can at the hearings.

>We agree on this one. Remember how outraged the public was that Jim Jones
>was allowed to operate a "church"? Everybody wanted to know why he
>couldn't be stopped ... but like you say when action is taken to protect
>people, particularly children, the public is furious too.
                                
    I don't see the furor.

>I've come across a few less than honorable family cults and it is darn
>near impossible to get a judge to do anything. Nobody wants to touch it.
                          
    There are guidlines for what constitutes child abuse.

>My interest was with the children of the cult. I don't care what the
>adults do out of their own free will. These were clear cut cases of
>sexual molestation, corporal punishment and just plain old abuse. So many
>of the children in cults are not accounted for anywhere. They are born at
>home and don't go to school, the cults are generally isolated ...
                                             
    The whole experience of growing up in a cult is abuse.

>Those kids I pray for every night. 
 
    As do I.

>OTOH there are small sects that keep
>to their own that do seem to have honest intentions and take good care of
>the children.

            +--------------------------------------+
           Rev. Dennis L Erlich  * * the inFormer * *
      dennis.l.erlich@support.com  +  inForm@primenet.com
                           "tar baby"