Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology From: dennis.l.erlich@support.com Subject: KIM BAKER'S 3RD DECLA Message-ID: <9601110810.0BHN000@support.com> Organization: L.A. Valley College Public BBS (818)985-7150 X-Mailer: TBBS/PIMP v3.35 Distribution: world Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 08:10:44 -0800 Lines: 86 Bill Hudson bmyers@ionet.net (TarlaStar): >... *I* wasn't weak >enough to join the Church of Scientology in the first fucking place! >And I'm damned sure not weak enough to be turning the other cheek so >that Scientology can fuck ME in the ass. She meant "weak" in the good way, Bill. Bill: >Just my $0.02 worth as an aside... > >I hesitate to typify everbody who joins the church as 'weak'. Nor did she. Certainly we all had weaknesses. Naivate'. Idealism. *Limited* inquisitiveness. >Misinformed, misled, lied-to: sure, but not necessarily 'weak'. Call us anything you want. I'm sure it will be mild enough for us to accept, especially in comparison to what the cult is laying on us. >The >church expands by presenting a 'reasonable' facade to the general >public, cloaked in their pseudo-science. People get involved in cults >for many reasons, not necessarily because they are weak personalities. Sometimes for the opposite reason. Some may get involved because they are *strong*. There maybe is no outlet for, or use made of their strength in the society in which they find themselves. >I don't consider St. Dennis 'weak'; nor do I consider Arnaldo Lerma, Bob >Penny, or Larry Wollersheim 'weak'. In fact, they are a hell of a lot >stronger than I am. If I had been subjected to a fraction of the >harassment that any one of these pillars of strength have been forced to >endure, I probably would have rolled over long ago. Sad, but true. That's why most folks wouldn't face the cult head-on. Governments, huge corporations ... hell, even the Supreme Court blinked when the cult turned its Fairgame Machine on them. The scienos wore down the IRS for f*ck-sake! It took the IRS to snag Capone. And the IRS backed down from the scienos. (The Government is not only fiscally bankrupt, it is morally so. This is in no small measure as a result of its dirty deal with the scienos.) We who oppose the cult directly are hardly pilars of stength. And that's the point. We are just fed-up folks. Regular little humans like you. We make mistakes under pressure, just as you would. >My first exposure to the wierd world of Scientology was years ago, in an >excellent Readers Digest article "Scientology: Anatomy of a frightening >cult". Since that point, I would never be knowingly involved in >Scientology, or any Scientology front group. I had been informed. The scienos hated that article and Reader's Digest since the 50s. I knew "all about" the articl, but never bothered read it. >That's what I see as the purpose of ARS. To inform people, to present >ALL of the information available and allow them to make up their minds >about Scientology on their own. If they choose to follow it after they >have all of the facts, then it's on their own heads. Toadly. Ars's not a f*cking Movement! It's just a gathering place (hell, it's more amorphous than even that) for people looking to gain information or insight into a dangerous cult, or looking to inForm. That's all. >Bill Hudson Rev. Dennis L Erlich * * the inFormer * *