LA WEEKLY
July 20, 2001 http://www.laweekly.com/letters/ TRAVAILS OF SCIENTOLOGY DEAR EDITOR: Re: Gale Holland’s "Unfair Game" [June 22–28]. Thanks for outlining the travails of Scientology critic Keith Henson. It’s rare, these days, to see journalists take the time to cut through "spin" and lies, and hit a nail so squarely on the head. At some point, I am hoping that law enforcement and the legal system will wake up and begin to see — and investigate — Scientology’s constant legal proceedings as criminal harassments by an organized-crime syndicate. Because that’s exactly what they are. —Michael Reuss
Fort Collins, Colorado

DEAR EDITOR: Thanks to Gale Holland for the piece on Scientology and Keith Henson. She covered material that can be a minefield for the uninitiated. Sadly, active Scientologists will be prohibited by their "church" from reading this excellent article. —Chip Gallo
Washington, D.C.

DEAR EDITOR: Nice article on Keith Henson. However, I would like you to clarify that I was not arrested for cultivating marijuana, "as was former Scientologist Jessie Prince." I wasn’t even arrested. I was ordered to see the judge for violation of an injunction Scientology had set up — having to do with sitting in a red Santa’s chair and walking down the street with two picket signs in Clearwater, Florida. —Tory Bezazian
Burbank

DEAR EDITOR: Gale Holland’s piece ridicules the Church of Scientology for taking seriously a bomb threat made by Keith Henson. [WWW editor's note. No such bomb threat was made: the jury said so.] In the same article, Holland writes, "Henson worked in the 1970s for an explosives company in Arizona, and arranged pyrotechnic parties in the desert ‘similar to Burning Man.’" This reader is mystified why anyone should not take such a threat very seriously. Is Holland brimming with Panglossian naiveté, or is she just not being objective? —Jeff Farrow
Tujunga

DEAR EDITOR: Keith Henson does not have to like Scientology, but he made violent threats [WWW editor's note. Henson did not make any such threats], was convicted of a hate crime by a jury of his peers [also false], then fled to Canada to escape punishment [also false]. He is a convicted criminal and fugitive from the law. Why are you defending him? Your credibility suffers. —Bill Zalin
Los Angeles

DEAR EDITOR: Your recent article on Keith Henson really misses the point. A jury unanimously [WWW editor's note. This is false] convicted him of interfering with a religion. His interference consisted of following Scientology religious[sic] workers, taking down their license numbers and stalking them at their homes[sic]. This is not the expression of opinion; it is harassment of individual Scientologists solely because of their faith[sic]. If the victims[sic] of Henson’s obsession had been members of a Catholic or Jewish congregation, I’m sure that even the L.A. Weekly would not be so cavalier about the rights of the church members involved. —Pam Shannon
Church[sic] of Scientology
Los Angeles