I just hope that the critics who burn up L. Ron Hubbard's effigy in front of church of scientologists will realize that it's the equivalent to burning up Christ in front of christians.

Personally, as a NON-CofS scientogist, I don't care. Unlike what church of scientogists view Ron as, I view him as just a man who brought some good and evil information to the world and went insane. But church of scientologists hold him up as man's best friend of all time.

The people which burning LRH's effigy will hurt and enrage ... are honest (though naive) staff members and public church of scientologists. Senior management likely doesn't give a shit because I don't think they really believe in the tech anyway. They'll probably laugh and love this critics foot-bullet.

So who is one trying to hurt? Naive church of scientologists? Or senior management who is the CAUSE of the mess? What's the intention here? Does one really want to alienate church of scientologists from critics even more? So CofS'ists will forever close down their minds to listen to what critics have to say even though the critics data is true?

I hope this isn't a reactive stratagem to get even. Has this plan been really thought all the way through? I hope this isn't for the purpose of sensationalism. I hope it's done with the intention to cause an effective turn for good.

I'm sure there are other more creative and communicative ways to get our messages across. I really believe this burning effigy stuff is going to back-fire. Though I may be and HOPE I'm wrong. It would be great if some good comes out of it. But at this point, I don't see how it can. I think it will only hurt us critics' credibility.

Please don't do it because "not doing it" would make one lose face for the idea. Let's set ego aside. Let's not let ego get in the way of doing the right thing.

At first, the idea of burning effigies sounds funny and we all laugh at the potential reactivity we'll be able to get on film with this kind of "bull-baiting. I especially like the thought of the burning Miscaviges effigy. But still, I don't see how it can do any good. It can only make critics look like the very fanatics that us critics complain about church of scientologists.

I really hope others will re-consider this plan and come up with a better alternative.

Yours for effective communication, Safe, an authentic, informed NON-CofS scientologist

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"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." -- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas (Justice for 36 years)