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Scientology Charged With Slavery, Human Trafficking
eldavojohn writes "A formal complaint was filed in California (caged PDF) last week by John Lindstein naming David Miscavige and the Church of Scientology International as defendants. Lindstein claims that for sixteen years (from age 8) he was forced to work as a slave at Gold Base, a secret CoS site run by Golden Era Productions with 'razor wire, security guard patrols, surveillance posts, and three roll calls each day.' The pay was $50 a week. The allegations include 'Violations of wage and hour laws as well as unfair/illegal business practices actionable under California B&P 17200 Et. Seq.' and a complaint under the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, which abolished slavery. Members of the group Anonymous praised the summons."
Hmm, how come every Scientology story must have some post diverting attention to Catholicism, trying to lend legitimacy to Scientology as a religion?
Let's stick to the topic at hand, shall we? And that topic is that Scientology apparently enslaved this person.
Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.
I think you started a little late. The Muslim crusades. The Catholic crusades. The Inquisition. (What a show...) The common thread is people... A corrupt person has no problem using anything as an excuse from religion, to communism, to security, to social justice. No "idea" stays pure once people start to use it.
Religions, though, have the unpleasant architectural problem of (in the vast majority of cases) coupling social and organizational power with strongly implied, or even overt, assertions of trustworthiness.
Because they purport to deal in moral and divine matters, those who have power within the organization generally(either as an official point of doctrine, or in lay understanding) tend to be imbued with greater "goodness" or "holiness" or access to divine command, or whatever. Priests and CEOs are both potentially dangerous, and quite likely to cover for their buddies; but you don't generally tell children that CEOs are trusted authority figures who deserve their respect and obedience.
modded funny, but R2-45 is actually documented Scientology scripture, explained in exactly the same way as the parent post. It's funny because it's 100% true.
Sticky subject that is likely to insult somebody, no matter how you approach it.
I can say that I have met some Jewish people with questionable business morals, but then again I've met people with NO religious beliefs that are far worse.
As far as slavery and forced labor goes, the long-running genocide in Darfur is essentially Muslim controlled militias attacking indigenous tribes-people, people that have been a source of slaves for Muslim slavers for hundreds of years.
The rallying cry for some of the Janjaweed (means "devil on horseback") militia forces has been "Kill the slaves, kill the slaves!"
But then again, the region where the Janjaweed are killing defenseless, unarmed villagers also happens to center around a government-held oil pipeline that sends 80% of the regions oil to China.
So maybe religion has nothing to do with it? Maybe some people are just assholes?
And to complicate matters, some people seem to feel compelled to put Scientology in the same group as Christianity and Islam when we ALL know Scientology is just a big SCAM. It is NOT a religion just because they say it is. It is a scam disguised as a religion.
Oranges and Apples, my friends...Don't give them the credit they so desire.
Slavery actually connotes a position of involuntary servitude rather than one where payment is withheld. That is, it is the lack of freedom that is the main attribute of slavery, not the lack of compensation.
Slavery actually connotes a position of involuntary servitude rather than one where payment is withheld. That is, it is the lack of freedom that is the main attribute of slavery, not the lack of compensation.
The barbed wire at Gold Base is on the inside of the fence not on the outside.
My parents forced me to go to church every week, then sunday school, and during the week I would be forced to work as an altar boy for no pay. All the time I was brainwashed with repetitive prayers and actions. A cult is a cult is a cult. It doesn't matter that here in North America we tend to be fond of a particular one.
Dude - there are (and were) cults out in the US today that do much, much worse.
Yes there are, but nothing on the scale of Scientology. The bigger the group the bigger the target, the harder to keep secrets.
That's what I mean by being surprised. A local compound in one city? Zero information coming out of that would surprise me. But again, for something as large and well known as scientology... it is odd to me that this has not come forward before and is being practiced at all. They don't need to do this after all, they are making money hand over fist as it is.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Hubbard himself gave the order on 6 March 1968, referring to *specific people* in an HCO Ethics order that was seized during an FBI raid. Referring to these once valued Scientologists, LRH said, and I quote, "They are declared Enemies of mankind, the planet and all life." ... " They are fair game." ... and "Any Sea Org member contacting any of them is to use Auditing Process R2-45."
Would you consider that a joke? If so, it's a pretty bad one.
They're really that terrible. Sorry.
The very first thing that happens when you're brought into Scientology is that they convince you that all that money you're spending on doctors is wasted, that Scientology will fix everything. Some people with actual life-threatening problems don't survive this phase. Doesn't bother Scientology a bit, though.
I love Mondays. On a Monday, anything is possible.
Fraiser (to Niles): "Remember Niles, that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."
Nile: "Yes, but what about the people that don't make it into that second group?"
Allow me to re-phrase that for you:
The problem wasn't the conditions in which slaves were kept; the problem is that human beings were indistinguishable from livestock in the minds of their owners.
You ought to learn about what the loss of liberty does to a human being before you trot out this useless tripe again.
Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
And confusing "Charged with" with "Found guilty of".
I think you're confusing "not found guilty" and "not charged" with "innocent"
Either all these former Scientologists are in some kind of multi-decade conspiracy to slander CoS
OR the CoS really has been doing horrible things since its founding.
Which is the more plausible proposition?
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!