Scientology is facing another lawsuit from ex-members that are lifting the veil over its ultra-secret Sea Organization. Former Sea Org members say that the Church treated them as virtual slaves and forced them to work 100-hour weeks for pennies an hour. The Church insists that it can treat Sea Org members as akin to monks that are paid little while accepting to rigid lifestyles.
Marc Headley and his wife, Claire, are seeking back pay and overtime that could amount to $1 million each. So far the Church has been successful in defeating such claims.
However, these cases are forcing more information into the open about the Church, which has been denounced as both a cult and a criminal enterprise in various countries. Marc Headley says he was forced to reproduce the writings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and later worked on in-house films and designing the audiovisual displays.
Church spokeswoman Jessica Feshbach, a church spokeswoman and 16-year Sea Org member, insists that “When you sign up as a Sea Org member, you’re signing up as a member of a religious order . . . You sign a contract that says, ‘I’m not going to be paid minimum wage and I know that.'”
That makes for an interesting case since Catholic priests and others also agree to lives of poverty for their church. Headley has testified that he would work for 39 cents an hour to produce tapes that cost the church $1 but were then sold for $75. In 15 years, he says he only made $29,000.
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“Q: You’ve said you helped brainwash children. What was the procedure for doing so?
A: Young children are taken into the SO — they are usually the children of SO members. Indoctrination starts at the age of four. Education is concentrated on very little and L. Ron Hubbard’s works are forced as the major reading. By the time the child is eight, they are pretty well convinced the SO is the only real thing that can save man; they believe in past lives and reject psychology and other practices as being false and evil. They see little of their families and do not learn family values. By the time they are 13 they are well prepared to commit to their duty to serve mankind for life. They have no sports, no other tendencies. The only thing they really know is Scientology.”
Ex Scientologist interviewed in the James Randi Educational Foundation
http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/919-l-ron-hubbards-dystopia-on-earth-a-scientologist-speaks-out.html
Re: “We don’t know this person grew up in the church and was brain washed.
Headley joined Sea Org at 16 AFTER BEING RAISED BY SCIENTOLOGY PARENTS. He moved to the gated campus near Hemet in 1989.
At age 16, still carrying baby fat and no body hair.
Buckeye said:
“I understand Scientology has a bad reputation. I suspect that reputation is deserved. What I’ve said to lead you to think I am defending their practices is a mystery. Perhaps you could give a quote or two from my posts?”
Sorry, my comments were poorly stated. You were qualifying your statements in a way which I felt implied that scientology practices might be defensible. I do not believe they are (nor do I believe that scientology deserves any protection as a religion – I think that it is a for-profit cult which exists solely for the purpose of making money).
Buckeye said:
“I reread the original article and see that this gentleman (don’t know about the wife) was raised by Scientologists and joined at age 16. Any 16 year old can be brainwashed into doing something that is not necessarily to his advantage from joining Scientology to joining the Marines, but a 30 year old should be able to judge for himself.”
I don’t believe (the lawyers here can correct me if I am wrong) that you can sign a legally binding contract to become a slave at any age.
Buckeye said:
“We run into the Church/State separation problem when it comes to Scientology’s practices, and I still think, if his story is true, that anti-slavery laws would apply rather than labor laws.”
As I said above, I don’t acknowledge that scientology is a religion – I think it is a criminal organization. You’re probably right about the laws.
Buckeye said:
“It IS possible that he just wants the money, no matter how unholy the Scientolgy religion may be.”
Could be, but I tend to doubt it. I’ve read some of the websites of people that have escaped from L Ron’s mafia and given the apparent difficulty of getting out (like any abusive relationship – why do you think women stay with men who beat them?), I think they probably deserve every dime they’re asking for.
Slart
I understand Scientology has a bad reputation. I suspect that reputation is deserved. What I’ve said to lead you to think I am defending their practices is a mystery. Perhaps you could give a quote or two from my posts?
I reread the original article and see that this gentleman (don’t know about the wife) was raised by Scientologists and joined at age 16. Any 16 year old can be brainwashed into doing something that is not necessarily to his advantage from joining Scientology to joining the Marines, but a 30 year old should be able to judge for himself.
We run into the Church/State separation problem when it comes to Scientology’s practices, and I still think, if his story is true, that anti-slavery laws would apply rather than labor laws.
It IS possible that he just wants the money, no matter how unholy the Scientolgy religion may be.
Buckeye,
Educate yourself about Scientology – coercive practices are commonplace. It is very normal for children raised in the church to join the sea org (and this is not a free choice by any definition I’d use. Anyone leaving the church instantly becomes an unperson to all church members (usually their only friends and family) and is subject to the endless litigation that is official church policy (and they’re damned good at it, too). I truly doubt that you would defend the practices of Scientology if you knew what they were.
Slart
We don’t know this person grew up in the church and was brain washed.
He may have just joined a kooky church and agreed to work for 39 cents an hour.
Now he’s decided he shouldn’t have done that. He can sue, of course, but will have a hard time convincing me that he should now be recompensed for more than he agreed to receive when he joined.
I can see all the Hari Krishna’s suing Rev. Moon for past wages; or the descendants of Prof. Schweitzer suing Gabon and France for his work there.
If he was physically or mentally coerced into not leaving the church, of course, then anti-slavery laws should be considered. This doesn’t sound quite like that to me, though it could be.
Unless the victim you are making fun of is the girl (usually but not always) in the slasher movie that cannot run fifteen feet without falling. Screw that uncoordinated trite “plot” contrivance. The next slasher movie I see, I want a gal that can burn some rubber.
BIL, you rock.
Buckeye,
So if someone makes a bad decision then they deserve virtual slavery? Many of these people grew up in the church as well (i.e. they were essentially brainwashed by their parents) – there’s a big difference between that and you volunteering at your church…
Slart
There’s a sucker born every minute and it sounds like many of them make their way to this organization.
As a volunteer, I work for even less than 39 cents an hour, in fact I work for free, but I don’t intend to sue my church down the road. And if I did, I doubt I’d win the case.
Yep.
Blaming the victims of crime never funny. Blaming the bad guys? Always a hoot.
Unless the victim you are making fun of is the girl (usually but not always) in the slasher movie that cannot run fifteen feet without falling. Screw that uncoordinated trite “plot” contrivance. The next slasher movie I see, I want a gal that can burn some rubber. Just slip away with the grace of a jungle cat. I want her to leave Jason or Freddy or Whozhewhatsit cooling his heels and panting like a hairy dog in August. Is that too much to ask for? Is it, Hollywood? Is it really?
Buckeye,
Wow. Nice job blaming the victims.
Anyone that “sign(s) a billion-year pledge, vow not to have children and live and work communally.” can hardly be considered rational about deciding how much they should have been making per hour; especially after doing it for 15 years.
Since they agreed to their terms of employment for 15 years, they should “get a life”, and proper remuneration for their work, in the future – just as ex-Catholic priests have done.
And to live and be free has it rewards Taxes….
Information requires context. Information without context is merely data.
Here is some information: Germany investigated Scientology as a criminal enterprise.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1695514,00.html
Although they found insufficient evidence to close down the organization, it is well established that absence of proof is not proof of absence just as it is established that the “Church’s” activities merited investigation on their face. Prosecutors from all over the state cannot be all wrong and if they all saw smoke? That alone tells one something in context. Because what is a lawful prosecution but a state sanctioned persecution of suspected wrong doers by the terms of criminal law. In context, this may seem to some like a big deal on its own, but I urge you to consider this when thinking about the collective psyche of Germany. There was a strong societal compulsion NOT to even look sideways at a “religion”. The last time Germany started any form of state sanction against religion, millions died, and a result of that is reticence to make that same mistake again. Aversion to religious persecution is a much higher societal barrier to overcome in Germany than it would be in many countries.
So put that with your data and contextualize how suspect Scientology actually is.