On Sunday afternoon, while everybody was busy with their Superbowl parties, Gawker put up a story titled “The FBI Is Investigating Scientology for Human Trafficking“:
As expected, New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright’s massive profile of ex-Scientologist writer-director Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) contains many interesting revelations about the Church of Scientology and the life of a prominent member. Chief among these is the existence of an ongoing FBI investigation into allegations of abuse by Scientology’s leader David Miscavige, and the enslavement of members of Scientology’s religious order, “Sea Org”…
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Scientology’s financial exploitation of its members and brutal, stalkery retention practices always seemed to barely skirt the edges of legality. Looks like they might have crossed over into outright slavery…
The article itself, “The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology“, popped up on the New Yorker website as scheduled, in all its 26-page glory:
On August 19, 2009, Tommy Davis, the chief spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International, received a letter from the film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. “For ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego,” Haggis wrote. Before the 2008 elections, a staff member at Scientology’s San Diego church had signed its name to an online petition supporting Proposition 8, which asserted that the State of California should sanction marriage only “between a man and a woman.” The proposition passed. As Haggis saw it, the San Diego church’s “public sponsorship of Proposition 8, which succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California—rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state—is a stain on the integrity of our organization and a stain on us personally. Our public association with that hate-filled legislation shames us.” Haggis wrote, “Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.” He concluded, “I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.”…
Yes, the whole thing is well worth reading, and kudos to the New Yorker for making it available to everyone as an assurance that true long-form journalism is not yet dead. The FBI investigation may be the immediate news-nugget eyecatch, but it’s the gradual accretion of detail and individual history that makes Wright’s piece extraordinary. I’m going to buy a copy of the issue as soon as it becomes available on the newstand, and I look forward to reading Wright’s book about Scientology as well.
mikefromArlington
New Yorker is a great magazine I always pick up when I’m traveling for those long flights and while just looking to relax on vacations. The articles are very well researched as always and keep me intrigued unlike some modern day rags with articles a fraction of the size.
evap
I subscribe to the New Yorker because it’s a great read, but also for the same reason I get my hometown (not very good) newspaper delivered 7 days a week: I don’t want to see them disappear.
A Commenter at Balloon Juice (formerlyThe Grand Panjandrum)
For some odd reason this post makes me want to jump up and down on Oprah’s sofa.
Punchy
This article doesn’t follow the Scientological Method, therefore it’s bunk and hearsay.
Also, Tom Cruise will have butthurt. Maybe related to this article.
suzanne
My husband and I once tried to decide which religion was creepier: Mormonism or Scientology? The consensus was BOTH WEIRD, IIRC.
suzanne
@Punchy:
If the rumors are to be believed, he does so often, and with no relation to this article.
Alex S.
This is something I can sink my teeth into. While reading this excerpt, I have to think of one of my own conspiracy theories: If I was a leader of Scientology I would consider infiltrating Wyoming and turn it into a Scientology version of Utah. Now I have to read this article to see if they think like me.
WereBear
Scientology has one of the better mind control things going… is that ironic? I can’t figure it out.
Zifnab
About fucking time.
mirele
As a long-time Suppressive Person (altho’ never a Scientologist, just a crazy free speech advocate), this article just warmed the cockles of my heart. It’s just chock-full of explosive little gems that are surely giving the diminutive Napoleon running the outfit continual fits of apoplexy. And, it’s probably the first MSM article I’ve read about Scientology that gets it *right*, in the sense that there’s nothing I read there that felt “off.” Highly recommended, but make sure you read through to the end, or you’ll miss some surprises.
4tehlulz
@Alex S.: Clearwater FL. has better climate.
Shalimar
@suzanne: I have never found it to be much of a contest. I knew alot of mormons many years ago and they were mostly good people. Conservative, and believers in many things I don’t, but family-oriented and part of a stable, supportive community.
Scientology I don’t get at all. The whole thing is so obviously a con to separate emotionally vulnerable people from their money that I don’t know how anyone falls for it. But I also have never met a scientologist that I know of so maybe I am missing something.
Kryptik
Ah. For the days of Anonymous rallying up protests in front of these ‘Churches’ and generally making appropriate mockery of them. Seriously, when you can make Anonymous and 4chan look reasonable by comparison, you are some weird shit.
Sly
Finally, Xenu’s victims will have their justice.
Alex S.
@4tehlulz:
Oh wow, scary..
vernonlee
What an interesting read. Phew!
Reading it, I thought that Miscavige & Davis were both sociopaths (and bullies). But then no, that can’t be right: sociopaths are much better at manipulating people. These malevolent clowns don’t seem to have any idea how nutso and cultlike they sound.
My second thought: they’re like the Sarah Palins of religion: locked in a permanent embrace with their detractors, hurling scorched-earth counter-accusations at the slightest criticism.
So glad they’re all so inept at PR. Gives them less of a chance to be nailed as the criminal conspiracy they clearly are. RICO laws, anyone?
NonyNony
@suzanne:
I’d disagree. Mormonism was just as creepy as Scientology in the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, but it’s mellowed. They have some odd beliefs, but frankly so do other Christians, as do Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and pretty much any religion that has supernatural events occurring in the past as bedrock elements of faith. (The idea of a Judaic civilization in the US may be weird, but it has the same amount of archeological evidence for its existence as King David’s united nation of Judea or King Solomon’s fantastic palace – which is to say “none”. One is only weirder than the other because it’s less widespread a belief and a more recent invention.)
But the ethical code that the Mormon Church promotes is a fairly mainstream one, while the one promoted by Scientology will make a person into a sociopath if they live by it day in and day out. Every religion can possibly churn out sociopaths (just like any other organization can) but Scientology seems to be the only one around right now where the end goal of the organization is to create them. That’s messed up and definitely creepy.
vernonlee
Oh and a good exhibit of Tommy Davis’s ineptitude and childish petulance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUiUyVqOuJI
Respect mah authoritah!
suzanne
@Shalimar: I’ve met both. They’ve all been nice people. And considering that a friend of mine is currently about to get excommunicated from the LDS Church for not tithing (she believes they aren’t doing enough social justice work, so she stopped), I am of the opinion that both churches are merely Ponzi schemes.
me
@suzanne: How about if you add Opus Dei? Which is creepier then?
vernonlee
@vernonlee: oops – MORE of a chance to be nailed as the criminal conspiracy they are. Fixt.
Roger Moore
@Shalimar:
It’s the most basic rule of fraud: target people who are especially vulnerable to your pitch. Vulnerable people are willing to listen to just about anything that will make their problems go away; that’s what vulnerable means. This isn’t a all limited to emotional vulnerability. People with chronic illness are also incredibly vulnerable to anyone who promises them relief, which is why medical quacks thrive.
Jim, Once
Great, great article. I had just finished it before coming over to BJ, and looky here. Thanks, Annie.
Bill Murray
When I lived in Utah, it was the fraud capital of the US. When all that needs to be done to gain most people’s confidence is to be part of the in-group, fraud is easy
suzanne
@me: Mormonism, Scientology, or Opus Dei?
Crap. I really don’t think I could single one out as crazier than the others.
I’m always struck by the way that organizations like these all use the same principle that the Mormons call “milk before meat”… little by little, parceling out information, so the receiver feels increasingly powerful and simultaneously devoted. In the case of the Mormons, there’s even been accounts that a specific Temple ritual very few members are ever invited to participate in gives them permission to lie to protect Church secrets. I know Scientology works on that basis, as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Opus Dei did so, too.
It’s all just so obvious. I don’t care what brand of snake oil anyone’s selling—if you use those tactics, if your organization is that opaque, then there’s no way they’re doing good for people.
El Cid
I think we all know that much of the New Yorker is now owned by forces representing Xenu.
Not to mention that the New Yorker fails to offer their employees a billion year contract.
And no way can that rag have headquarter offices this cool.
prufrock
@Alex S.: Well, they’ve infiltrated at least one city…Clearwater, FL.
My hometown. Downtown Clearwater is Scieno central.
birthmarker
Here is the St. Petersburg Times’ article referenced in the New Yorker article.
(This is the first time I have attempted to link since the reboot. Will it work?? If not, at least I tried!)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1012148.ece
Steve M.
FYI, Wright’s also working on a book about Scientology.
birthmarker
Trashed. I can’t link. Going to try one more time…
http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1012148.ece
Xoebe
Don’t hold your breath. The Church of Scientology are masters of stonewalling and obfuscation. The FBI will be hard pressed to find anyone willing to give information, much less testify.
This has gone on for years, and the Church was weathered far worse. It’s an open secret the way they treat their members and staff, and nothing has come of it.
If you are interested in knowing more, hit up xenu.net. My outrage burned out a long time ago.
bjacques
If anyone wants to do a Snoopy Dance of Victory this weekend or next, there’s probably an Anonymous rally near you. Has it really been 3 years?
Draylon Hogg
Never mind Elron that “Bob” Dobbs fellow seems far more diabolical.
Zifnab
@suzanne:
Opus Dei is just Catholicism for extraordinarily rich people. It’s got the same kind of connection to Catholicism as the IRA or the mafia. Thugs who take communion.
I honestly wouldn’t put it in the same ballpark as Mormonism. Maybe Scientology, since they’re more militant.
Xantar
So does this have anything to do with those incoherent Scientology.org commercials I’ve been seeing? Or am I about to read about that as soon as I click through the link?
Elizabelle
Wow. The same Lawrence Wright who wrote “The Looming Tower, Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11”. Amazing book. Got to see him in his one man show, “My Trip to al Qaeda”, which is apparently now available as a documentary.
http://www.lawrencewright.com/bio.html
And he plays piano in a blues group, Who Do.
El Cruzado
@Zifnab: Not exactly. They aim to recruit rich people, but also the up-and-coming (and they’ll help with the upping and the coming). They do have that creepy “take over the World” undertones but don’t just cater to rich Catholics.
Allan
@suzanne: Considering that Glenn Beck and his wife picked it as adults as their faith after shopping for a church, I’m going to go with Mor
monism.trollhattan
@NonyNony:
After observing them marshal their considerable forces around Prop 8 I have to disagree. The LDS church will open their vaults and marshall their props (children) to take away yours and my freedom whenever they decide something threatens them (just happened to be teh ghey this time). Scientology(tm) does the same, but with far fewer folks and from a hollowed-out volcano lair.
John
@NonyNony:
I agree with the general premise that established religions largely seem more reasonable just because their weirdness has been stamped with time’s seal of approval, but I have to disagree with your specific application.
It’s just ridiculous to say that the idea of an ancient Israelite-originated civilization in the Americas is just as supported by evidence as the idea of the united kingdom of David and Solomon.
It’s certainly true that little direct evidence has been found of the United Kingdom. That being said, the same Biblical book that describes Solomon’s kingdom then goes on to describe the divided kingdom period, which has, in fact, been largely substantiated based on archaeological records and references to various kings in Assyrian records. The lack of archaeological substantiation certainly suggests that if there was a united kingdom, it was not so rich and powerful as Samuel and Kings suggest. But I don’t think the evidence really demands anything further than that. The extreme “minimalist” claims for the fictionality of the united kingdom period seem, imo, to be highly politically motivated, and there are certainly many biblical archaeologists who disagree with that position. I found an interesting discussion of the matter here, which points out some serious problems with the minimalist argument.
On the other hand, there are no archaeologists who give any credence to anything in the Book of Mormon.
Ruckus
@Shalimar:
I have known a number and am related to a 40 yr long member.
I don’t need them to disassociate from me, I have done it for them. It is a money sucking organization. I’d just like to know who is getting the money.
Rathskeller
@vernonlee: wow – by coincidence, I had been looking at that video this weekend, plus this 30 minute BBC piece on Scientology, also featuring Tommy Davis being an utter douchebag. The highlight/lowlight of the piece is the BBC reporter absolutely losing his marbles, literally screaming at Davis to shut up.
Rathskeller
@John: No, I think it’s a mistake to focus on the Scientology belief structure & creation myths. Yes, they’re very weird and silly. That is not important.
The real problem with Scientology is its aggressive, hostile reaction to any critics. They literally infiltrated the IRS, destroying documents from the inside. They have harassed and pursued people of all types — the video I show above has just a glimmer of what people might experience. They are a frightening organization to me, and it’s because what they do and have done, not because of what they believe.
In contrast, I could write a NY Times editorial about the Catholic church being a haven for pedophiles, anti-women, or whatever. At most I’d get some angry mail, maybe that Bill Donahue character would get all red in the face.
Ruckus
@Rathskeller:
The hostility level can become pretty high even about personal life issues for many of them. I wonder if they realize on some level that scientology is all bullshit but they are too deeply involved to admit it and realize all that time, money and commitment completely wasted.
ETA your video link is unavailable. Wonder?
Rathskeller
@Ruckus: Oh, sorry about that. I was at work, and didn’t check after successful google hit.
This Veoh version still works.
If you’re watching the video just to see the journalist freak out, it’s about 25 minutes in. It’s not the greatest 30 minutes of TV journalism, but the accumulating layer of douche-baggery is telling. The clip shows Davis is really good at baldfaces lies, spreading dirt, getting into people’s faces. He always stays on message, and he is quick to derail any conversation not going in the direction he wants. He is the truest of true believers — and satisfyingly, he was the target of Haggis’s loss-of-faith email. I’m just now starting on the article….
gelfling545
@NonyNony: Granted there are elements of belief in most, probably all, religions just as …unusual as those of scientology, what makes it all the more strange to me is that it arose in the 20th century, not in the bronze age. Adding extraterrestrials is a nice, modern touch, though.
Ruckus
@gelfling545:
I think l ron made the choice to go back in time so far that his religion could be said to the firstest and bestest. And without extraterrestrials there would be no way he could sell that because he’d be competing with all those other bronze age religions.
When you break it down to essentials I think you are correct that most if not all religions have something unexplainable/unusual in their past. It’s a way to control the story/history of the religion that can not ever be checked and must be just believed. Because if they can get you to believe the unexplainable the rest is easy. Grifters have been around for as long as there was more than one of us.