EzraPound said:
Fair enough, but as much has to do with historical and cultural inertia. Many Christian nations are loathe to abandon Christianity, and in America (consisting of a population split between the highly secular and the religiously adherent) attempts to divorce church from state are viewed with mild amusement, at best. Islam also gets a break because, I suspect by and large, the majority of its believers are from nations historically oppressed by the West. Add to that the political minefield of terrorism and various wars against it and you have a political correctness nightmare waiting to happen. People in many countries are unwilling to draw too much attention to Islamic radicalism for fear of appearing to discriminate against Islam as a whole.
In other countries, they looked at how the Church of Scientology acted in its home country and are
freaked out by it. That it doesn't have the benefit of political-correctness-nightmares-in-the-making doesn't hurt (no ethnic or historical baggage to force their opponents to be more circumspect). Their attempts at decrying protests and criticism as discrimination have fallen on deaf ears because of these factors. And many countries dislike having to fall under the influence of America any more than they already do. The CoS is a decidedly American enterprise and a malignant one at that--it's no wonder countries like the fiercely independent (which is putting it in the most polite way I can) France wants nothing to do with Scientology.
On the internet, again, it's personal. The censorship thing is the last thing you ever want to challenge the internet with.
And sorry if I implied that you were an apologist, I've got a better grasp of your concerns now.
Flying-Emu said:
(snippery)
Don't put words in my mouth. Please.
Considering the tone and content of my past posts, and how you responded to them, my own response was reasonable given the context. If I read too much into it, then I'll have to apologize. However, previous points made still stand.
Every belief system has something for somebody. Every religion or cult. They have a basic message that appeals to people, a community that appears closer than what they have in the outside world, and they give a lot of attention to people--which is something different from the apathy people tend to wear when they interact with one another. Once you've got them in, you can emotionally blackmail them, twist their perspective, and rip them off as much as you like. After all, you had them at "Hello."
Conmen also act like this, except instead of appealing to some emotional need, they appeal to their victims' naivety or greed. Once the initial sales pitch has gotten through to the mark, the victim is less likely to latch on to later warning signs that
something isn't right.
Extreme political parties tend to appeal to entirely different emotions. Idealism or disgust, depending on which side of the aisle it falls in. Either way, they can convince their constituency to support some absolutely heinous atrocities all in the name of "necessity." They've already bought into the message and are likely to see a perceived need for drastic measures where more moderate people might not. It's often a gut emotional response. The far left wanting to dismantle a decent working socioeconomic system with one that's either unproven or proven wrong, the far right wanting to expel or subjugate whoever--often out of fear.
But I digress.
Scientology is just like any of these. They just have more money and a higher public profile. The Fair Game policy relies on an "us vs. them" perspective that comes from being cloistered or at least segregated from the temptations of society and taught that it's necessary for their spiritual development. (And an antagonistic stance towards outsiders that's built into their belief system as a whole.) Their anti-psychiatric doctrine, one that's cost lives over the years, is the result of simple demonization of a profession--one the founder did not like, presumably because they've said unpleasant things about him. Their fleecing of their less prominent members and the luxuries and excess enjoyed by those at the top? Well, I did say it was a rip-off.
There's nothing special about Scientology, it's only gotten a lot of attention from certain internet grass-roots communities. When looked at objectively, it's just another con.
