Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath 2

[Coconut Flan]

The show may be returning Aug 15 (Tony Ortega).

[Inky]

We'll be watching - sounds like it's going to be pretty explosive.

[quiversR4hunting]

So the Daily Beast has a new article out about Danny Masterson and how Scientology is silencing the victims. The article could be triggering, so read with care.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-church-of-scientology-went-after-danny-mastersons-rape-accusers

[quiversR4hunting]

I just listen to an interview  of Leah by Ron Miscaviage. I didn't know he has a podcast (?) called "Life after scientology" The audio is out on entertainment weekly:

http://ew.com/tv/2018/07/16/leah-remini-scientology-and-the-aftermath-season-3/

I am only at minute 19, it is good. I am guessing it is about an hour interview. I am learning more about Ron and Shelly & David and the fact that Shelly is no longer visible.   

[unholypoledancer]

Has anyone else seen the advertisements for the special Leah Remini is doing a special on her show about Jehovah Witnesses? My hubby and I can't wait to watch. I believe it's sometime in mid-November. 

[Ozlsn]

So I fell down a bit of an ex-Scientology rabbithole (with my husband) and binge-watched series 1 (minus the Q&A eps which was disappointing), read Ron Miscavige's book, Tony Ortega's book, "Going Clear", Jenna Miscavige Hill's book, Leah Remini's book and one I haven't seen mentioned here - "Fair Game: the incredible untold story of Scientology in Australia" by Steve Cannane. There was a bit of stuff in there I hadn't come across before, particularly Hubbard's connections to the country, info on the usenet stuff and Assange's connection, and Scientology's involvement in the Chelmsford deep sleep scandal. I was kind of shocked there was a RPF facility in Sydney - no idea why but I had the impression that most RPF happened in, well, bigger facilities. (Scientology is very minor here.) 

We have series 2 on order, looking forward to seeing it. It still amazes me that they got a tax exemption anywhere given the level of criminal behaviour and conspiracy. 

[OyToTheVey]

On 10/6/2018 at 10:19 PM, unholypoledancer said:

Has anyone else seen the advertisements for the special Leah Remini is doing a special on her show about Jehovah Witnesses? My hubby and I can't wait to watch. I believe it's sometime in mid-November. 

I actually came here to see if anyone saw that commercial too. That episode is going to be crazy especially since Serena Williams just came out as said she's a Jehovah and they didn't celebrate the kids birthday. I've had them at my door. They really are a cult.

[PennySycamore]

@OyToTheVey, that makes me sad that Serena is still a JW.  I knew they were raised that way, but I'd hoped she'd left.  

My sister is a retired elementary teacher.  She said that it was rather a pain in the butt to have a JW kid in the class.  They could not do anything patriotic or celebrate any holidays.  Can you recall how many turkeys and flags you colored in elementary school?  She always had to give these kids an alternative activity.  

[SilverBeach]

17 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@OyToTheVey, that makes me sad that Serena is still a JW.  I knew they were raised that way, but I'd hoped she'd left.  

My sister is a retired elementary teacher.  She said that it was rather a pain in the butt to have a JW kid in the class.  They could not do anything patriotic or celebrate any holidays.  Can you recall how many turkeys and flags you colored in elementary school?  She always had to give these kids an alternative activity.  

It's sad to me that children are made out to be oddballs because of their parent's beliefs. Not letting a kid celebrate their birthday at school has got to be bad, my child enjoyed sharing hers with her class so much. There is an excellent subreddit, exjw, where former witnesses talk about the joy of having a birthday party or celebrating Christmas for the first time.

[Jana814]

1 hour ago, PennySycamore said:

 

My sister is a retired elementary teacher.  She said that it was rather a pain in the butt to have a JW kid in the class.  They could not do anything patriotic or celebrate any holidays.  Can you recall how many turkeys and flags you colored in elementary school?  She always had to give these kids an alternative activity.  

My friend use to work in a school that had a lot of JW kids. They didn’t do Halloween and with the other holidays it wasn’t much.  She has since moved to another school that does a big thing for all the holidays. If parents have a problem the kids either don’t come to school that day or they are picked up before the celebration starts. 

[OyToTheVey]

18 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@OyToTheVey, that makes me sad that Serena is still a JW.  I knew they were raised that way, but I'd hoped she'd left.  

My sister is a retired elementary teacher.  She said that it was rather a pain in the butt to have a JW kid in the class.  They could not do anything patriotic or celebrate any holidays.  Can you recall how many turkeys and flags you colored in elementary school?  She always had to give these kids an alternative activity.  

I'm a special ed teacher. I can't even tell you how many lesson plans revolve holidays or 'celebrations'. I'm on a break from teaching so I haven't done it recently but soooooooooo many. Even something as simple as snow turned into a celebration. Imagine having to teach a class about wearing hats and scarves in the snow without using a picture of a snowman to keep 6 year olds attention. Snowman always leads to stories and occasions and celebrations. I remember this one kid who wasn't allowed to even have ice cream or cake for someones birthday. She had to leave every single time it was a classmates birthday. I'm not even talking about celebrating and singing the song. Her parents wouldn't even let her have the dessert.  

 

It made me really sad when Serena said she was still JW. And now it seems her husband is into it too. He didn't celebrate their daughters birthday either. I always feel for those kids. The joy of opening a birthday present is the best.

Edited October 27, 2018 by OyToTheVey

[DaisyD]

There was a girl in junior high that always wore skirts and couldn't celebrate holidays. For Valentine's Day she wrote everyone in class a nice note as a way around it. It was the first time I'd encountered a JW. It all sounded so depressing to me. The boy knew a kid in elementary that had to wait in the hall during the pledge every day, so he'd go with him to keep him company.

When they come to my door, they don't lead off with which church they're with. I've taken to just asking outright. Then I tell them they're barking up the wrong tree.

[tankgirl]

I think we need to remember its bigger then holidays, and kids feeling on the outside, JW's are a doomsday cult, based on constant premonitions about the "end times" of their original leader, then as he was "wrong" they did the data sweep of the turn of the last century methods, and all acted like that wasn't what the leader meant over and over. They were racist, until they saw a group they could manipulate  and then went in hard on African Americans and later other racial groups. They seek out people who are struggling and love bomb them till they join and then all the typical cult stuff comes in, with just minor changes to the script. Their methods have found they allowed child abuse and domestic abuse and got in trouble for child abuse issues in Australia. 

Sadly, I had a friend get sucked in and hate what she has become, she is not the person I knew and cared about, it is horrible.

Also a lot of them are assholes, one of the Temples I dealt with actively taught one guy I had to work with how to take advantage of employment laws, so he could screw over non-JW businesses. Several of them I knew actively would take advantage of non-JW people, they were taught they don't matter, unless they join their church. 

I am curious what she lays out about them. 

[Briefly]

4 hours ago, tankgirl said:

I think we need to remember its bigger then holidays, and kids feeling on the outside, JW's are a doomsday cult, based on constant premonitions about the "end times" of their original leader, then as he was "wrong" they did the data sweep of the turn of the last century methods, and all acted like that wasn't what the leader meant over and over. They were racist, until they saw a group they could manipulate  and then went in hard on African Americans and later other racial groups. They seek out people who are struggling and love bomb them till they join and then all the typical cult stuff comes in, with just minor changes to the script. Their methods have found they allowed child abuse and domestic abuse and got in trouble for child abuse issues in Australia. 

Sadly, I had a friend get sucked in and hate what she has become, she is not the person I knew and cared about, it is horrible.

Also a lot of them are assholes, one of the Temples I dealt with actively taught one guy I had to work with how to take advantage of employment laws, so he could screw over non-JW businesses. Several of them I knew actively would take advantage of non-JW people, they were taught they don't matter, unless they join their church. 

I am curious what she lays out about them. 

I don't think a lot of people realize that, but they are very much a doomsday cult.

Mr. Briefly's boss was a JW, back when he was employed.  Mr. Briefly said he was one the most hypocritical people ever.  I know the woman I worked with that was JW was always telling people who holidays and birthday celebrations were so wrong and that she did not celebrate it.  But she was usually the first one in line for food or cake at those celebrations when the office had them.

[Ozlsn]

12 hours ago, tankgirl said:

Their methods have found they allowed child abuse and domestic abuse and got in trouble for child abuse issues in Australia. 

To be fair the Royal Commission found that pretty much every religious group in Australia (as well as other institutions like Scouts, schools from all three streams and sporting clubs) had had problems with institutional sexual abuse of children, and - more importantly - had covered up or failed to act on reports within their communities. Certainly wasn't just the JW. Or just the RC, Scientologists, Anglicans or any one group come to that.

8 hours ago, Briefly said:

I don't think a lot of people realize that, but they are very much a doomsday cult.

I have to admit their theology didn't seem that different to the Rapture theology the local Assemblies of God were on about when I was growing up!  I couldn't work out how either of them had come to those conclusions from what I'd read in the Bible. Took me years to find that out. Our local JW were pretty quiet, I don't think they did much more than doorknock and drop off Watchtowers. 

[OyToTheVey]

They used to come to my door all the time. But they haven't come in a long time. Which is weird because I'm in Brooklyn and the Watchtower building is right off the Brooklyn Bridge. However, I might just be blind to it. The sheer volume of people we have here always attracts cults and crazies.

[Jana814]

We haven’t had JW at our door in a long time. Their is a Mormon Temple in my town (no stop lights but we have a Mormon temple) but they don’t come around much either. 

[Pecansforeveryone]

I know Rapture and doomsday theology had a "mainstream" moment via the Left Behind books and movies. I know not all denominations preach the Rapture or at least not the Left Behind version of the Rapture. Tim La Haye and others got very dogmatic that their version of Rapture theology was absolutely correct. 

[PennySycamore]

@OyToTheVey and @Jana814, we've not had the JWs at the door for a long time.  Or the Mormons either, for that matter.  I'd like to be to tell the JWs that I'd have died 63 years ago if I'd not had three complete blood exchange transfusions at birth.

@Jana814,  the Mormon temple in the Washington, DC area is in Kensington, MD just off the Beltway (I-495).  It reminded lots of people of the Emerald City and so someone spray-painted "Surrender Dorothy"  on a bridge across the Beltway.  It was beautiful!

[OyToTheVey]

2 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@OyToTheVey and @Jana814, we've not had the JWs at the door for a long time.  Or the Mormons either, for that matter.  I'd like to be to tell the JWs that I'd have died 63 years ago if I'd not had three complete blood exchange transfusions at birth.

@Jana814,  the Mormon temple in the Washington, DC area is in Kensington, MD just off the Beltway (I-495).  It reminded lots of people of the Emerald City and so someone spray-painted "Surrender Dorothy"  on a bridge across the Beltway.  It was beautiful!

I typically go in 2 directions with these people. 1) WTF are you doing at my door at 8am on a Saturday. Leave before I call the cops. or 2) I'm Jewish, Jesus was a Jew. You want to follow Jesus, read the Torah and become Jewish. 

 

PS: their anti medicine stance is atrocious. How can anyone renounce modern medicine is beyond me. It's one of the greatest things about living in the technological world.

Edited October 29, 2018 by OyToTheVey

[Ozlsn]

I watched Louis Theroux's "My Scientology Movie" last night and found myself unexpectedly in sympathy with Marty Rathburn. I also came away with the really strong impression that one reason Rathburn went back in was that movie - which is kind of sad if true. The scenes near the end when they recreated the abuse in the Hole (which has to have been triggering), then he walked out into a trio of abusive Scientologists who made veiled threats about his son, followed by him somewhat incoherently trying to explain the level of stress to Theroux who turned around and said "well you did it to other people, so..." All I could think was "really bad timing there Theroux "- no matter what he did previously he was obviously really upset and stressed at that time, and that entire question just felt like a really low blow to me. If they had asked him that at a different time, yeah it's a fair question - but at that time, to me, it came across as borderline abusive. Rathburn in Going Clear, and even in quieter moments in this movie, came across to me as someone who was struggling to reconcile what he had done and believed with his self-view - much more than Mike Rinder who seems to have been able to separate his previous self and beliefs from where he is now.  (Rinder also has the advantage of not having done as many really crappy things to people as Rathburn as far as I can tell.) 

Anyway I came away much less surprised that he returned - it is after all one way to make the abuse stop and return to everything being far more black and white than outside the cult. Also came away thinking that Rathburn really, really needed a good debriefing therapist. I hope if he does break with them again he finds one.

[OyToTheVey]

I've been noticing something lately. It's happening more and more. Scientology is back on their advertising game. A week ago I was listening to either Z100 or KTU (NYC) I don't remember which tbh. Both are owned by IHeartRadio. And all of a sudden there was a Scientology ad full force. Like proper trying to get people to check them out. It was during rush hour too so that ad must have cost. And this morning I was watching crime shows (lol don't judge I like ID network and Dateline and stuff) anyway as I was getting ready to go to work the Oxygen Network was on in the background and some weird as shit ad started playing. So googled it. Yup Scientology. I'm so disturbed by this ad and the fact that several stations would even consider playing a cults ads.  TBH I even sent a twitter message to Leah Remini about it. I doubt she'll see it but I felt it was necessary.

 

Edited November 3, 2018 by OyToTheVey

[Hane]

On 10/29/2018 at 10:43 AM, PennySycamore said:

 

@Jana814,  the Mormon temple in the Washington, DC area is in Kensington, MD just off the Beltway (I-495).  It reminded lots of people of the Emerald City and so someone spray-painted "Surrender Dorothy"  on a bridge across the Beltway.  It was beautiful!

The Hartford, Connecticut temple is in the nearby town of Farmington, a suburban/rural area. The building is a huge gray stone structure with pillars out front. It would have looked at home in Hartford proper, but it seems to have been dropped into its countryside location by aliens.

[caitrona]

5 hours ago, OyToTheVey said:

I've been noticing something lately. It's happening more and more. Scientology is back on their advertising game. A week ago I was listening to either Z100 or KTU (NYC) I don't remember which tbh. Both are owned by IHeartRadio. And all of a sudden there was a Scientology ad full force. Like proper trying to get people to check them out. It was during rush hour too so that ad must have cost. And this morning I was watching crime shows (lol don't judge I like ID network and Dateline and stuff) anyway as I was getting ready to go to work the Oxygen Network was on in the background and some weird as shit ad started playing. So googled it. Yup Scientology. I'm so disturbed by this ad and the fact that several stations would even consider playing a cults ads.  TBH I even sent a twitter message to Leah Remini about it. I doubt she'll see it but I felt it was necessary.

 

They have their own recruiting channel on DirectTV, too. 

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, OyToTheVey said:

And all of a sudden there was a Scientology ad full force. Like proper trying to get people to check them out. It was during rush hour too so that ad must have cost. 

Well it's not like they're short on cash. I wonder how much of this is in response to The Aftermath, and whether it's aimed more at recruitment or retaining existing members.