Scientology

This article is no longer maintained. Please refer to ED for more information.

Scientology cannot be destroyed by just Anonymous. Over a year ago /i/ realized they were the final boss of the Internet, and short of the whole fucking Internets combining, including every MySpace user standing on streets with signs, they are not going down.

But one can deal them a heavy blow. If enough people were to band together, specifically the anti-eBaums Alliance including Anonymous, SA, YTMND and friends, then we would in fact create major lulz and help Scientology to lose more interest and members (which would of course snowball with pissed off ex-scifags becoming protesters).

A background of Scientology and their history with the Internet. From WIKIPEDIA, so it must be true.

What Scientologists actually believe

If you're here, you've probably already seen the South Park segment on Xenu. The leader of the church, David Miscavige, has said on record that Xenu is just a minor detail of Scientology's upper levels. The sad part is that he's right. There is now a link to the official south park streaming site that may prove useful on people who think xenutv and Anonymous is biased: [[1]] Apparently not streaming in UK yet.

There is way too much wackiness to sum up briefly. But briefly, Scientologists believe that everything that bothers them is caused by brainwashed "thetans" (immortal thought-beings) that inhabit their bodies. They de-program these thetans by "auditing" them with a half-assed lie detector called an e-meter. Thetans can have memories that extend into past lives, future lives, current lives, animals, plants, inanimate objects, intangibles, etc.

The ultimate theological goal of the Church of Scientology is to audit the universe out of existence so that thetans can create a new and better one (i.e. Tom Cruise's "improved conditions").

This goal apparently requires a lot of money: $360,000 if you have the discount plan and don't screw up along the way.

Steve Fishman's deposition covers the whole nutty theology in 7 half-hour segments. It was the Fishman case that first revealed the content of Scientology's upper levels to the public. He's much better now.

Because Scientologists believe that they have this huge task before them, they aren't about to let non-Scientologist ideas of right and wrong get in their way. What the good Anon should see is a chilling YTMND established just for this. http://theunfunnytruth.ytmnd.com/ That's an example of their tactics and the fucked up shit we are dealing with. That is not a funny YTMND, that is a factual one. A good word is... chilling.

The Secret Life of L. Ron Hubbard

Channel 4, of the UK, produced a biography about L. Ron Hubbard. Google video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3020827931130963516

How Scientologists Fight

Well, we're looking at really 4 things they do, and only one is a probable threat (the others will just annoy the fuck out of you).

The Law

Sci-tos are rich; really fucking rich. They have greater resources than most countries, due to having stolen every last penny from thousands of rank and file members, and by selling DVDs and books at outrageous prices. The rich celebrities in their ranks get a free ride because they're seen as free publicity which draws in MOAR suckers.

Nancy Cartwright--the voice actor who reads for "Bart Simpson"--recently gave the Scientologists TEN MILLION DOLLARS. Do YOU have ten million dollars?

They'll steal your payout from a church member's accident, and when the money's all gone they'll steal her fucking wheelchair. They have a legal team that might well be the best in the world, second only to Disney's. What they do is stalk people, and find EVERYTHING those people do and have done, then they begin suing them for each trivial fallacy; if there is a technical illegality in some minor unrelated thing, they will prosecute. It's basically a legal siege, where they keep doing this until you have no money to fight back. Guess what? They don't care if they win. They are more interested in using the aggravation and expense of going to court to wear their critics down; winning isn't even the ultimate goal.

Fair Game

This has only happened a few times, but it's pretty badass. They declare some targets, usually ex Sci-tos, "Fair Game", meaning all Scientologists are on a giant manhunt to find and kill them, regardless of the laws of any nation. Basically, a big "Fuck you" to every international Party Van, and get down with the international paintball game that ends with your life.

Read MOAR: Fair Game (Scientology)

ENEMY — SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed. „ —Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard , October 1967 Policy Letter (HCOPL 18 Oct 67 Issue IV, Penalties for Lower Conditions)

Scientologists claim that "Fair Game" has been canceled. Some thoughts on this:

• It should concern any sane individual that their 'religion' endorsed such a policy at all, at any time.
• This is demonstrably untrue, as seen in a myriad of YouTube videos, personal accounts, and current actions initiated by the CoS against critics.
• What church needs Private Investigators?
• What church needs to photograph and video passers-by and protesters?
• What church takes photos of vehicle license plates, tracks down owner home address information, and sends out a "sheriff" to deliver a propaganda DVD full of misinformation?
• Please note also the recent outing / "namefagging" of certain Anonymous members who have protested.
• Ex-Scientologists have admitted that Fair Game is not, by any means, "over."

It should be noted that the policy letter which cancels "fair game" only states that actual practice of calling people "fair game" will cease, and specifically states that this should in no way affect the treatment or handling of SPs.

TL;DR version: Be careful out there. "Fair Game" is alive and well.

Mind Fuck

They're very well-trained in the art of intimidation, coercion and manipulation. Even fresh recruits are trained continuously to break unwritten social rules. Most normal humans who are adjusted to a polite, relatively sane society are going to have a very tough time going up against these predators. That is why we are perfect for this.

Harassment (and my solution)

Anon's personal account:

[This was] years ago, in the 70's - I don't know if they still do this.

After attending a meeting at their Boston center at the request of an acquaintance, I decided this phony group was not for me and decided to never go back. Turns out they wanted my money, my brain and my soul. Representatives called me several times a day, every day for months, disturbing family meals and my siblings, who were doing their homework, projects or watching TV. The evil Scientologists called at all hours, too. I thought I would go nuts with all their calls, until I devised a plan to stop them.

I went inside the Boston center, screaming at the top of my lungs and warning all their visitors to leave immediately and not to give out personal information. I warned their visitors that they were frauds and couldn't help them with anything. I demanded they refund the 'donation' they asked for and got at my initial visit. They refused, so I threatened to stand outside their building everyday with signs and that I would warn off all visitors until they refunded my money and stopped calling me.

The Scientologist trying to stop my screaming finally reached into his own pocket and gave me my money back. He was shaken to his core. They never called me again. I can be very loud. Good luck with your fight.

How you CAN fight back (legally)

• Join Anonymous and stay anonymous. Safety in numbers. Protest peacefully and use caution when coming and going to protests.
• Call the ACLU. Make sure you have an observer at IRL raids / protests. Keep an ACLU lawyer's number on a card on your person.
• Call local law enforcement. Make absolutely sure you are obeying all laws in your area.
• Document, document, document. Videotape every aspect of every protest. Front lines, back of the crowd, and the *Scientologists. Why? Because they are definitely documenting YOU. What you should concentrate on, if you choose to video or photo at protests:
  • Set timestamping ON if your equipment has this feature.
  • Documenting any non-Anons you see documenting YOU.
  • Documenting any non-Anons you spot taking pictures of protesters and vehicles / license plates.
  • Documenting Anon front lines, to show that sidewalks are not blocked, Anons are not stepping in and out of the roadway, Anons are not jaywalking, Anons are not being violent.
  • Documenting Anon back lines, showing infiltrators and adaptation (e.g., the DeKalb County Law Enforcement Officers started to ticket drivers for tapping their horns at the 15 March 2008 protest, Anon immediately responded with "Don't Honk!" signs to save other civilians a citation; also, Anons in L.A. spotting a Scilon P.I. with a gun at the 15 March 2008 protest and using a humorous "THIS GUY HAS A GUN! (arrow, arrow!)" sign which (peacefully) alerted the police immediately).
  • Documenting the Scientology building itself. Document who is documenting you. Prove that you did no harm to their property. **Prove you did not set foot on their property.
  • Sharing any and all LULZ in video form. (Longcat IS loooooong. We DO 'liek' Mudkips. 'Caek' IS delicious AND moist.) Just keep memes and LULZ to a minimum at protests, as they confuse the general public and distract from the SRS BZNZ messages *Anonymous is trying to convey.
• Share the truth. Share your experiences with the media. Talk to your friends and family. Open some eyes.
• Flier and stick business cards up where it is legal to post bills or hang fliers. Viral market the heck out of the message.
• Educate yourself. "Fair Game" practices were only called off in name, not in actual practice. Critics are still dealt with savagely by Scilons.
• Stick to the message. Focus on the goal. Eyes on the prize.
• They've got the guns (at Gold Base / Hemet), we've got the numbers (OVER 9000...and growing every minute).
• Be DIFFICULT to stalk. Conceal your identity as much as you can within legal limitations in your area. Cooperate with law enforcement and be sure your attempts to stay anonymous are legal. Do not make your local LEOs grouchy. So. Can't wear a Guy Fawkes facemask in your town? You can:
  • Wear greasepaint or makeup.
  • Wear a wig.
  • Wear big sunglasses, especially tinted ones.
  • Wear coloured contact lenses.
  • Wear a style of clothing you'd never wear 'normally.'
  • Wear a dust mask / allergy filter (if legal).
  • Wear a suit.
  • Be a fake trap, if male. No, really.
  • Add theatrical facial hair.
  • Wear distinctive jewelry that you would never wear normally.
  • Pad or bind your bits. Change your general shape.
  • Wear a different height shoe heel than you'd normally wear. Like flats? Try boots or lifts. Like heels? Try flats.
  • Hold signs in front of your face most of the time.
  • Add medical devices like slings, casts, braces, neckbraces, crutches, whatever. Discard after protests.
  • Cover tattoos with theatrical makeup, or look for "spider vein" or birthmark-covering makeup. Get an artist to draw a temporary tattoo or "moles" or "freckles" on you.
  • Think outside the box. What is most distinctive about your appearance? Minimize or hide that.
  • Female Anons should consider varying their normal makeup palette. Never wear bright red lipstick? Now you do.
• Be MOAR difficult to stalk. How?
  • Use public transportation. If your city has public transport, it may have trains or subways. Drive to a train station--not necessarily the closest one to the protest location--and park there, then take train and/or bus to protest.
  • Travel in Anon-herds. We are Legion. Use our numbers to help you stay safe.
  • Trust your instincts. If you feel watched or followed, take steps.
  • Have a mobile phone handy. If you're really paranoid, buy a pre-paid cell phone before protests and leave your normal phone (with all your identifying details) elsewhere. Have police and ACLU and /b/ackup numbers already in this phone.
  • Check in with Anons that you got home safely.
  • Ask police to escort you to your vehicle.
  • Don't go straight home. 'Is it can it be tiem' to shop, see a film, have a little lunch?
  • Attend a protest in another city rather than your own.
  • As you always should do, be alert. Note people around you, make exit plans, keep your back to a wall in restaurants. It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

Past Battles

Holy shit! Wikipedia gives a fuck. Wikipedia's article: Scientology versus The Internet

Well, son of a gun. There is a good history, eh?

Of note to YTMND:

In June 2006, Scientology lawyers sent cease-and-desist letters to Max Goldberg, founder of the website YTMND, asking him to take down all sites that either talked about or mocked Scientology, which had recently become a fad on the site following a popular South Park episode. Goldberg responded by saying that the "claims are completely groundless and I'm not removing anything," adding to the members of the site, "it should only be a matter of time before we're sued out of existence."

In response, YTMNDers created yet more sites about Scientology, and these were highlighted on the main page. They also campaigned to Google bomb "The Unfunny Truth About Scientology" site. As of January 2008, no legal action has been taken against YTMND or Goldberg.

Scientology succeeded in bullying YouTube into removing the infamous Tom Cruise "recruitment to Scientology" in-house video. Now Gawker.com is hosting it, and will not take it down. It is "considered newsworthy".

Curious parties may also be interested in looking into the USENET battles over the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology, Scientology's behavior and reactions around critics (e.g. Mark Bunker ("Wise Beard Man") at xenutv, reporter John Sweeney at the BBC), and Scientology's past illegal activities (Google "Operation Snow White," and "Operation Freakout").

Also worthy of investigation: check on Scientology's status in various countries such as Greece (banned), Canada (convicted), and Germany (under strict observation).

How to fight Scientology

See Project Chanology

Anon wants you to know:

The fight against these weasels really ain't anything new and it dates back to 1979 before Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley, John Travolta or, Mimi Rodgers. It started in a rock opera written by none other than Frank Zappa called 'Joe's Garage' in which, during the second act the lead character, Joe, turns to religion for help, and "pays a lot of money to L. Ron Hoover at the First Church of Appliantology."

Hoover identifies Joe as a "latent appliance fetishist". When Joe asks if he should "come out of the closet" he is instead instructed to "go into the closet" to achieve "sexual gratification through the use of machines". In the next song, we learn "The Closet" is the name of a club where humans can copulate with appliances. Joe locates a machine he likes, named Sy Borg, and they return to Sy's apartment. There Joe and Sy have a "groovy orgy" with Sy's roommate, a "modified Gay-Bob doll." There is also some reference to going to the churches secret retreat and starting a dental floss farm or some such thing like that.

Let's make this the anthem for our protests. What the hell are the sci-tos going to do, sue a dead guy (read Frank Zappa) for using biting satire to expose the truth about their hypocritical organization and greed?

"...how did Frank Zappa die again? how old was he?" -- Anon, FL, USA "Frank Zappa died December 1993 of prostate cancer. He was only 53. Wikipedia is your friend." -- DJ Anon, GA, USA

Other musicians have had fun at Scientology's expense, including comedians Bob & Doug McKenzie, who issued a B-side skit on 45 called "Elron McKenzie."

More anti-Scientology musicians:

• Jonathan Coulton ("Tom Cruise Crazy;" Coulton is also responsible for the Portal / GLaDOS tune "Still Alive" which gives a *shout-out to delicious, moist cake)
• The Fabulous Entourage (various tunes such as "L. Ron Hubbard" and "The Way It Began" (the Xenu story), set into a "children's musical" format)
• MC Lars ("Scientology = WTF?," also known as "Party at the Church of Scientology")
• Androgynous, the brilliant comedic mind that created the "ScientoLOLjuuichi" Flash movie (hosted at Albino Black Sheep)
• Punk group Fear ("No More Nothing")
• Annie Christian ("Clearwater Goldmine")
• Tim Cameron ("Scientology Is...Nice" which is also known as "Scientology Is Gay")
• Paul Dempsey ("Scientology")
• Various lowercase-a anonymous Burning Man participants ("Theme Camps--Scientology," spoken word, featuring "Tom Cruise" and "the disembodied brain of L. Ron Hubbard")
• Aaron Hedges ("Scientology," a short instrumental)
• Maynard James Keenan of Tool ("Aenima" song has the lyric "Fuck L. Ron Hubbard and fuck all his clones")

Feel free to add more. Also, check the Partyvan wiki, there are links available for most of these songs. Use Search to find them if you are impatient. -- DJ Anon, GA, USA

See also

• Immoral Scientology
• Project Chanology

External Links

• Church of Scientology vs The Interwebs
• Operation Clambake, anti-Scientology site.
• CoS Fair Game Policy
• Operation Snow White
• Operation Freakout
• Lisa McPherson
• The CoS Party Van