Blog: On the Shoulders of Giants - 2015-03-03

On the Shoulders of Giants March 3, 2015, Chris Shelton, Critical Thinker at Large

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Although I have tried at every turn to give credit where credit is due, frankly I think so far that I have done an inadequate job. So I'm taking this opportunity now to dedicate an entire post to just this subject of acknowledging the giants upon whose shoulders I stand. This is something important in the community of ex-Scientologists and a point that should not be ignored by any of us who are relatively newly coming out of Scientology.

There is a lot of history and backstory in the world of Scientology critics and whistleblowers. It seems like it can take as long to learn about all the personalities involved, their incredible and sometimes unbelievable trials and tribulations as it did to learn about Scientology itself. I sometimes think it would be a make a more epic and interesting tale if someone were to tell the true stories of those who have exposed Scientology's criminal activities, human rights abuses, fair gaming and corporate shenanigans than it would be to continue talking about the Church itself. There is certainly no shortage of intrigue, James Bond-like espionage, suspense and even tragedy in every one of these people's experiences.

We have arrived at a place now where Scientology is truly the subject of ridicule, contempt and amusement to the world at large. If they think about Scientology at all, they know that it is something unsavory and if they look into it even casually, they universally determine that it is something sinister, creepy and even dangerous. With the power of the internet and Google, all of the data we know is only a few keystrokes away. It has never been easier and as a result, the information is widespread. The Church of Scientology ran a massively successful Dianetics marketing campaign in the 1980s which received hardly any backlash or negative feedback (at least not that I remember). Now look at the overwhelming negative response to their inane Superbowl ads, universally panned across the Twittersphere within seconds of being run. And there are so many more indications of Scientology's massive PR failures across all media channels. The upcoming HBO documentary by Alex Gibney and Louis Theroux's BBC special are going to draw even more attention to the abuses of this cult and expose it for the money-making scam that it is.