Blog: Scientology's Vortex of Hate - 2015-03-29
Scientology's Vortex of Hate March 29, 2015,
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard developed a complicated knack for sucking all who defied him or failed to comply with his dictates into a vortex of hate. Virtually all of his closest associates who expressed the slightest doubt or disagreement with him were driven by Hubbard to wind up hating him with a vengeance. A careful study of Hubbard's history suggests the cycle was intended. It garnered him all manner of hysterical calumny that he deftly turned into exhibits in demonstrating hate-filled 'bias' against him and his creation, scientology. And so it goes with his brainchild scientology and his successor David Miscavige.
In the early fifties Hubbard lectured to his followers that he considered that no group could survive for long absent a well-defined, hate-filled enemy. He candidly admitted that he 'chose' psychiatry (generalized as 'psychs' to rope in virtually all mental healing arts and sciences) as scientology's enemy out of convenience. It worked well for a while. Several prominent psychiatric and psychological societies worked feverishly to check or stop scientology in its tracks. While the psychs were hard at it, scientology saw its greatest expansion, drawing close ranks to energetically fight off real (albeit largely self-created) threats to its survival. Ironically, fifty years later scientologists came to believe as an article of religious faith that psychs are inherently evil, while psychs came to consider scientology little more than a harmless fringe cult. Scientology sought refuge in the guise of religion and achieved a sort of immunity from the consequences of its crimes. But it came at a cost, parking itself in time as a mid 20th Century anachronism.
As society itself evolved and hating lost its social acceptability, scientology lost its expansion-driving underdog, under-siege appeal and cohesiveness. Its numbers have been gradually declining since the mid nineties when the last serious threat to its continued existence was overcome. I use the term 'last' decidedly, notwithstanding the scientology infotainment blogs' End of Days prophesying with the airing of 'Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.' While the documentary will have an effect on the size of future potential new membership it will do little to change or alter scientology's course. (For more on that score, see Vice.com interview.)