Legion of Tucson Anonymous

are our children learning
as the schools are burning
blazing in the haze
of scientology days

(copypasta)

This is sort of a brainstorming post.

So here are the main points worth hitting that occur to me: (1) Study Tech Infiltration/Deception, (2) Child Labor, (3) Child Abuse, (4) Kids Denied a Real Education, (5) Front Group Infiltration, (6) Parents Separated From Their Kids, (7) Hubbard Was a Fraud/Quack/Pseudoscientist, (8) Hubbard Mistreated His Children.

1. Study Tech Infiltration/Deception.
First, public school infiltration. It looks like Dave Touretsky has a good list of cases/examples/articles going here: Scientology v. Education - The Scam of "Study Technology" Archives

Second, private Scientology schools. I'm sure there are fucked-up practices within these schools, but also what about parents who don't know the private school is affiliated with Scientology? I believe that happens frequently enough, since Scientology tends not to announce itself, but I don't know any cases offhand.

Third, Study Tech's 'secular' status. Study Tech is some of the teachings of the religious cult Scientology that have been cleaned up for the schools. Perhaps it will help the media if we compare this to the famous "cdesign proponentsists" fiasco.

The 1997 L.A. Weekly article "The Learning Cure" here is perhaps the best piece of journalism focusing on Study Tech.

Poster/flier ideas: "Study Tech = Scientology", "Scientology Wants to Infiltrate Public Schools", ...

2. Child Labor
First, there's the kids who join staff to do clerical work while supposedly being home-schooled but really being given Scientology coursework. The Today Tonight segment on Australian TV focused on these kids.

Second, there's the teenagers who join the Sea Org and end up working long hours, much of which is manual labor.

Third, there are kids whose parents are in the Sea Org and who've been abandoned to live in "children's ranches" doing manual labor.

I don't know which of these kids sign labor contracts -- certainly the Sea Org teenagers sign the billion year contract, but I don't know about the kids doing clerical work on staff.

Here Scientology doctrine on children (i.e., they're grown thetans in small bodies) becomes important. Apparently "the doctrine of exchange" is frequently invoked in dealings with children: taking care of a child without getting something tangible in return was, for Hubbard, a fool's game.

Poster/flier ideas: "Scientology, Where Child Labor Comes Alive!", "Kids Should Not Have To Sign Labor Contracts", "Scientology Uses Kids For Cheap Labor", ...

3. Child Abuse
The thing that comes to mind for me is the children confined in chain lockers for long periods by Commodore Hubbard. Derek Greene (the four-year old left to sit in his excrement for two days) is perhaps the most famous victim of this treatment.

What else?

Poster/flier ideas: "L. Ron Hubbard Brutally Abused Small Children", ...

4. Kids Denied a Real Education
Here I start to get a little vague on the details. Teenagers who join the Sea Org apparently don't really see college as an option. I wonder how many Scientologists actually pursue any university studies. The "Can We Ever Be Friends?" cassette is fantastic at revealing Scientology's deranged attitude towards education.

Poster/flier ideas: "Why Don't Scientologists Ever Go To College?", "Children Need a Real Education", ...

5. Front Group Infiltration
First, the anti-drug groups, Narconon, "Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life", Foundation for a Drug-Free World, all those. There's a 2004 SF Chronicle story "Scientology link to public schools" about this here. The same thing is going on the Czech Republic (see the enturb thread here. I take it this happens all the time, all over the world.

Second, Youth for Human Rights International. We all remember, from a couple of months ago, the school in Vancouver that unwittingly let YFRI give an assembly (here). No doubt there are plenty of other examples. (It's always worth pointing out that they list LRH right alongside Gandhi and Mandela).

Third, literacy programs. Probably H.E.L.P. Boston is the most prominent example.

Poster/flier ideas: "Keep Scientology Out of Our Schools", "Scientology Recruits Schoolchildren With Deceptive Front Groups", ...

6. Parents Separated From Their Kids
Again, I'm hazy on the details. I take it's mainly Sea Org parents who end up leaving their kids in a ranch and seeing them only once or twice a year. I don't know how old the kids are when this happens.

Poster/flier ideas: "Join Scientology, See Your Kids Once a Year", ...

7. Hubbard Was a Fraud/Quack/Pseudoscientist
This relates to education. LRH was a nuclear physicist who audited tomatoes. His report card at George Washington University would be good for a poster, and his advanced degrees from such diploma mills as Sequoia University are pretty impressive.

Poster/flier ideas: "L. Ron Hubbard: Master of Science", "Hubbard's Degrees Were Fake", ...

8. Hubbard Mistreated His Children.
Allegedly, A History of Man comes from getting Nibs all fucked up on metamphetamines. He kidnapped Alexis as a baby and later abandoned her. I don't know if we can say he drove Quentin to suicide, but that seems pretty close to what happened.

Poster/flier ideas: "L. Ron Hubbard Treated His Own Children Like Garbage", "Hubbard Kidnapped His Own Daughter", ...

I think I have the old "Children Need Education Not indoctrination" sign floating around here. I'll be bringing that.