Creating a Cult from WithinInterviewer: We're back with our 8th interview with Nomad, a man who gave over 30 years of his life to the Sea Org and who worked at all levels of its management structure. How are you?
Nomad: Good. It's almost the New Year and 2010 should prove to be a very good year. But we'll get to that later.
Interviewer: What are we covering today?
Nomad: I want to detail some of the factors and things that have happened since 1996 when David Miscavige released the "Golden Age of Tech" and the "New Era of Management" - things which were calculatedly done to morph the Church from within - to change it into something it was never meant to be - and unfortunately - to give it a make-over that turned Scientology categorically into a cult.
Interviewer: Ok.
Nomad: While these incidents will appear haphazard, they are not. They are pieces of a bigger picture, but I hope to paint that picture for our readers. What I am telling you here is factual. Let's take the subject of SOURCE. We all know what SOURCE is - that refers to LRH, L. Ron Hubbard, the "old man" as we used to call him back in the late 70's - you name it. The SOURCE line, besides LRH's books is Flag Mimeo. Mimeo is the mimeograph unit that is administered at the International Liaison Office in LA known as ILO. Mimeo prints and distributes LRH issues, as well as management issues, and sends them to orgs. After the Golden Age of Tech was announced in 1996 we began to see a practice happening - almost instantaneously - one which continued right on up to when I walked out the door several years ago. COB (Chairman of the Board) issues, written by David Miscavige were given SUBSTANTIALLY more importance than LRH issues. When a COB issue was printed by Flag mimeo, it was not unusual to see an "all-hands" called, whereby staff went down to mimeo to help collate these issues. These "all-hands" would involve checking EVERY single page of COB issues to make sure they were perfect and without blemish. It took thousands of man hours of time to do this, sometimes running for days on end with crews up day and night. Now - you'd think that the same level of perfection would be done for LRH issues - and logically you'd be right except that was not the case. LRH issues were printed, collated and readied for shipping. But COB issues - these were treated with special care - inordinate and ridiculously time consuming evolutions to ensure that his word arrived in orgs without a mar.
Interviewer: Odd.
Nomad: It is odd. In my 30 years at management level I never once saw our mimeo do anything more than their expected job with any LRH issue, new or extant. But yet, when COB's issues came along - the protocol changed completely. You can say that this is a minor point but it isn't. The message that gives to the staff, and did in fact convey is that COB is MORE important than L Ron Hubbard. It was a transference of power. It changed the level of veneration from the man who researched and wrote the materials and built the organization, to the new guy, David Miscavige. It was calculated - and it did in fact denigrate L Ron Hubbard. This was one facet of the internal morphing that began to change the face of Scientology. Let's take the next one. When the Golden Age of Tech was announced to the world of Scientology in May 1996, who delivered the entire event, from start to finish? David Miscavige. Who announced the new meter - alluding to the fact that he had it researched out and developed to a whole new standard? David Miscavige. Who announced a new training tool (the simulator) - not as an LRH specified tool - but leaving the door open - by allusion - that he did it - David Miscavige. Now try this one on for size. Any student or staff member will tell you this. When the new training drill binders came out with the Golden Age of Tech drills, do you know that there were rules imposed, and enforced, that you could not "slide one of those binders across a table" or spin it around on a table to face anothe student. You had to carefully and gingerly pick it up and place it in front of the other student so as to protect that binder. Oddly, when it came to LRH books and materials no one cared, and those could be pushed, shoved, stacked or otherwise - but not COB's training binders - these had special treatment. Again - the mindset is being morphed. The new man in town is David Miscavige.
Interviewer: I am sure you're leading up to this, but how does this morph or change Scientology into a cult?
Nomad: Stay with me on this. Let's take another example. In 2003 David Miscavige travels to many of the CLOs (Continental Liaison Offices) around the world. He lectures the staff of those CLOs directly - giving them orders, mandates and laying down the gridwork for his strategy on Ideal Orgs. We were required to watch his briefings upwards of 10 times in the few years that ensued. Now if you're missing my point by now, it's quite simple. Most LRH films or lectures, I have listened to maybe once or twice. Sometimes more if I want. But here - we were not told to watch or listen to an LRH tape or lecture 10 times - instead we had to watch David Miscavige droning on about his viewpoint about the operation of the CLOs. As if he was the new Source of Scientology. And don't forget, the executives who demanded this of us also included a short lecture beforehand to the effect that we "better listen carefully and get the message."
Interviewer: What you're getting at is that by definition a cult becomes one because of an obsession or fixation with a cultish leader, one that commands and controls the minds of its followers - as opposed to a free thinking group.
Nomad: Exactly. I'm not ranting here about minor or disrelated things. I could detail dozens of similar things that were done to raise David Miscavige up on a pedestal as someone that was unchallengeable, someone that was beyond comprimise, a god-like figure whose word was absolute. That is how you make a cult. Call it Nazism with Hitler chanting, or the Kool Aid drinkers of Jonestown - it's all the same. You build up a figure in the eyes and minds of those that have committed themselves to the movement - and make him iconic, infallible, and untainted. People would do strange things for such a person, everything from murdering millions of Jews to sticking people in SP halls and treating them like criminals. That is how Scientology has been morphed from within into a cult. It wasn't that way before. Not even vaguely.
Interviewer: How so? Wasn't L Ron Hubbard strict about conformity?
Nomad: LRH was strict about technical application. He demanded perfection in the use of Scientology technical procedures in order to get RESULTS. That is entirely different from the mindset that David Miscavige has created. He has laid down the groundwork that establishes his rule as absolute - and in that arena no one else has a say. LRH on the other hand only insisted on correct use of Scientology - very different thing. LRH also disarmed this whole cult factor by repeatedly saying that Scientology was free, that he wanted free thinkers, not slaves, and he also made it absolutely safe for people to talk and say their mind, and make their own mistakes. He didn't condemn them, or black ball them or covertly have them removed in order to protect himself. He had no concerns about his position.
Interviewer: Are there any other significant points that corroborates this scenario?
Nomad: Many... but here's one more to cement it further. I once asked someone for all the "advices" or "orders" on a specific area that I was working on at management level. I was given one or two binders of "advices" or "orders" - 80 or 90% of the content were comments, orders and mandates from David Miscavige. All carefully organized and formatted. His comments or orders took up the first 80% of this binder. They were tabbed and labelled too. Following that, in a small section at the back were orders or comments by LRH on the same area. In comparison to DMs stuff - LRH's comments looked like a vague after-thought! And what's worse is that binder was treated like gold, handed to me in confidence and had to be returned asap. Why? Because it was David Miscavige - not because of LRHs material within it.
In other words, if I hand you such a binder, who are you going to listen to or follow after reading its contents?
Interviewer: David Miscavige - of course.
Nomad: That's right. Back in the days when Scientology was actually booming - when you needed advices or orders to review to see what should be done - you looked for LRH materials - not David Miscavige's ideas. The bottom line is that from Scientology events, to Scientology magazines, to internal orders and protocols and staff briefings, in fact, most every facet of Scientology since at least 1996, David Miscavige's word is what counts. He is the dominant role player - the new axis around which Scientology spins. If he says it is so, it is. If he says you're good - you are. If he says you're a criminal - then you are. It's hands down - irrefutable fact - if David Miscavige chants it - the rest of the organization does too - and they have been chanting his tune for the last 14 years at least. While Scientology has been on the decline now since the late 1980s - it wasn't until the mid-90s when he began to morph the entire organization from within into his version - the new cult.
Interviewer: It's sad to see.
Nomad: It is. There are so many incredibly wonderful people engaged in Scientology. People who have given up the better part of their lives who have fallen for this perversion, who have been caught in the vortex and who are having their dreams and ambitions - purpose and drive - milked by a cult leader that has no business in the driver's seat.
Interviewer: I know we've discussed this before, and however rhetorical it may be - is there hope of recovering Scientology from this situation? In your opinion of course?
Nomad: (stares off into the distance for a time)... I believe the answer is yes. In my view we have to expose him to enough Scientologists that they turn around one day and say NO MORE. It's like any tyrant who commits genocide or engages oppression on a people - eventually the people say NO. That time is coming for David Miscavige, and I truly believe that we must continue to expose him to the light of day.
Interviewer: One last question for today. Is it conceivable that Scientology would end up fracturing itself into many sects, as happened with the Christian and Catholic movements?
Nomad: Certainly. When the Catholic Church engaged its reign of terror in Europe, burning heretics and suppressing any religion or pagan practice that didn't conform to their version, we saw the creation of new sects, in fact, we saw the creation of an entirely new nation in America where religion could no longer be dictated by one central power. If David Miscavige continues his version of Scientology, it will, per force, splinter up and that would be unfortunate. But people will do what they must to gain freedom. Scientology is anything but a cult and certainly is not oppressive - so what we're seeing now is a cult leader, branding his style of Scientology and marching it forward to a very steep precipice. Fortunately - there are many of us who will not allow it to go down or to disappear.
Interviewer: Thank you Nomad.
Nomad: Been a pleasure.
Posted By Outside the Box
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