Volunteers or Vultures: Scientology's disaster relief
Temple of Xenu | 05.03.2008 16:19 | Analysis | Health | Social Struggles
Having given Narconon the once over, a few of our less devout priests decided to take a moment away from tending to our Dark Lord Xenu (his Thetan be praised) to look into Scientology's other most prominent social project, the Volunteer Ministers. They can be seen at most major disasters, from terrorism and university shootings to earthquakes and hurricanes. They even get priviledged information from the Metropolitan Police. Just what are they up to?
The objective of the Volunteer Ministers is, according to the Church of Scientology, to apply Scientology tech to people in need to help solve their problems and improve their life. VMs can apparently solve all kinds of problems, including drugs, money, relationships, and a number of other personal issues.
Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard, meanwhile, was a little more direct in explaining his rationale for the Volunteer Ministers:
"As the benefits of the Volunteer Minister program begin to spread throughout the society, a rank and file of people that have been helped will begin to accumulate. These people will begin to feed into missions and Churches of Scientology from wherever the Volunteer Minister has been at work." (HCO Policy Letter 22 February 1991, Volunteer Ministers)
Standard Scientologist MO: target the vulnerable, claim to offer help, and bring them into the fold before they know it.
In disaster situations, teams of Volunteer Ministers may be dispatched with their yellow tents and matching t-shirts. A main technique used by such teams is the Touch Assist. This is the Scientologist equivalent of laying on of hands (obliquely conceded on the Church's handbook for the procedure) and has about as much scientific value - liable to be helpful to those who believe in it but little more than a placebo regardless.
Another, though less publicised, task of the Volunteer Ministers is to act as "spiritual security" at disaster sites by keeping away Scientology's irrationally-hated enemies, the psychiatrists. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, an e-mail was leaked from within Scientology from a high-ranking member of the Sea Org boasting of their successes in keeping psychiatrists from the scene:
"Due to some brilliant maneuvering by some simply genius Sea Org Members we tied up the majority of the psychs who were attempting to get to families yesterday in Q&A, bullbait and wrangling. They have a hard time completing cycles of action and are pretty easy to disperse. But today they are out in full force and circling like vultures over these people and all of our resources are tied up in the support efforts in the disaster zone at present."
It goes without saying that some of the work done by the Volunteer Ministers - provision of food and water for emergency workers, for example - is commendable. However, the tactic which forms the majority of their disaster relief is of little to no medical value. More importantly, however, the underlying goals of its operation - to promote Scientology doctrine, recruit people to the Church, and advance their frankly bizarre anti-psychiatric agenda - are a serious concern. Suffice to say, this is one type of relief we could do without.
Further reading:
- VolunteerMinisters.Org (
http://www.volunteerministers.org/) - official VM site.
- Touch Assist ( http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/SH6_4.HTM) - from the Scientology handbook.
- Leaked e-mail following 9/11 ( http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/20010911-tragedy/)
- Undercover interview with Volunteer Ministers ( http://www.daisy.freeserve.co.uk/stolgy_25.htm) - includes "spiritual security" defence of obstructing psychiatrists
- James Randi on the "Touch Assist" ( http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-05/052606action.html#i13)
- Volunteer Minister at Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_Minister)
Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard, meanwhile, was a little more direct in explaining his rationale for the Volunteer Ministers:
"As the benefits of the Volunteer Minister program begin to spread throughout the society, a rank and file of people that have been helped will begin to accumulate. These people will begin to feed into missions and Churches of Scientology from wherever the Volunteer Minister has been at work." (HCO Policy Letter 22 February 1991, Volunteer Ministers)
Standard Scientologist MO: target the vulnerable, claim to offer help, and bring them into the fold before they know it.
In disaster situations, teams of Volunteer Ministers may be dispatched with their yellow tents and matching t-shirts. A main technique used by such teams is the Touch Assist. This is the Scientologist equivalent of laying on of hands (obliquely conceded on the Church's handbook for the procedure) and has about as much scientific value - liable to be helpful to those who believe in it but little more than a placebo regardless.
Another, though less publicised, task of the Volunteer Ministers is to act as "spiritual security" at disaster sites by keeping away Scientology's irrationally-hated enemies, the psychiatrists. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, an e-mail was leaked from within Scientology from a high-ranking member of the Sea Org boasting of their successes in keeping psychiatrists from the scene:
"Due to some brilliant maneuvering by some simply genius Sea Org Members we tied up the majority of the psychs who were attempting to get to families yesterday in Q&A, bullbait and wrangling. They have a hard time completing cycles of action and are pretty easy to disperse. But today they are out in full force and circling like vultures over these people and all of our resources are tied up in the support efforts in the disaster zone at present."
It goes without saying that some of the work done by the Volunteer Ministers - provision of food and water for emergency workers, for example - is commendable. However, the tactic which forms the majority of their disaster relief is of little to no medical value. More importantly, however, the underlying goals of its operation - to promote Scientology doctrine, recruit people to the Church, and advance their frankly bizarre anti-psychiatric agenda - are a serious concern. Suffice to say, this is one type of relief we could do without.
Further reading:
- VolunteerMinisters.Org (
http://www.volunteerministers.org/) - official VM site. - Touch Assist (
http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/SH6_4.HTM) - from the Scientology handbook. - Leaked e-mail following 9/11 (
http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/20010911-tragedy/) - Undercover interview with Volunteer Ministers (
http://www.daisy.freeserve.co.uk/stolgy_25.htm) - includes "spiritual security" defence of obstructing psychiatrists - James Randi on the "Touch Assist" (
http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-05/052606action.html#i13) - Volunteer Minister at Wikipedia (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_Minister)
Temple of Xenu
Homepage:
http://www.enturbulation.org
Comments
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Addition
05.03.2008 16:31
Temple of Xenu
Homepage:
http://www.britlulz.com
My aunt is a Scientologist
05.03.2008 21:40
You also asked what Saint Hill was like, it look’s nice. The Org itself is in the shape of a castle and apparently some of it was actually put together by Scientologists there! Hubbard’s manor house is also there and it’s also quite nice and is open to visitors (as is the Org itself).
Again I would like to ask what would you like changed about Scientology’s practices that they are currently involved in. Please provide proof (recent convictions were the practice is illegal) that the organisation itself is responsible for the action (not individual members).
In regards to the Volunteer Ministers is there anything wrong with them providing comfort to people. There is no proven effect of praying for people, but many religions do it. Additionally, many religious groups are evangelical in their provision of ‘aid’ or ‘help’.
You have also stated it’s not about their religious beliefs but, then what’s with all the Xenu jokes?
Animal Liberation - Human Rights
Freedom
05.03.2008 23:52
You also asked what Saint Hill was like, it look’s nice. The Org itself is in the shape of a castle and apparently some of it was actually put together by Scientologists there! Hubbard’s manor house is also there and it’s also quite nice and is open to visitors (as is the Org itself).
Again I would like to ask what would you like changed about Scientology’s practices that they are currently involved in. Please provide proof (recent convictions were the practice is illegal) that the organisation itself is responsible for the action (not individual members).
In regards to the Volunteer Ministers is there anything wrong with them providing comfort to people. There is no proven effect of praying for people, but many religions do it. Additionally, many religious groups are evangelical in their provision of ‘aid’ or ‘help’.
You have also stated it’s not about their religious beliefs but, then what’s with all the Xenu jokes?
Animal Liberation - Human Rights
psychiatry, another fairly sinister cult
06.03.2008 13:15
isn't psychiatry itself a pretty sinister pseudoscientific cult?
watch the programme "century of the self" about how the US government/corporations/public relations firms used psychiatry as a tool to control the masses in the 20th century.
By the way, i think people who say they oppose the _abuses_ of cults like Scientology but respect the lunatic beliefs on which they are founded, are fooling themselves... the whole purpose of the absurd beliefs peddled by religions (have you read the Bible lately?) is to control people's minds and, when successful, this ALWAYS leads to abuses of power - if not, why go to all the trouble of founding a religion in the first place? "He who can make me believe absurdities can make me commit atrocities," as Voltaire said.
emigre
Freedom
06.03.2008 14:49
good to hear from you again :-). Saint Hill sounds quite nice - I'd be interested in giving it a look, unfortunately I doubt I'd get quite the open arms treatment.
as far as what we would like changed about Scientology's practices - I believe I went into this in a previous article. the bad things described here? I want them to stop. that's all. in this case, their deliberate obstruction of mental health workers, misrepresentation, and (attempted) recruitment of the vulnerable. there have also been complaints from emergency workers about the Scientologists getting in the way at disaster sites, which is an even bigger problem when you consider that their "Tech" (the laying on of hands) doesn't actually work.
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking for as regards evidence of their practices. some of their practices, such as disconnection (cutting off ties between a Scientologist and friends and family who are considered "suppressive") are not necessarily illegal, but are grossly unethical and destroy lives.
here's some info to get started with tho:
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Many of the cult's misdeeds are orchestrated at the highest levels, particularly those relating to its abuse of the legal system. others, however - the homi-/suicidal Introspection Rundown, the cold turkey withdrawal from psychiatric medication and the tragic deaths which have result from it, their behaviour during disasters, their treatment of "suppressives" - stem directly from the teachings of the cult itself. things do not need to be directly ordered from the top for the Church to be ultimately culpable - if you relentlessly drum it into someone that in situation X you must do Y, and they do so, it's still partially your fault, even more so given the levels of thought control the cult exerts over its victims. and if it happens all over the world, more times than I care to count, it's necessary to consider the source.
as far as the Xenu thing: so far my referencing of it has been the intro to this article, the name under which these articles are posted, and a brief overview of the Xenu story in another post (I think that's it anyway). their beliefs are not my main concern. I go by this name partly because Xenu is the part of Scientology most people will recognise, partly in parallel with the use by others critics (xenu.net, xenutv.com, etc.), and partly because it helps to keep things a little light hearted, which can be difficult in these circumstances.
another motivator is religious freedom, which I take to include the freedom to openly discuss and criticise reliigous beliefs and behaviours. this is a freedom which the Church of Scientology has put a lot of money and effort into suppressing through lawsuits and harassment against those who discuss Church doctrines such as Xenu unauthorised. helping keep this public is therefore, in my view, important.
Temple of Xenu
Homepage:
http://www.enturbulation.org
"deliberate obstruction of mental health workers"
09.03.2008 14:11
But I would like to point out to ToX that an extreme anti-psychiatric agenda and sabotage of the tosspots who work in psychiatry, direct action against shrinks etc is certainly not confined to this screwball religion.
A huge number of people who have suffered at the hands of this quack branch of medicine (psychiatry) also feel this way, and we way outnumber Co$'s front groups BTW. All psychiatrists are bastards. Reclaim Bedlam!
Mad Pride ftw