Human rights activists worldwide are outraged to learn that in a new Scientology cult fundraising video, cult founder L. Ron Hubbard is described as a humanitarian and inspirational world leader on a par with Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Nelson Mandela.

The video can be seen here:
 http://meowmacao.blogspot.com/2009/07/hubbard-humanitarian-like-mlk-gandhi.html

The video, designed to help raise funds for Scientology's Mountain View, California office to become an "Ideal Org," or massively luxurious new facility, has no narration, but features photographs of each of these figures, usually accompanied by a short audio excerpt of an important speech, and then a bit of text on the screen from a different speech. In the background plays a sort of "new age" electronica music.

There is no audio of Mother Teresa (whom they have re-named "Mother Theresa"), and they do not identify Mahatma Gandhi or Eleanor Roosevelt by name. Text at the beginning of the series declares that "Humanitarians of the past have worked tirelessly to build a better world...", and afterward, it reads that "L. Ron Hubbard developed the way for all their goals to be fully realized." Then, a photograph of L. Ron Hubbard appears, in a very unnatural-looking pose that someone apparently thought would make him look contemplative, followed by one of Hubbard's quotations.

Following this avalanche, there are several minutes of "artist's conceptions" of how Scientology envisions its "Ideal Org." The background music picks up tempo, and lots of pictures of luxuriously appointed "church" facilities, capable of supporting hundreds of "parishioners" (i.e. customers) pass by on the screen. Then, an exhortation to the viewer to join the "Scientology Humanitarian Club"; and finally, in a 1970s science fiction font, "HELP PUT OUR IDEAL ORG HERE."

In Scientology, a $100,000-$750,000 donation will make the donor a "Humanitarian," and the donor will be celebrated as such in various Scientology internal propaganda materials.

It is quite bizarre that Scientology regards Hubbard, a science fiction writer, convicted fraud-ster, "very good friend" of Satanist Aleister Crowley, and insane millionaire money-grubbing hypnotist, to be a "humanitarian" of similar standing as Martin Luther King and the rest. It is a particularly cynical and exploitative position for Scientology to take, in view of how Hubbard, in reality, regarded African-Americans like King, Mother Teresa's Catholic religion, Gandhi's ethos of passive resistance, Mandela's southern African heritage, and Roosevelt's concern for human rights.

It is also quite cynical for Scientology to keep pretending that their "church" in undergoing "massive expansion" and "unprecedented growth," necessitating the purchase of huge new buildings, when in reality there are probably fewer than 50,000 Scientologists worldwide (far from the eight or ten million they claim), and that number is declining rapidly. There are lots of reports of Scientology building or buying large new facilities, but what often doesn't get reported is that after the down-payment has been made, the building either sits empty; construction is never finished enough for the building to be used, or it is foreclosed upon.

Legitimate human rights and humanitarian relief organizations sometimes accept Scientology's claims of benevolence at face value, but this naive trend is thankfully on the wane.

If L. Ron Hubbard was truly a humanitarian, as Scientology insists, even "mankind's greatest friend," then the world will need to reconsider the contributions to humanity of such luminaries as Jim Jones, Charles Ponzi, Ken Lay, and David Koresh.

Here are just a few of many quotations from L. Ron Hubbard that provide an accurate counterpoint to the strange notion that he was any kind of "humanitarian," let alone on such an exalted level:

A FEW HUBBARD QUOTATIONS:

The South African native is probably the one impossible person to train in the entire world -- he is probably impossible by any human standard.-- L. Ron Hubbard, PAB No. 119, 1 September 1957

The African tribesman, with his complete contempt for truth and his emphasis on brutality and savagery for others but not for himself, is a no-civilization. L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, Bridge Publications: Los Angeles, 1997.

It is all very well to idealise poverty and associate wisdom with begging bowls, or virtue with low estate. However, those who have done this (Buddhists, Christians, Communists and other fanatics) have dead ended or are dead ending. -- L. Ron Hubbard, HCOPL 21 Jan 1965

MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY. GET OTHERS TO MAKE MONEY. -- L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL 9 Mar 72

The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway, well knowing that he is not authorized, will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly. -- L. Ron Hubbard, A MANUAL ON THE DISSEMINATION OF MATERIAL, 1955

ENEMY SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed. - Hubbard, Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter, 18 October 1967

A truly Suppressive Person or group has no rights of any kind and actions taken against them are not punishable. -- L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL 1 March 1965, HCO (Division 1) "Ethics, Suppressive Acts, Suppression of Scientology and Scientologists"

Now, get this as a technical fact, not a hopeful idea. Every time we have investigated the background of a critic of Scientology, we have found crimes for which that person or group could be imprisoned under existing law. We do not find critics of Scientology who do not have criminal pasts. -- L. Ron Hubbard, Hubbard Communications Office Bulletin, 5 November 1967, "Critics of Scientology"

This is the correct procedure: Spot who is attacking us. Start investigating them promptly for felonies or worse using our own professionals, not outside agencies. Double curve our reply by saying we welcome an investigation of them. Start feeding lurid, blood sex crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press. Don't ever tamely submit to an investigation of us. Make it rough, rough on attackers all the way. -- L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL, 25 February 1966

A psychiatrist today has the power to (1) take a fancy to a woman (2) lead her to take wild treatment as a joke (3) drug and shock her to temporary insanity (4) incarnate [sic] her (5) use her sexually (6) sterilise her to prevent conception (7) kill her by a brain operation to prevent disclosure. And all with no fear of reprisal. Yet it is rape and murder. We want at least one bad mark on every psychiatrist in England, a murder, an assault, or a rape or more than one. This is Project Psychiatry. We will remove them.-- L. Ron Hubbard, Sec ED, Office of LRH, Confidential, 22 February 1966, "Project Psychiatry"

"Psychiatry" and "psychiatrist" are easily redefined to mean "an anti-social enemy of the people." This takes the kill crazy psychiatrist off the preferred list of professions...The redefinition of words is done by associating different emotions and symbols with the word than were intended...Scientologists are redefining "doctor", "Psychiatry" and "psychology" to mean "undesirable antisocial elements"...The way to redefine a word is to get the new definition repeated as often as possible. Thus it is necessary to redefine medicine, psychiatry and psychology downward and define Dianetics and Scientology upwards. This, so far as words are concerned, is the public opinion battle for belief in your definitions, and not those of the opposition. A consistent, repeated effort is the key to any success with this technique of propaganda. -- L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL, 5 October 1971, PR Series 12, "Propaganda by Redefinition of Words"

A Venezuelan dictator once decided to stop leprosy. He saw that most lepers in his country were also beggars. By the simple expedient of collecting and destroying all the beggars in Venezuela an end was put to leprosy in that country.-- L. Ron Hubbard, 'Science of Survival"