Spawn’s Interview
Reposted from here.
1. How did you first become acquainted with the Church of Scientology?
My mom got into Scientology in 1977 and introduced me to it when I was a child in 1979.
2. What initially appealed to you about scientology?
As a child, the only appealing thing about Scientology at the time was that there seemed to be so many other children involved. I liked to have lots of friends when I was a kid. When I got older, Scientology was really all I knew. I guess the only thing appealing about it was the mission to ‘Clear the Planet’ which is so heavily drilled into your head. I was literally ‘brainwashed’ into giving up my entire life for Scientology. I never had the chance to live life in the real world only until a couple years ago.
3. Were there problems in your life that you thought scientology would address?
Did I have a ruin? Yes, I wanted to have control of my life so that I could be happy and this never happened because the more involved I got with Scientology, the more my own life was taken away from me until I became an actual prisoner – no joke.
4. Did you see, experience, or hear about things that didn’t seem right while you were in the Church of Scientology? What were they, and what convinced you to set aside your feelings?
In the Sea Org, I saw many things that just ‘didn’t seem right’ but somehow many of these things were justified or excused for being ‘the greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics’ or ‘to get ethics in’ or to get the stats up ‘over dead bodies’ etc…
Where do I start? Sorry if this reads a bit rough, but I’m typing this as I remember these things and I’m not paying attention to style but to the details.
The first thing that really made me think something was wrong was:
– RPFers running around in black and not being allowed to talk to anyone. That was before I myself was in the Sea Org. And when I joined the SO, my biggest fear was of ever being sent to the RPF. Being in the Sea Org made it even worse because RPFers are treated like the scum of the earth. I always wondered why another SO member would be treated so badly when they’ve dedicated the rest of their lives to Scientology.
– Knowledge Reports being used as a weapon instead of a tool to improve situations. As an ex-ethics officer I ran into many instances of ‘KRs’ being written to get another in trouble and being blown out of proportion to what actually happened.
– I was ordered to investigate people who I felt didn’t deserve the invest based on statistics and the fact that they were just good, hardworking people. These investigations were usually ordered by RTC or the CMO. There were many times when the investigations were ordered because of confidential information from pc folders. An investigation was even ordered on someone for having a bad haircut once.
– Disconnection from family members because they didn’t agree with or like Scientology.
– Reading other SO members mail before they got it to sift out PTS situations.
– Listening in to phone calls from other SO members to family to catch any out-security or PTS situations.
– Having to read and approve personal letters from SO members to family or friends to catch any out-security or out-PR.
– Doing unannounced, secret inspections of SO members living quarters to find anything that would constitute as out-ethics or uncover anything else that HCO would need to know about.
– SO members being pushed into a lake based on an L. Ron Hubbard Flag Order called ‘Over Board’. This FO calls for a Chaplain and Ethics Officer to ceremoniously push someone off the ship for being out-ethics. The only thing you’re allowed to take off are your shoes and watch. I was pushed into freezing water on two occasions and I myself had to push many people into the lake and in some instances freezing water. Once I had to push an elderly woman in and ended up jumping into the freezing water myself to save her because her muscles were too cold to move. And if you’re reading this Ken Hoden, you remember too!
– Not being paid for 6 months (50 dollars a week) and having to eat only rice and beans for 3 months.
– Seeing small SO dorms jam packed with 10 or more people to a room. In many instances this would cause rooms to smell and be hazardous.
– Being separated from my own family for almost 10 years. And being separated from my own wife for about 4 years.
– I myself being thrown into a literal prison camp for wanting to leave the Sea Org. And what I mean by prison camp is that I was confined to a 200 square yard area surrounded by barbed wire fences, motion detectors and guards. Most of the day was spent doing heavy work such as digging ditches, pulling weeds and making gravel for walkways, etc. And the other part of the day was spent getting sec checked/interrogated for all of my ‘crimes’ against Scientology – even though I had been a dedicated member since 1979.
– After getting out, being followed by members of OSA obviously trying to keep tabs on me. One time I even called the police on them to get rid of them, and yes, this worked.
– There are probably many other things too, but I think I’ve listed enough.
5. Why did you choose to stay in the Church of Scientology?
At the time I really thought that the bad things I was seeing or experiencing were either just the result of out-ethics or things that were off-policy. But when I saw that most of these things were either covered by policy or ordered from the top, I knew I had to leave.
6. Were you staff or public? If staff, was it at a mission or an org? Were you ever in the Sea Org or OSA? Which unit? If not on staff, did you ever volunteer to ‘help out’?
I was on staff at Int Management/Gold.
7. Why did you leave the Church of Scientology? Was there a “final straw”?
The ‘final straw’ for me in the Sea Org was not being able to see my family or my wife. But what actually made me leave Scientology altogether was the information I’ve gotten about Hubbard and Scientology on the internet from others who went through similar things and from proven documentation, court files, etc.
8. Do you think the Church of Scientology needs to change some of its practices? If so, what should be changed? How did those practices affect your life?
I think there should not be a Church of Scientology period. It needs to stop practicing ‘fair game’. It needs to stop disconnecting and separating family and friends.
9. If the items you listed in the previous question were changed, would you consider rejoining or staying in the Church of Scientology? If so, why?
No, because it’s based on the lies and fantasies of a Science fiction writer and minion of Crowley – Hubbard. It’s a science fiction cult in addition to also being another business branch and source of income for the IRS.
10. Any additional comments you would like to make?
Note to OSA: don’t even think about figuring out who I am or coming after me. Firstly, you have nothing on me. I guess that’s why RTC kept me a prisoner for nearly a year – couldn’t get enough dirt on me to let me go I guess. Secondly, you have no idea what I know about some of your current executives and I won’t be afraid to start ‘spilling beans’ if any form of ‘fair game’ is used against me. It’s my right as a citizen of the United States to execute my right to speak.