Yup, it is n dollars not number of books. It also includes e-meters! Back in my day, that would have been com-ev range!

ethicstrouble did say (I think) that those numbers are inflated. And indeed, the cult charges twenty bucks for the mass market paperback of Dianetics. I hardback of one of Hubbard's tomes has got to be at least $30.

We're all on board with this now. Even if - somehow - it is a fake (and now I'm pretty sure it's not) we certainly don't run the risk of seeming stupid for believing it.

ethicstrouble mentioned something about maybe not being able to post again soon but would check back in a while.

My guess is that he/she has family that's in the cult (and surely friends) and worries about disconnection. I also imagine that even though an SP Declare has become a point of pride in the critic community, it's not a desirable thing for someone still "in" to have.

One thing the person said that was sad to me was that the kids born into the cult seem to be True Believers. I was hoping that they were going along with their parents, meanwhile thinking, "This is bullshit"! Who knows. Certainly we can't make a blanket statement about all the people in the org.

Great job sf. Sounds totally real to me.

These 2nd generation cult members have the Internet. Even if they are conditioned not to look at anything negative about Scientology, they meet up with people who have that freedom. Protesters always look like they are having fun, especially sf. Let me tell you, it is quite the opposite in that org when they walk in that building.

No doubt there are falsified stats. If there are 1500 books sold it is probably because public is made to donate for books going to libraries etc. And I'm talking bulk purchases. Every time you guys are out there, cigar smoking cool guy Jerry has to justify to himself why he can not handle you guys. I mean he is an OT VIII. !!!!

Nice job to all you guys.

Daisy

This really is written by a person under 20 years old. A couple of giveaway phrases:

"getting new staff is hell of tough" ["hella" is the general word]
"After living this crazy for so many years" [here, "crazy" is a noun, not an adverb]
"holly" instead of "holy"; under 20s cannot spell, although she (I assume from the tone) does very well with the rest of her presentation!

AdM

There are a lot of people who are in CofS but who have very quietly stopped doing anything. Some have family in it and can't really say anything.

Some of the most vehemently critical people I ever knew were still officially "in".

The way to tell, IMO, is if the person asks critics for anything. Like asking what's their name, etc. If he or she doesn't ask for anything, then I don't see a reason to doubt the person.

You have newsmedia...
viewtopic.php?p=407239#p407239

For those who didn't catch any Scilon markers in the originasl post, here's one:



Hubbard used the term "whole cloth" in at least 2 PR Series policy letters, as well as in at least one fairly basic taped lecture. Every Scientologist, who made it much past an intro course, has had to look the term up, and will be more likely to use it than random non-scientologists will, but you'd have to be an ex to know that.

It's no proof of authenticity, but it at least makes it seem likely that the author spoke fluent Scilon.

Good point! I didn't know the Hubbard connection -- to me, it just hinted that it wasn't nec. one of the younger/kid Scilons -- it's sort of an old-fashioned expression.

"I am a member of SFOF and am not able to leave this house of deceit yet,"

What this phrase could possibly mean? Does it mean that this person is being held by force or his/her Scientology beliefs are preventing him'her from leaving the cult?

Ok, well, I am convinced. At least I would say there's a 95% chance this is real, which is enough for me to celebrate.

So, if the books even sold for $15, that means they only sold 100 books (or less). Yikes, that's terrible. Great for us, though.

I don't think so -- I think it's more like, they have family who also attend/belong and they fear disconnection. Or perhaps Fair Game.

....or perhaps works for a business owned by a Scientologist, and is not ready to seek employment elsewhere.

Preparing to blow involves dealing with some of the biggest life changes one can have. Imagine losing your job, having divorce papers filed against you, becoming homeless, and being shunned by nearly everyone you know, whether friends, coworkers or family, all on the same day, and successfully evading pursuers while all that's going on. I don't know anything about the poster, but they're probably working on logistics while getting their nerve up.

They can't really change their mind now, though. If they stay, or if they route out, they will be expected to hold cans, and that wouldn't end well. That leaves only blowing as an option.

Assuming that they're real, anyway.

SF Weekly did a follow-up article: viewtopic.php?p=407320#p407320

One possibility is that ethicstrouble wants to leave and remain in good standing with $cientology. Along with this syndrome, which I also had, is the strongly held belief that $cientology works, Hubbard is mankind's greatest friend and that the troubles the org is going through are due to other reasons, whatever those reasons may be. I went through that gauntlet. It took me almost a year to get through it and cost me several thousand dollars in the bargain. I stayed, more or less, in good standing, went back and that cost me more time and a lot more money.

I hope ethicstrouble monitors this thread. If you do, ethicstrouble, I advise you to do whatever it takes to get out of there as soon as possible. If you are trying to maintain some kind of good standing relationship with $cientology it won't work and it will cost you time and money. If you have family who are still in and they are not with you on this they will eventually disconnect from you anyway. The longer you put off making the jump, the more difficult things will be for you. Conversely, the sooner you walk away, the sooner you can start taking back your life. Take back your life. There isn't anything $cientology has to offer that feels as good, or is as much of a win as doing that.