Anyone watching Going Clear:Scientology and the Prison of Belief?

[still_one]

It is a system of brainwashing, and it amazes me that so many people around the world have fallen for this

It really gives one an idea of what a cult is

[JaneyVee]

1. John Travolta and Tom Cruise are the creepiest men in America.

[Cleita]

2. No. Not yet.

Recorded it and will watch it tomorrow morning. I've always been interested in how people can be manipulated by others especially by religions.

[still_one]

11. It starts off pretty slow moving, but really starts getting interesting 20 minutes into the program

[Kablooie]

3. Among other things I learned that L. Ron Hubbard had really ugly, dirty teeth.

Kind of goes with the overall tone of the organization.

I learned some of the same things from South Park though.
They gave a pretty good primer.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. That was fascinating.

I read Dyanetics back around 1970, but it was too "out there" for me, even in my frequently altered states at the time. Watching this doc made me very glad that I never became involved.

[GummyBearz]

5. Watched it

I always just thought they were a bunch of harmless people with weird beliefs. I wasn't aware of all the illegal activity and what basically amounts to human right's violations in certain cases.

[Ron Obvious]

6. No, but I've read the book

Isolating people from outside opinions does weird things to you. Don't think you're immune to it either or it couldn't happen to you.

That's the biggest hallmark of a cult: the isolation, taking information from a single source and the mandatory shunning of others.

[Andy823]

17. Exactly.

There are other "religious" groups that do the same things. Information can come from only one source and must be obeyed at all cost. Their leaders claim to have the ONLY true teachings, and if you don't accept those teachings you will not be saved. Those who leave are shunned and treat as if they are dead and members are not allowed to talk with those people. Jehovah's Witnesses are such a group. They may not be as crazy as scientology but they are doing the same kind of brainwashing. All groups that demand total loyalty, who punish those who leave, who claim they and they alone are the only source of salvation, are groups that need to be avoided.

[hunter]

20. Scientology is a subcult of the U.S.A. cult.

Seriously. There are many aspects of U.S.A. culture that are utterly bizarre, corrupt, cult-like, and very damaging to people, everything from the life-destroying and corrupt "War on Drugs," to our twisted "work ethic" that grinds people up and spits them out, to our misogyny and homophobia, to little things like our extreme aversion to frivolous and harmless nudity.

There is nothing in Scientology that's not a funhouse mirror reflection of U.S.A. society.

[madfloridian]

7. Never will watch Tom Cruise or John Travolta movies again.

Not that I ever did really. They have either got to be just plain unaware (Jenna Miscavige Hill wonders about it in her book) or blackmailed or just plain stupid. Hill said that celebrities are treated like royalty, and wonders if they know how others are treated.

The HBO special was excellent.

[el_bryanto]

16. That's a tough one for me because while both have made some real stinkers

both have made some movies I really quite like as well. Beck is a Scientologist as well; and I still enjoy listening to Odelay and Mutations.

Bryant

[busterbrown]

8. Yea,, you never know why..

people of intelligence and substance get caught up in such bullshit..I realize that most who get caught up are naive and hurting from some sort of life event, but those who are highly educated/ and possess good core values? i just don’t understand their compliance to a make believe world..

I hope this documentary, which was excellent, rips the fucking lid off of this horrendous organization/

[Andy823]

18. Even intelligent people are gullible

People want to be part of something bigger, and a lot of religious groups offer them that by convincing them that if they join they will be saved, and will be part of a "new world order" where those who belong to that certain group will be save, or will be the ones who survive the end of times and will be rebuilding a new earth. Repeated brainwashing by the groups and isolating them from other view really does work.

[lob1]

9. Charlie Manson considered Scientology to be his biggest competition.

I read that in one of the books about Manson. That was also back when he was still on the streets.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. I read the book, too. Holy fuck.

Couldnt put it down, like a train wreck.

[still_one]

12. It is very revealing.

[Jefferson23]

13. I have not, it sounds fascinating. Their particpants are down from 100,000 to

50, 000? Is that correct and mentioned in the documentary?

[coffeenap]

14. Yes, it is correct according to the film--and was mentioned-

along with the fact that they have over a billion dollars in assets.

[Jefferson23]

15. wow, that is a huge amount of money. Thanks for the confirmation the number of followers has

decreased substantially.

[NightWatcher]

19. Many "religions" seem outlandish when they are relatively new

But is it can survive for a while longer, it will attain protected status where outsiders are not allowed to make fun of their obvious BS, brainwashing, and fraud.

(see Mormonism)

[L0oniX]

21. I look forward to traveling to another galaxy.

[DebbieCDC]

22. There's a petition on whitehouse.gov

to revoke the cult's tax-exempt status:

[link:https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status|