• Reygle@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I for one am completely OK with people choosing to troll (with force) an insane cult.

  • HeartyOfGlass@piefed.social
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    5 days ago

    Defectors, including the actor Leah Remini, have accused the church of fostering a culture of abuse.

    Last week, Remini weighed in on the social media trend, calling it “unhelpful”.

    “If someone is brainwashed for years into believing the outside world is filled with dangerous lunatics who wish to impede Scientology, a group of people running through a Scientology building is only going to confirm that belief and lead them to dedicate themselves even more to the cause they believe in,” Remini wrote on X.

    “Please focus on exposing the dangers of Scientology, not making a spectacle out of it.”

    Yep. This is the kind of stuff a cult would use as ammunition to prove to its members that the outside world is unsafe.

    • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.wtf
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      5 days ago

      Lacking any actual ammunition they will just go back to inventing stuff anyway so I’m not sure it really makes a difference.

      • Zoot@reddthat.com
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        4 days ago

        While I agree with you, I will just add that maybe it does; If only because the best lies are those hidden with a grain of truth.

        • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.wtf
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          4 days ago

          They don’t strike me as being particularly bothered by things like the truth.

          “According to the OT III account, Xenu was an extraterrestrial ruler of a galactic confederacy who, tens of millions of years ago, transported billions of beings to Earth (then called Teegeeack), placed them around volcanoes, and killed them with hydrogen bombs. The disembodied spirits of the victims, called thetans, are said to have become attached to surviving bodies as “body thetans”, contributing to spiritual and psychological difficulties in the present day. Scientology teaches that these entities can be identified and released through specialized procedures at the upper Operating Thetan levels.”

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu

          • Zoot@reddthat.com
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            4 days ago

            Forgot who we were talking about tbh lol. I do think real life examples might help, but you’re certainly not wrong that plenty of other things kinda gotta be glossed over to get to that point anyway.

  • foggy@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I love this, but

    Scientology is NOT unhappy. They will keep pretending to be though. This is the exact PR they strive for.

    “We’re doing nothing but minding our business and people are attacking us for our religious beliefs.”

    That’s the spin. They earn victimhood. That results in more new members than them being persecuted.

    It’s funny. It’s awesome. Don’t wanna be a damper, but it’s doing more harm than good.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I mean…

    Before this “trend” the viral videos were of potential recurits climbing over fences to escape…

    Like, once you get past the front desk, they don’t want you leaving without joining. So if you need a “break” they let you out of the building into a fenced in courtyard, and I remember multiple videos.over the years of people on the street helping others climb the fence, because they can’t exit thru the building.

    It’s that weird pushy sales tactic where they don’t physically prevent exiting, but they just emotionally abuse people and manipulate them into thinking they really can’t just walk out.

    In comparison, these kids running thru the buildings is good PR, it makes Scientology look waaaay better than random strangers saving people from their compounds who aren’t even members.

  • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    “Hate crime.”

    They won’t investigate racist or homophobic murders as hate crimes, but teenagers annoying the racketeering scam masquerading as a religion is a “hate crime.”

  • hendrik@palaver.p3x.de
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    5 days ago

    Stupid article. For once, there’s no reason to call them a “Church”. They’re not. They specifically do some shenanigans, to legally qualify as a “church”. But that’s pretty much it.

    Secondly, they live off of secrecy and not getting their lunatic practices and beliefs exposed. Why call for letting them continue on that path? I’d say them not having any doorhandles anymore is a good thing. Now it’s less likely they can lure in some vulnerable people. Solely by the front door being closed and having no handles.

    I think if you write an article like this, don’t lead with all the church stuff, and bury the parts with the abuse and brainwashing at the bottom. Do it the other way round.

    (This comment is an opinion piece.)