Scenes From An Anonymous Scientology Protest

Am I the only one who feels a little uncomfortable about these events? I'm wondering if I should see the "Anti-Scientologists" show up on the Southern Poverty Law Center's map of hate groups. I don't know ... I'm just sayin' it makes me a little queasy that they wear masks or hoods or whatever and target a particular group of people.

Yeah it seems like a lot of effort over something you don'tlike. I think Scientology is retarded, but I have better things to do with my free time.

American Idol, now THAT I'd protest.

Now why'd they have to go and get the original I Can Haz Cheezburger cat involved?

Generic: Woops sorry for the wrong use of italics. However, I still think it is fundamentally different than protesting a war or your government. The government is funded by you, the taxpayer... and represents you, the taxpayer/citizen. So impacting wanting change seems direct.

But Scientology is a private club, so it seems bizzare in the same way it would if people protested bowling or Atkins diets. It just seems like spending a lot of time and effort on something that you think is bad, but someone else is doing of their free will... (yes I know, they have used coercion... so that IS fair game). Is the "audience" they hope to reach the group itself? or the average person who has no interest in Scientology to begin with? What are they hoping to accomplish?

I was basically agreeing with the other comments that mention it seems a bit unusual. They basically just look like a bunch of cute boys hanging out, goofing off, with a minimal backdrop of Scientology protesting.

That's the point.

The public thinks it's just a "fruity little club", to quote South Park. It's bad. It's REALLY bad. And people need to look deeper. People need to know what's going on. It's worse than you think.

People need to know the abusive policies, the political lobbying, the treatment of critics, the scams, the front groups, the lies and the truth. People need to learn. I've been studying this for about 8 years. And each time, I learn more and more. It's a bottomless pit.

Once people know what this mafia-like organization is really about, most people become outraged, if they took the time to learn.

You mentioned tax dollars. They were a "science", but to dodge taxes, they became a "religion" with a secret deal with the IRS that is in courts now. This is not a conspiracy theory, go look up Sklar vs. IRS. They get special tax exemptions that no other "religion" gets. They have tax exempt commissions for the books and services they sell, which is not permitted. They are involved with political lobbying, which a religion should not be doing under tax exemption.

Anonymous fights its wars with mockery. A direct opposition to the seriousness of the corporation/church. You saw that, but you didn't listen.

You asked who the audience is, and what anonymous hopes to accomplish. The audience is whoever reads this, including you. The message to "look deeper, and learn what it's really about." Listen to the ex-scientologist's stories. Just, whatever you do, don't be blind. You read this far, didn't you? Then congrats.

Judge for yourself if this injustice is acceptable in your society or not. Ask yourself, how can they get away with this? The "church" wants you to think it's a silly celebrity religion at it's worst. They want you to think it's a harmless religion and not a corrupt abusive business. Just, look deeper, and ask yourself if this is acceptable.

Wow ... I had no idea how passionate folks were about bringing down this business ... I mean church/social club/whatever. Can you please target the Catholic Church next? They keep funding these darn homophobic State Constitutional Amendments to ban me and the other gays from ever getting treated equally by states in regards to financial, health care, and the plethora of other things that two folks in love of a hetero orientation take for granted. I consider the Catholics the scarier group.

Well Rincon, scientology claims that they can cure you of the gay.

I have more respect for the catholic church. I can say what I want, and they won't send PIs after me, try to financially ruin me, slash my tires, follow me around, notify my family and neighbors that I'm a dangerous child molester. The catholic church won't film me to try to intimidate me into silence.
This isn't paranoia. It's real.
Do you understand the point of the masks now?

You see, what scientology believes in, is itself. There's a term they use. KSW. Keep Scientology Working. That's it. The law, ethics, even their own rules and beliefs are forfeit, as long as it's KSW. The ends justify the means. And when you work like that, what's the point? If the means to winning is being rotten, what's the point? So what if you win? You're still rotten in the end, and that's hardly winning at all.

This has nothing to do with religion though. People often focus on that, when it's really not the case. It's about the scam and abuse, inside and out.

People can say, what about the war, what about this, what about that? There are starving children in third world nations!
Well, people are split on those issues. With this though, it's easy. Most people agree that something smells fishy at the very least. But when a deeper look is taken, most people agree, something is really really wrong here.

I'm here to do what I can for the world. I see an injustice. Going after Scientology is my message to the world, that we do not stand for this behavior anywhere. It just so happens, this organization somehow embodies a lot of things that no one really needs.

My Marcabian German psychiatrist has approved and paid me for this message.

I might not be scared of them but I would not put my family at risk from harassment by this eil organisation. This evil cult are not beyond breaking into your home and framing you for bomb threats.

Thats what they did with Paulette Cooper during Operation freakout and tried to have her put in jail.

We wear masks for a reason. The Church of Scientology has a policy of "Fair Game" which basically allows them to target any critics or naysayers for stalking, harassment, hate campaigns, etc. We hide our faces to protect ourselves and our families.

Great work SF protesters, masked or not , you are doing us proud.

What a bunch of paranoid freaks you people are. How does it affect you? It is just the cause of the week. Poseurs are poseurs no matter what their purported cause. On a list of things to protest in this world, CoS is probably around number 3,257 in importance. All the talk of intimidation and threats by CoS sre just an excuse to have a party and dress up. Grow up.

can someone explain the cat picture to me??? just curious.

You could make the same allegations against any church. Brainwashing? Check. Amoral? Usually. Pester the shit out of people by banging on their doors at ungodly hours/badgering them in public? You betcha. Use snake oil bullshit to coax money out of the less intelligent? Yes.

Why this one is deserving of so much ire than other churches, who have done far worse in the world, is beyond me.

Many people have what they perceived to be a cause worthy of their opinion. People who object to war, will likely flaunt their opinion of war. People who object to a church, will likely make those objections know.

Those who object to war, usually wonder why someone is making so much fuss over a church, when there is a war to object to, visa versa. To each their own, and usually neither understanding the other as their own cause is so important to themselves.

If you objected to a church and knew that making that opinion known, could possibly have you followed, photographed, picketed, harassed, litigated, etc., if you believed in your cause strong enough, would you not find a way to make your opinion known, without putting your livelihood at risk?

But these tactics aren't being done by the general public. They are being carried out and funded by this "church". What "church" goes these lengths to silence those critical of their activities?

What these critics do, is simply pose a threat to the continued funding of the churches activities by gullible people, who simply are looking to make a difference in their own lives. And since 99% of the information about this "church" is kept FROM the potential candidate until it is paid for, they never know what they are getting into, until they are thoroughly looped in.

Most are given quite a different impression of what they're getting into, until they are alleviated of their funds and discover what the public had been warning them all along about, was true after all. I think most people would call that a "bait and switch", not behavior becoming of a church, but certainly one of an atypical scam.

In the words of Dennis Miller, before he became a raging ass, "If I had a hammer, I'd hammer out danger all over the world. But I have rent to pay."

When it's important to people, they will protest.