Has anyone here personally known a scientologist?

Yes I've encountered many Scienos when I lived in So Cal. Learned to avoid them as they're all OCD obsessed. Can't talk about anything but their cult. For example at a party all of them were talking about when they could afford to buy their own e-meter. Yes that was they're #1 goal.

Many would go on movie sets trying to convince artists/musicians/actors that the cult would give them a career if they only signed up for classes. Constantly listing all the successful who'd already joined up.

Later I was paid via a major Los Angeles law firm to do research as they're client LA Magazine was being sued for their basic expose on Scientology.

Countless bizarre stories some of which I have shared on DL over the years. Watch the original Manchurian Candidate to get an idea of the level of brainwashing going on.. Yes people who needed to be told what to do & how to think 24/7 being scolded for laughing to loudly at a joke told at a VIP scieno party. NO, they were not laughing all that loudly but eveery other Scieno was paranoid of speaking above a whisper.

Ever see Scieno's march in their Sea Org (military copy cat) outfits in Hollywood?

Yes, I have a very good friend in her 80s whom I love dearly. She's high up in the church, and, while I'm no fan of Scientology, I love and respect her.

She never proselytizes, and her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson are not in the church, which seems to be no issue.

She's a fun UES 'broad' from the 1960s on, and we (Chelsea Boy 80's and 90's) have stories to tell!

Oh, dear at R1. He really doesn’t know they’re/their/there.

That's crazy R[1]. Did they try to recruit you?

R4, by way of a public service announcement, if you want to reply to a previous post you just type R followed by the post number. No spaces, no fancy [ ], just R and the post number.

Try, you might like!

Scienos? I thought they were called clams.

A deceased friend of mine dabbled in Scientology. He was living in Hawaii in the mid 2000s and took some lower level classes. After he left Hawaii, he didn't keep with the courses when he moved to Texas to take care of disabled parent. He admitted that he was dumb to dabble in it.

Thank you R5!

R4, Clams/Scienos constantly try to recruit everyone in their midst. Even had a heavy duty attempt when I worked on the soap General Hospital.

#1 claim is that you can achieve all of your goals whatever they may be by taking a class. No, I never gave them a dime. However I was once dragged by 2 non-clams to a Scieno party for ViP's. They made jokes afterwards that the instant lemonade was spiked with something to make everyone in the room into zombies. Made excuses that we were scheduled to see a special movie preview on Sunset Blvd and had to leave.

Here's how the evening went down. Young Black woman was playing Summertime on the violin. She was very good but played the piece so slowly as to be hypnotic.

"Should I stop now" she asked when the song was finished. "Yes, you may stop now." the room's controller replied in the same dull, monotone voice.

Then my comedien friend made tasteless jokes about the most popular man at the Cinco de Mayo parade. That would be the man with the jumper cables. The Hispanic woman laughed loudly only to be shamed for her outburst by the room's controller. She then lowered her head attempting to disappear.

Want more true stories of craziness?

Ran into a group of clams marching in unison all in pseudo-naval uniforms. I asked one of them if they were in fact in the navy or another branch of the service.

He just stared blankly ahead like all of the other zombies.

Woman "DI" bragged that they were a part of the elite Sea Org of the special branch of Scientology. If I was deemed worthy perhaps I could too one day could be part of such a high ranking organization.

I couldn't stop hysterically laughing at her audacity and deadlfy serious tone of voice.

R3, Assuredly I do know the difference between their and they're but sometimes I'm too tired to proofread what I write. I'm definitely not OCD like the clams/scienos.

Worst scam of Scientology was offering "free" acting classes and a "free" introduction to the business. Anyone who knows anything about acting can very easily tell that the entire process of performing at any level is diametrically opposed to what Scientology demands of an individual.

Still I saw many artists, musicians, creatives desperate for a leg up in the super competivie business that is Hollywood try any means promising success. So very sad.

Warning: Scientology is now using Meetup.com in various states to recruit the naive. A friend signed up for a "free" mediation class in Florida. She ran out of the session in absolute horrror. As a Conservative Christian.this was an anethma.

I realized a similarly described class in Las Vegas was a cover for the new Scientology center and luckily didn't waste my time. And I thought the Hare Krishna's were the ultimate "bait-and-switch" scammers for pulling the same thing under a phony name.

Another crazy story from that VIP Scientology party, My much older friend told the small group of attendees that he had actually met L. Ron Hubbard.

Everyone dropped their mouths and looked at him like he'd been in the presence of a god. You would not believe the reverence in their faces, the look of absolute awe, struggling to verbally express their total admiration.

Years earlier a sister relayed how Hubbard had been laughed out of the LASFS science fiction and fantasy group for being a total hack and a terrible writer of very bad science fiction.

Top members of LASFS had sold scripts to the TV series Star Trek. L. Ron was supposedly humiliated but then bragged he could sell a million copies of his paperback, "Dianetics."

[quote]She's a fun UES 'broad' from the 1960s on, and we (Chelsea Boy 80's and 90's) have stories to tell!

Thanks, R2, but can you explain what this means?

[quote]L. Ron was supposedly humiliated but then bragged he could sell a million copies of his paperback, "Dianetics."

Which he did.

Had a colleague/friend- she & her husband were Scientologist, they lived on nothing as they paid SO much to get higher in the church as they were convinced you pay now, recap later. She criticized my stock participation, always said "Invest your $$ in YOU"...... I worked with her for 5 years. She made great $$, but always thought she should "invest" more in the church for this & that. Her Scientology friends would come in & they would go for lunch, they always made her pay. Id know, as she'd come back & call her husband to tell him she just spent $500.00 on lunch with the ladies.......He would always say something like "Its ok, we'll just short the electric/water bill this month", or something along those lines. She would then gush to me about what a wonderful lunch they had & what great friends she has in her church family.... It was SO terrible to watch happen. Our company had a meeting about it & pretty much told us to not get involved & have no opinions as its their religion & they are on their own. Also advised to not loan them any money..... She was a great employee, was present & came to work- just had a fucked up faith & husband. UPDATE- they're still together & still clawing their way up the Scientology ladder & probably still buying fancy lunches & shorting the utility bills......

Lost several friends to the pit of Scio. One of the finest pianists I ever had the opportunity to work with had terrible, debilitating stage fright. My roommates and I organized a small recital to celebrate Beethoven’ s bday. Mario Fenninger played brilliantly that evening as he did at a similar event at Richard Nuetra’s home. No matter how I tried I watched a great musician throw it all away because Scio convinced him they had the solution. I finally gave up trying to battle them for him. Sad. Mario was Egyptian / Italian and spent much of his youth in Cairo. His gayness was the true cause of his psychological torture.

A great waste. Hate, hate the Scientologists.

Yes. A visiting professor who taught foreign languages. He was a weird guy from Europe. I say Europe b/c he had lived in England then Poland, then Romania, then Austria, or w/e order he lived in these places. He had lived in almost every country in Europe, never staying more than 2 years, and he was somewhat of a vagrant. Even in the first few minutes of meeting him all u think is weirddddddd . By weird I mean, his intense stare that becomes a pleasant smile in an instant, his constant looking around , he would hunch over and slouch then suddenly switch to this posh upright posture and his accent would flip from a Birmingham one to a blended Baltic/Irish/Australian one. Sometimes he'd ramble about birds and nature, the blueness of the sky, and how the stars are shifting then randomly segue into international politics then to Beethoven and Baroque classical music in under 10 minutes.

I think he was into mushrooms and hallucinogens and most cult-like fads. He was Catholic, then Muslim , then Buddhist , then a Scientologist ( when I met him), and I think he was going back to Buddhism again.

They post fake job ads. Years ago when I actually lived in Hollywood and looking for work as a 3D artist I ran across an ad that sounded too good to be true. Great pay, creative projects etc. After speaking with them they set up an interview at their "studios". The catch was it was not in Hollywood but way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere like some 2 hour drive. They said because it was so far, many artist chose to stay there in their free bungalows provided to their best employees. After Google stalking them because I didnt want to drive that far I basically found out is was a Scientology campus and the whole think was a scam just to get me there.

Fake job ads.

That's kind of scary, R20. They are so sinister!

R15, between her stories of hobnobbing with Upper East Side New Yorkers for decades, and my stories from 33 years in Chelsea, we had some terrific tales to share.

I recognized that my sentence was clumsy, but I had already hit enter.

Not here

There was one in charge of IT where I work. Due to an incompetent hire PC’s n certain rooms did not work for months. She invited us to discuss it with her. I was the only one who went. She had Scientology books on her desk with the covers facing outward. She said Re months of non-working PCs, “You seem very angry.”

She was universally loathed but it took a year or two to get her fired.

I read Dianetics once and all I can remember is that everyone is fucked up because their father beat up their mother in an attempt to make her miscarry.

Wow. I'm sensing so much hostility here. I think what everyone needs is some quality time with an e- meter. I'd be happy to help for the low price of 500 dollars per session!

Bump

When I was an impressionable freshman in college, a Scientologist recruited me into taking their introductory course with a money back guarantee. Out of curiosity I agreed and spent a couple of days looking at their handouts and taking some of their tests. When I realized how wacko it all is, I insisted on getting my money back and had to go through several inquisitions and layers of increasingly unpleasant people before I finally got my money back.

I don't know any scientists, OP. Sorry - can't help you with this thread.

r29 = RFK Jr.

I was recruited at a bar about 6 or 7 years ago. I was at the bar by myself, yes I know, and two of them in their navy adjacent outfits approached me. We got to talking and they were laying it on thick, mostly interested in my job, I’m in aviation. I was drunk enough to kind of fuck with them and when they asked to talk more outside I said sure. We get out to the parking lot and one of their buddies pulls up in a car out of nowhere. The vibe was getting even more weird, and I said to the only almost cute one “okay, I’ll sign up if you show me your dick.” They were not impressed and I did a full sprint away from them. Very dark vibes.

We had one who worked for a company we bought back in the early 2000s. I never had any involvement with her. About a month after we took control of the company and I had filled everyone in on the new policies & procedures they would be working under I was told she blew a fuse & walked out one day out of the blue as she decided the new P&Ps were against her convictions. The next time I did a site visit I was told by several people they were glad she was gone because she 'bothered' everyone constantly about coming to one of her Scientology meetings.

I went to a Scientology high school.

I was going to UC Berkeley in the early to mid '80's. There was a Scientology office close to campus that had "Test your I.Q." placard outside. So I figured, why the hell not? According to them, it was 131. They ask me if I wanted it to be higher, and I told them, nah, I'm good. ARE YOU SURE?? Yep, I'm fine. Well please by this book. Look, I'm a poor student, don't they have this book in the library? Uhhhh, and I flounce out. I guess they weren't that strong back then.

Worked with an actor who audited some classes, and was going to do more, but then they told him that his wife had to do the classes, or he would have to leave her. He stopped, but the group continued to claim him as one of their own (like Mormons do), even online, despite his denials.

Worked with someone who has worked very closely with Tom Cruise for 7 years- even working with him in the Scientology Centre in L.A.. I asked them how they didn't get sucked in to the cult, and they said whenever the suits would approach, he would act like a gibbering idiot. Strangely Tom never tried to influence them into joined.

Finally worked with another actor who was born into it, and nary a peep about it. Extremely professional, knows exactly what they want, doesn't suffer fools, but looks out for people The one odd thing about it was that their father (who was very high up in the cult) died during our time together, and it was never mentioned and they showed up the next day like nothing happened, all bright and chipper. Perhaps they weren't close to him.

There was a word processor at my old law firm who was a Scientologist. I swear to god she only had three different outfits that she wore to work over and over

Is the actor in your last paragraph still in the cult, r34? If s/he left, they'd be declared a suppressive person and any remaining in must cut off all contact.

My sister was in it for about 5 years back in the '80s. She was a shit-stirrer in my family before, and became really paranoid and mentally unstable after she left or was kicked out, and remains that way.

They had a "bookstore" or reading room just off the northwest corner of 43rd and 5th once upon a time. I think some new recruits' first task was to stand in front of this with a clipboard and ask walkers-by if they would like a "free personality test."

R36, you don’t get declared a suppressive person if you leave. If you leave quietly without making a fuss, that’s okay. If you leave in a public, conspicuous way, making a big stink about leaving, then you would get declared.

As far as I know, they're still in the cult and gets asked about it occasionally in the press. They get chilly and shut it down immediately.

I live in LA, used to do a lot of 3D animation work. They post fake job ads all the time. Not disclosing who they are, and after you talk to them, they try and sell you on the idea they have a studio somewhere in the middle of nowhere and that the lucky few who they pic to work for them can even stay on there "campus" because dedicated artists should want to be close to their work.

I have avoided them for most of my life.

I knew a fellow who started in the $cios ("clam$" is fine) in the later 1970s. He was on the rise enough that he experienced the burgeoning tactics of threat, espionage, and worse. Guns brandished. This was in the Midwest, not in LA or Florida. He got out and looked over his shoulder for years. And he was the sort of person who they would have been able to snooker and fool. Glad he figured it out.

Horrible, cynical cult of greed. Criminals that even the US government couldn't fight. The Feds gave up because the courts were so overwhelmed by their legal shenanigans, and Trump uses the same tactics.

Never