Hey, Dublin: Want to see some Scientology child abuse?

We’re sure that the parents who recorded the video we have for you today are very proud of what it shows. Their son, whose name we couldn’t quite catch but that we’re glad isn’t clear anyway, gives a short “graduation” speech this past Friday at the Dublin Scientology Ideal Org and for them it is probably quite charming and inspiring.

After all, isn’t it something to see an 8- or 9-year-old thanking Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard for his tips on how to study properly?

But the ex-Scientologists who read this website will probably have a very different reaction when they see this short clip.

Talking to many of you, over the years we have compiled a damning picture of Scientology as a system of thought that enslaves the mind in a totalitarian environment which, in part, weakens the family bond. Children who grow up memorizing Hubbard’s “folk psychology” (Lawrence Wright’s great description) can spend years in adulthood trying to throw off their shackles.

We’d like to hear from former Scientologists who grew up in the church about what Hubbard’s ideas did to their minds, their families, their ambitions, and their wallets.

Meanwhile, for those of you in Dublin wondering what’s going on at the Ideal Org on Firhouse Road, here’s some idea. We expect it will make little sense to you, and that’s no surprise.

And let’s keep up with a video theme today. It turns out that all of this criticism about Scientology you’ve been seeing in recent years is a lot of hooey.

At least that’s what the fascinating Tommy Scherer says in a video he posted this week.

According to his various online bios, Tommy is from Long Island and lives in Southern California where he runs a roofing business and was a songwriter part time. In 2011 he branched out, writing his first self-published novel, Soul Wars, based on some out-of-body experiences he’d had earlier in life.

In the video, he explains that he’s been a Scientologist since 1977 or 1978, and has never run into any “Xenu” character. (This may true. Only those who reach OT 3 hear about this notorious character in L. Ron Hubbard lore.) He brought up Scientology in a previous video and got a big reaction, and so he decided to address the criticism of it, which he says is baseless, and the critics never mention all of the miracles that take place in Scientology. Hey, what’s up with that!

Let’s give Tommy his opportunity to explain things.

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Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

Here’s the link for today’s post at tonyortega.org

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Episode 7 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers, and it’s a conversation with Geoff Levin about Scientology’s celebrities and which ones are most likely to defect. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 6 available to everyone, with Pete Griffiths on running a mission, Sunny Pereira dishing secrets of Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre, Bruce Hines on the crazy life in the Sea Org, Jeffrey Augustine on recent Scientology court cases, Claire Headley exposing Tom Cruise, and Marc Headley on what it must be like for David Miscavige living in Clearwater, Florida. Go here to get the episodes!