Scientology’s ‘Volunteer Ministers’ getting roasted online for LA fire photo opps
For years we’ve been bringing you reports about Scientology’s natural disaster antics, when it sends its “Volunteer Ministers” to the scenes of destruction along with camera crews to produce slick images and videos about the church supposedly doing good in the world.
Why does Scientology do this? It’s very easy to understand. Scientology was created by a 20th century science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard, who convinced a small slice of the population that with his ludicrously expensive “technology” (his fancy word for talk therapy), they could recover memories from millions or billions of years ago on other planets, and doing so would restore their godlike status as super-beings with the ability to crush a planet between thumb and forefinger. (He actually gave that as an example, we’re not making this up.)
The biggest problem, of course, is that while you’re fleecing people in a science fiction setup like that, you don’t want interference from outside busybodies. So Hubbard also came up with a scheme he called “social coordination,” a collection of front groups whose job it is to make it look like Scientology is not weird, that it’s more mainstream than it actually is, and that it really is doing things you would expect a “church” to do in order to benefit local communities.
So, that’s why “Volunteer Ministers” are called out to the scenes of natural disasters in their high-visibility yellow T-shirts and yellow windbreakers along with camera crews in order to take advantage of photo opportunities in places where people are in real distress.
And that certainly describes Southern California right now, where days of wildfires fueled by the Santa Ana winds are still not subsiding but are even spreading from the Pacific Palisades towards areas like Encino and Brentwood. It’s very frightening.
Another place that has been heavily damaged is farther east in Pasadena, and Scientology has an “Ideal Org” not too far from the affected area. And in the last 24 hours, we’ve heard from a number of readers who have sent us various online postings questioning the activities of Scientology VMs who purport to be helping as they seek photo opportunities.
Numerous online posters are claiming that Scientology VMs are picking up supplies at staging areas like at the Santa Anita race track, and taking them away in order to set up their photo opps somewhere else.
Here in New York, we are unable to confirm whether that’s the case, but we thought you’d be interested in seeing some of the reactions that the yellow-jacketed troops are getting.
Time and again over the years, the VMs have been caught out in this kind of behavior, setting up bogus relief efforts and all for the cameras.
Later, church leader David Miscavige will exhibit this footage for his own followers in order to convince them that the extortionate prices they are paying not only will eventually make them gods on earth, but also that they should feel good about it along the way.
Meanwhile, most of this week we’ve been thinking about Mike Rinder and posting tributes since his Sunday passing. But there have been some legal updates that we wanted to note as we go into the weekend.
On Thursday morning, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin Brazile did make final the tentative ruling that we told you about on Wednesday, and in the Jane Doe 1 forced-marriage lawsuit Scientology will now be able to depose both Jane Doe and her former attorney, Brian Kent. Scientology claims that it is trying to find out if Kent ordered Jane Doe to destroy evidence in a different lawsuit, which Jane Doe’s attorneys say is just a distraction to try and prevent Judge Brazile from denying the church’s motion to force the case into “religious arbitration.”
Priscilla Presley is getting press for submitting another declaration in her elder abuse lawsuit in Los Angeles, with more claims that her former close friend and business partner Brigitte Kruse was extorting her. But at the same time, Priscilla is asking for more time to answer Kruse’s specific arguments about the things that tie Priscilla to Florida in Kruse’s lawsuit (which was filed first) in Orlando.
And also in Florida, Dr. David Minkoff has now filed notice for a hearing to be held on April 1 in Clearwater. In the Whitney Mills wrongful-death lawsuit, Minkoff is challenging whether Whitney’s mother, Leila Mills, sufficiently fulfilled state requirements before she added Minkoff to the lawsuit, which she originally filed against the Church of Scientology. (And in the meantime, Scientology is late answering the latest version of the lawsuit. What gives, Dave?)
That’s the latest. Now, can LA please catch a break and get these fires under control? We’re hoping for it.
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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
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They finally have a chance to actually do some good in the real world. All they had to do was humble themselves a tiny bit to find out what was actually needed and pitch in. Certainly a few vans and volunteers could help with supply distribution. Nobody would have cared if they wore branded clothing if they were really helping.
But the words "humble" and "Scientology" are like oil and water. Like Hubbard, they are "my way or the highway". The illusion is more real than actual suffering reality. They don't take orders and don't play well with others.
The footage will look good, chopped into tiny bits and played at the events with elevator music or in ads. More money for the lawfare campaign!
Taking supplies and 'distributing' them elsewhere seems to be outright theft to me. Does anyone know if those 'repurposed' supplies were actually given out? I am betting some mOrg now has a basement full of 'supplies'.