Scientology's 'slave labor' scandal

[Omaha Steve]

http://theweek.com/article/index/201332/Scientologys_slave_labor_scandal

Some 5,000 members of a Scientology chapter work long hours for scant pay at a church compound. Devoted worshippers or slave laborers?
posted on March 29, 2010, at 3:38 PM

The Church of Scientology has been accused of locking up workers in a Californian "slave labor" camp. The 5,000 members of the church's Sea Organization live communally, vow to forego having children and sign a billion-year loyal pledge. But a new lawsuit from two former "Sea Org" members claims they were treated like prisoners, held against their will and forced to work 100 hours a week compiling Scientology literature for almost no pay. The church says that the Sea Org followers are members of a religious order, like monks, and thus exempt from wage and overtime laws. Is Scientology running an illegal sweatshop outside Los Angeles?


A new lawsuit claims that "e-meters" — devices which Scientologists claim reveal a person's mental state — are made by slave labor.


All this evidence points to the truth: Well, now we know where "all those crappy pamphlets and all that L. Ron Hubbard literature" comes from, says Ravi Somaiya in Gawker. Predictably, Scientology's leadership was "outraged and denied the allegations vehemently," but this lawsuit isn't the first to suggest this kind of abuse. When "so many 'liars' come out of Scientology saying very similar bad stuff about the 'church,'" why should we believe what they say?
"More on Scientology's brutal sweatshops"

Volunteers aren't slaves: "When you sign up as a Sea Org member, you're signing up as a member of a religious order," says Scientology spokeswoman Jessica Feshbach, quoted in the AP, so you basically know what you're getting into. "You're a volunteer. You sign a contract that says, 'I'm not going to be paid minimum wage and I know that.'" Those who say they were treated badly are "liars looking for money."
"Ex-Scientology lawsuits reveal elite Sea Org group"

Slave labor, but paid for by U.S. taxes: We now know that Sea Org members "work for almost no pay and are generally treated like animals," says Tony Ortega in The Village Voice. But at least they signed up for it. Scientologists have "manipulated" the government into allowing them to operate as a tax-exempt religion. Why does no-one seem to care that U.S. taxpayers are "subsidizing their mafia scheme" too?

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I'm all for freedom of religion

but I can see a case for declaring this so-called 'church' a criminal enterprise and going full-tilt RICO on their asses.

[upi402]

2. More and more it looks like churches have a toe over the line n/t

[justinaforjustice]

3. Smuckerism versus Scientology.

When I was in tenth grade -- many, many years ago -- a friend and I were having afternoon tea and toast, with jam, and talking about making up a new religion. We called it Smuckerism, thanks to the Smucker's jam jar in front of us. Amazing that around the same time, that smuck Ron Hubbard was doing exactly the same thing and he made a fortune out of it! Had we only had the marketing skills back then, Smuckerism could have given Scientology some competition.

At fourteen, I knew that many religions were scams, how can so many adults been hoodwinked into giving Hubbard's scheme so much money and free labor? Then again, how could so many people for so very long allow themselves to be hoodwinked by the perverted Catholic church, the religion I angrily left at fourteen due to its glaring hypocrisy. Now, its clear that it is not merely hypocrisy but perverted criminality that permeates the Fascist, authoritarian Catholic church, and it is the same with scientology.