Tory escaping from the Scientology cult

Question answered by deomorto in Scientology

FredricRice asked this question on 7/25/2000:

I'm asking everyone and hopefully at least a few opinions will come back. I'll want to web people's answers, by the way.

I'm curious: Tory has stated that she has -- after some 30 years of being trapped in the Scientology cult -- has escaped. I'm curious about whether people believe her or think that's a GO/OSA "op" out to destroy the Lisa McPherson Trust in the same way that the crooks destroyed the Cult Awareness Network.

Thanks!

deomorto gave this response on 7/25/2000:

Fredric,

This is a difficult question to answer without even knowing Tory, her history and her attitude in the present.

The first question to answer is - what possible benefit would this be to OSA? What information could they get from an op like this that they do not already have?

It is not like they can make a special video for showing to all scientologists showing how bad the LMT is - scientology management does not even want scientologists to even know about the LMT.

I doubt that Bob, Stavy or the rest of the guys at the LMT are going to start telling Tory their innermost secrets.

The second question is - where are the upside and downside of this episode? The CofS has, as far as I can see, almost no upside to this. Perhaps they could gain "proof" that the LMT is "out to get them" - but as they pretty much promote that anyway I don't know how much more they can get out of that. On the downside - for the cofs and the LMT - let's assume that Tory is someone the cofs "knew" was fairly unstable, manic or whatever and thus they point her in the right direction. Does it not seem rather involved that someone in such a bad state would be relied upon to do exactly as anyone planned?

But, even assuming the worst - that she is an unstable personality sent in to disrupt the LMT by embroiling them in handling a psychotic person - if the guys at the LMT just follow standard, everyday, common sense then what could they lose?

So, if I have to step up to the plate and take a swing at what I think is the most likely scenario - FWIW, here it is.

As we know - scientologists who post in ARS do so only with the approval of the CofS itself. Despite protestations to the opposite by some of the people who post anyone who has been in it would know that this is the case. So I think Tory was posting as a part of the OSA overall plan.

From the tenor of her postings and the sheer volume of them I also think that she *may* be the sort of personality who goes wildly in one direction and then another.

A heart to heart with Andreas and suddenly it's a Road to Damascus conversion.

Personally I do not believe in such things but would concede that some people do actually go through that sort of thing.

In my experience people leave scientology by degrees, not with sudden 180 degree shifts. It is a very hard mindset to shake - I still, after years, find myself taking the same mental position I took when I was in the SO. When I left I spent a couple of years defending the cofs.

So, do I believe she is an OSA op? - No. Sceintology and its organizations are all about control and this type of person is inherently almost impossible to control.

Do I think that her "conversion" is genuine? Yes, but not necessarily permanent.

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