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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