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I wonder if he has one leg shorter than the other.

This guy Haggis sounds like an insufferably pretentious ass, if this article's description of him is any indication.

Either way, if Scientology started off as "sex magick" rituals I guess it can't be all that bad.

Interesting article. Makes them out to be even scarier and nastier than I had gathered from previous reading. I knew about the current leader beating people up, about the lawsuits and intimidation of people and organizations (including newspapers and the IRS) giving them trouble, and about the cult behavior of isolation and control, but I hadn't previously read about the indentured servants and child slaves in the Sea Org. Pretty gross.

You do know you got that backwards, yah? The dessert was named after her.

As an avid Radio 3 listener and Scientologist of course I did

I heard an interview with Mr Haggis on NPR week ago and waited with anticipation for the issue to arrive in the mail. I was very impressed. New Yorker articles are usually long and long winded, but I like their depth and the way they try to get at the history, fact and personal experiences of an issue. This, in stark contrast to length of articles in Time and Newsweek, which sometimes seem more like extended captions than articles.

Anyhow, I was glad that Mr. Haggis was pictured with all his flaws and not held up as some grand example of a do-gooder who escaped the evil empire. That said, the article does a pretty good job of exposing the workings of Scientology and some of the biggest inconsistencies in it's Procedures, Teachings and Founder.

Reports on Scientology often come from those (for and against) who have a dog in the fight, but this article -though written about a dissenter- makes a good addition to the collection of articles written by reputable news agencies who do not have a vested interest in Scientology beyond a good narrative.

Monster Rain wrote:This guy Haggis sounds like an insufferably pretentious ass, if this article's description of him is any indication.

Either way, if Scientology started off as "sex magick" rituals I guess it can't be all that bad.

This guy directed the insufferably pretentious and incredibly uninciteful Crash, so I guess it shouldn't be surprising...

Mannahnin wrote:Interesting article. Makes them out to be even scarier and nastier than I had gathered from previous reading. I knew about the current leader beating people up, about the lawsuits and intimidation of people and organizations (including newspapers and the IRS) giving them trouble, and about the cult behavior of isolation and control, but I hadn't previously read about the indentured servants and child slaves in the Sea Org. Pretty gross.

Me neither. I actually did some research on Scientology and the Sea Org back in grad school. But I'm not surprised either. There are some really sick @#$% in the CoS.

Not worth messing with Scientologists

Fantastic read. Scary as hell to think of the unchecked power an organization or insinuation can amass.