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To Anonymous: An Inside Look at C of S Strategy

Free to shine

Shiny & Free
http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?p=305228#305228

From Fishdaddy on OCMB:
This post is inspired by comments from Erenthia and other Anons. For one, I welcome any and all Anons to this forum. You guys bring a lot of freshness, humor and energy to the Scientology fight. And I won’t mention the delicious cake!

I got the chance to talk to a lot of Anons at our demonstration and they rock. And they were very welcoming to “the old bald guy with the cool signs.”

The Church has no idea how to deal with Anonymous. When I explain a few things about how they work, I think you’ll see why, and why Anonymous will continue to win.

I think it’s pretty well known that I used to work in the C of S “marketing” department for years and sat in on many strategy meetings with their top execs, so I know how they think and how they operate. I thought you might like a bit of an inside look. Feel free to repost this.

1. First, their tactics are fixed. They are predictable. This is because their tactical playbook was written by Hubbard and is therefore sacrosanct and inalterable. Therefore their statements and releases will always be the same. They will always sound the same and have much the same wording. They will always attack any perceived enemy. Always, because Hubbard said to. They will try to impugn the character of any perceived enemy. Always. Hubbard said to. They will NEVER stay on-topic if their crimes and abuses are brought up, but will immediately shift the discussion to an ad hominem attack on the source of the information. They will categorically deny any abuses and crimes. Always. They will lie to cover up abuses. Always. For this reason, it’s vital to keep the discussion on their crimes and abuses. Don’t get dragged down into personality dogfights with them.

2. Organized Scientology has no sense of humor. None whatsoever. They kind of take this from David Miscavige who, I believe, had his sense of humor surgically removed at age 13. For an idea of their sense of humor, think Cold War era Soviet Union, Nikita Khruschev beating his shoe on the table at the UN and laughing about “burying the West.” A speaker pounding the podium and making cracks about “burying the Psychs” can always get a laugh at a Scientology event. But seriously, it’s grim. That’s what I love about Anonymous. You guys keep it light and you don’t take them – or yourselves – too seriously. And they have no clue how to deal with humor. They really don’t. If you compare Anon videos with the Church videos, you see that the Anon ones are subtly ironic, both referencing and parodying the cultural zeitgeist. Scientology wouldn’t have a clue what that means. When they try to imitate them, theirs turn out to be just creepily scary. So – don’t lose your sense of humor and don’t let them convince you that it’s all serious. I loved one of this signs I saw at the demonstration: “They have lies. We have cake.” Exactly.

And, believe it or not, the primary purpose of that scary video they made about Anonymous was to scare Scientologists. I kid you not. One of the main ways that they get money out of their followers is to tell them scary stories about how they are being attacked, and how the Church needs MORE MONEY in order to fight this heinous enemies. This is a standard tack of the IAS (International Association of Scientologist) “reges” (salespeople). So it is to their advantage ($$$$$) to have a really freaky enemy.

3. They have no clue how to deal with the viral communication of the internet. They wouldn’t know a meme if it hit them in the face. Oh, wait, one did. To Scientology, all advertising and public relations is top-down. You tell the public what to believe or think, and they believe or think it. It’s sort of like 1950’s-style advertising (think Vance Packard’s Hidden Persuaders) on steroids. Hubbard said, and I kid you not, this is an actual quote, "...people are in a more or less hypnotic daze in their aberrated [irrational, insane] state, and they respond to direct commands in literature and ads." That’s literally how Hubbard thought about the “raw meat” and how the Church executives think of them. So you think up what you want the public to think and then you just repeat it and repeat it and repeat it and pound it in until the public bloody well believes it. They don’t understand how messages and ideas take on a life of their own.

4. If their press releases all sound the same to you, it’s because they are. They cannot deviate from the script they are given. For instance, when faced with accusations of abuse from an ex-Scientologist, they always say, “He/she is just a disgruntled/apostate former member trying to get his/her 15 minutes of fame.” They always say these exact words. It’s because they are not allowed to think. They are only allowed to read from a prepared script. They can’t respond rapidly – any press release or statement has to come from the top or be approved by the top. So they cannot respond spontaneously. (This is one way you can tell an OSA plant by the way – ask them for an instant response. They can’t do it. There is always a delay as they consult their senior or try to get a new press release or statement approved.)

5. They are running out of spokespeople. Rinder is out, Tom Davis is on the RPF, Heber has been “declared Suppressive” by Miscavige and is locked up at the Int Base. So there’s no experienced PR who can go on talk shows and present Scientology. Increasingly, you will see that any “response” is a slickly produced video done at the Int Base in Hemet.

6. They cannot “marshall the troops.” You probably noticed that there were far more Anons at the demonstrations than visible Scientologists. Used to be they could muster up a decent counter-demonstration. No more. Why? What public Scientologists remain have been endlessly badgered to contribute more and more money, but more and more books, contribute to buy buildings and so on. They are played out. Any massive call to arms will fall on apathetic ears. Corporate Scientology knows this. So you won’t see counter demonstrations. You won’t see Scientologists on their local radio and TV. You won’t see them (except for a few OSA appointees) on the internet. They can’t show up in force.

7. Which leads to my final point – look, rank and file Scientologists are not the target in my view – their leadership is. Having been a “scifag” myself for many years and having known many, I know that they are by and large good, intelligent, concerned people. They do want to make a better world, that’s why they joined up. They do not know what lies behind the many veils and levels of secrecy. They are not aware of the sophistication of the control techniques being used on them. They do not know what goes on at the Int Base or on the RPF. If they did, they would leave the Church in droves, as many are doing. It is vitally important that Scientologists are informed of what actually goes on at the upper levels of corporate Scientology. So I would treat the rank and file Scientologists as potential friends and allies in the fight against the corruption and abuse of corporate Scientology. When they get out they will thank you.

And don’t worry that corporate Scientology is reading all this and may change the above. They can’t. They are locked in. They have passed their sell-by date and don’t know it.

Take this all with a grain of salt, or not, as you choose. If it helps, all to the good.

Jeff
 
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