#Cult of Scientology victim

[msclaritea]

Harassing someone on social media to the point where they block you is not something to brag about.

All you're doing is making a nuisance of yourself. You're just seen as this annoying nutjob and that's it. Because that's what you are. You're not helping anyone with your behavior. Least of all you. All this anger and bitterness will only make your life even more miserable. When is the last time any of your friends and family offered to spend time with you? I bet they're ignoring you now so they won't have to endure your rants.

I wish I was as Magical, having sent her all of ONE tweet. Alas it seems that Leah has been arbitrarily blocking a shitload of people, for various, self possessed reasons. Meantime:

1. I should have known that Yashar Ali was suspect, with his connection to Huffpost.

2. You sound awfully familiar. Have you sent other messages, to harass people, because they support Benedict Cumberbatch?

[calkale]

i hate when people complain about tom being a scientologist/cultist and their argument is for him to “just leave” like bro its a cult you just said that 😭

[tlaquetzqui]

“This thing you said usually indicates that self-proclaimed Christians are really a cult, also applies to the Latter-Day Saints!”

Well the Latter-Day Saints were founded by a man with multiple fraud convictions and a habit of marrying barely-pubescent girls (and no, that was not a common practice in 19th century America—particularly not the “I just had a revelation from God, polygamy is allowed now” part), who was killed after he declared martial law over his community.

So…no, clearly, nothing cultish going on here at all.

[nicollekidman]

its a bit weird that you support tom cruise so much when he's the figurehead of a horrible cult that ruined countless lives and very likely killed people too. nicole kidman herself is extranged from her children because of him and his cult. I wonder how you justify something so clearly awful just because he's a decent actor and has passion for the craft? I genuinely do, like is there something I'm missing? in my eyes he's on the same level as miscavige aka a monster. he's not just a member and a victim, he's basically the right hand man, he's the next in line. the dozens and dozens of scientology survivors who left the cult are enough proof for me.

read my press babe

[littlecornerinbrooklyn]

america using the most prominent member in a harmful cult to promote the LA Olympics is actually so on brand for us

America loves cults!!!! our history is CHOCK FULL of weird cults! don't ask a woman her age, a man his salary, or anyone who lived in upstate new york how they had sex in the 1800s!

[sapphsorrows]

I don't get the point in being a Facts and Logic Atheist Skeptic if you're going to blatantly ignore the fallacies of the transgender ideology.

Everyone makes fun of the circular reasoning of Christians but no one makes fun of the very obvious circular reasoning of the trans movement. One of the reasons "what is a woman" is such a fantastic question is because they can't answer it. "What is a woman?" "A woman is someone who identifies as a woman." "Ok, well what is a that? When you "identify" as a woman, what does that mean?" It's very similar to asking a Christian "how do you know the Bible is true?" They say "the Bible is true because it's God's holy word." "Ok, well how do you know that?" "Because the Bible says."

Not only that, but transness in itself is an entirely spiritual belief. You're essentially trying to "fix" your body, which isn't even broken, to further reflect your soul. The idea of a soul is inherently spiritual. I find this especially true of nonbinary people who go through surgery and have their nipples removed. Many of them say "well, I wasn't supposed to have nipples" or "nipples make me dysphoric," and it doesn't make any sense. Nearly everyone on planet earth has nipples, what do you mean you weren't "supposed" to have them?

When you listen to trans people talk about their gender identity, it's extremely religious. Even with things like "trans joy," I can't help but think of the old sold "I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart." Well, I guess if JKR doesn't like it she can sit on a tack.

When they talk about their transition, they're "on a journey," they're "connecting with their gender." When they do finally transition, and cry because they "finally feel like their true selves."

What does that even mean? There is no "true" self, the self you currently have is your true self. You were never not yourself. You were never broken. Anyone who told you that you were was trying to sell you something.

The fact that most skeptic youtubers aren't even a little suspicious of this movements is very confusing to me. It's still possible they could be, but god forbid you say anything.

The trans community is one of the most toxic things I've ever been a part of. In my opinion, it's like Scientology on steroids. If you leave, you will lose friends, and you may become the victim of targeted harassment. If you even hint that you might be questioning it, you will be met with suspicion at best and outright hatred at worst.

In my opinion, it is one of the most popular, regressive and destructive cults currently operating in the US, and one of the reasons it's so dangerous is because it specifically targets mentally ill teenagers and gay kids. It sells the idea that something is wrong with them. It leads them down the path of medicalization and sterilization. In many ways, it's the modern day lobotomy.

This is the biggest medical scandal of our lifetime. If you're not at least a little bit skeptical, I worry for you.

[marisatomay]

oh thank god that other anon brought up scientology bc i need to tell you smth that i think you will empathize with. i do not understand why ppl treat scientologist celebrities (or other non-famous ppl who are in scientology) as evil. they are in a cult. they are brainwashed victims of a cult. they are VICTIMS. this isnt the fucking manson family they havent killed anyone. theyre the ones being hurt. i wish only for the ppl trapped in scientology, famous or not, to be safe and healthy and far away from that cult

This is such a controversial opinion for some reason but yes. I too wish this. And I think if more people knew how cults worked they would be more empathetic about the people in them and also better protect themselves from falling victim to one.

[keybladeciel]

Now for my two cents on the drama that ensued among the Linkin Park Community.

Content Warning: Discussions of sexual assault, Scientology, and suicide

Disclaimer: I do not condone nor encourage the harassment of the individuals or anyone with their own opinion. Additionally, this statement is intended to be read with an open mind and I may be wrong at such details. Any corrections with hard evidence is appreciated. Updates to the situation will be made via reblogs.

Like many LP fans, I was happy that there was a new Linkin Park album in the works and was amazed by Emily Armstrong's vocals in the latest track. However, this news came with some awful drama.

Let's discuss the basics. From Zero will be the first Linkin Park album with newly recorded material in seven years following No More Light, the last album to be recorded prior to Chester Bennington's suicide. To receive news about a truly new album and a new vocalist is enough to excite the LP fandom.

The new vocalist for Linkin Park is Emily Armstrong from Dead Sara. When The Emptiness Machine dropped as the newest single, the controversies of Armstrong's past reared its ugly head and caused a divide in the fandom. Namely, Armstrong was outed as a Scientologist and a supporter of Danny Masterson. Cue many fans being upset, especially detractors of the new direction of Linkin Park going forward.

Armstrong hasn't discussed her views since 2013 and she has recently posted a statement on her involvement with Danny Masterson during the court hearings he was going through. She has stated that she has no longer supported Masterson following him being found guilty of rape and made an Instagram Story of her clearing the air. The hearing she attended to was in 2020. The statement below can be interpreted has her apology for this.

As for her past as a Scientologist, she's a Second Generation Scientologist (meaning she had no say in her being part of the Church of Scientology whatsoever, let alone a religion of people who hate anything negative statements about them) and was called out by one of Masterson's victims. Again, Armstrong hasn't said anything about it since 2013. Scientologists can leave their faith, but it is difficult to do so and there are several restrictions placed by the Church. (Again, they HATE criticism and negative publicity of any kind)

Scientologists tend to ignore the topic of mental health. Many fans were pissed at such a damning revelation and believed that Chester would be upset over this.

Despite this, LP gave their support and Chester's wife, Talinda showed her support in Armstrong being the new vocalist.

As for the Masterson case, many of Masterson's former friends would logically want to see him as a good person, but have cut ties with him following his conviction (Armstrong herself stated that herself. I believe that she flubbed a spot check when her Insta reveals she stills follow Masterson, but dealing with the fallout of a friend being a monster comes with its own baggage). While some have said Armstrong was involved with a confrontation with a victim, there isn't any evidence to prove this.

The instance of Scientology requires a more realistic thought. The Church of Scientology has no problems making the lives of vocal ex-members a living hell with legal battles and frequent harassment. While we can assume Emily Armstrong herself is an ex-member, she can't be vocal about it without a massive shitstorm ensuing, especially if she's part of a band that has several songs dealing with mental health, something that Scientologists actively ignore. Many ex-members have resorted to sneaking out of the Church or even Scientology as a whole in the trunk of a car. Even if Armstrong seems to be in a place to discuss her departure, she still won't be able to without the ire of her former faith. If you analyze the lyrics of The Emptiness Machine, they deal with leaving a toxic enviroment or a cult-like place. In Armstrong's case, it can be interpreted has her stating that she has left the Church without attracting a potential shitstorm, with the lyrics feeling appropriate for leaving such a place.

All in all, this is not how the new era of LP was supposed to go down, but the use of context and media literacy is how we can understand this situation going forward.

[downtherabbitholewithauntieblegh]

Linkin Park/Emily Armstrong Controversy

Y'all paying way too much attention to this Linkin Park business. Move on. Rock and metal are suffering from drama. We're forgetting the music and why we pack into venues and festivals. We're forgetting that band members have families they're away from for months at a time. We're forgetting that suicide, depression, mental illness and addiction are rampant in our business because of the stress. STFU about Linkin Park and let those people move forward. Go to a show, buy a t-shirt, hit the pit and tell all your friends about it.

#inuswetrust always. Peace.

~ AJ Channer (Lead Singer of Fire From the Gods)

So, let's talk about Linkin Park, Emily Armstrong and this controversy. Almost a week ago, Linkin Park premiered a new song along with their new co-singer, Emily Armstrong. Emily is the front woman of the band Dead Sara. The controversy was almost immediate with a huge amount of backlash.

The first round came from Cedric Bixler-Zavala (The Mars Volta) and his wife, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler. The husband-and-wife duo did not hold back with their disdain for Armstrong, her ties to Scientology and her alleged support of convicted rapist, actor Danny Masterson. According to one article, Carnell was a victim of Masterson. Bixler and Carnell are former Scientologists themselves and left years ago.

Armstrong has since come out and apologized for her actions in supporting Masterson, explaining that she went to one court appearance and supported him as an observer to later realize her mistake. Some people, including Bixler and Carnell, say that the apology isn't enough.

Bixler and Carnell released a statement after Armstrong's apology and did not accept it, stating, "If you're not going to speak out against the human and child trafficking cult in which you are a part of and in which you enable by remaining silent on crimes you know about then you have no right to fill the shoes of Chester Bennington, a true advocate."

Mike Shinoda, original founding member, as well as Joe Hahn, have both released statements. Both stated that they support Armstrong and know that having her a part of their band would be a "hard pill to swallow" for most people.

"To say it as clearly as possible, I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes," Shinoda said as a part of his statement.

That wasn't good enough for Chester's son, Jaime Bennington. Bennington released a scathing statement, denouncing Shinoda and the other original members that are still in the band. Bennington released his statement via Instagram on September 9th. Ever since Bennington made his feelings known, he has been getting death threats from Linkin Park fans.

Some folks are even questioning him and whether he truly understands what his dad would want if Chester were alive today. Bennington highlighted the hypocritical comments, saying if they really understood how his father died, they would realize that their comments are inappropriate and crass.

Bennington was very outspoken with his disdain and blasting Shinoda for betraying their fans by choosing Armstrong as their new singer, especially during International Suicide Awareness month. Bennington addressed Armstrong's alleged ties to Scientology and support for Masterson.

Bixler-Zavala resurfaced some messages, one that showed Armstrong did indeed attend the 2020 preliminary hearing of Masterson. That did hit fans hard, as Chester had openly discussed surviving sexual abuse in the past. Chester passed away back in 2017.

With the drama weighing heavily on everyone involved, Shinoda, Hahn and the others are sticking by Armstrong and their decision to have her as their singer. We cannot take away the noticeable missing original drummer, Rob Bourdon. Bourdon made the choice to not reunite with the band for this new venture.

It just came out that original lead guitarist, Brad Delson, will not be touring with the band moving forward. In a statement by Shinoda, Delson has made the choice to just record with them in the studio and not take part in live performances in the future. Colin Brittain has replaced Bourdon on the drums. Brittain is known for playing with Oh No Fiasco.

Alex Feder has been announced as Delson's replacement for the upcoming tour to support their new album, From Zero.

With all this information provided, people are still divided on whether Linkin Park making a comeback, 2.0 as some people have called it, is a good thing. What people are failing to realize is how hurtful their comments are. Shinoda has stated that they will not be getting rid of Armstrong.

Some fans are saying they should change their name. Something a lot of people agree with. Some are saying they should just not continue on with Linkin Park without Chester. At this point, everyone just needs to take AJ Channer of Fire from the Gods advice. We are forgetting the music. We are forgetting that these musicians have families at home. We are forgetting that suicide, depression, mental illness and addiction run rampant in the music industry.

We are forgetting that they are people like we are. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. If you want to listen to Linkin Park, by all means, listen to Linkin Park. If you don't want to support them, don't. That's the end of that story. How do expect people to heal and move forward when people constantly bring up the past, negative or not?

Everyone's feelings in this situation are real and valid. Don't negate someone's feelings if they don't align with yours. We as a society, we must do better. In the end, it does really matter....

[curmemini]

I think a lot of LP fans are being a little bit demanding of Armstrong, to be quite honest. Like whether she is or isn't a part of it - we will likely never know nor are we entitled to that information, because it is incredibly dangerous for anyone to leave a cult, but especially one that has such a history like scientology and especially if one was born into it. It isn't as black and white as fuck cults, as in if you say that but you don't offer any support for victims of cult ideology, it's a pretty flimsy statement. Personally, I don't expect anyone to put their lives on the line so people have a clean consciousness about listening. It is what it is.

[ignotussomnium]

Scientology is HUGE on Law of Attraction style thinking. They believe that once you reach a certain level in the organization (called Clear) you can’t get sick. If you do get sick, you're asked what "crimes" or negative thoughts you might have committed to cause this to happen to you. I've read numerous accounts of members dying of cancer because they imagined they could just think sickness away.

It also leads to a lot of other awful abuse. For example, the current leader is reported to have slapped members and then demanded to know what they did or thought that caused them to "pull in" the abuse.

Scientology used to have an addiction rehab arm and a "troubled teen" boot camp that used this same logic. You can imagine how horribly this went.

(CW: spiritual abuse, child abuse)

i was sent to a "school" for problem teens in the 00s that was really just a cult, and their ideology was based loosely on scientology in some parts but most of it was LOA stuff. so i can confirm that when this kind of thinking becomes institutional, especially when it's used on children, it is very harmful. they used it to excuse authoritarianism and abuse and forced behaviour modification. they insisted to a group of kids with no control over our lives that we had the power to change our circumstances. they showed us the Secret movie like it was a holy text and the part where a kid gets a new bike just from thinking about it made me laugh out loud because it was so obviously ridiculous, but the adults were dead serious. LOA fanaticism is just as dangerous as any other kind.

Holy shit, that's horrible. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Telling kids with no real control over anything that they are somehow responsible for everything that happens to them is utterly despicable.

[msclaritea]

LEAH REMINI ATTACKS DANNY MASTERSON'S VICTIMS!!

SHE'S A PLANT. I'M TELLING YOU. THE SHIFTIEST THING THAT BAD GUYS (ELITES) DO IS CREATE THEIR OWN ENEMY. NOW, HER COURT CASE HAS FALLEN APART, DUE TO 'CONFLICT'.

LEAH REMINI AND MIKE RINDER ARE DISGUSTING; THE WORST KIND OF GRIFTERS. THEY'VE BEEN PAID MILLIONS, BUT GIVEN THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION SPAN AND DOUBTS, OVER THE YEARS, ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST #COS LEAH MIGHT AS WELL HAVE GOTTEN ON TV AND READ A BEDTIME STORY.

[the-world-annealing]

STOP SAYING CULT WHEN YOU MEAN ECHO CHAMBER

"This close-knit community gets all their information from a small number of biased sources, doesn't tolerate dissenting opinions, and shouted me down when I told them this." yeah that's how every group with beliefs tends to act, that's a definition that covers most fandoms. That doesn't mean it's productive to put them in the same category as scientology or jim jones.

"Am I in a cult" is a hard question for people to ask of themselves, because 'cult' invokes evil and control and exploitation. Admitting you're part of something that inherently does harm is hard! Additionally admitting that some number of people you know and like are evil manipulators is even harder. But that's what you're tacitly demanding when you throw 'get out of your cult' at someone during an internet slapfight!

"Am I in an echo chamber" still isn't an easy question to ask, but it's easier! It's more objective, it's less tied up in someone's perception of themselves and their friends, and it allows for a more graceful retreat. You're asking someone to re-evaluate the processes that lead to their beliefs, rather than abandon group membership.

If anyone accused of being in a cult actually was part of one, there would still be a pragmatic argument to say 'echo chamber' instead. But most people who get called cultists simply aren't, so why would you cast them in a weird victim-abuser superposition instead of focusing on the actual problem?

[madintersexmermaid]

(trigger warning: Scientology, Emily Armstrong, Danny Masterson, discussions of ableism, cult abuse and Danny's acts of rape)

I'm disappointed in Linkin Park's decision to hire Emily Armstrong as their new lead singer when Emily's a known Scientologist and when Emily's friends with Danny Masterson, and Danny's also a Scientologist and rapist. And overall, Scientology's the sickest and most twisted, disgusting, abusive and vile cults in the United States of America, and Scientology's a cesspool of criminal sexual abuse and exploitation. Also, Scientology has some extremely ableist and hateful views of mental illness and mentally ill & neurodivergent folks. And Chester was a survivor of sexual assault and he was open about that trauma along with his mental health struggles and addictions to drugs and alcohol. And the band's hiring of Emily is a direct slap in the face to Chester's memory and legacy considering what Emily stands for is in exact opposition to what Chester stood for.

And Linkin Park fans attacking Chester's son Jamie for rightly protesting and disapproving of all this is disgusting too. Ya'll are not fans nor do ya'll truly care about honoring and respecting Chester's memory and legacy, respecting Chester's family as an extension of honoring Chester or respecting the sensitivity to Chester's struggles with mental health at all, cause now ya'll are being mad disrespectful to Chester's son Jamie who knew him personally better than any of ya'll weirdos. Regardless of whatever Jamie's issues are, consider these points:

- for starters, ever consider that Jamie's issues are also mental health based, stemming from possibly inheriting his father's mental health issues which in turn were further exacerbated by losing his father to suicide and are being exacerbated further by dealing with selfish, entitled, self absorbed and chronically online bullies like ya'll attacking him??

- that ya'll also don't get to in turn weaponize Jamie's mental health issues as a tactic to silence and invalidate him and how even that's disrespectfully ableist and an equally disrespectful slap in the face to Chester's memory, legacy and everything he stood for in regards to mental health awareness??

- also, how are ya'll gonna have the nerve to do this to Jamie but then coddle and defend Emily who's willingly still a part of Scientologist cult groups, willingly defended Danny and doesn't publicly call out and reprimand her sister for her vile comments victim blaming survivors of sexual abuse, etc.? And all this plus Emily building a reputation for being a douchebag in the industry is enough reason to know that Emily's a terrible person and not deserving of any success whatsoever.

Get it together, ya'll. The blind celebrity idol worship and hypocrisy needs to stop. Accountability and good morals should always matter more than entertainment and being entertained.

#IStandWithJamieBennington

[thegreencooler]

Amends

I don't usually dip my toe in the drama pool. At least not too deeply. But what's going on in fandom this week, the revelations, were extreme. The people who have come forward... they were in a cult. I am not being overdramatic about this. Gamifying harassment, forcing disconnections like Scientology, needing everyone to observe the same talking points or risk ostracism, leadership using it for money, criminal behavior towards those The Guru has deemed the Out-Group including members who don't conform heavily enough... That's a cult. The internet has made cult behavior REALLY easy. Likes and engagement make you suddenly aware of which direction your circle is leaning. If you agree, YOU TOO GET POINTS. You too will experience that sense of belonging, and that's what it's all about. So if your circle is being outright mean... if you don't want to be cast off as "not one of them"... maybe you say the mean thing too, even if it's a lie, even if you're not really sure why you're saying it. That approval feels SUPER GOOD and is addictive. And your circle amps each other up, gets meaner and meaner. The only people who stay in the in-group are those who don't speak up about the bad behavior and are willing to keep going along with it. Those aren't friendships. It's a pack of hungry carnivores. It's the same behaviors police gangs use on cops who speak up. I do have some sympathy, especially for the younger people who were still forming their identities. They were victims of indoctrination and criminal harassment. That said, they have to own their own behavior. I hope they learn and grow. They're going to have to have some self-reflection on what they've done, the lies told, the hate, the virulent -isms that were expressed, and literal crimes that were performed in the name of fitting in and winning some points with the clique. They're also going to have to reassess who their out-group is, why they even NEED an out-group over fandom things, and if there are still people in their schema who they have an impulse to hate for no reason.... because of a ship or actor preference. They're going to have to question all the lies they were told and if they are still holding onto hate based on that. That's hard if they aren't even sure what the lies were. It's going to be a process for them. We should give people the space and grace to get better. To deprogram themselves. But this does not mean there needs to be automatic forgiveness. Nobody needs to like anyone. But nobody needs to hate anyone either. Maybe the middle ground is we can grow some indifference or the ability to say, "I'm letting it go, this person is in progress, I can't control their journey, the ball is in their court."

If you were behaving badly, you've earned the suspicion of the people you hurt. A few of you are expressing amends, which is wonderful. But part of the thing with making amends is that you don't get to control the outcome. You make a genuine apology for EXACTLY what you've done, you own your part in it, and you don't make excuses... and from there, people may accept what you've said and they may not. They may forgive you immediately, they may take time, they may never forgive you. You have to learn to be good with that. It can be uncomfortable, to feel disliked, ESPECIALLY if the reason you got into the cult was because of that sense of belonging. Your impulse may be to keep giving explanations of how the group influenced you, to distance yourself. You may tell yourself, "I'm not that person, this isn't really me, it was the group." You want to be seen as CHANGED - virginal and new because you made the hard choice to finally leave the cult. ...It isn't that easy. You want the space and grace and you should get that. But guess what? You need to give that to others, too. You need to understand that people have real reasons to distrust you if you were exhibiting cruelty. And part of doing the work to make amends is the actual work. If you're serious about it, it means a lot of difficult self-reflection. You need to take an unflinching look at WHY you could ignore or participate in racism and lord knows plenty of other -isms, why outright defamation and death threats to actors and other fans were okay, why doxing people and trying to get them fired was seen as fair game, why trying to make someone feel hated and terrible about themselves was your impulse, why you were giggling and congratulating yourself for leaning into your worst impulses...until the group turned on you. Because that's the truth of the situation. You now have that self-knowledge of what you're willing to participate in. The question now is what are you going to do with that? I hope it includes therapy and I don't mean that glibly. I think it's possible there are some internet addictions going on where people crave the rush of getting Likes and engagement... and ragefarming is the best way to get engagement. If that's true... it will be EXTREMELY easy to move from the space of performing FOR the cult to performing AGAINST them, so that you can maintain your hit of Likes. And that is just sitting in the same behaviors. But if you're serious about getting better, if you're serious about being honest with yourself, you're going to need to fight against those inclinations. Please ask yourselves if you truly feel your apologies and want to change...or if maybe some part of you is just posting your attempt at amends because you want to fit in with those leaving or because you're craving that approval. Leaving is great! But are you getting the same psychological hit from your posts now? Are you trying to collect a new group that will lovebomb you because you're seeking self-esteem and miss the people who used to give it to you? I'm not saying this in judgment, I'm saying it because many people go from one cult or MLM to another, seeking that same sense of belonging. That's not my wish for you.

To the people on the other side of this... I'm not saying not to speak up if you see people slipping or people whose apologies are revealed as false words. I'm not trying to tone police people getting angry. There have been real reasons to be angry. HOWEVER... please be aware that if we want people to actually learn and grow we need to give them room to do that. There's nothing wrong with a really direct "This is really shitty and unkind behavior." Going scorched earth every time isn't the way. Is it our responsibility to motivate them to change, is it on us? Absolutely not. But are our actions going to unintentionally make them more likely to try and find a gang again because they're feeling defensive? If we also truly want to make things better, we have to ask ourselves what our goal is. Do we just want to give a tongue-lashing because we're angry? We might. And that can be justified sometimes in life. But cornered people don't often make great decisions. If what we want out of this is for people to be less terrible - there are ways to call people in and out, firmly and not sugarcoated, while still not going on the attack.

To the people who finally spoke up, you should be proud of yourselves for that. You took the first step. I hope you keep walking forward.

If you actually read to here... holy crap, I apologize. Many, many words, but I wanted to put them all down somewhere instead of continuing to overthink it at 3:30am. I do want to say... this is just my perspective. If it came off as trying to tell you how to do or feel, or like I think I'm perfect? Nah, kids. I'm a fallible screw-up, too, who is often "cringe," as the children say. We can all work on ourselves. At least that's the hope. If we're open to it.

Anyway. Love y'all, TGC

[torchflies]

I've taken to describing Cruise as the world's highest profile cult victim.

@cosmictuesdays I can see why.

Honestly, I don't know much about Scientology or Cruise’s history with it (nor do most people). But I do know that he doesn't talk about it publicly anymore, and it’s always the first thing anyone mentions about him or as an asterisk next to his success. It shouldn’t be when we all realize that Scientology is a cult and we don’t know about his personal struggles or how he’s treated in these circles. I just feel bad for him honestly, I really do. Cults don’t feel like cults when you join them, (as an observant religious person, I can say that the thin line between religion and cult is one that is easily crossed, but not so easily noticed) and leaving is far harder than most people realize. Cults attract people who are already vulnerable and who desperately want to belong.