#scientologists HATE this: one simple question to crumble a cult

[0xo]

okay nobody asked but here's the story:

so my mum grew up catholic but isn't particularly tied to that. when i was younger, like maybe eight or so, she was exploring different churches to see if one might interest her.

well she ended up going to the fucking church of scientology. one of her friends gave her the dianetics book and she found it so interesting that she decided to go to the local branch and see what was up. me, being a hyperlexic bookworm, also read the book. i found it... interesting, but i wasn't really buying it.

so she went for a few services and after a few weeks she decided to bring me, as the general services are "child friendly." by all accounts, the whole thing was pretty unassuming, and even nice. a big building and a little gathering hall with live music, snacks, and extremely friendly people; it honestly wasn't so different "normal" church services i'd been dragged to after saturday night sleepovers with religious school friends.

so since my mum was new to the whole thing, and it's a cult, people were paying special attention to her. two of the "leaders" offered us a tour of the building - it's a beautiful victorian-era renaissance-style building, genuinely an architectural marvel. they told us about how it was a boarding school, the oldest of its kind in our city to survive to the modern era. i was thrilled to be shown around such a place, as i was/am very into architecture. (if you're interested, it's the nashville scientology center. gorgeous place, DO NOT VISIT.)

the tour leaders were super nice to us, too, and spoke kindly and directly to me instead of through my mum. i appreciated this, as i thought myself smart enough to be spoken to as an equal. at that point, i liked the place and the people.

this all crumbled when we got to the final stop on the tour - an octagonal room in an underground floor, which they called the "library." there were shelves on every wall full of books, dozens of each title, all still in shrinkwrap. i loved books, wanted to read anything available. being me, i asked a simple question.

"can i read these?"

the two men looked at each other, then back to me. one spoke. "well, you have to purchase them first."

"well, then, this is not a library." it seemed extremely obvious to me; words have meaning and a library is where all books are free to read at any time. not a place you buy books. that is a bookstore.

"no, no, it is! it's where we keep all the books, so it's our library," one of the men insisted, looking at his companion instead of at me. i could not tell what that glance meant, but i was irritated that he didn't seem to understand my statement. my mother did not cut in at all; in hindsight, i think she wanted to see how it would play out.

i tried again to make my meaning clear. "no, this is a bookstore. libraries are free. you can pick up anything you want and look at it."

"well, why don't we move on!" the other man said, moving back towards the door. they talked briefly with my mother, not to me, and i was flummoxed by this. nobody had acknowledged that there was no true library in the building, and they were chatting like i didn't exist.

we left shortly after. in the car, my mum told me i was right, but also that "you don't have to be right all the time." something about being rude. in my mind, i was not at all rude, i was asking to read. and when denied that, i had to point out the error in naming. it was wrong and nobody else would say it! (looking back, i realize how my tone of voice could be seen as rude - i tended towards flat affect and blunt statements. again, autistic child.)

some time later, my mum got a "friendly" call from one of the guys who gave the tour. i was not present for the conversation, but according to my mum, it went something like this:

he said "we'd be very happy to have you back any time, but could you arrange alternative childcare?" so she said "are you saying my kid can't come to service with me?" and he said "well, yes, that would be preferable." so she asked why, and he said i was "a little too obtuse." big mistake.

you probably don't know this, but my mum raised me alone for the first few years of my life. we were attached at the hip, a package deal. i was a quiet and mostly well-behaved child, so i went almost everywhere with her. our relationship has had its flaws, but also? i fully believe she would fight a bear for me.

so hearing i wasn't invited for asking to read, hearing me called obtuse, set her off. she might've told me i was rude in how i said it, but she knew i was right!

so she said something like "if you think i'm going to attend a church where my child isn't welcome, you're entirely off your fucking rocker. the kid was right, it's a bookstore. i will not be returning, take my number off your list."

and that is how having an autistic eight year old got my mum to dodge joining a cult! she was genuinely into it until she was told i wasn't invited back for asking one question. i wasn't even trying to ruin her experience there, i was one hundred percent upset that the "library" was a sham. i wanted to read!

every day i think about how me being an autistic smartass got my mum basically kicked out of a cult