Pirate Pete spotted this … It looks like there’s an FSM symbol on the “$cientology i$ a $cam” sign. I don’t know any details about the protest. Anyone know? More pictures can be found here.
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An elaborate spoof on Intelligent Design, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is neither too elaborate nor too spoofy to succeed in nailing the fallacies of ID. It's even wackier than Jonathan Swift's suggestion that the Irish eat their children as a way to keep them from being a burden, and it may offend just as many people, but Henderson, described elsewhere as a 25-year-old "out-of-work physics major," puts satire to the same serious use that Swift did. Oh, yes, it is very funny. -- Scientific American
As a fellow Pastafarian and former member of the First Church of Xenu, I am saddened by the ignorance and apathy that permeates this discussion. In a community that condones critical inquiry, too many people seem to ignore it.
The fact of the matter is that the fight between Anonymous and the Church of Scientology has nothing to do with religious freedom. It has everything to do with the illegal practices of a corrupt organization that manipulates its followers, the media, and the government to legitimize its pseudoscientific principles in the court of public opinion.
Do you know that many public schools around the United States use Scientology’s “Applied Scholastics” program?
Are you aware of the organization’s infiltration into numerous federal agencies, most notably the IRS?
Are you in the slightest bit familiar with the ongoing abuses that take place in their gulag-esque Rehabilitation Force?
Do you realize that Scientology education programs are tax-deductible, while all other religious education is not?
The information is out there, it’s verifiable, and it’s more damning than a thousand Wedge Documents.
But it’s still not as bad as Christianity, right? That’s like telling the doctor to ignore a man’s burst appendix, because someone else has cancer.
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was created, in part, to prevent religion from infiltrating public policy. While I encourage, even endorse such an endeavor, you must realize that while you’ve been preventing the Phillip Johnsons and Bill Dembskis of the world from influencing our federal government, Hubbard’s followers were able to slip in unnoticed.
The good news, though, is that Anonymous is making a difference.
But don’t just take my word for it. Do the research yourself.
As a matter of fact, Scientology does kill kittens! Killing a critic’s pet is a well known way that Scientology tries to harass its critics. If only that was the worst of what they do. They force children into hard labor (exscientologykids.com), they have their own slave labor force called the Rehabilitation Project Force (google it!), and they kill their own members (whyaretheydead.net). They also tell people to stop taking their medication, and sell them auditing for thousands of dollars, but if you aren’t cured through auditing, they claim that it is really your own fault, you’re just doing it wrong!
How can you say Islam and Christianity of today are worse?
The terrorists in the middle east are not the religious authorities behind Islam. A couple of clerics are terrorists, that doesn’t make all Islamic clerics terrorists.
There are no mass murdering Christians today. They just make you wish you were dead.
But Scientology is just plain evil. Do your own research. Listen to these guys. Visit http://www.enturbulation.org/. Talk to people who actually lived inside of Scientology for 30+ years. Google Arnie Lerma and Tory Magoo. Talk to people who were victims of Scientology’s fair game policy. Google Paulette Cooper and Mark Bunker. Learn about the people who died under their care or because of their illegal medical practices. Check out http://www.whyaretheydead.net/.
Was any Christian church or Islamic organization ever caught in a large scale infiltration of the U.S. Government to steal and destroy documents critical of their church? Scientology was.
The victims of Scientology deserve justice. Not from crimes that happened hundreds of years ago, but today and now.
Holy spamming Anonymous, Batman!
Sorry about that my Pastafarian friends. I think everyone must have commented at once. … and all apparently said the same exact thing. O_O;
FSM parodies religion as well as intelligent design, and while I applaud and gladly partake in these efforts for the lulz, I firmly believe the “Church” of Scientology deserves more than just a few laughs. Indeed, once you scrutinize their activities, some things come out as very disturbing.
I am, of course, referring to their vicious suppression of dissent, which includes stalking, harassing, and suing perceived critics and former scientologists, their policy of “disconnecting” families - whereby they forbid their members from speaking to their family relatives seen as critical of the church, and their physical and mental abuse of their members.
In addition, once you take into account their practice of charging ludicrous sums of money for the purpose of attaining salvation and their illegal activities (Operation Snow White; Operation Freakout), it becomes quite obvious that the Church of Scientology, in its present form, is nothing but a dangerous cult.
We are protesting their activities, not their beliefs, in the hopes of educating the public about this dangerous microcosm of totalitarianism (hey, I think that rhymed!) in our society. Seriously, though, if you simply take the time to follow the links that fellow protesters have supplied, you will understand the gravity of the situation. So before you criticize us of discriminating against a goofy religion, take the time to follow some of the links and to educate yourself about Scientology. Thanks.
www.xenu.net
www.whyweprotest.net
www.youfoundthecard.com
www.exscientologykids.com
My husband and I think anyone who protests against Scientology is very brave. Not only will they sue opponents for every cent they have, but will stop at nothing to promote their agenda. Why? To be able to call themselves a “religion” and keep their tax-exempt status. Honestly, they are frightening people in ways that Anon and others have pointed out.
Well…
I’m not touching the Scientology as a cult = bad thing with a 10 foot pole - or even a 10 foot linguine…
But, as far as organized thievery, blatant manipulation, intimidation, torture etc goes, Scientology is light years behind the Catholic Church. Hmmm?
Indulgences? Inquisitions? Crusades? Excommunication with subsequent seizure of all real property?Ringing any bells with anyone? Person at the top of the heap living magnificently while the average sucker forks over too much of their monetary units for ’salvation’?
Sounds to me like the evil Dr. Hubbard had it right. a) The big money _is_ in religion. b) People are stupid as all get-out. But these aren’t revolutionary ideas by any means, as evidenced by the endless parade of kooks, crackpots, popes and assorted ‘prophets’ that have been hoodwinking folks since the first ’shaman’ announced to his tribe that the thunder they heard was the voice of an angry ‘god’…
So, I’m not willing to accept that this is any worse than anything else, but I am certainly on board (as it were) for reducing the power of illogical and often insane belief systems, whether they by powered by Xenu or Xenophobia or are merely wonky versions of Xianity.
Down with stupidity!
PC
Unfortunately, too many posters here are failing to make an important distinction. It is one thing for individuals (even Pastafarians) to oppose and protest, but it is another thing for them to claim to represent Pastafarianism or the CoFSM. They are only individuals. They DO NOT represent the CoFSM.
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If a Jew protests the war in Iraq or the abuse of children by Catholic priests, he/she is not doing so as a representative of his/her religion, but as a concerned individual. That sign saying, “$cientology i$ a $cam,” with an FSM symbol on it, doesn’t say anything about the practices of some of the members, rather it is a direct attach on the institution, itself. I may agree with the sentiment expressed, but that is my own opinion, not the opinion of the CoFSM. The symbol on the sign was used inappropriately, in my view.
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Gnocci Man is right when he says, “Honestly, we can’t be selective with religious tolerance. Remember the eight “I’d really rather you didn’ts!”
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RAmen
From the Scriptures of Gnocci Man’s Journey Through the Internet:
“For lo, and Gnocci Man DID step forth into the internet, and once upon the thread he DID see a disturbing sight: Fanatics, fighting other fanatics, while claiming to be good and kind and in the right. And Gnocci Man DID try to see where in their battle goodness and kindness could be found, and got a headache from it. AND SO Gnocci Man did stop trying. And they did say that tolerance is apathy, and that in a war you cannot tolerate an enemy, to which Gnocci Man replied
‘If tolerance is apathy, then may I remain apathetic for life. It’s preferable to the observed alternatives. If you are a soldier in a war, the enemy you do not kill will kill you. SO, let’s not fight the damn war, and try to come to a peaceful solution instead. That way we all get to keep living, capiche?’
And Gnocci Man DID study the sites put forth in links, and could full understand what about the other fanatics could be found to be so objectionable by the first fanatics. BUT he COULD NOT understand why they had to be so unpleasant about it. Peaceful protest, which they claimed to be moving to, was not objectionable in the least. It was their attitudes in part that Gnocci Man found so annoying. Cloak-and-dagger righteousness, for any cause, can only be irritating. Fa la la spoon.”
Okay, let me be as clear as I can. Now that anonymous is moving into peaceful protest of the scientologist’s actions there is even a chance that I will join in. However, what put me off so much about it were the attitudes and actions of ANONYMOUS ITSELF. If you can tell me how a DDoS attack isn’t in itself an attack on free speech, which you claim to support, I’ll show a bit more respect. I find many of the things the scientologists have done to be completely and utterly repugnant, but I still feel like Anonymous is some sort of anti-scientology vendetta, and as I’ve said before, religious tolerance is to me paramount.
Gnocci Man, there is a group of people that practice L. Ron Hubbard Scientology-like techniques with out the lies and abuse. They are called the Free Zoners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Zone_(Scientology). Anonymous does not protest this group. They support people who recognize the abuses of the Co$ turning to the Free Zoners for a continuation of their religious practices.
Also, please be aware that Scientology actively tries to influence legislation through their front group CCHR, and they try to influence our public schools through their front group Applied Scholastics.
Anonymous keeps an eye on these front groups, and tries to warn legislators and educators about the true religious roots of these Co$ sponsored groups.
i think i found a reference to epic fail guy somewhere amongst these posts. thread closed due to aids