So I've been thinking about the attack on Bob Minton and why scientology has chosen to get physical with critics. Bob isn't the only critic to have been molested, and he's not even the most recent. Birgitta Dagnell is the most recent, according to Catarina's posting of 9/13/98:
In message <01bddf19$446fdc80$f326f482@default>
Catarina Pamnell <stellaria@hotmail.com> said:
[...]
A young guy in a tan sweater came up to Bid [Birgitta
Dagnell] to snatch her batch of fliers away. He pushed
her really hard and nearly got her down on the ground,
but she side-stepped and went against the window.
[...]
But Bob Minton is definately the highest profile critic to be
mauled within the last 10 days. On 9/11/98 I voiced some
opinions about what was probably motivating Ofman to become
violent toward Bob Minton:
In message <35f92ba5.3353607@news.newsguy.com> I said:
[...]
Bob Minton is the Number One Target right now. He's
seen as The Who for scientology's difficulties. The
scientologists firmly believe that he's an agent of
the German government. They believe that his mission
is to recruit apostates, suppressive persons and
degenerate provocateurs to foment overt and covert
resistance to scientology.
[...]
I was imagining what I would have thought about Bob Minton back
when I was an indoctrinated scientologist. I would have hated
him for the reasons that I describe above. But below that
hatred, and the thing that would have kept it hot and bouyant
would have been fear.
I would have feared the possibility that he was who he appeared to be--a man who chose to protest the abuses of scientology. I would have feared any critic for the same reason. For if one assertion of one critic proved to be true then I would have had to alter some or all of my Hubbardian paradigms. No scientologist can tolerate having to reassess their carefully crafted belief system. And despite what the typical scientology apologist says, they are operating on a belief system. It's a strong system because it's based on their positive experiences (wins), but the fact of the matter is that the bulk of what they "know" as regards scientology is essentially a belief.
Losing one's religion is a very unpleasant experience. For the typical scientologist the loss of their belief system is tantamount to abnegating forever their spritual self.
Ishmael
