By Barbara Graham more
24 January 2007

Source: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.religion.scientology/browse_thread/thread/43af6eea59f757cd/

When tragedy strikes, most people are sympathetic and considerate of survivors, friends and relatives of the victims.

There are a few notable exceptions, such as Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. Phelps is drawn to military funerals as a fly is drawn to stinky. His congregation, which is mainly members of his own family, show no regard for the mourners. Left to their own devices, they'll hoot and screech that 'God hates fags,' and that the death is god's retribution for national tolerance.

Is Scientology poised to become the next Westboro? One might be inclined to think so, as Scientologists are planning a protest following a fatal stabbing at a Sudbury, Massachusetts school last Friday.

Under the banner of Scientology front group 'Citizens Commission on Human Rights,' Scientologists are planning to demand a list of the accused killer's prescriptions and the name of the doctor who prescribed them.

John Odgren has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, and is on several different medications.

Scientology is not above scrounging around at disaster sites. Immediately after September 11, Scientologists posing as mental health workers and "Volunteer Ministers" swarmed into New York City. They even conned Fox News to run a banner on their news crawl, offering mental health assistance from an organization they called 'National Mental Health Assistance,' not to be confused with the legitimate 'National Mental Health Association.' The phone number on the banner is the same 800 number used by Dianetics. Back at Ground Zero, Scientologists were walking around in NMHA shirts in a deliberate attempt to mislead people. Certainly it is a mere coincidence that their mental health assistance organization just happens to have the same initials as the National Mental Health Association. Right?

CCHR claims there is no such thing as mental disease. This reflects the beliefs of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, not that there's anything wrong with that. At least, not until their whacky, ignorant junk science theories begin to affect state policies.

They also claim that "psych drugs" are the core reason for school violence because kids who commit unthinkably horrible acts like the Sudbury stabbing are under medical supervision.

As Dr. Earnest Harman points out, "The kids doing the school shootings are troubled to begin with, whether they're on anti-depressants or not," he said. "The fact they're on a medication is an indication that somebody in the community has identified a problem and is trying to help."

CCHR clamoring has already affected one state legislature; New Mexico. Pressure from groups opposed to screening influenced New Mexican legislators to pass a law prohibiting mental health screening in schools. Similar legislation has been proposed in nine other states, the National Mental Health Association reports. Screening for depression and other mental health issues could be a valuable tool in preventing tragedies like the Columbine shootings. This is Scientology fantasy impacting real life...real kids and real deaths. Heck, they screen for vision and hearing problems. What if the voices are all in the head, or your adolescent is suffering from depression? Wouldn't you want to know about it? Wouldn't you want your child's school to be aware of potential problem kids?

CCHR is also actively promoting a traveling road show, in the best tradition of snake oil salesmen of the Wild West. Called 'Psychiatry, An Industry of Death,' this display of wild accusations and inaccuracies has drawn criticism and rejection wherever it goes.

Again posing as "experts," CCHR representatives churn out choice sound bytes by the hatfull.

Mental health "expert" Kevin Hall is head of CCHR in New England. "These doctors shouldn’t be prescribing willy-nilly. It’s like playing Dr. Frankenstein," he declared. Apparently you don't need a medical degree to give advice to doctors. A diploma from Klown Kollidge is apparently sufficient. He makes it sound like the doctors hang up a Physician's Desk Reference and hurl darts to pick a drug. Sadly, some people are naive enough to buy this codswallop. Even sadder, some of them are legislators, congresscritters, and judges.

The problem is, hardly anyone bothers to fact-check the misinformation gushing from the Scientology standpipe.

Last week, CCHR made the mistake of sending a brochure to the Kingman Miner, the local paper for Kingman, Arizona. The reporter decided to take the time and research some of CCHR's outrageous statements.

A psychiatrist who was shown the brochure described the Scientologist mindset accurately and succinctly. "First of all, you have to recognize where (CCHR) is coming from," Dr. Earnest Harman said. "They're a mouthpiece for the Church of Scientology, which is big on anti-psychiatry drugs.

"They look at all kids in what we call primary process thinking, which does not adhere to logic. For example, if you have someone in a yellow shirt kill someone wearing a yellow shirt, a primary process thinker believes anyone in a yellow shirt will kill someone else in a yellow shirt."

Thus, we can see strangely incomprehensible leaps of Scientology logic made clear. If you're against Scientology, for example, you support the drugging of schoolchildren. If you criticize Scientology's drug rehab facility Narconon, you're in favor of illegal drugs.

Scientology seems to have a real talent for repulsing and disgusting people worldwide. Targeting vulnerable disaster victims and sending members posing as mental health professionals and ministers is pretty low. But they haven't stopped there, it's almost as if they're trying to find the line that shouldn't be crossed. Using a community tragedy as an excuse to spread their peculiar and ill-informed beliefs while the residents are grieving is repugnant.

This is already a concern voiced by The Metrowest Daily News which covers the Boston area, "A Scientologist group will gather today in Sudbury to demand that accused teen killer John Odgren's psychiatric medications be made public in an event some say will enrage the grieving community."

Another topic of outrage should be over CCHR's demands for access to the accused killer's medical records and doctor's name as if they have a right to them. When Scientologists are on a roll, they act like they have a right to personal information, medical histories and criminal records.

It is somewhat surprising that there isn't more of a backlash from the medical community. Scientology's open hatred of the mental health industry is dangerous. Just ask Scientologist Elli Perkins. Oh, right, you can't. She's dead, stabbed to death by her schizophrenic son Jeremy Perkins, who was being "treated" with vitamins on the expert advice of an osteopath named Conrad Maulfair. You might as well take medical advice from a geologist for all the good it will do.

Finally, I want to emphasize that CCHR presents itself as a secular organization not connected with Scientology. Like Narconon and other front groups, they claim to be a separate entity, realizing that they will benefit from establishing some distance away from the Mother Ship. Still, with this kind of lurid, insensitive behavior, they aren't making any friends. Their protest today in Sudbury consisted of nine people on a corner holding signs, with the following reaction from locals.

During the hour-long protest, several motorists could be seen shaking their head. Several flashed their middle fingers at the CCHR members as they passed, while others shouted from windows.

"Have you ever seen a schizophrenic off his drugs? Obviously not!" one woman shouted, before driving away.

If there's one thing Scientologists know how to do well, it's making friends all around the world!

— Spidergraham Chaplain, ARSCC xenub...@netscape.net

"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as Scientology."
— ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"