Home Blown for Good--The Book
Blown for Good--The Book PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Saturday, 07 November 2009 14:32

Marc Headley and I don’t see eye to eye much on LRH and Scientology.  He has his views and I have mine and they are often divergent. Nonetheless, Marc has produced a narrative of his life in the Sea Org that I consider an important read for anyone wanting to understand the current state of the church.  I wrote the Foreword for Marc’s book and he authorized me to publish it on my blog to raise interest in his work.  I believe the Foreword explains why I consider Marc’s book an important piece of the “how was Scientology hijacked?” mystery. -- Marty Rathbun

For ordering info:
http://blownforgood.com/

Foreword

by Mark “Marty” Rathbun

Cover image of Blown for Food, the BookAfter reading the first several chapters of Blown For Good, I made a mental note to write the author an email. I was going to suggest he have someone else write an alternate Foreword because he might not like what I have to say. While Marc Headley and I were stationed at the same international headquarters property of the Church of Scientology’s elite Sea Organization for nearly fifteen years, his views of some of Scientology founder Hubbard’s writings and my views differed greatly. I never had time to write or send the note because I could not put the manuscript down. I was  gripped by Marc’s personal story.

I came to find that while Marc’s opinions about occurrences we both experienced varied from mine, there was every reason they should. After all, Marc did not get into Scientology on his own volition. As a child his mother willed it upon him. I got in after two years of college entirely by my own choice. Marc was forced by circumstances to join the Sea Organization. I had willingly signed on in order to fulfill a purpose. Naturally the way we read material and viewed matters would disagree. Nonetheless, when it came to relating facts – without regard to view or opinion – Marc’s recollection and accuracy were remarkable.

Recognizing that Marc and I had utterly divergent reference points from which to view largely the same culture and experience, Marc’s account became that much more fascinating to me.  I began to wonder, how many people had I interacted with over twenty-seven years within the Church whose back story aligned more with Marc’s than mine? On reflection, I decided probably more members of the Sea Organization (some eighty-five hundred strong when I left in 2004) who constitute the management of Scientology internationally had a frame of reference closer to Marc’s than mine. After all, over the past thirty years Scientology’s numbers of new members had been dwindling. The Sea Organization had increasingly relied on recruiting the teenaged kids of long-term Scientologists in order to keep its ranks filled.

A great deal of that majority were people whose lives I affected for better or worse from on high in the church’s leading ecclesiastical body, Religious Technology Center.  As I read how progressively insane the dictates from my controlling organization became as they literally rolled down the hill at international headquarters in the foothills of the San Jacinto mountains in Southern California, and how negatively they affected people on the receiving end, a deep sense of remorse enveloped me. Sure, I had sought out people I had known that I had visited injustices upon individually, apologized and made things right. But Marc’s book recreated a culture I knew of and influenced, but did not live of. As I read of the pain Marc went through I remembered dozens of others similarly situated whom I knew during my Scientology experience but whose lives and feelings I was never afforded an opportunity to understand.

Marc alludes to others who will be telling their accounts from within the upper echelons of Scientology and how this will forward reform and healing. Such a scenario reflects Hubbard’s prescribed system of management. Hubbard called for a remote management body to draw upon a multitude of reports from various points within an organization being managed, then coolly evaluating the facts to get the most complete and accurate view of what it is really like on the ground. Only then could an organizational problem afar be sanely and effectively handled. The system was called the Multiple Viewpoint System of Management.

Hubbard eschewed the notion that someone in an ivory tower – no matter how intelligent – can receive one report and then arbitrarily dictate what is to be done several thousand miles away. What Hubbard condemns is precisely what Marc describes as current Supreme Leader Miscavige’s day to day operating basis. His description of Miscavige’s obsession with handling everything himself, while preventing thousands of others from handling anything is not only very accurate it is also what Hubbard described as the fastest way to destroy an organization. Add to the mix Marc’s factual description of Miscavige as “evil and enjoy[ing] watching other people suffer”, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.

Ironically, Marc supplies the first comprehensive and largely accurate report on the monster Miscavige has created which may mark the beginning of the only thing that can save the subject from the avarice of Miscavige. The multiple viewpoint system applied from without. The Lord knows, and as Marc makes clear, it can never be applied from within. And it is ironic that this report comes from the very person Miscavige has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to destroy for the past few years.

Marc’s account of the trials and tribulations one goes through in leaving it all behind captures the agony and ecstasy one inevitably experiences in following through with abiding by his or her conscience. It is not an easy barrier to break through. Before Marc’s book the only artistic expression that came close to expressing that passion for me was U2’s Walk On: and I know it aches, and your heart it breaks, but you can only take so much, Walk on… Marc has now provided a narrative that allows the reader to experience that treacherous ride for his or her self.

Finally, Marc deserves props for speaking out during a period when few with quality, inside information did. I know what he faced. I helped to create it. Hopefully this book will help to civilize it.

Written by Marty Rathbun

Visit this page to see reviews by Joe Howard and Thoughtful on Marc's new book! 

 

Comments   

 
+2 # RJ 2009-11-11 15:58
Good intro Marty, I thought you did an excellent job and if I ever did a book on my adventures on the inside you'd be one of the first people I'd have my agent call :-)
 
 
# gg 2009-11-12 14:08
Good intro, another brick out of the wall. They will be a little closer to real freedom from this cultified mental prison yard.
 
 
+1 # Victoria 2009-11-16 16:44
Marc did a really ace interview on Coast to Coast am. He was very succinct and descriptive and I think Ian Punnitt was well impressed at the ease of the interview. Ian said he got one death threat for doing the show, just one? Haha.

Who knows what Marc's opinion of the tech might have been if he'd ever actually got any? That's the ridiculous part of being on staff.

http://www.megaupload.com/?f=IE8QOAYX

This is the link to the show commercial free, loaded onto mega upload. Mega is free but requires registration.
 
 
# Paul Gerhardt 2009-11-24 03:41
"While Marc Headley and I were stationed at the same international headquarters property of the Church of Scientology’s elite Sea Organization for nearly fifteen years, his views of some of Scientology founder Hubbard’s writings and my views differed greatly."

Dear Mr Rathbun,

Just a few questions for my personal interest:
Has your overall picture of L. Ron Hubbard changed in any way since you have left the CoS? I mean have you ever dealt with any other perspectives concerning his biography, his achievements and his overall character that are not alleged by the CoS and has any of this changed your opinion about him? Have you recently had any doubts about that there are aspects of LRH's overall image, that's been advertised by the CoS that might not be entirely true?

Thank You.
 
 
+2 # Thoughtful 2009-11-24 03:57
Paul, Thanks for your question. It's common knowledge that Miscavige has skewed the reality of LRH. In my humble opinion, it's because Miscavige is not in any way a real Scientologist. Scientology was intended to be about truth, the pursuit of. For some reason, Miscavige doesn't agree with that philosophy = he doesn't really agree with the most fundamental principles of Scientology = he's not a Scientologist. Miscavige blew session in 1993 and hasn't been back in session since. So to hell with his unreality and the lies he's foisted off on the public.

LRH was a man, just like you and me, complete with faults. He made mistakes, just like we all do. LRH made that clear time and again.

Scientologists don't care about LRH's mistakes. We care that the techniques he developed for personal improvement (called "auditing") works. Because it does work in our experience, we admire and respect LRH regardless of his faults.

LRH's faults do not color the workability of his technology.

A person's involvement in Scientology is not about worshiping L. Ron Hubbard. It's not about worship period. It's about using the technology to make yourself and others better. The rest, though interesting, is utterly irrelevant.

Workability alone is the whole point of Scientology. I don't understand why that is so difficult for people to understand, but I would like to find out.

Thoughtful
 
 
# john warnes 2009-11-24 23:51
I am free to see the sanity and insanity now...LRH use to expect and received expensive xmas & b-day gifts from staff contributions...these people made so little $ they couldn't buy their families decent gifts...there is much more..the man did not practice what he preached..so view his tech with a critical view...remember 'word clearing'...if you had any doubts about anything he wrote...you had an mu and probably overts...no wonder we gave up our most precious gift...our ability to think for ourselves...thank you lrh...NEVER AGAIN...john warnes..ex cmo
 
 
# Christine Osbahr 2010-05-03 09:08
Dear Mr. Rathbun:
First, may I commend your personal courage? The work
you are doing now is important and compelling.
Second, I want to express my concern for Greg
Wilhere, with whom I was quite close in the 1970s
while he was at Villanova University and just
beginning his journey into CoS. Do you know if he is
OK-is there any way you can help him to leave
And take up in service similar to you? This he
must do. Thank you.
 

Sorry, but you do not have the right to post comments.

Who's Online

We have 798 guests online

Statistics

Content View Hits : 12750198

New Articles

Support this website

Help keep truth flowing out.

Bookmark, Share

Embezzlement

Massive Ponzi Scheme

"So, on the model of an elaborate Ponzi scheme, Scientologists are coerced to 'invest' in the dissemination of Scientology... The Cob makes a show of carrying through, but in reality he pulls the funding..."  Learn More...

$70 Million Fraud

"The money is still coming in (approximately $70 million so far). The bank interest is about $200,000 per month and there is still over $200,000 in new donations per month... so you can see the strategy here..."  Learn More...

$100 Million Swindle

"The total amount spent to build his own office building (for Little Dickie and the few staff he has remaining) was right around $70 million... He spent another $30 million on the house next door (which is unoccupied)..."  Learn More...

Assault

Assault

"Specifically, on four separate occasions The Cob physically assaulted and violently battered individuals in my presence, sending a strong message that anyone in the room was likely to be next. Three other times he threw heavy objects at me or at my staff..."  Learn More...

Battery

"Assaulting staff members at the Int base became routine with many individuals being physically attacked over and over and over again. We are talking about repeated blows to the face, choking, dragging to the ground, ripping clothes, hitting with heavy objects and so forth..."  Learn More...

Human Trafficking

Insanity

"Only when you see the history as well as the present will you see the whole picture, the fingerprints, the moving force behind it all and its sheer madness..."  Learn More...

Coverup

"staff are "off-loaded" to far flung areas to work in "small, failing" organizations, bereft of their spouses and families..." Learn More...

Banishment

"Little Dickie in his twisted sociopath mind sees normal, productive people as “threatening” and therefore sees a need to destroy them..."  Learn More...

Elimination

"According to David Miscavige, demonstrated by his own actual statistics, 98% of the population is suppressive..."  Learn More...

Terrorism

Climate of Fear - Reign of Terror

"Ever-increasing savage actions created a climate of fear. You could be screamed at, ridiculed, spat on, embarrassed, threatened ferociously or beaten. You could lose Scientology, your friends, family, parents, split off from your spouse, no money, no job, cast out into the world penniless and alone if you ever dream of defying The Cob" Learn More...

Coercion

"For example, through his destructive policies Miscavige forced hundreds of female Sea Org members at International Management to get abortions when they got pregnant. When the media started to investigate that, he came up with the solution: he ordered that husbands and wives at International Management get divorced...."  Learn More...

Racketeering

Shaking Down Scientologists for Cash

"Through his programs and subverted staff he extorts Scientologists into 'donating' huge sums of money, forcing thousands into debt. It's a protection racket no different from thugs 'shaking down' local business owners for cash. His specialty is crushing people..."  Learn More...

How Church Financials Really Work

"It's a lot more viable to chase down millionaires who will donate $10 million for a hand shake, some applause and a metal pin. It's not a matter of saving the planet and all the poor suffering people... it's 'Where's the BIG, FAT, EASY MONEY?' -- that's what we're talking about!..."  Learn More...

Blackmail

Tax Exemption by Blackmail

"Miscavige bragged that he collared the IRS Commissioner Fred Goldberg in the hallway outside his IRS office and threatened to expose him. Private investigators hired by Miscavige had caught Fred in some unethical activity. Miscavige told Fred if he didn’t cooperate, he’d immediately ruin him with full-page ads in USA Today..."  Learn More...

Extortion of a Federal Official

"He also bragged to a number of staff who were close to him about how he illegally obtained information which he was able to use to blackmail the IRS official who granted the church tax exemption..."  Learn More...

Torture

Annie Tidman: Imprisoned for 2 Years

"Annie Broeker Tidman, Hubbard's personal assistant right up to the time of his death, realized that Miscavige was systematically and forcefully taking over the church. She attempted to escape to rejoin her husband but was caught and brought back to California, isolated and kept under guard on a remote property for over 2 years..."  Learn More...

Sadism in the SP Hall

"His most infamous sadistic moment was when he told them they were going to play 'musical chairs' and only the last person to get a chair would stay and the rest would vanish without even a chance to say good-bye to friends and family, husbands or wives. The game went on for hours as staff wept bitter tears. This delighted The Cob."  Learn More...

Abuse

Lisa McPherson's Demise

"Miscavige said he knew what was wrong and proceeded to write three paragraphs on what was to be said to this girl. The staff wondered how The Cob was even qualified to supervise auditing and even if he was, why hadn't he studied the folders first? The girl's name was Lisa McPherson and you know the rest."  Learn More...

Night of the Living Dead

"Moments later came a wail of inhuman agony unlike anything I have every heard in my lifetime, before or since. The screams were so incredibly loud. Louder than any sounds I could imagine a human could make. They filled the sky and the valley and my lonely office. 20 or 30 minutes they lasted..."  Learn More...

ScientologyReviews.com

scientology-reviews-website

Discover what people really say about all things Scientology

Shocking, unbiased consumer reviews covering every Scientology book, lecture, course, auditing level, organization and program — more than 300 in all. Probe the depths or write your own honest reviews.

Click to see Scientology Reviews

The Voice of iScientology

iscientology-website

An answer to the corrupt monopoly of Scientology

This website is a simple answer to those who tried to monopolize and corporatize spiritual freedom: An open gateway dedicated to helping people move up to higher levels of awareness and ability under their own steam.

Click to visit iScientology.org

31 Factors for Scientologists to Consider

The Pertinent Manifesto"Scientology has been taken over by a self-appointed dictator, David Miscavige, who has turned the Creed of the Church of Scientology, the Code of a Scientologist, and the Credo of a True Group Member on their heads and instituted the virtual practice of Reverse (Black) Dianetics..."  Learn More...

Opinion poll

Is David Miscavige a crook?
 
Website conceived, designed and optimized for search engines by Logo for Steve Hall Creative, Web Designer in Dallas, Texas