You misquoted:

"Scientology is neither for profit, nor benevolent. Therefore, we should try and get their tax exemption status revoked," another mask-clad protester said.

It should read:
"Scientology is neither NON-profit, nor benevolent."

Remove the tax-exempt status of this cult.

Scientology is non-profit and benevolent that is one reason the IRS has declared the church tax exempt. The common denominator with the individuals in anonymous is the complete absence of reality. The kkk and the Nazis also used "fact" void of any reality to justify their position. How is anonymous different other than the fact that they have largely (and rightly) been ignored?

I think these actions are indeed a comment on the fraility of human nature.

This is very simple. Most of the protestors and the group of Anonymous has gotten its information from web sites that promote a strictly anti-Scientology message. It is no doubt that these sites harbor opinions that are very extreme. Most of the sites take anything and twist in into a reason to hate the Church or individual Scientologists. This is not unlike other groups that promote a bigoted message such as white supremacists, nazi's or some such. Then operating off of this "research" they try and get others to agree with the twisted opinions. Some buy it while others don't. A few articles have been written that basically parrot the lies and hate with no comment on all the benevolent campaigns the Church is involved or the numerous accolades and awards the Church has won for their social bettement activities. However I have also read many many comments and articles written by non-scientologists that deplore the tactics used by these groups.

One has to ask themselves with all the groups in the world who have proven criminal histories and do no social betterment activity why they choose a "cause" as the one to damage the Church of Scientology and upset Scientologists. They try and justify the bigotry, hostility and threats by saying they defend freedom of speech. That somehow the all powerful Church has so much sway on the internet as to squish individual expression and thought. If it weren't for that fact that the message sounds ultra paranoid it would be flattering to grant the Church that much ability as to affect the whole of the internet.

The Church does take exception to using copyrighted material which is illegal or threatening actions against the Church and the Church has sought legal recourse in some cases. But the actions of the Anonymous speak volumes as to WHY the Church has had to resort to legal measures. Anonymous hacked into Church websites, they threatened violence to church staff, they crank call phones, send black faxes and have even sent fake Anthrax to several churches to scare people. If you had to deal with this element of society on a continual basis you too would be forced to protect yourself.

This unfortunatly is not foreign territory to the Church of Scientology. When L. Ron Hubbard first developed the science of mind as dileneated in Dianetics he was approached by several groups including government agencies who wanted to use the technology and any advances for very unethical means. He stated the technology is for the common man and flaty refused. After this a campaign was begun to destroy the name of L.Ron Hubbard and the Church that would make some very strong individuals faint. In essence when you develop a technology regarding the mind that is as powerful and workable as Dianetics is you propel yourself into a whole other realm of activity. In that realm you will also find some of the most unscrupulous individuals to walk the face of the earth. In that league you had better be sharp and better be prepared because you take straight on those things that cause so much of the misery we experience in this world.

However, the Church has perserved and flourished despite these campaigns. These recent actions by these hate groups are no less borne out of the same misguided ideology that has plagued mankind for eons and has created countless wars and led to much upset, misery and bloodshed. Even the Spanish Inquisition was very certain of their motives and they were SURE they were torturing people for the good of all.

The tax-exemption status is not the only quarrel we have against the church of scientology. The mistreatement of its followers ( www.whyaretheydead.com ), specifically Lisa McPherson as February Tenth would've been her 49th birthday. The way they intimidate, sue, defame, harass anyone who opposes their practices (Mark Bunker from www.xenutv.com , John Sweeney of the BBC who was at the time making a documentary about Scientology in Clearwater, Fl http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18661785/ , TIMES Magazine concerning their article in 1991 where they correctly denounced the church's Cult-like behavior, only having their suit dismissed in 1999, EIGHT years later http://www.apologeticsindex.org/dismissed.html ); it's also the reason we wear masks, fearing retribution. HWe are protesting their hoaxing of hundreds of thousands of dollars from its members, which are drawn in thinking that Scientology is a "life improvement center" ( http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v184/179/52/1075377883/n1... this is a picture of the Halifax church; they even have a red-and-blue "Open" neon light, like many small businesses do), all while gathering information about the people they're testing in order to blackmail them later if necessary.
They continuously deny their true beliefs (Xenu, thetans, etc) when confronted because this would be bad PR and would likely draw less members to it. It is also true that we are denouncing their suppression of free-speech, but not only the Tom Cruise videos; members are forced to cut links with friends and family if they do not convert, they are only allowed to see these people for a few days per year and must file a report to get permission, and they are absolutely not allowed to speak of what is happening in the church, the way they and others are mistreated, or the church's operatives.

Google is your friend. There are testimonies from ex-scientologists, who escaped very dangerously. Knowledge is free. Do not underestimate the power of the masses.

Also, there were a few cases of confrontation, and police had to interfere at a few places; because MEMBERS OF SCIENTOLOGY WERE HARASSING ANONYMOUS.

Scientology is a cult that requires its parishioners to pay exhorbanant fees to advance spiritually, by selling its copyrighted learning materials for thousands of dollars. What other religion does this?

None.

What other religion hires private detectives to follow and slander critics who merely question Scientology's methods?

None.

Google "Operation Snow White" and "Operation Freakout".

Visit xenu.net, sift through the information and and make up your own mind.

(Regarding the comment that begins "I think these actions are indeed...")

A classic, standard response from a Scientologist who is completely unable to confront the basic FACTS about the Church of Scientology. It is these FACTS that lead people to protest, not bigotry.

The story about LRH trying to pawn Dianetics to government agencies, and then ended up with LRH being the subject of a campaign to discredit him, etc. is the usual -- and UNSUBSTANTIATED -- Church line.

You want to talk about dirty tricks? Check out "Operation PC Freakout" where the Church framed an author of a critical book about them as someone who made bomb threats (Paulette Cooper, author of The Scandal of Scientology). Check out "Operation Snow White" where Church operatives infiltrated the IRS and stole documents. And I'm just scratching the surface! But you can't possibly believe these things are true can you? Or, if they are, that they really represent rogue elements within the Church. Aren't Scientologists supposed to be better able to spot these things? Guess that doesn't explain how Scientologist Reed Slatkin did so well within the Church, (ran a major ponzi scheme that took a LOT of money from Scientologists). How many OTs got taken?

You want to know the DOCUMENTED history of LRH? Read "Bare-Faced Messiah" Which completely shreds the Church's bogus history of the man (LRH's first Church biographer left the Church after he learned the truth about LRH from the CHURCH's archives). Hope you enjoy the part where LRH's coroner found him to have died with a psyche-drug pumped in him. Some at-cause thetan he was, eh?

Scientologists claim they can confront things better than others. But the fact is, they can't confront basic facts. They can't even confront the outpoints of their own Church.

Maybe someday you will wake up to con you are in the middle of. I assure you, many others have. Heck, if Mike Rinder (head of OSA) can leave -- and that appears to be the case; why not give him a call to confirm -- so can you.

All I hear is "blah blah anonymous=nazis blah blah extremism blah kkk blah blah"
Those of you reading this far down the page, look at every single blog that has approached the topic - you will see nearly immaculate copies of this same bunk. I guess Godwin's law never made its way into Scientology's infamously complex lexicon.

I think this video does a better job describing their side than the Hoya, plus it has mpre pictures.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4cr9g_the-road-to-february-10-2008_pol...

How many times must we say this? We are not in any way against the church's beliefs. We strongly believe in the first amendment; if these people feel that Xenu hold the answers, then that's fine. We are not against charging for books; we are not against copyright law (at least as a part of this protest); we are not against charging for therapy.

What we are against are the actions, both legal and illegal, taken by this corporation to silence its critics (Google "Operation Freakout"). We are against its tax-exempt status. If they wish to be tax-exempt, then they must cease to operate as a business. Of course they'll talk about their charitable actions, but I've eaten donated Subway sandwiches and drank donated water that Budweiser canned, but neither Subway or Budweiser are tax-exempt. It would be ludicrous if they were - almost as ludicrous as Scientology's tax-exempt status; at least Budweiser and Subway don't harass and threaten their critics.

That's where you're wrong, sir. The majority of people believe that there is "something wrong" with Scientology, but simply don't know what. By spreading awareness, Anonymous is only giving people the resources to back up their righteous indignation.
Anonymous has not been ignored. While a majority of large newspapers, such as the Washington Times and Washington Post , were otherwise occupied with the presidential election among other issues, awareness has sky-rocketed. Because of the PEACEFUL PROTEST, more people are aware of exactly what the Scientology leadership does with their "extra funding."
And if Scientology is benevolent, please explain the R2-45 clause. And Operation Snow White. And Operation Freakout. And the Fair Game clause. Tell me about the Sea Org-- Scientology's NAVY. What honest religion needs a NAVY? How on earth can a NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION support this Navy?
I fail to see what is benevolent or nonprofit about this organization. If the organization were at all credible, all of them would be Freezone.

The reason FOR "anonymity" is that the cult of Scientology attempts to destroy its critics. Revealing the name of the organizer was unecessary, if not a backstab.
Before ANYTHING Taylor utters is taken seriously, you must educate yourself in the PR tactics or persona the cult uses. Its a mindless mindset, with unquestionable devotion to protecting the organization.

One could say there is a law in the field of Propaganda- accuse the enemy of everything that cannot be proven. Silence or denial, by responding you have legitimized their claim.

The critics of Scientology have a fascinating argument- and least as far as can be discerned from these comments. “Scientology Kills” I believe sums it up. I, for one, am a Scientologist, and a student here at Georgetown. I am fairly sure in my many hundreds of hours volunteering to teach literacy, giving aide to disaster victims as a volunteer minister, or my continual efforts overseas to promote human rights that I have not killed anyone. I actually hope that I may have saved a few lives.

The truth is this: we believe that people are thetans (souls), and that as a spiritual being you are fundamentally linked to the well being of all. I have done the so-called “confidential” levels in Scientology, and the first time I was made aware of “Xenu” was by making the bad decision to enlist “Google as my friend”. At first, yes, I read through the stories and found myself sitting there shocked that with all the time and energy that I spent contributing to my church and faith that I had somehow missed something. So, like any good student, I did my homework. I read the cases and briefs, I looked into these “deaths” and came across something that utterly appalled me. Evidently, my eldest brother who had a serious drug addiction and who was not a Scientologist, killed himself in a truly unfortunate accident. What appalled me was that my brother was one of those “killed by Scientology.” These propagandists took the death of my brother as a speaking point- and what’s worse, they got it all wrong. I mean, I was there. I lived through his pain, and I loved him. They made up facts, and substantiated it with conjecture. Any law student, with even the slightest specter of scrutiny, could see it for what it was. Lies, lies, and more lies. This is the very essence of propaganda, and cheap un-legitimized attacks against an organization that truly helps people. Say whatever you can, and see what sticks.

It does remind me of the Nazi’s- but I will avoid that conversation because while these critics are in fact bigots, they have not yet enlisted to wholesale slaughter the 8 million Scientologists world-wide. But will compare their speech to something we all know and love here in D.C., politics. If you are a liberal, please, please, please, listen to Rush Limbaugh a few times. Conversely, if you are conservative, find the most outlandish liberal blog you can. Because evidently, according to the “anonymous” right, Bill Clinton is guilty of murder- yeah you heard it, murder. And according to the “anonymous” left, George Bush not only does lines of coke, but rigged two presidential elections, was brainwashed by Dick Cheney, and may have committed vehicular homicide before running for Governor of Texas. Now, coming back to reality, imagine you had never heard of Bill Clinton or George Bush and some seemingly righteous person pulled you aside and with all the conviction of a zealot told you these lies. You might hesitate to in believing them, but you would walk away with an uneasy feeling. Well. there you go, the critics of Scientology.

I have no qualms with free speech, in fact I rather love it. It underpins our great system of governance- but so does freedom of religion. The freedom to choose the ideas, morals, and worldview that you believe best describes the world in which we live. Everytime, in history a group of people enlisted to fight a system of belief with freedom of speech, no good came of it. I do not look at a Muslim and start screaming that his religion kills. If I did, I may very start a fight, or worse, a war. My point is this, if you wish to criticize Scientology, please by all means, go for it; but one caveat- don’t lie. Get the real data, and real information, and that data and that information does not reside on some website named after a fictional character that you aver is some villain that nobody seems to have heard of. No, that information, as does any religion, in the scriptures of our faith. To put it another way, I would not learn about Judaism by reading Mein Kampf. I would instead look to the Torah, and go from there.

If anyone has any real questions about Scientology, I have real answers. I will not B.S. you here, I don’t care to covert you or tell you what to believe. But, if you are seriously curious about making up your own mind, I offer two things- a cup of coffee at the midnight mug, and some honest answers. While I will undoubtedly be pestered with “your brainwashed” emails, I couldn’t care less. Here is my email: rbw22@georgetown.edu

Cheers! And Hoya Saxa (that loss to Syracuse may very well have broken my heart)

To the poster just above this: Sorry about your brother, but how can people figure out what the truth is unless you at least give his name?

You talk a lot about "real data" and "real information" but you can't even confront the ridiculous claim that there are 8 million Scientologists worldwide.

Also, your paragraph about Xenu and the confidential levels is confusing. You say you heard about Xenu first on the internet, but you are unclear whether you heard about it in the confidential levels (i.e. in this case OTIII). Did you do OTIII? Does it talk about Xenu or not?

Brendon,

Sorry for not responding earlier. To answer your questions:

I apologize for not explicitly giving you my brother’s name. I do not readily use the death of a family member to make a point. But, if you simply type in my last name “Wisner” and “Scientology”, I am sure you will come across the story to which I refer. I believe it is the 3 or 4 return.

I do not think the fact that there are 8 million Scientologists world-wide is controversial. Honestly, I am not sure how to prove it. Defining who exactly is a Scientologist is a very difficult endeavor. If you simply define it as “any one who ever had a service” I am sure that 8 million is a huge understatement. I say this because I have seen the central files at the D.C. org, and if they are in anyway indicative of churches worldwide, then there are easily upward of 20 or 30 million. The D.C. org by itself has warehouses full of files. If you define it as any person who calls themselves a Scientologist, well, then I am not how you go about actually counting that. In other words, I am not sure what the objective number is. But from the number of people I have met, and continue to meet all the time, 8 million seems very probable. That is the best answer I can give you.

About OT III- I cannot or will I talk about it beyond saying this: OT III is not about some dude called Xenu. It is a level, where you audit yourself, and in which you regain your ability to be yourself in way you never have before. It was a level, which after I completed, I finally knew who I was, and what I wanted. I know that does not help you figure out what is actually on the level and that is intentional. If you really want to know what is on the level, then go do it!

Cheers Brendon, hope this helps!

Any information about Anonymous and why we protest Scientology can be found at www.whyweprotest.net or www.youfoundthecard.com you may have seen our cards around campus. Also, the friendly people at the www.enturbulation.org forums would be happy to answer any questions you have. I know personally that Mr. Wisner's brother's name has never been used at any of the Anonymous sanctions worldwide protests.

I encourage everyone to look at both sides of the story

I'd love to try out OT III. Could you spot me the bill?