Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

Sylkken

Member
  • Posts

    14
  • Joined

Everything posted by Sylkken

  1. It's airing in Canada right now so I think it airs quite a while later in the US, like closer to the end of the year. Maybe you could find the episodes online if the anticipation is getting to you :)
  2. I didn't but now that you say it, I see what you mean and I probably won't be able to unsee it! I looked Justin up and he is now 39... time flies! I enjoyed this episode and am glad I stuck with this show in spite of the narcissist that is Lou. I kept watching with the hope that his gargantuan ego and entitlement were intentional and I do now believe that to be the case since other characters are definitely calling him out on it, which is very satisfying! I am not sure if he'll have any type of self-realization about some or all of his flaws but I'm okay with it as long as the show acknowledges it by way of the other characters. I was so glad when Lou had his tantrum and stormed off that Tracey and the kids totally handled everything like professionals and that he came back to witness that. I am assuming he thought it would all fall apart without his input and guidance. I did find the scenes with Simon and his girlfriend very cringeworthy and felt empathy for both since she feels rejected and he is experiencing confusion about his sexuality or at least just not ready or willing to face it. I also felt for Simon when the boy that likes him (blanking on the name) was pressing him about his relationship with his girlfriend. I get that they had a kiss and some flirtation and he's now confused about the status of their relationship but it seems unkind to put pressure on someone about a very personal thing and I think he should be able to come to a realization about his sexuality in his own time. Just give him his space and some time to reflect and when he's ready for a relationship, he'll probably let you know...maybe even next episode! Maybe pressure about personal decisions was the theme of the episode since the pregnant girl was facing pressure from Michael who was concerned about her well-being and from her ex-boyfriend who is really worried about potentially having a child. I'm actually more interested in whether or not she and Michael will be able to be friends again after Michael put distance between them. I'm also interested to see where this relationship with the coach and Lilette's mother is going and how that will affect both of their relationships with their daughters. All in all, a good episode and I'm looking forward to the next!
  3. So far, I'm loving Beccy who not only seems talented but also super cool under pressure and poised, especially considering her young age. I also like Reem, who seems a bit unsure of herself but super talented and humble. I'll take humble over cocky any day and speaking of that, I'm so glad to see the back of Kaegan who came across as not only cocky but a pot-stirrer and I would rather see a talented all-around cook win over a mediocre cook who is a great game player. Also, you can be strategic and not be such an overt jerk about it. I did like that the other contestants were really supportive and encouraging to him when he struggled in the pressure cooker.
  4. That 'mother' made me so angry! From being the one to initially inject her daughter with heroin and basically being the child in the mother/daughter relationship to subjecting her kids to abuse from the men she brought into the household. In addition, it sounded like Tanisha sacrificed a lot to take care of her mother and siblings after the step father died. Most of that I can understand to a degree as I know the mother is sick and we have no idea what life events led up to her addiction. What I found absolutely heartbreaking and angering was the fact that she could only manage to stay in treatment for 10 days! After all Tanisha had been through due to her mother's addiction and all she'd sacrificed, it just seemed like the least she could do was stay in treatment for the duration. If she relapsed after treatment, that's one thing but to not even stick it out after detoxing is just mind boggling. I agree that's a strong possibility because at one point, Tanisha said she asked her mother what heroin was like and she replied to say something like it was just like a 'zanibar' times ten. I'm assuming that's slang for xanax and therefore her mother may have known Tanisha used prescription drugs recreationally, otherwise that comparison wouldn't have made much sense. It seems like Tanisha is a really focused, type A kind of personality and that gives me hope that she will take all that drive and apply it to ensuring she works her program and stays clean. I do also hope against hope that her mother ends up successfully completing treatment at some point and the entire family can really heal as a unit.
  5. That totally confuses me too so I was trying to find some information on it. I also would think it would be much more beneficial to raise the kids in the Sea Org., basically guaranteeing further adult devotees for the future and they were also providing billions of years worth of free child labor, which should more than earn their keep! I found this page with information from a former member about this policy. It is reported that the person in charge of the majority of the Sea Org. members and children did not recommend this policy but that Miscavige ignored the advice and arbitrarily issued the order. He really didn't offer much of an explanation beyond, something along the lines of, children are distracting and hinder efficiency of the Sea Org. What appears to be a copy of the official order and some further background from the former member can be found at this link. http://www.scientology-cult.com/arthur-doyle/339-children-the-final-solution.html I really felt for Claire in the episode tonight as she clearly felt she had no choice but to terminate her pregnancy and it affects her to this day. As I'm typing this, I thinking the only reasoning for this no children/forced abortion policy is that to a sadistic man, this is the ultimate display of control and a way to further dehumanize and break these people of any free will they might have left. I found Marc's explanation of the inflation of statistics in the propaganda videos very interesting and it sounds as though these two also had a harrowing escape. I am definitely going to add Headley's book to my reading list to hopefully learn more details. I agree that the statistics in the videos they displayed on this episode sounded completely implausible and they're super cheesy in general. I would like to think if I were shown this information at an event that I would immediately call BS but I feel like I can't say that for sure because I haven't been systematically indoctrinated over time. I could be wrong but I don't think the people at these big events they discussed last night are newbies or people off the street but rather established Scientologists. I would think that if you've put so much time, effort and money into something, you'd really want to believe that it's for the greater good and not just a bunch of lies, so you'd be much more susceptible to buying into the hype. I think the former members on this show come across very intelligently (including Leah), so my conclusion is that you don't have to necessarily be dumb to be a victim of mind control or propaganda, you just need to be under the right (wrong?) set of circumstances.
  6. Yes, I was also disappointed there wasn't more of an update about the family as a whole, since I was really rooting for them. I found this situation was compelling, sad and complex and I wanted to know so much more. There was a lot of love in that family and I sensed acceptance of Robby's transition but sadly, it was all muddled by the disease preventing everyone from dealing with what the transition means to Robby and how it will affect the family dynamic. I do hope to eventually see an update that Robby did return to treatment and that the whole family is working on healing. If not, I at least hope this story helped another family out there.
  7. Not dumb at all and something I researched myself, so I'm happy to share what I've learned from various sources. I understand that there are 3 main groups/levels of Scientologists. 1. Public Scientologists - people with regular jobs who live in their own homes but go to the church for auditing sessions etc. (as Leah says a minimum of 2 hours per day working on Scientology is required) 2. Staff - People that work either 9-5 or nights and weekends as staff in various (non-Sea Org.) roles, e.g. working for one of the front organizations such as Narcanon or Applied Scholastics and probably some minor administration roles within the church. These members live outside of the church and may also have regular jobs. 3. Sea Org. - Basically, they are like the 'clergy of Scientology' and have signed Billion year contracts to serve the church virtually 24/7 in return for housing (on base), food and very minimal pay. These are the people that are kept under lock and key, phone calls and mail monitored and harassed incessantly upon successfully leaving the church, even more so if they speak out publicly. The staff and public Scientologists may physically leave but are still subject to disconnection if they have family within the church. I'm sure that if these lesser groups speak out, it is likely they would also be discredited and possibly followed and harassed but these groups don't seem to suffer the level of abuse of the Sea Org. and in some cases, may not even be aware that the abuse happens at all.
  8. Your Mom sounds like a smart lady! Did they send your Mom unwanted mailings for years, like I've seen other posters here mention? Like @JenE4 said, I too remember those Dianetics commercials from the 80s and remember thinking it sounded interesting about unleashing your power. It was really compelling at the time and I think appealed to the narcissistic tendencies in people. Also, it didn't really give a lot of information about what the 'religion' stood for so it was like a teaser that left you wanting to know more...pretty damn brilliant and effective, unfortunately. This was long before the internet was in common usage so I too am so glad I was too young to order the books! I remember my Dad saying something about the guy who wrote the book was a crazy science fiction writer who started a cult or some such thing, so it seems he was pretty smart too. At the time, I thought he was exaggerating (I was used to his political and religious rants) and I'm sure rolled my eyes!
  9. Merry Christmas to you too and thanks for the laugh!
  10. So coincidental...I just watched the exact same thing on YouTube and out of the entire video, that is precisely what stood out to me (and surprised me), as well. I believe the documentary is from 2010 so I was thinking that it's possible that Rinder's views have changed since then. Maybe his blog has some info on his current beliefs; I'll have to check that out. I didn't really get a strange vibe from Mike Rinder or more accurately, any strange affect he does have, I just kind of chalked it up to PTSD or something similar. Being indoctrinated at the tender age of 6 and then that being reinforced/brainwashed for the next 45 or so years, I can see why it would take some time to become completely disabused of the entire philosophy. Scientology (at least in the beginning stages) seems to offer self-improvement/self-help type courses, so I can see why someone would think there is some value in that. That being said, many self-help books can offer the same things minus all the crazy and the dollars! Here's the the documentary in case anyone else is interested:
×
×
  • Create New...