Season 2 Reddit AMA: 8/15/17

[2727]

August 15 at 6pm Eastern. I can't figure out how to link directly to the video, but it's on the A&E twitter page.

[2727]

[2727]

Some of the questions and answers. I edited a few of the questions for brevity.

Q: How are you now treated by Scientologists in Hollywood?
Leah: They ignore me and walk out of rooms.

Q: Do you think Scientology will ever be reformed into a less corrupt church? Do you think Free Zone Scientologists will have influence in the future of the church?
Leah: No!
Mike: Because Scientology policy cannot be changed. By definition if you take away Scientology policy, you take away Scientology.

Q: Why do you think it has been so difficult for Scientology members who abuse former members not to end up charged with crimes that land them in the courts?
Leah: Because victims have been afraid to speak out due to Scientology's policies of attacking anyone who do speak out.
Mike: They also hide behind the protection of the 1st amendment pretending to qualify as a charitable humanitarian organization.

Q: Have you tried to get your smear sites taken down?
Leah: I'm not interested in their juvenile tactics
Mike: Such as name calling and ad hominem and them never adressing the actual abuses.
Leah: Especially with what's going on today an organization calling itself a religion would be better served taking care of the victims of its own abuse.

Q: What do you think draws people towards becoming Scientologists?
Leah: In the past people were drawn, because they were looking for something new. Currently, it’s only the second or third generation that are growing up in it and have no choice.

Q: If there was one thing you wanted to say to your eldest kids, what would it be?
Mike: I will always love you. I hope one day you will be able to forgive me for putting you into a world you did not choose

Q: You’ve suggested that some of the things you learned in Scientology are useful skills while other things you learned are lies, often used to control you. Now that you’ve been out for a while, how easy is it to tell whether a particular thing you learned in the church is helpful or detrimental to you as a person?
Leah: Still dealing with it.
Mike: I think I have it sorted it, but I'm not totally convinced that's true.

Q: Can I ask both Leah and Mike, what is the ultimate endgame you could wish for? That Scientology be destroyed?
Leah: I don’t want it destroyed. We want the abuses to end, and the destructive policies that destroy families abolished.

Q: How were your first weeks out of Scientology? What did you do and how did you feel?
Mike: Wow, they were great. I felt liberated, but sad that I knew that I had said goodbye to my entire family. I felt greatly relieved that I was able to contact others who had left who took me in when I had nowhere else to go. Thank you Tom DeVocht and Ronnie and Bitty Miscavige.
Leah: Scary, and I felt like even though I was in the real world more than most I felt like I was on shaky ground. I had been taught that without Scientology in my life I would fail so I had a lot of doubts and fear. I was dealing with a lot of loss, I lost all my friends in one fell swoop.

Q: What did you think of the movie "The Master"? I read that Tom Cruise had an argument with the director cause of Scientology implications.
Leah: I don't think it was any kind of implication. I think it was very clear that the movie was about L. Ron Hubbard, but Scientologists will argue about anything, that is the truth.
Mike: I didn't see it.

Q: How do gay men and women fare in the church of Scientology? Are they at a bigger risk to psychological damage by heterosexual members?
Leah: So the answer to the question is yes. There is a lot of psychological damage done to men and women who are gay because Scientology has written about it in Dianetics as well as Science of Survival and The Chart of Human Evaluation. L Ron Hubbard wrote that homosexuality lands on this very low position on this chart. Where homosexuality is charted and labeled as covert hostility. If you're in this covert hostility band, per L Ron Hubbard, Scientology teaches that you are the worst kind of person. You are sadistic you are a back stabber. Scientology considers homosexualtiy as an aberration, which means something to be fixed.
Mike: In Scientology the goal of auditing is to move you up the chart of human evaluation. By definition is it intended by Scientology that you will be cured of your ills through Scientology auditing.

Q: Where do you get your nails done? They are amazing.
Leah: Thank you so much and I love that you love them! However, I have made the mistake of giving up my resource up to my friends, and my friends get the credit who have stolen the combination. So, I no longer give up my sources!

Q: Do you think David Miscavage is following this AMA?
Leah: Yes and his girlfriend/assistant Laurisse. Enjoy, assholes!

Q: I have a family member who has been in the Church for a number of years now, she has essentially distanced herself from most of us because we could be considered SPs. What are some ways to reach out to her and show her we care about her?

Leah: You have to fight for her. You have to fight. I used to say be kind, just be there for them, but that doesn't work. You have to shove the truth in their face you have to say, "Look at what's been going on and it's your responsibility to look." The only Scientology language I would use to people still in is, "What's true for you is what you have observed" and "Look don't listen" and "Think for yourself" and I would say to them, Why are you not allowed to look on the Internet? Why can't you watch the Aftermath? Why can't you watch Going Clear? If Scientology is so perfect they should be able to confront what is being said about Scientology outside of Scientology. That is the argument I would use to Scientologists.

Q: What has been the biggest change and challenge in your life since speaking out against your former church?
Leah: I think the challenge has been trying to effectively help people. It's not easy to sit and listen to people's pain and not be enraged when we just want to help in doing something. I think the hardest part is just listening. It's very hard for me to not have the power to actually bring justice.
Mike: For me confronting the things I have done in the past that have resulted in pain and suffering to people is probably the most difficult part of this journey.

Q: Do you think Scientology will continue to grow once David M has died?
Mike: Scientology isn't continuing to grow while David is alive! it's shrinking.
Leah: Yes, one of the people that David is holding in Riverside county, they will be able to take a shower, put on a suit and take over.

Q: What was your best and/or worst experience when working on your new series?
Leah: The best part is seeing our contributors get the support on social media. Seeing that is really the best part. Everyone who comes on knows the policy of Scientology they know that the second this airs they will get a hate site created about them, they know their family and friends will disconnect from them, yet they are embraced by strangers.
The worst part is seeing and hearing the devastation that people are still going through 20 - 30 years later.

Q: Do you or Mike ever feel you are/could be in imminent danger due to their attack policies?
Leah: Imminent danger? No, never.
Mike: Speak for yourself!

Q: In an interview before you left Scientology, you were using Scientology jargon and speaking about your daughter as if she was an adult. Your daughter still used a bottle at 4 years old and it was filled with barley water and sugar. I trust your daughter is no longer drinking from a bottle, but what impact, if any, did raising your daughter in Scientology have on her and on your relationship with her? Did you need to relearn parenting since leaving Co$?
Leah: She tried it once as a baby and spit it out to the dismay of my Scientology friends who told me to force it on her because it was L Ron Hubbard's policy. I didn't use the Scientology jargon while raising my daughter. One of my Scientology friends wrote a report on my because I wasn't using Scientology terms around my baby. Sofia doesn't remember Scientology, but she does ask me why her Scientology aunt (by marriage) can't talk to her.

Q: Do you think that Scientology will ever change their views on psychiatry?
Leah and Mike: No!
Mike: Absolutely not. That is perhaps the most fundamental doctrine of Scientology which sets up the us versus them mentality. Within the bubble of Scientology it is psychiatry that is attempting to destroy man's hope for salvation. Plus L Ron Hubbard said it so it must be so.

Q: Could this show not backfire on you, meaning someone getting so angry they do something stupid and source it back to you? Have you thought about that?
Mike: Anything that happens Scientology already blames us. Before the show was even on the air they were blaming us for any action against the church.

Q: Hi Leah, I got an autographed picture of you years ago (thank you) and with it was information on Scientology. Did you know they were sending these things to your fans?
Leah: I think that was something that I was doing and agreed to do for Scientology so yes and I am sorry and you're welcome.

Q: Do you think that Scientology is dying in the Internet age, due to so much information about the nature of Scientology being available at people's fingertips?
Leah: Absolutely. and also because it doesn't work.
Mike: Dianetics said it could cure cancer and it didn't work so they died off and then there are people who reached the highest OT level and they died off

Q: What do you think about young actresses are preaching feminism and equal rights when they're also part of the church? Isn't it counterproductive?
Mike: Hypocritical

Q: Do either of you remember a long time ago when John Travolta was on Oprah and they said he'd explain Scientology when they came back after the break but then it was never mentioned again? I was wondering if every single interview they do is monitored?
Leah: I don't mean to call people out, journalists or talk show hosts, but if people agree to that sort of thing, they're subscribing to Scientology's rules.

Q: What would happen if you were cast with a Scientologist on a show or movie? Would they be unwilling to work with you completely, or is it just somehow dealt with?
Leah: Well, I would do it, because unlike Scientologists I'm not a bigot, but Scientologists can't work with me.

Q: Do you think your efforts will result in any meaningful departures from Scientology or are you focused on informing potential converts?
Leah: Meaningful departures mean to us, any person -- and yes that has already happened -- and if you're referring to a celebrity I couldn't care less how many celebrities stay in it. Our concern are just people.

Q: What do you think will ultimately take down the Church of Scientology, what is the Achilles heel?
Mike: Its own activities.

Q: I'm just going to get straight to it. Is Tom Cruise a good person?
Leah: No! Just going to get straight to it, no! There is a public persona of the guy who looks at you directly in the eye and shakes your hand and hugs you and is an attentive person to you and there's the person behind the mask who is a completely different person. Someone could say we all have that -- what we are to the public and who we are behind the scenes, but the people who are around Tom and work for Tom, not even people who are Scientologists, they will say he is diabolical. People who've worked with me will say I can be an asshole - all actors can be. That is different. He's very similar to David Miscavige, they could be twins.

Q: Last season ended with a trip to the lawyers office. Will we see an update on the progress you have made with legal strategy?
Leah: Things have happened but for legal reasons you won't be able to see it on camera. There are things happening behind the scenes.

Q: If you could sum up Scientology to someone that hasn't studied too much into but is intrigued, how would you do so?
Leah: If they were intrigued I probably wouldn't waste my time.
Mike: If they were intrigued I would tell them to look at both sides of the story. Don't just look at what Scientology says look at what people outside Scientology say too

Q: My girlfriend grew up a Scientologist and even though she hasn't been involved with them in over 20 years she still receives mail all the time.
Leah: If you are unfortunate enough to put your information on a Scientology piece of paper you will receive mail until you die
Mike: And beyond.
Leah: Scientology uses statistics and one of the stats of the week is how many pieces of mail they send out. Even Scientologists complain about how much mail they get.

Q: My question is for Mike: After you left your position with Scientology and began to expose things, how long did it take people to truly believe that you actually left and how hard was it trying to make things right with the people you tried so hard to public destroy?
Mike: Wow, I don't know how to answer that... to first part of that question, that's for people to decide whether to believe me or not. As for the second part that's an ongoing process and this show is a part of that process.
Leah: Mike is taking responsibility, unlike Scientology.

Q: I know you don't talk much about Xenu or anything regarding that, since that's not the focus of your show. But will you get more into it this season?
Leah: Yes and we're going to try to. It is our intention to expose all that Scientology sells, and Xenu is a part of that. We're going to talk about the upper levels of Scientology that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Q: Do you think the "church" will ever recognize all their doings?
Leah: No.
Mike: Not a chance. They believe that what they are doing is right and that they are justified by the greater good and the amazing things they are doing for the planet and mankind.

Edited August 16, 2017 by 2727

[smorbie]

Thank you for posting that.  Was that on A&E or just on reddit?

[WInterfalls]

20 hours ago, 2727 said:

Q: If there was one thing you wanted to say to your eldest kids, what would it be?
Mike: I will always love you. I hope one day you will be able to forgive me for putting you into a world you did not choose

That's heartbreaking.  I really hope someday they all reconcile. 

[Guest]

20 hours ago, 2727 said:

Q: Do you think David Miscavage is following this AMA?
Leah: Yes and his girlfriend/assistant Laurisse. Enjoy, assholes!

Haha!

[Diane Mars]

On 16.08.2017 at 2:25 PM, smorbie said:

Thank you for posting that.  Was that on A&E or just on reddit?

Just click on the image of the @2727 posted, and you'll get to the reddit's page (so yes, reddit !)