Photo courtesy of the fabulous GalleryoftheAbsurd.comI'm sure thousands of bloggers are weighing in on Tom Cruise's interview discussing his er, relationship with Scientology. I've heard enough first hand stories of friends being lured into the house of Scientology under the guise of "acting classes" to make me shudder every time I pass the "Celebrity" Scientology Centre. Any religion that forces you to stay in a "class" or "get tested" against your will ain't good. As an Angeleno who doesn't even drive that much, I still see accidents happen every day. When was the last time you heard of Tommy, or any celebrity Scientologist for that matter, helping a victim of a car accident, or even a kitten from a palm tree? According to TC, they are the only ones who "truly can help and have the knowledge, because in an instant, they know what to do" (I'm paraphrasing here--I can't bare to go back and watch it again).
I could go on with all the inconsistencies in that interview, but what irked me is that celebrities know that they are emulated by adults and children alike, and despite the cameras (oh spare me), they lead a very charmed life. For many, and I speak from extremely personal experience, it wasn't easy to "arrive". When I worked in the music industry, we used to laugh when our artists were proclaimed "The Best New Musician" in Rolling Stone or the like. There was nothing new about them except that people other than their 500+ fans, including friends and family, were listening to them now. Money talks, and people drink the Kool-Aid.
I could go on with all the inconsistencies in that interview, but what irked me is that celebrities know that they are emulated by adults and children alike, and despite the cameras (oh spare me), they lead a very charmed life. For many, and I speak from extremely personal experience, it wasn't easy to "arrive". When I worked in the music industry, we used to laugh when our artists were proclaimed "The Best New Musician" in Rolling Stone or the like. There was nothing new about them except that people other than their 500+ fans, including friends and family, were listening to them now. Money talks, and people drink the Kool-Aid.
Until Scientologists show some substantial proof that they can heal the world, celeb scientologists have a social responsibility to tame the crazy. We get it: people are listening to you. Do you get it? It's part of your job, as is dressing in designer clothing, going to premiere parties and telling us what brand of toothpaste we should buy. Jessica Alba just got paid a whole lotta dough to tell me that if I like her shade of Revlon foundation, not to ask for it, because it's hers. Okaaay.
To say that one can't "pretend to know Scientology; you better know it!" from a group that is a closed religion that largely hides their secret sauce is elitist and just, well, wrong. As a survivor, I am sensitive to the fact that non-survivors may not understand how it really feels to be a survivor. Hence why I am here and I do what I do. I don't hold people up to the same ethics that I have for myself as that would be to say that mine are the best, the only way one should live their life. Wow.
As a public survivor, it is my responsibility to give accurate information, to provide help and guidance. Oh, and to bring attention to fact that we've got a much bigger problem going on here in the US of A that we should be healing and paying attention to before we give aid to all the countries that are not like us. Because we are so progressive? I know I have more rights than most women in the world, but that doesn't mean that the scales are balanced. Read a few posts and let me know if you think we're really all that savvy. Or let me remind you that 1 in 4 college students will be assaulted by the time they graduate. That, and a diploma is what your parents paid for, or you are still paying students debts off for. There's a lot that can be done, without having to bow down to my "stringent code of ethics" or wear Nike track pants in eight different colors the way I do.
I'm sorry but social responsibility is no laughing matter. Let me edit that: I am not sorry at all.
To say that one can't "pretend to know Scientology; you better know it!" from a group that is a closed religion that largely hides their secret sauce is elitist and just, well, wrong. As a survivor, I am sensitive to the fact that non-survivors may not understand how it really feels to be a survivor. Hence why I am here and I do what I do. I don't hold people up to the same ethics that I have for myself as that would be to say that mine are the best, the only way one should live their life. Wow.
As a public survivor, it is my responsibility to give accurate information, to provide help and guidance. Oh, and to bring attention to fact that we've got a much bigger problem going on here in the US of A that we should be healing and paying attention to before we give aid to all the countries that are not like us. Because we are so progressive? I know I have more rights than most women in the world, but that doesn't mean that the scales are balanced. Read a few posts and let me know if you think we're really all that savvy. Or let me remind you that 1 in 4 college students will be assaulted by the time they graduate. That, and a diploma is what your parents paid for, or you are still paying students debts off for. There's a lot that can be done, without having to bow down to my "stringent code of ethics" or wear Nike track pants in eight different colors the way I do.
I'm sorry but social responsibility is no laughing matter. Let me edit that: I am not sorry at all.
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