Scientology and homophobia

[HarryKeogh]

let me qualify my post by saying this is from the gossip column of tne NY tabloid The Daily News. But it is interesting to note that the son of the leader of the religion that is supposed to help you get in total charge of your life killed himself.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/296462p-253621c.html

John Travolta and Tom Cruise have forcefully denied allegations that they turned to Scientology to "cure" them of their supposedly gay urges. But critics continue to claim the religion is rife with homophobia.

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote in his 1950 best seller, "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health," that gays were "sexual perverts" and "very ill physically."

That apparently went for Hubbard's son, Quentin, who was said to have been confused about his own sexual orientation. "[Ron] thought Quentin was an embarrassment," Laurel Sullivan, Hubbard's former PR officer, told the Los Angeles Times. Quentin killed himself in 1976.

 

[sophia8]

From Chapter 20 of Barefaced Messiah:

'I knew he had homosexual problems,' said Ed Walters, 'but he was a good kid. He was just a young, soft boy, not the ruthless, hard-nosed type. He had wanted to get out of Scientology for some time, but you don't just leave something like Scientology. You quit and then instantly become an enemy. He knew his father violently attacked anyone who betrayed him and he knew that the Guardian's Office would be after him as a traitor. He had grown up in Scientology and would have been tremendously afraid of the world out there, full of wogs and evil people. I guess he just couldn't handle it.'

The Operation Clambake site has a ton of info on all aspects of Hubbard and Scientology ; try searching the forums for posts about Quentin.

 

[Warren]

Dianetics and homosexuals

I have read many anti-scientology sites with claims that LRH said this or that and you can choose to take it at face value, in the same way that you could take at face value what a scientologist tells you. There is a lot of crap out there. I am not a scientologist and pretty skeptical about most things not scientifically proven. However I try to make a point of finding out for myself. Haven struggled reading through Dianetics, I can confirm that LRH does say that homosexuals are sexual perverts and very ill physically. When I tackled a scientologist about this I was told to ensure that I understood the word 'pervert'. Unfortunately I do not go around with a dictionary in my pocket, but even at my low intellectual level (for surely I am inferior to a scientologist!) I would hope my grasp of the english language would be able to tell me that this is not a good thing!
I will continue my studies and see if what is so often reported on both sides of the fence can be verified.

I have a feeling the truth will be somewhere in the middle.

 

[Questioninggeller]

A little off topic, but:

I have a co-worker who used to be a roommate with Hubbard's daughter (Diane?), and he tells of some very strange stuff in the few years after Hubbard died.

 

[TobiasTheViking]

# corrupt: corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; "debauch the young people with wine and women"; "Socrates was accused of corrupting young men"; "Do school counselors subvert young children?"; "corrupt the morals"
# twist: practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive
# a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior
# change the inherent purpose or function of something; "Don't abuse the system"; "The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers"

http://www.google.com/search?q=define:pervert

 

[Warren]

Does this mean that if general society (and by that I mean the ones most effected by LRH's teachings) considers homosexual behaviour to be *acceptable* and not a perversion, that LRH's statement could be considered unacceptable. and vice versa.

I guess thats the argument a scientologist would use to validate the statement.

 

[TobiasTheViking]

If homosexuality(and the sex involved) becomes normal and accepted.. then it is (per definition) no longer perverted.

 

[phildonnia]

IIRC, homosexuality is (or at least was) associated with "Covert Hostility" on the "Emotional Tone Scale". This particular rating was probably the most detested level on said scale, earning such descriptions as "evil".

(Can't find a web reference for this. But just so I don't get sued , see Minshull, Ruth, "How to Choose your People" (1980) )

 

[HarryKeogh]

IIRC, homosexuality is (or at least was) associated with "Covert Hostility" on the "Emotional Tone Scale". This particular rating was probably the most detested level on said scale, earning such descriptions as "evil". (1980) )

hey, I even remember the cartoon that accompanied "Covert Hostility" on a poster in my old org. It was a grinning smiley face with one hand out to shake your hand and the other hand holding a club behind its back.

 

[roger]

A little off topic, but:

I have a co-worker who used to be a roommate with Hubbard's daughter (Diane?), and he tells of some very strange stuff in the few years after Hubbard died.

Do tell. Please.