Karen#1
Well-known member
TONY ORTEGA
Excerpt:
[Alex and Tammy Synovec]
Today’s guest post is by Alex Barnes-Ross.
Ah, America.
Despite all its flaws, there’s something endearing about Hollywood. The tacky gift shops, the sightseeing tour buses, the washed out celebrities, the faded hopes of the actors and filmmakers who moved here in order to chase their dreams.
It’s not a bitter resentment, but rather a sweet acceptance that this is the place where stars are made and as the saying goes, the people here “fake it ’til they make it.” They aren’t insincere or dishonest, but ambitious and hungry for their shot in the industry and a chance to make a life for themselves. But scratch the surface and you’ll see that Los Angeles is also a city of broken dreams. For every star made there are hundreds of disappointed adolescents who will simply move on to the next casting call. They’re taught in drama school to view rejection not as a “no,” but as a “no for now.”
For a large proportion of the population, the twilight years approach — and despite decades of rejection, as pensions and retirement plans start to become the topic of conversation, hope persists that maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be the day.
Los Angeles is built on the American Dream, and has signs of both its merits and its consequences on display in abundance. The million-dollar mansions that overlook the city have infinity pools and defiant support beams that protrude from the rocky terrain below, a public statement that there’s no problem money can’t handle: even nature itself. Similarly, scruffy homeless people lie passed out on the sidewalk after shooting up in broad daylight; in this town, blacked out SUVs, Lamborghinis and Beverly Hills exist side by side with Skid Row, ICE raids, and soup kitchens.
Disappointment. Success. Failure. Hope. Resentment. Ambition — This is a place of extremes. And I can see why Scientology has such a presence here.
Compared to England, where the so-called Church’s headquarters is nestled deep in the Sussex countryside with modest signage making it almost easy to miss, there’s nothing subtle about Scientology in LA. Countless properties in and around Hollywood Boulevard sport Scientology symbols, and the PAC base, which stands for “Pacific Area Command,” spans an entire city block.
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tonyortega.substack.com
Excerpt:
 |
Today’s guest post is by Alex Barnes-Ross.
Ah, America.
Despite all its flaws, there’s something endearing about Hollywood. The tacky gift shops, the sightseeing tour buses, the washed out celebrities, the faded hopes of the actors and filmmakers who moved here in order to chase their dreams.
It’s not a bitter resentment, but rather a sweet acceptance that this is the place where stars are made and as the saying goes, the people here “fake it ’til they make it.” They aren’t insincere or dishonest, but ambitious and hungry for their shot in the industry and a chance to make a life for themselves. But scratch the surface and you’ll see that Los Angeles is also a city of broken dreams. For every star made there are hundreds of disappointed adolescents who will simply move on to the next casting call. They’re taught in drama school to view rejection not as a “no,” but as a “no for now.”
For a large proportion of the population, the twilight years approach — and despite decades of rejection, as pensions and retirement plans start to become the topic of conversation, hope persists that maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be the day.
Los Angeles is built on the American Dream, and has signs of both its merits and its consequences on display in abundance. The million-dollar mansions that overlook the city have infinity pools and defiant support beams that protrude from the rocky terrain below, a public statement that there’s no problem money can’t handle: even nature itself. Similarly, scruffy homeless people lie passed out on the sidewalk after shooting up in broad daylight; in this town, blacked out SUVs, Lamborghinis and Beverly Hills exist side by side with Skid Row, ICE raids, and soup kitchens.
Disappointment. Success. Failure. Hope. Resentment. Ambition — This is a place of extremes. And I can see why Scientology has such a presence here.
Compared to England, where the so-called Church’s headquarters is nestled deep in the Sussex countryside with modest signage making it almost easy to miss, there’s nothing subtle about Scientology in LA. Countless properties in and around Hollywood Boulevard sport Scientology symbols, and the PAC base, which stands for “Pacific Area Command,” spans an entire city block.
READ MORE
Apostate Alex goes to America (again): How Scientology's abuses unite us all
Today’s guest post is by Alex Barnes-Ross.
tonyortega.substack.com
