Karen#1
Well-known member
TONY ORTEGA
Excerpt:
Alex never rests. His latest from London…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned since becoming an activist against Scientology’s abusive practices, it’s that as the saying goes, ‘the wheels of government move slowly.’ It takes a lot of patience, grit, and countless follow-up emails to make meaningful progress in these spheres, and that can be disheartening at times. One might expect that on blowing the whistle about child abuse, forced labour and modern slavery, the powers that be would jump into action and slam down the hammer of justice. But unfortunately, one must accept that we now live in a world where Scientology has been getting away with its abusive practices for 67 years in the UK, and in a country with a constitution based on laws dating back quite literally a thousand years, it’s going to take a bit more than blowing the whistle to make effective change.
But recently there has been a notable shift in the government’s stance on cults, and this week exemplifies how we are at the start of something big. And if I were a high control group that abuses its members, I would be afraid…. very afraid.
On Monday, the National Working Group on Spiritual and Ritual Abuse hosted a screening of a recent BBC Panorama documentary about the cult of the Jesus Army. The day was symbolic. There was something unique about meeting cult survivors, hearing their stories and watching a documentary in a room where the windows were overlooked — quite literally — by Big Ben. (Or to be specific, the Elizabeth Tower… Big Ben is just the bell). The committee room itself was the Wilson room, named after former Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Yes, the same Prime Minister who took serious action against Scientology in the 1960s, including banning foreign Scientologists from entering the country to study or work for the church, and whose Health Minister Kenneth Robinson described Scientology as “a serious danger” to mental health and launched the inquiry into Scientology that led to the damning 1971 Foster Report.
Monday wasn’t about Scientology but cults more broadly, but there was something deeply ironic and somewhat amusing about the screening event taking place in the Wilson room. The screening event offered an opportunity to meet with Members of Parliament who have been leading the way in amending our coercive control legislation, which would pave the way for ex-Scientologists (and other survivors of such abuse) to seek justice in a way that is currently not possible.
READ MORE
tonyortega.substack.com
Excerpt:
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[/td]If there’s one thing I’ve learned since becoming an activist against Scientology’s abusive practices, it’s that as the saying goes, ‘the wheels of government move slowly.’ It takes a lot of patience, grit, and countless follow-up emails to make meaningful progress in these spheres, and that can be disheartening at times. One might expect that on blowing the whistle about child abuse, forced labour and modern slavery, the powers that be would jump into action and slam down the hammer of justice. But unfortunately, one must accept that we now live in a world where Scientology has been getting away with its abusive practices for 67 years in the UK, and in a country with a constitution based on laws dating back quite literally a thousand years, it’s going to take a bit more than blowing the whistle to make effective change.
But recently there has been a notable shift in the government’s stance on cults, and this week exemplifies how we are at the start of something big. And if I were a high control group that abuses its members, I would be afraid…. very afraid.
On Monday, the National Working Group on Spiritual and Ritual Abuse hosted a screening of a recent BBC Panorama documentary about the cult of the Jesus Army. The day was symbolic. There was something unique about meeting cult survivors, hearing their stories and watching a documentary in a room where the windows were overlooked — quite literally — by Big Ben. (Or to be specific, the Elizabeth Tower… Big Ben is just the bell). The committee room itself was the Wilson room, named after former Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Yes, the same Prime Minister who took serious action against Scientology in the 1960s, including banning foreign Scientologists from entering the country to study or work for the church, and whose Health Minister Kenneth Robinson described Scientology as “a serious danger” to mental health and launched the inquiry into Scientology that led to the damning 1971 Foster Report.
Monday wasn’t about Scientology but cults more broadly, but there was something deeply ironic and somewhat amusing about the screening event taking place in the Wilson room. The screening event offered an opportunity to meet with Members of Parliament who have been leading the way in amending our coercive control legislation, which would pave the way for ex-Scientologists (and other survivors of such abuse) to seek justice in a way that is currently not possible.
READ MORE
Members of Parliament learn about Scientology and other harmful groups from survivors
Alex never rests.
tonyortega.substack.com
