Google vs. Scientology, Round 2:
Apparently, the anti-Scientology pages are back in the Google database. The anti-Scientology site in question, Operation Clambake, the nexus of all this controversy, is a must read.
I used to live a few blocks from the Church of Scientology headquarters here in DC. Twice, when I loitered too long on the street in front of the “church,” someone came bolting out of the building and tried to recruit me. As a former teacher of rhetoric and critical thinking courses, I was very intrigued by their tactics. Two really stuck out.
#1: They ask you a lot of questions to which the answer is always “yes.” E.g., “You want to be happy, right?” or “Helping drug addicts kick the habit is good work, right?” Almost always phrased as a statement followed by “right?” The result is you find yourself nodding and saying “Yeah, sure” a lot …which puts you into a receptive mood for their message. Classic technique.
#2: They’re slippery. Push on one edge, they shoot out the other direction. The whole science/religion cross-over bit is a clever trick. If you start to question the spiritual side of things, they claim they’re a “science” (biofeedback, blah blah). If you start to question the validity of their pseudo-science, they start asking you questions about your soul. If you question the business aspects — e.g. paying to get to the higher levels — they retreat back into science (”You pay for other technology, right?”) or religion (”We can accept ‘offerings’ just like any other church, right?”). The duality of it — especially a duality based on typically incompatible concepts — allows them to dodge complaints by hopping back and forth over the fence between science and religion, using whatever counter is most effective for the argument at that moment.
What I learned: if nothing else, Scientologists are master rhetoricians.