Old Guard Critics Bob Minton, Stacy Young and Hannah Whitfield on Scientology
April 25, 2008 — L. Ron BrownPresented below is an April 1998 broadcast by German network ARD on Scientology. The main interviewees are Old Guard Critics of Scientology Bob Minton, Stacy (Brooks) Young and Hannah Whitfield. Former mayor of Clearwater, Florida - the town that Scientology has been working to occupy- Gabe Cazeras, and a Scientology spokesperson were also interviewed.
Minton was said to be the person the cult was most afraid of during the late 90s. A former investment banker who had amassed millions of dollars in wealth, Minton had the financial resources to fund a prolonged battle against the abusive criminal cult. Unlike Young and Whitfield, Minton had never been a member of the organization. What led him to becoming deeply involved in the opposition was learning of the cult’s deplorable history of abuse, oppression, exploitation, suppression of dissent, harassment, terrorism, frivolous litigation, dangerous medical and psychotherapy quackery, deceit, manipulation, home-wrecking, thought-policing, profiteering, and the fair game and disconnection policies upon which all of this is based. In particular, he wanted to help level the playing field for besieged victims of the cult by providing financial support. So not only did Minton join the pickets, he funded the former Lisa McPherson Trust, an organization that was dedicated to exposing the cult and helping members leave and ex-members reintegrate into society.
Stacy Young is a former high-ranking Scientologist of many years who had been actively protesting the cult throughout the 90s and into the current century - she may still be involved, but I haven’t seen any video of her from recent years. Leaving the cult resulted in her Scientologist husband of many years divorcing her.
Hannah Whitfield’s story is particularly interesting in that she spent a number of years at L. Ron Hubbard’s direct service. Escaping the cult was a prolonged multiple-attempt effort that involved being physically restrained and detained in one of the cult’s brutal prison labour camps, which are collectively known as the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF). Since her successful escape the cult has tried to silence her but she has been unrelenting.
This footage, which is presented below the fold, is well worth watching. In addition to covering Minton, Young and Whitfield, and the relentless harassment and intimidation that they have been subjected to by the cult, ARD also covers the case of Lisa McPherson, abuse to other ex-members, and more.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
For more on Scientology, click here.
April 27, 2008 at 11:40 am
As a skeptic who has been critical of Scientology, one thing I’ve found is that not all critics of Scientology are skeptics. A lot of critics have unsupported beliefs and make wild claims themselves. Some are practitioners of Scientology outside the church (the Free Zone) or advocates of other pseudosciences and fringe religious views. Some are not reliable or responsible about critical claims they make.
In my opinion, while Bob Minton started out reasonably, he came to advocate non-rational means of combatting Scientology, including the attempt to generate new myths about the historical background of Scientology with a bunch of nonsense about “Ralph Dorian” (do a Google Groups search in alt.religion.scientology on Dorian and Minton; throw Lippard and Dorian in there to see my criticisms). This earned him criticism and disparagement from the more science-minded and skeptical of Scientology critics.
Ex-Scientologist Bernie is a good source of criticisms of some Scientology critics who have gone overboard. His page on Minton is here:
http://bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/bob_minton.htm
This includes some abusive IRC remarks he made directed at Deana Holmes and Diane Richardson, both critics of Scientology who have a demonstrated commitment to truth over being anti-Scientology.
April 28, 2008 at 8:15 am
Jim:
Hi. Yes, I’ve surely met and seen video footage of Scientology critics who had some pretty out-there beliefs. Whether these be beliefs of God, psychism, or whatever. Clearly, rationalism is not the core of why Scientology is being opposed, though.
I wasn’t aware of this other side of Minton.