SMASHERKARL <k...@atheist.com>

"A recent suggestion got me thinking, "How is Miscavige's Church of
Scientology getting new converts now?"

It can't be easy. The public at large knows all about the sooper-
seekrit, confidential, highly-dangerous, OT information. They know all
about Lord Xenu and the Body Thetans (which would be a great name for
a band, don't you think?)

The average non-Scientologist knows much more than the average
Scientologist. As far as the church is concerned, any potential
convert might suddenly blurt out information that would kill a lower-
level Scientologist! How can they let the lower-level Scientologist
out to recruit new members. It's certain death! It's impossible!

So, one assumes, only those OT III or higher are being allowed out for
proselytizing. Only OT IIIs can man the Volunteer Minister's tents.
Only OT IIIs can give those "Stress Tests". Well, gee, this must
severely restrict their operations.

Now you have these OT IIIs out talking to the public, and they are
required to lie. Someone says something about Xenu and the Body
Thetans and the OT III must lie and say that Scientology does not
believe or teach that. How do you think that goes over? The public
person knows the Scientologist is lying, because they saw the
information in L. Ron Hubbard's handwriting or heard it directly in
Hubbard's voice. The Scientologist knows they are lying, and that if
they could recruit someone, that person would eventually find out they
had been betrayed.

That doesn't make for a real effective recruitment. Since most
Scientologists are merely misguided and gullible, not evil, this
blatant lying isn't going to go over too well.

What to do? What to do? David Miscavige needs to lure in more people,
but the standard recruitment line is broken. What to do?

Miscavige's previous "solution", the shiny new buildings, is not
working! Not only are they not getting bought or renovated quickly
enough but any that are fully completed just aren't pulling in new
people anyway. Street recruitment via "Ideal Org", "Personality Tests"
and "Stress Tests" is broken. What to do?

Miscavige the Failure now has a new program. Oh, this one surely will
work when all of his past programs have failed. He's going to sell
books!

Oh, not David personally, no. He can't actually handle that. He has
ordered everyone to go out there and sell books. Sell-sell-sell-sell!
Surely that will work!

He's absolutely sure that people will buy the Scientology books that
he has so painstakingly "corrected". People will buy his books, read
his wonderful, new-improved "wisdom", and, magically, come in and
start sending Miscavige money.

But that is yet another abysmal failure. People didn't particularly
want Hubbard's books and they really don't want Miscavige's
"corrected" versions. It would be possible to properly market one or
more of Hubbard's books and have some success -- it's been done -- but
Miscavige can't do it. It takes intelligence, bright ideas, surveys,
analysis, testing and quite a bit of time and money. Miscavige doesn't
have the intelligence, doesn't want to waste time and money doing all
the hard work -- he only relies on "Miscavige-bright-idea" power.

Oh, my! Those are the "bright ideas" that have failed consistently for
30 years.

His book selling project has failed from the very start. You see,
selling books is a well researched and well mapped out activity, and
Miscavige doesn't know anything. Here's a hint, David: You don't send
out hoards of people to the street to "sell books". That's stupid.
Also, you don't send out people to harass bookstores. Do you think
it's smart to seriously alienate bookstore owners? And you don't pull
out 30-year-old ads which were carefully tailored for that time and
run them now, in today's Internet world! That's lazy! And very stupid!

The only "successes" Miscavige has with his project were created by
FORCING Scientologists, who already have all the books, on threat of
heavy punishment, to buy his books. Good one, David! But he very
quickly ran out of people he could force to do this.

Miscavige is down to force and punishment. That's the only way he can
operate: Force and punishment. He is now forcing people to buy his
stuff. He is forcing people to send him money.

But Miscavige can't force the public to buy his crap. He can force
some Scientologists to go out to try and sell his crap, but they can't
force the public to buy Miscavige's crap either.

Woe betide his system of force and punishment when his victims realize
that his threatened punishment is without teeth! His threats have no
power.

Many Scientologists are realizing that, if Miscavige is an example of
the best that Scientology can produce, there is something seriously
wrong with Scientology.

What good is a threat to "banish someone from Scientology" if people
realize they don't want Miscavige's version of Scientology anyway?"

Posted by Just Bill

http://askthescientologist.blogspot.com/2008/10/scientology-getting-n...