Scientologists are not "insane"
Jan. 18th, 2012 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lliiraIn my Scientology-watching, I've seen a lot of people accuse Scientologists of being "insane". (And stupid and gullible and etc..)
There are two problems with this that I can see. The first is the ableist language. "Insane" should not be a pejorative leveled at individual people. Personally, I'm fine with using it to insult certain specific ways of thinking and social structures, but many people aren't. And many of those people are hurt when they see others use it that way. David Miscavige isn't hurt by it. L. Ron Hubbard's too dead to be hurt by anything.
The second danger is more insidious, imo. Most Scientologists are not "insane". The cult causes certain predictable psychological problems in its members. It would cause those same psychological problems in nearly anyone.
And that's the key: nearly anyone. Maybe you couldn't be taken in by Scientology specifically. I couldn't either. But it's a near certainty that you and I could be taken in by a con of some kind. Scientology doesn't draw people in by being obvious. It draws people in by claiming it wants to save the world. It appeals to altruism and greed at the same time. You can join Scientology, save the world, and save yourself. It's perfectly normal to want to help people have better lives, and to want to improve your own life. Besides the L. Ron Hubbards and David Miscaviges of the world, that's what everyone wants.
Distancing yourself from Scientologists by calling them "insane" is a way of placing yourself above them. You're sane, so you could never be like them, right? This attitude is, at its best, unhelpful. People are not more likely to listen to you when you insult them. At worst, it causes Scientologists to run back to a place where they're rewarded for being Scientologists, rather than punished.
L. Ron Hubbard loved to insult people by calling them "insane". I don't think he's a good person to emulate.
There are two problems with this that I can see. The first is the ableist language. "Insane" should not be a pejorative leveled at individual people. Personally, I'm fine with using it to insult certain specific ways of thinking and social structures, but many people aren't. And many of those people are hurt when they see others use it that way. David Miscavige isn't hurt by it. L. Ron Hubbard's too dead to be hurt by anything.
The second danger is more insidious, imo. Most Scientologists are not "insane". The cult causes certain predictable psychological problems in its members. It would cause those same psychological problems in nearly anyone.
And that's the key: nearly anyone. Maybe you couldn't be taken in by Scientology specifically. I couldn't either. But it's a near certainty that you and I could be taken in by a con of some kind. Scientology doesn't draw people in by being obvious. It draws people in by claiming it wants to save the world. It appeals to altruism and greed at the same time. You can join Scientology, save the world, and save yourself. It's perfectly normal to want to help people have better lives, and to want to improve your own life. Besides the L. Ron Hubbards and David Miscaviges of the world, that's what everyone wants.
Distancing yourself from Scientologists by calling them "insane" is a way of placing yourself above them. You're sane, so you could never be like them, right? This attitude is, at its best, unhelpful. People are not more likely to listen to you when you insult them. At worst, it causes Scientologists to run back to a place where they're rewarded for being Scientologists, rather than punished.
L. Ron Hubbard loved to insult people by calling them "insane". I don't think he's a good person to emulate.
