tabloid-esque

[lazysmurff]

ok, so i hate that america is obsessed with our celebrities. the failure of americans to make their own lives more interesting than a movie stars is sickening, at best. but i think this topic bears a little observation.

this may be old news, but ive been trapped under the proverbial rock because of work, but its high time the media stopped treating Tom Cruise's obsession with scientology like a cutesy, human interest story, and starting treating it like it actually has the potential to do some harm.

now, im all for freedom of belief, and do your own thing and all that. and mr cruise is free to believe whatever he pleases. but to so arrogantly assert things like "there is no such thing as chemical imbalances" and that he "knows the history of pyschology" and noone else does, is just a bad idea. these things are not only blatantly false, but given the ability of celebrities to highjack the american consciousness, are potentially dangerous.

curious, i did a bit of research into scientology, and found it quite interesting, but their take on mental illness seems to not only be the most prominent feature of the religion, but also the most alarming. the sentiment that mentally ill people can and should somehow just "get over" their illness's is absurd. while i recognize that people are overly medicated in our society, and in fact partly applaud the church of scientology in their stand against pharmacueticals, but to make such blanket judgements and generalizations is simply wrong, and has no basis in fact, but rather in the ponderings of one washed up sci-fi writer.

though im not at all afraid of the world suddenly collapsing because Mr Cruise is against pyschiatry, i do worry about his untold amount of influence on the american people, and the affect that may have on the advancement of pyschiatric care.

like i said, not really worried, i just wish the news would stop being so light hearted about it. he is, after all, advocating the destruction of an entire field of scientific research and discovery that has helped millions of people world wide.

[fredjacksonsan]

I think that Scientology views things from the viewpoint of the "strong mind" that by making a conscious decision you can overcome most problems.

But you're right, what they're not addressing is the psychology of the "broken mind".

Overall, most citizens of the US are over-medicated, as the constant barrage of drug ads, huge drug company profits, and "pill for a cure" attitude by many patients (and doctors) clearly shows.

[Steel]

IIRC, James Hetfields parents <---- were scientologists. Gave him a haaaard time gorwing up as a kid, which planted the seeds to make an awesome Metal band.

I don't remember exactly, but i think the case was that they didn't let him go to anatomy classes or learnm pretty much any standard biological sciences. And then when his mother got cancer, she refused medical treatment in the mindset that God would make her better (The God That Failed - good song). I think i'm going to study up on scientology today now...


*edit* er..woops. I'm so used to my Metallica avatar at rx7club, i totally forgot that i had Goofy here. I don't think Goofy's parents were scientologists, heh.

[TexasF355F1]

Originally Posted by fredjacksonsan

I think that Scientology views things from the viewpoint of the "strong mind" that by making a conscious decision you can overcome most problems.

But you're right, what they're not addressing is the psychology of the "broken mind".

Overall, most citizens of the US are over-medicated, as the constant barrage of drug ads, huge drug company profits, and "pill for a cure" attitude by many patients (and doctors) clearly shows.

Just from the interview of Matt Lower of the Today show interviewing the obviously now insane and over confident and very arrogant Tom Cruise Scientology is a joke. He claims he knows all about psychology, which is hard to fathem that he would know more than someone with a master or even phD in the field.

From everything i've seen people say about scientology it seems to me to be the organization of the rich and the organization of 'common sense'.

I saw a book at Barnes and Noble the other day, i dont remember the title, but it was basically on how to get over your infatuation with celebrities. I almost bought it for my friends fiance.

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by TexasF355F1

Just from the interview of Matt Lauer of the Today show interviewing the obviously now insane and over confident and very arrogant Tom Cruise Scientology is a joke. He claims he knows all about psychology, which is hard to fathem that he would know more than someone with a master or even phD in the field.

From everything i've seen people say about scientology it seems to me to be the organization of the rich and the organization of 'common sense'.

I saw a book at Barnes and Noble the other day, i dont remember the title, but it was basically on how to get over your infatuation with celebrities. I almost bought it for my friends fiance.

I've never read Scientology, maybe I should. Then I could become a celebrity.

Seriously though, I saw the part of the interview where Cruise told Lauer that he was wrong. I can see the point, you've got two people, one a (very well paid) host/interviewer who is supposed to be well informed, and another a movie star, who may or may not have actually studied the psychology of the situation. Now Lauer may not have read up on it enough, but it seemed (perhaps it was acting?) that Cruise had been through some of these issues and may have learned about them. I'd have to agree with Cruise's assessment of Lauer's statements, that making one flat statement like he did had little or no merit.

[lazysmurff]

scientologists recieve training in how to answer questions posed to them by interviewers, much like politicians do.

while i dont know Mr Cruise personally, i am inclined to think that he has read the scientologist view of pyschiatry, and nothing else. seeing as the church of scientology prohibits the reading of any information that may contradict L. Ron Hubard's view of the world. i have no doubt in my mind that he is very well versed in the "party line" as it were, but actually knows very little about the subject at hand, being restricted as i said, to those views which only support Mr Hubard.

scientology is NOT, as jason said, a religion of common sense. i would suggest anyone thats interested read up on scientology and what the foundations of the religion actually are. ill give you a hint, it involves a massive galatic empire, and an alien tyrant that shipped an absurd number of frozen people to earth in giant spaceships, piled them up around volcanoes, and after subjecting them a 3d motion picture, detonated an H-bomb in the volcanoes and killed them. all this supposedly took place 75 million years ago...

A LONG TIME AGO
IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY....

[TexasF355F1]

Originally Posted by lazysmurff

scientology is NOT, as jason said, a religion of common sense. i would suggest anyone thats interested read up on scientology and what the foundations of the religion actually are. ill give you a hint, it involves a massive galatic empire, and an alien tyrant that shipped an absurd number of frozen people to earth in giant spaceships, piled them up around volcanoes, and after subjecting them a 3d motion picture, detonated an H-bomb in the volcanoes and killed them. all this supposedly took place 75 million years ago...

I wasn't being entirely serious about what I said. But it is the religion of the rich though. I've heard they have to pay dues that are unbelieveably costly.

[lazysmurff]

oh, ok...my mistake.

and yes, completion of the highest levels of "training" could cost as much as $500,000

ive been doing alot of research on it laely, and it is rather facinating stuff...in a creepy, cultish kind of way.

[Gotti]

Originally Posted by lazysmurff

ok, so i hate that america is obsessed with our celebrities. the failure of americans to make their own lives more interesting than a movie stars is sickening, at best. but i think this topic bears a little observation.

You do realize its ALOT worse in England right?


And Scientology just seems weird to me, I think they really are a cult.... I think they should all drink some special punch like in Family guy

[lazysmurff]

Originally Posted by Gotti

You do realize its ALOT worse in England right?

i had no idea it could get worse than this. im sorry for the english people.

Originally Posted by Gotti

And Scientology just seems weird to me, I think they really are a cult.... I think they should all drink some special punch like in Family guy

wow...we agree on something.

[Kurtdg19]

Well if Mr. Cruise ever gets cancer, it will very interesting to see how he goes about....hypothetically of coarse.