Bainbridge on Co$ bugging of auditing rooms (was Re: The Big Story)

> > "39. Have an electronic system installed in the org with a mike that looks
> > like a calendar or ornament on the Reg's desk and a listen-in switchboard
> > in the ED's office so he can overhear at any time any interview in
> > progress. Have a tape recorder that can plug in to the box and tape any
> > interview. This is a duplicate of the listen-in system that cured bad
> > auditing in DC before C/Ses existed."
> >
> > This ED today is part of the "scriptures" of scientology, to be found in
> > new OEC volume II, page 574. Real religious stuff indeed!
"Satan's Power", by William Sims Bainbridge (University of California Press, 1978) is a largely sympathetic sociological description of a short-lived cult called the Process Church, which could be considered a splinter group from Scientology. The author actually joined the Process cult and was a participant/observer for several years. Before that, Bainbridge also spent 6 months as a participant/observer in Scientology itself.

In a rather silly attempt to protect the privacy of the people he studied, Bainbridge's book used pseudonyms, not just for the individuals, but also for the names of the cults. In his book, Scientology is "Technianity", L. Ron Hubbard is "Gordon Rogers", and The Process Church is "The Power Church".

The two founders of the Process Church met in an auditor/client relationship while both were active in Scientology. I'll pick up Bainbridge's narrative here, on page 32:

"Because they doubted Rogers and because they were intelligent, exploring individuals, Kitty and Edward chafed at the rigid system of therapy demanded by their superiors. One of Rogers' favorite slogans, simultaneously a boast and a demand, is `100% Standard Tech!' This means, Technianity's spiritual technology is to be followed exactly, without the slightest variation. Kitty was especially anxious to experiment in the sessions she ran, changing the questions slightly or departing from the established order of procedures. Edward says he was less inventive than she at first, but both of them wanted the freedom to try out their own ideas. They did not want to be mere robots in Rogers' science fiction world.

"The doubt and constraint they felt in Technianity became focused when Kitty discovered to her immense anger that the session rooms were bugged. She accused her superiors of listening in on her sessions through hidden microphones. If they were in fact doing this, it was to make sure that she and other therapists performed correctly and gave their clients 100% Standard Tech. There had been no complaints about her or Edwsard. Both of them were considered excellent therapists. They felt the bugging was an invasion of their privacy which neither of them could accept. They left Technianity, according to Edward parting amicably with the Technianity organization."

Stay tuned. I expect to post more Bainbridge excerpts in the near future. -- Ron Newman rnewman@cybercom.net Web: <a href="http://www.cybercom.net/~rnewman/home.html">http://www.cybercom.net/~rnewman/home.html</a>