*I’d like to preface this post by saying that I’m not a Scientologist, nor will I ever be*
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a recovering stumble addict, but some people just take the internet too seriously and too far. The “protests” organized against Scientology by the internet group Anonymous were a perfect example of the superficial and meaningless causes so fervently championed by those who live through their network cable. It’s just sad to see a group of people who have so little in the way of a real life that they feel the need to insult those who have found a community they interact with in real life on a daily basis- not on the off occasion that they can find time from their busy World of Warcraft schedules.
What is the problem with people holding faith in something, regardless of whether or not you believe it to be true yourself? I’m no Scientologist, and I personally think some of their beliefs are ridiculous- but they don’t bother me, so why bother them? I also value my time far too much too waste it on so useless a cause. What did they gain but media recognition? If you do believe the CoS is a cult, then you would also agree that no amount of pleading, reasoning, or logic will convince them to give up on the organization, and they are the only ones who can make a change.
If you really want to raise awareness, do it by providing easily accessible information regarding the questionable practices of the Church of Scientology and let the public fight your war for you. After looking for Anonymous’ reasons behind targeting the CoS, however, one tends to find a general lack of well-founded accusations.
So please, next time remember that the only thing gained in a peaceful protest is media attention, which is useful if you want to organize the people of a democracy against a government, but not if you are attacking a religion. Then again, who knows? I could be wrong about all of this and Scientology is completely evil and Anonymous will save us all.
