From martinottmann@yahoo.com Thu Aug 21 11:15:00 EDT 2003
Article: 1634816 of alt.religion.scientology
From: martinottmann@yahoo.com (Martin Ottmann)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Scientology cartoon at derfcity
Date: 21 Aug 2003 03:25:21 -0700
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dst@cs.cmu.edu (Dave Touretzky) wrote in message news:<3f446b4e@news2.lightlink.com>...
> I was looking at the Pittsburgh CityPaper today and spotted a cartoon
> poking fun at "those Scientology kooks".  The cartoonist has a web
> site, www.derfcity.com, but I couldn't find this strip on the site, so
> I scanned it:
> 
>   http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Scientology/Miscellaneous/derfcity.jpg
> 
> It's a little hard to make out in the scan, but the address on the
> "Scientology letterhead" in the cartoon is 6631 Hollywood Blvd.,
> Los Angeles, CA 90028.  This guy knows his Scientology geography!
> 
> So what did Alice do to them?

The cartoon is headed by "True story", and it sounds actually like
one, but you have to have been a Scientologist at one point in order
to understand the significance of the letter.

Hubbard stated in several "policy letters" that an individual
ultimately leaves Scientology because of her/his own "witholds"
(convert sins), particularly because of "withholds" against the
organization. Therefore, Hubbard states, it is mandatory to get the
individual to admit his/her sins against the organization, in order to
free her up "ethically" and to bring her back to the organization.

Apparently Alice had been a Scientologist, but has left the
organization some time ago. Relentlessly the Scientologists sent her
one letter after the other ("Another letter from those Scienlogy kooks
..."), trying to get her back (probably reminding her of her past
"wins" and that probable "misunderstandings" can be sorted out). Alice
obviously didn't bother to respond, so the organization used the
ultimate weapon, this one-phrase-letter, in order to soften her up
again.

Summing up: Alice hasn't done anything *to* the "Church of
Scientology" besides having quit. The organization in return is trying
to get her back by sending her letters implicating that she has indeed
committed sins against them.