"I have been lucky — living two lives in one lifetime"
January 14, 2025 12:03 PM Subscribe
Wow. Literally just read his piece on Gaiman, linked in the Gaiman thread a day or two ago.
There are a lot of fights in this world, and scientology is a big one with less reward and recognition than many.
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posted by fatbird at 12:40 PM on January 14
There are a lot of fights in this world, and scientology is a big one with less reward and recognition than many.
.
posted by fatbird at 12:40 PM on January 14
The piece mentioned above, linked for easy reference: Neil Gaiman’s Scientology Suicide Story
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:43 PM on January 14 [5 favorites]
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:43 PM on January 14 [5 favorites]
He truly is a remarkable man. What has always griped my ass is that Scientology was never a religion. No art, no architecture, literature, liturgy, no many other things religions have given to history and the common culture have come from it. Because transcendental experience and when transmitted by charismatic individuals leads to organized religions. Which have consequences.
Scientology has nothing of the spirit. It's was organized as a tax scam. And it has done great evil in the world -- destroying families and friendships, giving us Tom Cruise.
Mike Rinder was and is a hero.
posted by y2karl at 2:06 PM on January 14 [13 favorites]
Scientology has nothing of the spirit. It's was organized as a tax scam. And it has done great evil in the world -- destroying families and friendships, giving us Tom Cruise.
Mike Rinder was and is a hero.
posted by y2karl at 2:06 PM on January 14 [13 favorites]
I'm in 2 minds, I was involved in the first Internet vs. Scientology fight (on usenet, back when they tried to shut it down, when they were trying to find out the identity of major-domo and who was running that server on 127.0.0.1 with all their files on it - back when they were clueless about the net), I was the one who decoded the crypto in their "clam-nanny", I even met Xenu
Back then Rinder was very much part of the problem (at the time he ran one of the baddest parts of Scientology). He certainly knew where some of the bodies were buried, maybe even literally.
After dealing with a bunch of ex-Scientologists at that time I'm pretty much convinced that it breaks a lot of people, it may take decades for them to get better, if at all. He may have come to do the right thing in the end which I applaud but I am deeply cynical
posted by mbo at 2:27 PM on January 14 [10 favorites]
Back then Rinder was very much part of the problem (at the time he ran one of the baddest parts of Scientology). He certainly knew where some of the bodies were buried, maybe even literally.
After dealing with a bunch of ex-Scientologists at that time I'm pretty much convinced that it breaks a lot of people, it may take decades for them to get better, if at all. He may have come to do the right thing in the end which I applaud but I am deeply cynical
posted by mbo at 2:27 PM on January 14 [10 favorites]
No art, no architecture, literature, liturgy
They’ve got plenty of buildings, but their taste in architecture doesn’t seem great. The liturgy, you gotta pay for.
posted by atoxyl at 3:18 PM on January 14 [3 favorites]
They’ve got plenty of buildings, but their taste in architecture doesn’t seem great. The liturgy, you gotta pay for.
posted by atoxyl at 3:18 PM on January 14 [3 favorites]
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 3:27 PM on January 14
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 3:27 PM on January 14
He may have come to do the right thing in the end which I applaud but I am deeply cynical
Would be hard to make up for all the wrongs he committed in his Scientology days I’m sure but he did seem to stick to his guns as a critic once he was out, even though it made him one of their biggest targets, when others did not.
posted by atoxyl at 3:29 PM on January 14 [3 favorites]
Would be hard to make up for all the wrongs he committed in his Scientology days I’m sure but he did seem to stick to his guns as a critic once he was out, even though it made him one of their biggest targets, when others did not.
posted by atoxyl at 3:29 PM on January 14 [3 favorites]
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Talk about someone who made it his life's work to correct the many wrongs of his first several decades... I admired Mike Rinder (version 2.0).
posted by yellowcandy at 6:01 PM on January 14 [3 favorites]
Talk about someone who made it his life's work to correct the many wrongs of his first several decades... I admired Mike Rinder (version 2.0).
posted by yellowcandy at 6:01 PM on January 14 [3 favorites]
Oh no. I'm sorry to hear this. I had no reason to think he'd beat the cancer, but I hoped anyway.
I used to picket Scientology, back in 1998 and 1999, and I still run a handful of watchdog sites. Scientologists revenge-picketed me for months, and I've wondered whether Mike Rinder ordered any of the retaliation; I don't know for sure, but it seems likely.
I never spoke with him and never even got around to watching The Aftermath (I've gotten busy with a lot of other things and don't keep up with Scientology stuff much anymore, although I do still update the Truth About Scientology site a few times a year). I was surprised when he emailed me in May with a very gracious note saying he'd used my site for his post about OT VIIIs. I was glad to hear from him, and glad that - at that moment - he'd just gotten an encouraging lab result.
I am really glad he found and built a second life, and that he poured so much of himself into telling the truth about what he did and what he lived through, and helping others to tell their truths.
It's a hell of a thing, reading the comments on that Farewell page at his blog ... a couple of hundred posts thanking him and mourning him, people he touched with that second life of his.
There are recovering addicts who help other recovering addicts, formerly violent abusers who help counsel other recovering abusers, so many people who have made the choice to put their sins and their suffering to the service of others, so there will be less harm and less suffering tomorrow.
I am glad and grateful that Mike made that choice, and I am truly glad for him, and for his family, that he got to have some really good years after he broke free.
Thank you for posting this, chavenet. I am sorry he's gone, and sad for his family and all those who cared about him, but glad he's free from the pain.
posted by kristi at 6:43 PM on January 14 [8 favorites]
I used to picket Scientology, back in 1998 and 1999, and I still run a handful of watchdog sites. Scientologists revenge-picketed me for months, and I've wondered whether Mike Rinder ordered any of the retaliation; I don't know for sure, but it seems likely.
I never spoke with him and never even got around to watching The Aftermath (I've gotten busy with a lot of other things and don't keep up with Scientology stuff much anymore, although I do still update the Truth About Scientology site a few times a year). I was surprised when he emailed me in May with a very gracious note saying he'd used my site for his post about OT VIIIs. I was glad to hear from him, and glad that - at that moment - he'd just gotten an encouraging lab result.
I am really glad he found and built a second life, and that he poured so much of himself into telling the truth about what he did and what he lived through, and helping others to tell their truths.
It's a hell of a thing, reading the comments on that Farewell page at his blog ... a couple of hundred posts thanking him and mourning him, people he touched with that second life of his.
There are recovering addicts who help other recovering addicts, formerly violent abusers who help counsel other recovering abusers, so many people who have made the choice to put their sins and their suffering to the service of others, so there will be less harm and less suffering tomorrow.
I am glad and grateful that Mike made that choice, and I am truly glad for him, and for his family, that he got to have some really good years after he broke free.
Thank you for posting this, chavenet. I am sorry he's gone, and sad for his family and all those who cared about him, but glad he's free from the pain.
posted by kristi at 6:43 PM on January 14 [8 favorites]
Hi Kristi LTNS - Taniwha (I only got picketed once)
posted by mbo at 7:01 PM on January 14 [8 favorites]
posted by mbo at 7:01 PM on January 14 [8 favorites]
TANI?!?! SERIOUSLY?!?!? HOLY COW! (MeMailing)
posted by kristi at 7:29 PM on January 14 [8 favorites]
posted by kristi at 7:29 PM on January 14 [8 favorites]
He lived longer than you'd expect for a critic of Scientology.
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posted by tommasz at 6:09 AM on January 15 [1 favorite]
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posted by tommasz at 6:09 AM on January 15 [1 favorite]
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