# Why is it ok to openly ridicule Scientologists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 26, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050 "2008-01-26T02:47:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/1 "2008-01-26T02:47:07Z")
Why is Scientology fair game but other religions are not? ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/2 "2008-01-26T02:53:02Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Why is Scientology fair game but other religions are not? [/QUOTE] Because Scientology is an obvious money-making scheme contrived by the diseased mind of L. Ron Hubbard? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/3 "2008-01-26T02:58:27Z")
Because although all religions have some degree of wackiness, when one is based on the writings of a science fiction writer who claimed that people are infected with the souls of aliens who were brought to Earth in DC-9s to be killed by volcanoes, that takes it to a whole new level. God sacrificing Himself to Himself to change laws he Himself made is fairly wacky, but He’d have to have done it by drowning in mashed potatoes in a Winnebago or something like that to catch up to Scientology wackiness. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/4 "2008-01-26T03:03:04Z")
Plus it’s newer. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/5 "2008-01-26T03:09:31Z")
Also, you have to _pay_ to become a Scientologist. It’s a business. It feels more like making fun of Wal-Mart that making fun of a _real_ religion. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/6 "2008-01-26T03:10:04Z")
Yes, it’s wacky. When presented outright with the _origin story_, any sane person would reject it prima facie. People get some joy out of making fun of the stupid. More than that, for me, is the way that Scientologists manipulate and draw the unsuspecting and gullible into a cult, potentially bilking them out of tens of thousands of dollars. There’s also the smear campaigns and courtroom-mockery lawsuits against any prominent Scientology detractors. It seems just _right_ to ridicule those who take part in such schemes. Do I find (say) the Latter Day Saints mythology rather funny? Sure! But the young men in suits usually seem pretty nice and have not, to my knowledge, ever tried to audit anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/7 "2008-01-26T03:10:51Z")
And its most prominent proponents are actors, who are already subject to ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnieEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@JohnnieEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnieEnigma)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/8 "2008-01-26T03:14:19Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Why is Scientology fair game but other religions are not? [/QUOTE] It’s not a religion. It’s a cult. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/9 "2008-01-26T03:19:31Z")
They are a tiny organization with little influence. Also, it was started in the modern age. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/10 "2008-01-26T03:32:27Z")
What other religions are not fair game for ridicule? (If Scientology is a it more ludicrous, that is based on the fact that there is good evidence that it was invented as a scam (as opposed to arising from faith/delusion, t.y.p.) and that the quality of “salvation” (for want of a better word) is directly tied to the amount of money one hands over to the church.) ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/11 "2008-01-26T03:36:53Z")
Mostly because pretty much every Scientologist I have ever personally encountered up close was a raging asshole, and proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/12 "2008-01-26T03:38:22Z")
[QUOTE=Sophistry and Illusion] Because Scientology is an obvious money-making scheme contrived by the diseased mind of L. Ron Hubbard? [/QUOTE] I don’t see anything in Scientology that is any less believable than anything in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. The only thing I can see is that its origins are more transparent, but that’s just a consequence of being a more recent religion. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/13 "2008-01-26T03:42:20Z")
Because: Scientology does not tell you about the supernatural metaphysics at the core of its religion until you are committed emotionally and financially to the church. The church blatantly takes money (and later labor) from its members in a fashion that would make the medieval Catholic Church blush. The church subverts and denies modern medical science. Scientology hides behind secular masks such as Narconon. Scientology considers its opponents to be “fair game” fit to be harassed and brought low by any means necessary. Scientologists have been caught trying to infiltrate the government. The Church of Scientology has killed people. That’s why. Plus, that Xenu thing is pretty damn funny. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/14 "2008-01-26T03:49:43Z")
If all the Scientologists in the entire world boycotted your business forever, you might notice a slight drop in income. Probably not. If everyone who doesn’t think Scientology is a load of crap were to boycott your business forever, you probably could detect a slight drop in income, but maybe not. Depends on what you sell. If you refused to discuss Scientology with anyone, ever, for the rest of your life, it is unlikely that anyone would notice. I think I’ll try that. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/15 "2008-01-26T04:07:22Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Why is Scientology fair game but other religions are not? [/QUOTE] Other religions don’t have a “Fair Game” policy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/16 "2008-01-26T04:10:59Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Why is Scientology fair game but other religions are not? [/QUOTE] Because they are, bar none, **all** raving lunatics. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/17 "2008-01-26T04:29:28Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Because although all religions have some degree of wackiness, when one is based on the writings of a science fiction writer who claimed that people are infected with the souls of aliens who were brought to Earth in DC-9s to be killed by volcanoes, that takes it to a whole new level. [/QUOTE] [Nitpick][DC-8s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu)[/NP] Even Travoltologists aren’t dumb enough to believe that UFOs are shaped like a DC-9 :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/18 "2008-01-26T05:28:20Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] [Nitpick][DC-8s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu)[/NP] Even Travoltologists aren’t dumb enough to believe that UFOs are shaped like a DC-9 :dubious: [/QUOTE] ::: Checks link, looks at picture::: Why does a **spacecraft** need wings? ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/19 "2008-01-26T05:30:58Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] ::: Checks link, looks at picture::: Why does a **spacecraft** need wings? [/QUOTE] Atmospheric flight? I mean, the Space Shuttle has wings. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050/20 "2008-01-26T05:35:35Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] [Nitpick][DC-8s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu)[/NP] Even Travoltologists aren’t dumb enough to believe that UFOs are shaped like a DC-9 :dubious: [/QUOTE] Knowing more than a few airplane whackkos, that would be ESPECIALLY Travoltologists. (John-boy is a gen-u-wine jet pilot, therefore an aerocraft whackko of the first water. I’m looking for the pics I saw in, maybe, _The Sun_ of him smooching his boyfriend goodbye on the stairs of his 737. I cannot link to the eBay listing of an ex-Travolta DeHavilland Viper I almost bid on few years back. C’mon, the top bid was $25K at the time! Could YOU resist trying to scare up the money? I’d KILL for one of those, though I’d draw the line at paying for it.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-ok-to-openly-ridicule-scientologists/435050.md?page=2)