{"id":4878,"date":"2018-08-16T16:56:33","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T23:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/?p=4878"},"modified":"2018-08-16T16:56:33","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T23:56:33","slug":"a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/","title":{"rendered":"A Scientologist’s Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the \u201cC\u201d-word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination<\/a>) and published here with its permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m telling you to stop using the word \u201ccult.\u201d The \u201cC\u201d-word. Just stop it.<\/p>\n

Why? I challenge you\u2014if you can show me a sentence where the word \u201ccult\u201d isn\u2019t demeaning, I\u2019ll back off. Write to me\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"Monks
Photo by Michael Arnault\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Everyone knows of the problem with the \u201cN\u201d-word. \u201cLGBTQ\u201d is now used in place of a lexicon of crass and cruel calumnies. Think of ANY ethnic minority and you can probably recall a derogatory generality for that group. All those words do is trespass on brotherhood and compassion.<\/p>\n

The \u201cC\u201d-word is simply another such slur. So stop using it. But beyond that, stop thinking with it. People are people. If you use the \u201cC\u201d-word, or think with it, you stop treating them as people. You treat them instead as an amorphous generality. I\u2019m not saying people don\u2019t do unrealistic things and hide behind odd groups and ideas. Of course they do.<\/p>\n

But so what if people believe whatever it is they\u2019re going to believe? As long as they don\u2019t stomp on your right to believe whatever you want to believe, SO WHAT? Does everyone have to fit into your definition of the universe? That\u2019s just majority-rules thought police. That\u2019s mob-think. Don\u2019t look now, but that\u2019s exactly what you think a cult does. And mob-think is what brought us\u00a0the Salem witch trials<\/a>, World War II, and probably all of man\u2019s atrocities.<\/p>\n

When a man in a saffron robe offers you a flower outside the airport, do you think \u201ccultist\u201d? If so, you\u2019ve been brainwashed. That\u2019s another human being.<\/p>\n

You may believe that human beings are no better than animals\u2014possibly high-grade, but animals just the same\u2014and that one lifetime is all you get. I happen to believe that the life force in each of us is spiritual and does not die with the body. Right now, in America, I\u2019m in a minority. Someday, hopefully not. So what happens when I\u2019m in the majority? Do you really want me to consider you crazy, to permit bloodletting, death and grief to befall you just because yours is the minority view? If there\u2019s anything we know from history, it\u2019s that circumstances change.<\/p>\n

How about a better paradigm?<\/p>\n

You respect me, and I\u2019ll respect you. We\u2019ll probably learn to like each other in the process.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an idea: any consideration you\u2019re holding that puts distance between you and your fellow man\u2014ditch it.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The
The Branch Davidian Mount Carmel Center in flames near Waco, Texas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In 1993, 80\u00a0Branch Davidians<\/a>\u00a0(and four ATF agents) died because\u00a0the anti-cult movement<\/a>\u00a0convinced the media and the federal government that the people living in that compound were a \u201ccult\u201d\u2014wacko, unable to be communicated with, strange beyond belief, and that the only way to deal with them was with force, all demonstrable lies. As a result, 21 children and 59 adults were gassed, incinerated, suffocated, shot and crushed to death by tanks in their home outside of Waco, Texas.<\/p>\n

Prejudice has a price.<\/p>\n

Tolerance isn\u2019t passive. It takes practice. It takes exercise. If someone wants to give you a flower, or a Bible, or a\u00a0Dianetics<\/i>\u00a0book, and you don\u2019t want it, just say no. What harm done?\u00a0Wow, are they different<\/i>, you may think. OK. But don\u2019t recoil. God help us if we all settled in to watch the same \u201cThe Big Bang Theory<\/a>\u201d reruns at the same time each week.<\/p>\n

As a whole, our society is making tremendous inroads against prejudice. The list of previously denigrated groups that are now recognized and respected is constantly growing.<\/p>\n

The last great frontier is religious diversity.<\/p>\n

It starts with the words we use.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the \u201cC\u201d-word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) and published here with its permission. I\u2019m telling you to stop using the word \u201ccult.\u201d The \u201cC\u201d-word. Just stop it. Why? I challenge you\u2014if you can show me a sentence where the word […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1320,1374,1392],"tags":[1656,84],"class_list":["post-4878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scientologists","category-stand","category-tolerance","tag-c-word","tag-cult"],"yoast_head":"\nA Scientologist's Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the "C"-Word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) and published here with its permission.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Scientologist's Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the "C"-Word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) and published here with its permission.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Scientology Beliefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-16T23:56:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.standleague.org\/FURL\/imagecache\/cropfit@w=824\/blob\/images\/articles\/5\/9\/59a858f6-9871-11e8-aab4-42010a80013d\/shutterstock-782646292.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ScientologyBeliefs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ScientologyBeliefs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/\",\"name\":\"A Scientologist's Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-16T23:56:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-16T23:56:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#\/schema\/person\/de2d5509212ec54ab6ece4c23c7be1d3\"},\"description\":\"Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the \\\"C\\\"-Word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) and published here with its permission.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Scientologist’s Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/\",\"name\":\"Scientology Beliefs\",\"description\":\"Scientologists Blogging about their Religion and Concerns\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#\/schema\/person\/de2d5509212ec54ab6ece4c23c7be1d3\",\"name\":\"ScientologyBeliefs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93be1a8bd8b9da5809a7c39e5907cf69?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93be1a8bd8b9da5809a7c39e5907cf69?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ScientologyBeliefs\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/author\/lwieland\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Scientologist's Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word","description":"Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the \"C\"-Word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) and published here with its permission.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Scientologist's Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word","og_description":"Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the \"C\"-Word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) and published here with its permission.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/","og_site_name":"Scientology Beliefs","article_published_time":"2018-08-16T23:56:33+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.standleague.org\/FURL\/imagecache\/cropfit@w=824\/blob\/images\/articles\/5\/9\/59a858f6-9871-11e8-aab4-42010a80013d\/shutterstock-782646292.jpg"}],"author":"ScientologyBeliefs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ScientologyBeliefs","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/","name":"A Scientologist's Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-08-16T23:56:33+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-16T23:56:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#\/schema\/person\/de2d5509212ec54ab6ece4c23c7be1d3"},"description":"Scientologist Leland Thoburn on why we should erase the \"C\"-Word from our vocabulary, originally published on STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) and published here with its permission.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/2018\/08\/a-scientologists-thoughts-on-the-c-word\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Scientologist’s Thoughts on the \u201cC\u201d-Word"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/","name":"Scientology Beliefs","description":"Scientologists Blogging about their Religion and Concerns","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#\/schema\/person\/de2d5509212ec54ab6ece4c23c7be1d3","name":"ScientologyBeliefs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93be1a8bd8b9da5809a7c39e5907cf69?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93be1a8bd8b9da5809a7c39e5907cf69?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"ScientologyBeliefs"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/author\/lwieland\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scientologybeliefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}