Taken in Austin, Texas...

Now that I live in the city, it's exciting to be there in the midst of human action. To many, such a protest as this seems childish. Also, it's unfortunate that many of the participants are also not the brightest of people... however, the majority wanted to follow the rules, and were very irritated at those who didn't because they only hinder their purpose.

I always thought of Scientology as kind of a Tom Cruise joke, but after doing my own research, I've developed a strong opinion against it.

This was a protest run by an internet-run group called "Anonymous", who claim they are a legion of revolutionary force. For once, they are doing something outside of the protective borders of the internet. Conservative news sources are still calling them nothing more than "teen hackers", even after the protest.

Here are some lines straight from the official Scientology website's FAQ... if you go to their site yourself, you'll see it's a bit freaky that the entirety of the content is about the horror of/fight against psychiatry and drugs, or defending their own religion.
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(Scientology is all the education you need, apparently)
Does it cost a lot to be a member of the Church and take services?

"No.... The training delivered by Churches of Scientology could be compared to taking a course in a school or similar facility. Four years at a typical university would cost between $30,000 and $40,000; four years at a top university would run between $80,000 and $90,000 or even more. And those figures do not include additional costs such as books and supplies."

(Well, they encourage religious freedom.. but Scientology is the only TRUE way to help society...)
Why do some people oppose Scientology?

"There are certain characteristics and mental attitudes that cause a percentage of the population to oppose violently any betterment activity or group. This small percentage of the society (roughly 2 percent) cannot tolerate that Scientology is successful at improving conditions around the world. This same 2 percent is opposed to any effective self-betterment activity. The reason they so rabidly oppose Scientology is because it is doing more to help society than any other group. Those who are upset by seeing man get better are small in number compared to the millions who have embraced Scientology and its efforts to create a sane civilization and more freedom for the individual."

(These last two were RIGHT next to eachother in the questions)
Did he make a lot of money out of Scientology?

"No. Mr. Hubbard was one of the most successful writers of modern times and even after his death his books continue to sell as many copies or more than those of top best-selling authors in the world today. More than 110 million copies of Mr. Hubbard’s books have been sold in 32 languages and distributed in 98 countries."

Wasn’t L. Ron Hubbard mostly a science fiction writer?

"No..."
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Hearing Tom Cruise talk about it is scary enough, and their website just enhances my skepticism of everything they are about.
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MANY HAVE DIED DUE TO ASSOCIATION WITH THE CHURCH.
VISIT [link]
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The information from this site and others, which I verified with official news sources, completely changed my ideas of Scientology.

Or google "Scientology IRS" and you'll get plenty of stories.
THEY ARE OBSESSED WITH MONEY AND CONTROL THEIR MEMBERS FINANCIALLY, MENTALLY, AND SOMETIMES PHYSICALLY.

I'm not necessarily for Anonymous and their actions... I think some of the people that want to be involved with them are just creepy 4chan.com weirdos. But, I don't like Scientology. Sorry, John Travolta. Religion, salvation, and true advice for betterment should not cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars, prevent you from receiving appropriate medical attention, or forbid your freedom within the religion itself.

I welcome any comments for or against my statements! I'm here to learn...

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and have my permission to show this piece!